Strategic Planning Committee presents draft goals of Western's new strategic plan

Dear Western Community,

On behalf of the Strategic Planning Committee, we are pleased to present to the University community our draft of the goals and objectives for Western’s next strategic plan.

We would like to describe the process by which we developed these goals and objectives. First was the committee’s formation, overseen by the University Planning and Resource Council and with constituencies selecting, from among their members, nominees to serve. The full list of members can be found here. President Randhawa charged the committee with the development of a strategic plan consisting of three to five aspirational goals, a set of objectives related to each goal, and associated metrics. He also charged the committee with the development of a list of aspirational peer institutions; that list with the criteria associated with its development will be shared with the University community for its feedback soon.

The committee’s first task was to hear from people both inside and outside the University community. We took two approaches to getting feedback. First, we conducted nearly 30 focus group sessions and open forums on and off campus. The complete list can be found here; files with comments can be found on this page. Second, we conducted two surveys, one of students, staff, and faculty, and one of alumni. Results can be found here.

Once the survey and focus group results were in, by early spring, we worked to identify common themes from the surveys and focus groups. Our summary of themes can be found here. From the themes, we worked on goals that would push us in areas in need of improvement, as well as in areas Western was seen as already strong. The next step we took was to set objectives related to each goal. We are at this stage currently, and we believe this is the time to ask for feedback from the University community. The document containing the goals and objectives can be found here. We are looking forward to receiving your feedback at WWUStrategicPlanning@wwu.edu; the web site has a link to this e-mail address as well. If you prefer to give your feedback anonymously, please click the link on the website here. Please provide your feedback by the end of the day, Wednesday, May 31.

After we receive your feedback we will revise our goals and objectives as necessary, add a framing narrative for the entire document and for each goal, and identify metrics by which to judge the University’s progress in accomplishing them. We will submit our final draft to President Randhawa by June 16, as he asked in his charge. That draft will be circulated in the summer and fall before final revision and presentation to the Board of Trustees for adoption.

We are honored to have been selected to work on this important task, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Paqui Paredes Méndez

Brian Burton

Strategic Planning Committee co-Chairs