Task Force Charge

Background and Expectations

We close out this most recent five-year cycle with a vast array of opportunities. The J. Whitney Bunting College of Business and Technology community shall now join together to assess, to prioritize, and to plan for the future. The higher education environment, post-pandemic and within the context of forthcoming demographic shifts, will challenge us to be nimble, adaptive, and forward thinking. This will allow us to effectively cultivate and steward resources, to recruit and retain high-quality faculty, staff, and students, and to maintain a competitive advantage in the public liberal arts and graduate education markets.

The following is a process roadmap that will guide us in the development of our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan. Here are some critical points to underscore the next several months of work:

  • This will be an inclusive, multi-staged engagement that will require numerous voices so that we avoid siloed perspectives; such voices will include internal and stakeholder communities;
  • We seek this process to be both aspirational with “big ideas” and to identify focused priorities and measurable performance indicators that reflect a shared direction embraced by the various stakeholders;
  • The plan should be easily understood and memorable with an eye toward measurable implementation;
  • Not all of the ideas and viewpoints that emerge will be identified as core strategic goals, but it is possible such stakeholder ideas could still be valued and set aside for future discussion or action;
  • Funding priorities in the next five-year cycle will be directly informed by the Strategic Plan so that we may document progress on supporting the strategies/goals and redirecting resources as needed;
  • Target deadline of April 2022 for finalizing the Strategic Plan for dissemination and implementation in May.

Task Force Charge

The Task Force will be charged with:

  • Holding regular planning and working meetings;
  • Considering the recent situational analysis and strategic issues/opportunities facing the College of Business by leveraging existing data and results from the recent CIR Report;
  • Facilitating “Visioning and Dreaming” focus group sessions with stakeholder participants;
  • Reviewing and refining the College of Business Mission, Vision, and College of Business Core Values;
  • Prioritizing the “Big Ideas” and to formulate:
    1. an initial set of focused 5-year strategic priorities
    2. associated yearly goals, tactical initiatives
    3. risk assessments and mitigation actions
    4. concrete Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (e.g., High Impact Practices rate; student success measures, faculty productivity measures, societal impact measures, etc.)
    5. expected areas of innovation
    6. expected key areas of positive impact on society
  • Planning sessions w/stakeholder participants to preview initial draft for feedback and refinement;
  • Finalize Strategic Plan (for vote by faculty and affirmation by the Board); develop a dissemination approach.

Stakeholder Participants shall include, but are not limited to:

  • Students
  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • Alums
  • Parents of Current Students and Alums
  • Employers/Community Partners
  • College of Business Leadership and Department Advisory Boards
  • College of Business Affiliate Partners at the national/global levels (e.g., Leadership Board affiliate organizations)
  • GCSU Internal Stakeholders (Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Finance/Administration)