Strategic Planning and Leadership in Higher Education

Strategic planning is a common exercise at many colleges and universities, and is required by at least one accrediting body. Literature suggests that strategic planning quite often results in plans that are never implemented. Reasons cited include but are not limited to: lack of stakeholder involvement, so-called strategic visions that don’t translate into realistic plans, and a lack of needed financial resources to put plans into action, and insufficient project management experience. This research project explored the literature about strategic planning in higher education, and looked for correlation between perceived effective leadership and a resulting strategic plan that is both strategic and an executable plan. Research methodology included a qualitative survey of employees who served on strategic planning committees at similar-sized nonprofit colleges in New England and New York. This research project compared reported experiences with those described in the literature, exploring leadership practices that increase the likelihood of success