Assumptions About thePlanning Process

Effective planning is based on assumptions about future economic, technological, academic, political/legal, social/demographic, and philanthropic trends. It is also based on commonly held assumptions about the planning process itself. Assumptions underlying the Sam Houston State University strategic planning process include the following:

• Strategic planning for a university is first and foremost the construction of a plan for the effective development and delivery of quality education, at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

• Strategic planning at Sam Houston State University begins with the President's vision regarding the future of the institution and a commitment to the fundamental spirit of the Coordinating Board-approved mission statement.

• The current Sam Houston State University strategic plan is subject to change as societal, state, and local needs change and as the institutional mission evolves.

• Environmental trends inform institutional directions in the strategic planning process.

• The environmental scans and the general institutional goals and strategic directions are shared with faculty, administrative staff, and students for their discussion, understanding, and input.

• The strategic plan is tightly integrated into the budget planning process.

Environmental Scan

2000 - 2001

1. Social/Demographic Trends

   1. A higher percentage of beginning freshmen who enroll in institutions of higher education will attend community colleges.

   2. The historic consistency of the proportion of nontraditional undergraduate students, including older students and those who are parents, at SHSU is expected to continue.

   3. The SHSU student body will become more diversified during the next decade. African-American, Hispanic, and Native American and other minority student populations will continue to grow.

   4. More full-time students will be employed while attending school.

   5. The requirements of the nontraditional student will necessitate changes in traditional university calendars, schedules, and instructional and student delivery systems.

   6. The University will face more competition for students from an increasing number and diversity of providers of educational services. The university will have to more carefully focus its recruitment efforts to be successful.

   7. Public concerns related to safety, crime, and alcohol issues have heightened awareness of personal risk issues on college campuses. This concern makes non-urban campuses more attractive for many students seeking a residential college atmosphere.

   8. The percentage of out-of-state students who enroll in Texas institutions of higher education will remain relatively stable unless stimulated by incentives.

   9. The current gender ratio in colleges and universities will remain stable.

   10. The need for continuing professional education for workers in Texas will increase.

   11. A growing number of women will enter the work force, requiring continued increasing needs for quality childcare.

   12. Demand for student wellness programs will increase.

   13. Sensitivity toward diverse lifestyles and backgrounds will increase as students demand more personal rights.

2. Economic Trends

   1. Although total appropriation dollars will increase, dollars per student enrolled, controlled for inflation, will decline.

   2. Demands for support of non-educational services statewide will increase.

   3. There may be a move to allocate student financial aid directly to students rather than through the formula to institutions.

   4. The information and service sectors of the economy will increase in importance.

   5. Universities will continue to increase their scholarship funds in order to provide more financial aid.

   6. Loans or prepaid tuition plans may increasingly supplement federal grant programs as primary support sources of student financial support.

   7. The Texas economy will remain strong and modest economic growth can be anticipated in the three-county primary student source area.

   8. Small entrepreneurial businesses between Huntsville and North Houston will increase in number, increasing the market for graduates with these qualifications.

   9. Grantors and funding sources will look for more multi-disciplinary proposals and projects.

   10. Society, business, and government will show an increasing need for applied and problem-solving/problem-oriented research.

3. Technological Trends

   1. Information literacy gained through the ability to use technology will be an underlying principle of quality education for the next century.

   2. More powerful computing devices linked to expanding and higher-speed campus, state, national, and international networks will provide students, faculty, and staff access to a continuously expanding menu of information and computing resources.

   3. New technologies, computer-assisted instruction, and computer-based instruction will require expanding development programs for staff, faculty, and administration.

   4. The increase in technological support for faculty and staff will demand a substantial increase in information resources.

   5. University activities in distance learning will dramatically increase and could substantially affect on-campus enrollments and lead to cooperative programs with secondary schools.

   6. Advanced technology will change the way classroom instruction and library services are delivered.

   7. Organizations whose primary focus is not higher education will begin to deliver higher education via distance learning.

   8. Computing will become increasingly less dependent on location.

   9. Computer applications will become more user-friendly.

4. Trends in Higher Education

   1. Successful appropriation requests for state assistance will be tied directly to agency and state strategic plans and associated assessment.

