Fundamental to the plan is the concept of "one university" where "we emphasize and build upon our strengths and develop a unique collaboration between the professional disciplines and our traditional majors." This concept is the key to our progress as an institution. The "one-university" approach requires that there is and will be academic strength in the core disciplines of a college, school, or department, and that this strength will support excellence in "distinctive areas of education and research."
Our detailed implementation plan will be developed with the full involvement of our key stakeholders. We will gather, consider, and apply the input of students, as they are the primary recipients of our education. We will seek to fully engage alumni in the process of the plan's development and implementation. In identifying research themes and developing curricular programs, we will also incorporate the opportunities afforded by the major challenges facing the Chicago region.
The implementation phase of the plan will coordinate our strategic priorities with our budget processes. We will first initiate actions aimed at the fulfillment of the strategic priorities in the plan and achievement of our goals and objectives, as summarized in our SMART Goals and documented in detail in our metrics. The plan will detail what will be accomplished by both our current faculty and staff, in a given time frame, and will outline where and when additions to faculty and staff and further investment will be necessary to achieve our strategic priorities. However, it is important to realize that the success of our plan depends upon the full involvement of our current faculty and staff, as well as input from our students, alumni, Board of Trustees, and other key stakeholders.
Support for the University's Strategic Plan by Academic and Non-Academic Entities
The president is ultimately responsible for both the articulation and the attainment of the vision. The provost has overall responsibility for the implementation strategy that will be used to achieve the vision of the plan and is ultimately responsible for achievement of the metrics of the SMART Goals.
The academic and administrative leadership will also be held responsible for the plan's success. This leadership group of deans, vice presidents, vice provosts, and department chairs will be reviewed annually based upon their ability to lead their units in the attainment of the goals and objectives of the plan. Deans, vice presidents, and other administrative leaders will also be responsible for the development of both five-year and annual plans for their units that will support attainment of both the SMART Goals and the vision.
Faculty and staff leadership of the various implementation topics that will facilitate attainment of our SMART Goals will be identified, and multi-unit stakeholder teams will be assembled to develop the detailed strategies and tactics necessary for success.
Assessment of Progress
The university's senior academic and administrative leadership will assess progress quarterly by reviewing SMART Goals metrics and other key milestones developed in individual unit plans. An assessment advisory board consisting of faculty, staff, and students will meet regularly to review progress towards our goals and the attainment of our vision, and to recommend steps to accelerate accomplishment of those goals. This group will act independently of the normal annual reviews that are carried out by university leadership.
As assessment will lead to strategy change and new initiatives, and will be a key part of our plan going forward, our assessment results will be reviewed by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees twice per year and by the Board of Trustees annually.