Thinking Strategically

One of the many things the accreditation process has brought to ILT is the requirement of a Strategic Plan. This is a five-year plan addressing our strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). This allows the administration, faculty, and staff to dream a little. We all agree that ILT does not look like it should yet. It is far from being finished. The Strategic Plan and the process we use to create it gives us the opportunity to think about how we can take ILT from where we are to where we need to be.

Based upon the SWOT analysis, the administration has identified seven goals we will be working on in the next five years. These are our goals:
  1. Equip more people more effectively for ordained and non-ordained ministry in the church.
  2. Enhance ILT's contribution to the theological task.
  3. Strive toward consistent and stable operations.
  4. Increase financial stability.
  5. Increase quality of services to students.
  6. Successfully interpret the institution to various constituents.
  7. Expand ILT Markets.
The future of ILT rests upon the grace of God. We all believe that and trust in his providence for our future. We also know our weaknesses. These goals help us to identify and address those places where we can improve for the sake of the mission God has called us to.

The faculty, staff, and board identify specific tasks that can be accomplished to achieve these goals. For the Strategic Plan, these tasks are called tactics. The tactics used to ensure we accomplish these goals come from many sources. Of course, the accreditation requirements are one such source.

In preparation for a visit from the accreditation agency, we must complete a 100-page compliance report, identifying where ILT is in compliance with the accreditation standards and where we are not. The accreditation agency then gives this report to a five-member team who comes to campus to evaluate our claims. They then give us suggestions and recommendations which will move us into compliance. Items from each step of this process become tactics in the Strategic Plan.

Another source for the tactics used in the Strategic Plan is the annual assessment report. ILT has an assessment plan for both the institution and the academics. The institutional assessment plan measures ILT's ability to provide educational and student services. The academic assessment plan measures ILT students' achievement of the program learning outcomes in each program. Each year there are evaluation tools used to judge our ability to do what we have promised to do and to ensure that students are successful in their academic program. At the end of year school year, there is a report for both the institutional assessment and the academic assessment. Any items of note go into SWOT analysis and are put into the Strategic Plan. 

Beyond these empirical measures, the board, administration, and faculty senate can add things based on their experiences at ILT. These are then added to the Strategic Plan as well, so that, all the of the voices involved in the success of ILT can be heard, and the best course of action for ILT to move into the future can be determined. This involves input from students, donors, and others as a part of the institutional assessment. 

At end of the process each tactic is used, or for good reason not used, and a report is given to the board concerning the faculty and staff's ability to comply with the strategies as they were laid out. We have done this for about three years now. We have learned a lot about our own optimism in the process. Things move much more slowly than we want them to. But ILT has made some great steps forward thanks to this process and there are solid plans for the future. With God's help, we will address every issue with patience and wisdom. 


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