Our Process and Outcomes
1. Invited and confirmed key campus stakeholders to serve on the steering committee
Ann Cudd (President and chair) and Lindsey Wilkinson (Faculty Senate Presiding Officer and co-chair) invited and convened the Strategic Planning Steering Committee in October 2023. Four work groups were created to focus on (1) affirming our mission, vision, and values; (2) analyzing the external market; (3) differentiating our unique value proposition; and (4) defining PSU in 2030 and key milestones.
Review the meeting notes and slides for academic year 23-24 to gain insight into the meeting objectives and discussions.
2. Carried out team learning to build cultural competency and advance equity
The Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion, Ame Lambert, guided the steering committee through personal and group training and reflection to ensure equity is held at the center of the strategic planning process.
Volunteer equity ambassadors participated in each workgroup. The role of the equity ambassador was to advance equity and justice by asking questions to help workgroup members test their thinking and assumptions, identifying and promoting practices that advance equity and social justice, and minimizing the impacts of cognitive and structural biases on the strategic planning process.
3. Guided the strategic planning team to live out PSU’s values throughout the planning process
Key questions asked:
- How do we encourage the Steering Team to move from saying they value something to actually acting/operating in ways that are guided by those values in a meaningful way?
- How do we inspire individuals/groups/institutions to act in alignment with their stated values, as expressed through guiding documents like strategic plans?
The Vision, Mission, Values work group developed Guiding Principles for Strategic Planning that served as the foundation for all strategic planning activities. These activities were regularly assessed against the principles to identify areas needing increased attention.
4. Studied our key constituencies and their needs and motivations
Key questions asked:
- Who are our students, staff, and faculty?
- What are their specific needs, challenges, and motivations?
The Value Proposition work group gathered and analyzed existing institutional data from the Office of Student Success and Office of Institutional Research and Planning on current PSU students to gain insight into the experiences and expectations of students, staff, and faculty. These analyses helped guide campus-wide conversations about what makes PSU special.
Learn more about how PSU community members engaged directly with the strategic planning process →
5. Analyzed key market forces affecting prospective students and graduates
Key questions asked:
- What are the main market forces we need to pay attention to?
- What change has happened over the past 5 years?
- What does this mean for how the university must change to meet the needs of the future?
The Market Analysis work group identified and compiled existing data, reports, and relevant literature to answer key questions about external markets for PSU degree programs and graduates.
Read the summary of findings→
6. Created foundational commitments to the PSU community that connect core values with practical actions
The Vision, Mission, Values work group leveraged learning from campus community engagement focused on defining “The Heart of PSU” to create a set of action-oriented pledges that bridge the gap between our values and the practical actions we must take to live up to them.
Read PSU’s Purpose Statement and Guiding Commitments →
Key questions asked:
- What do our community members think PSU’s core values should be?
- How is PSU living up to the values our community members see as priorities?
- What are the foundational commitments we are making to students, faculty, staff, and the community?
Learn more about the collaborative process for building guiding commitments →
7. Clarified our differentiated strengths
The Value Proposition work group used data analysis and campus community engagement to understand the challenges, concerns, desires, and opportunities of PSU’s key student segments. This work resulted in a list of distinctive benefits PSU provides to students, staff, faculty, and the community.
Learn more about the Value Proposition Work Group →
Key question asked:
- How do we distinctively meet the needs of the students, PSU employees, and community we aim to serve?
Learn more about the collaborative process for creating value propositions→
8. Developed strategic vision and milestones
The PSU in 2030 work group led the development of a strategic vision that described how PSU will be different if it lived up to the commitments made to its priority student markets. The group also created milestones and metrics to show positive progress.
Learn more and read PSU’s draft 2030 strategic vision →
9. Drafted a set of large-scale actions to bridge current state performance with long-term milestones
Strategic Imperatives were drafted to outline the big steps needed to carry out PSU’s overarching strategic plan, explaining the importance of each step.
Read PSU's draft strategic imperatives →