   2. Increased emphasis on college and university accountability is requiring more outcomes assessment, benchmarking, and institutional research.

   3. A greater interdependence among the public schools, community colleges, and universities will evolve and lead ultimately to the more efficient use of education dollars.

   4. Flexible, alternative methods of and locations for delivering academic programs will become more common in higher education. This trend will necessitate concomitant changes in delivery of academic advising and other student services to ensure that students receive the same quality services at off-campus sites as they do on campus.

   5. The knowledge explosion is leading to greater difficulty in keeping the baccalaureate degree within a traditional four-year program causing public concern with the lengthening educational process.

   6. There will be a high demand for newly certified teachers, special education teachers, school counselors, and school psychologists.

   7. College curricula are being internationalized and exchange programs are expanding as a result of an increasing need for global awareness. The demand for foreign language instruction will increase.

   8. The variety of community college programs seeking transferability will increase.

   9. Universities will increase their focus on teaching and move toward a broader definition of scholarship.

   10. Interdisciplinary programs will become more common (e.g., environmental science).

   11. Alternate credentials in the public schools and other areas requiring licensing or certification will become more common.

   12. Increased salary competition from the public schools and private agencies and aging of the workforce will make attracting and retaining faculty and staff more difficult.

   13. More high school seniors will want college credit courses integrated with the secondary school schedule and, therefore, will want to utilize university services. The trend may move from dual enrollment to advanced placement classes to improve quality.

   14. The percentage of higher education students speaking English as a second language will increase.

   15. The demand for program-specific accreditation will increase.

   16. Pressure to improve student retention rates will increase.

   17. The traditional definition of faculty workload and productivity expectations will change as the result of technology.

   18. State regulations regarding reimbursement of undergraduate students with over 170 hours and graduate students with over 90 hours will impact university financial resources.

5. Political/Legal Trends

   1. State and federal regulation of public higher education will increase and will result in increased expenditures to document compliance.

   2. Affirmative action and equity will become increasingly complex in Texas.

   3. There is potential for realignment of higher education entities in Texas.

   4. The formula as a mechanism for state funding of higher education in Texas will not change substantially and will continue to place an emphasis on enrollment.

   5. Changes in the distribution of Higher Education Assistance Fund (HEAF) resources are anticipated.

   6. The Texas legislature will demand greater emphasis and accountability for meeting the Texas Access and Equity Plan goals of diversity for faculty, staff, and students.

   7. The trend toward regionalization may result in the emergence of more multi-institutional teaching centers (MITCs), which will negatively impact on-campus enrollments.

   8. Communities will continue to pressure lawmakers for their own locally developed and controlled higher education options.

   9. Universities will increasingly be tested in the courts.

   10. The demand to purchase university goods and services from historically underutilized businesses (HUBs) will increase.

   11. Universities will play a more active role in addressing student loan default rates.

6. Physical Facility Trends

   1. Technological needs will include equipping classrooms with computers, telecommunications equipment, instructional multi-media equipment, microwave utilization, and wiring rooms in all residence halls.

   2. Fees to support computer access and for field-based, weekend, or distance programs will need to be implemented or raised.

   3. Funding from the legislature for new buildings and maintenance of existing buildings will continue to be modest during the next ten years.

   4. State and federal regulations will continue to require that priority be given to some modification to facilities, e.g., ADA.

7. Trends in Philanthropy

   1. The university operation will draw an increasing portion of its support from philanthropic sources.

   2. The growing number of nonprofit organizations will increase the competition for the philanthropic dollar.

   3. Establishment of an annual giving program will lead to greatly enhanced university development activities.

   4. An increasingly mobile society will challenge SHSU's ability to keep track of its alumni. Technological advances also will impact the process by which SHSU raises money, especially through the Internet, direct mail, and telefund.

   5. Any changes in tax laws, both income and estate, will impact the work of fund raising. Additional changes in inheritance tax laws could affect the size of charitable gifts through planned giving vehicles.

   6. The growth of international figures in the world of philanthropy will impact charitable giving. With the shifting of wealth to other areas of the world, a challenge will be to appeal to alumni from other cultures.