Strategic Planning About Strategic Planning
This page includes helpful information about strategic planning in general, as well as UNL's strategic planning efforts.
Why Strategic Planning?
In his 2004 State of the University Address, Chancellor Harvey Perlman announced a University-wide strategic planning effort to result in an action plan for the UNL campus which will lead our academic community to: set priorities that link to core values shared by our academic community; determine strategies for attaining these goals; and identify measures of success. This is an important effort for the UNL campus, one that will help us chart our future together, building a premier research university which engages students, faculty, and staff alike in the uncompromising pursuit of excellence.
History of Strategic Planning at UNL
The strategic planning process was initiated in 2004 by Chancellor Perlman to address three issues facing the campus: budget, enrollment and priority setting. These three matters of concern track to the following developments:
- State support for the University of Nebraska system was reduced significantly three years ago, necessitating a strategic approach to budget management;
- Nebraska is one of five states experiencing a trend of enrollment declines in higher education, a fact that demands UNL to plan educational programs attractive to new populations; and
- The University of Nebraska Board of Regents sponsored a Programs of Excellence (POE) initiative in 2002, providing new funding to selected programs—programs identified through priority setting. Such priority setting should now be encouraged in all university areas to keep UNL focused on continuous improvement.
Three focused efforts examined these and other issues facing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln resulting in three white papers that set the stage for the strategic planning process. These are:
- A 2020 Vision: the Future of Research and Graduate Education at UNL (March 2000)
- The Report of the Blue Sky Committee: Intellectual Engagement and Achievement at UNL (April 2003)
- Transition to the University Task Force: Everyone a Learner, Everyone a Teacher (December 2003)
Widely discussed and circulated, college and departmental responses to these reports resulted in: increased graduation and retention rates; large increases in competitive research that continues to show momentum; and the ascent of UNL in national rankings.
