Improvement (I)

5I2 Setting Targets for Improvement

Administration has led the institution in a new direction by instituting a five-year Strategic Plan, and has worked to communicate that plan to students, employees and all stakeholders each step of the way. When the plan was being created, the administration invited employees and students across campus and citizens of the region to give their input. Campus committees were chosen with broad representation.

Each step of the strategic planning process was outlined in employee e-mails, letters from the President, in the campus newsletter and student newspaper, and on the website to keep employees informed.

Each of the nine areas of strategic planning includes specific goals, objectives, and action items (Figure 8.1). Each year, implementation teams review the progress made on the prior year's implementation and adjust action items to achieve the specific goals and objectives stated. In Spring 2006, Western began the next five-year strategic planning process by identifying focus areas, opportunities, and new goals. Western will complete this plan in Fall 2006, using meetings with wide campus and community representation.

Exit interviews are conducted by Western’s Human Resources department upon employment termination. This data needs to be collated and analyzed.

Western plans to adopt an instrument similar to the Personal Assessment College Environment (nationally normed and used by other universities participating in AQIP) to measure elements concerned with leading and communicating.