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:
b. Strategic planning at Sam Houston State University begins with the President and is tied to his vision regarding the future of the institution and a commitment to the fundamental spirit of the Coordinating Board-approved mission statement.
c. 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.
d Environmental trends inform institutional directions in the strategic planning process.
e. 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.
f. The strategic plan is tightly integrated into the budget planning process.
The number of students to be served and the nature of their educational needs are two of the most important factors to be considered when planning the future instructional, research, and service programs of the University.
b. The historic consistency of proportion of nontraditional undergraduate students at SHSU is expected to continue.
c. Following existing needs, the SHSU student body will become more diversified during the next decade. African-American and Hispanic student populations will continue to grow, especially at the graduate level.
d. More full-time students will be employed while attending school.
e. The requirements of the nontraditional student will necessitate changes in traditional university calendars, schedules, and instructional delivery systems.
f. More students will make school choice decisions based on financial aid factors.
g. The University will face more competition for students from an increasing number and diversity of providers of educational services.
h. Enrollments at The University Center will grow.
i. In the next decade a significant increase in the number of international students seeking admission to U.S. institutions of higher education can be expected.
j. The number of retirement age potential students in the immediate area will continue to grow and could be developed as a part-time student population.
k. SHSU should experience an enrollment increase of 1700 students by 2010 from the three largest enrollment source counties (Harris, Montgomery, Walker) based on projected increases in college enrollments made by the state demographer. This increase is based on the assumption that SHSU will retain the same proportion of college enrollees in Texas' public higher education institutions that it has at the present.
l. With the opening of the North Harris campus of MCCC, SHSU expects the recent increase in beginning freshmen capture rate from Montgomery County and Harris County to stabilize or slightly decrease and the attendance rates for all undergraduates to remain relatively stable.
m. Public concerns related to safety and crime 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.
n. The percentage of out-of-state students who enroll in Texas institutions of higher education will remain relatively stable.
o. The current gender ratio in colleges and university will remain stable.
p. The need for continuing professional education for workers in Texas will increase.
q. Career mobility will increase retraining needs for an aging work force.
r. A growing number of women will enter the marketplace.
A variety of developments and trends currently affecting or promising to affect national, state, or local economies are suggested here as important to the strategic planning process.
b. Higher education institutions, both public and private, will rely increasingly on philanthropic support.
c. Demands for support for non-educational services statewide and in higher education will increase.
d. There may be a move to allocate state education funds directly to students rather than through the formula to institutions.
e. The information and service sectors of the economy will increase in importance.
f. Universities will continue to increase their scholarship funds in order to provide more financial aid.
g. Loans or prepaid tuition plans may increasingly supplement federal grant programs as primary support sources of student financial support.
h. Businesses will become more involved in international markets.
i. Those disciplines that have drawn the largest amounts of external support will be called upon to do more directed research, possibly in competition with funding for basic research.
j. The corrections industry in Huntsville will expand.
k. Modest economic growth can be anticipated in the three-county source area. This assumption is based primarily on the increasing size of the work force that is projected.
l. Expected economic stability (modest growth) and an increase in both the percentage and number of persons in groups presently attaining lower levels of formal education combine to project a modest decrease in unemployment for the three-county source area.
m. Small entrepreneurial businesses in Huntsville and North Houston will increase in number.
n. The HOPE scholarship may increase the percentage of high school graduates going to college.
o. Federal funding will focus to a greater extent on solving problems of metropolitan areas.
p. Grantors and funding sources will look for more multi-disciplinary proposals and projects.
q. Society, business, and government will show an increasing need for applied and problem-solving/problem-oriented research.
The impact of global and national technological changes will influence the future of SHSU and its internal operation. The following external trends are important considerations in the University’s planning process.
b. The development of computer bulletin boards, databases, electronic data interchange, media, and networks are dramatically increasing the ability of organizations to access information.
c. Information literacy gained through the ability to use technology will be the underlying principle of quality education for the next century.
d. 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.
e. Expanding technology will provide a greater number of educational product choices for students.
f. The increase in technological support for faculty and staff will demand a substantial increase in computer services.
g. University activities in distance learning will dramatically increase and could substantially affect on-campus enrollments and lead to cooperative programs with secondary schools.
h. Library resources will become increasingly electronically accessible.
i. Advanced technology will change the way classroom instruction is delivered.
j. Non-educational organizations will begin to deliver higher education via distance learning.
k. Computing will become increasingly less dependent on location.
The following academic trends -- national, state, and local -- should be considered in planning Sam Houston State’s future.
b. Increased emphasis on college and university accountability is leading to more outcomes assessment and benchmarking.
c. A higher degree of information literacy will be required of all faculty members.
d. There will be increasing competition for students between institutions of higher education..
e. A greater interdependence between the community, public schools, community colleges, and the universities will evolve and lead ultimately to the more effective use of education dollars.
f. Faculty development will become increasingly important as faculty members age and the rate of academic disciplinary change accelerates.
g. 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 to off-campus sites as they do on campus.
h. The knowledge explosion is leading to greater difficulty in keeping the baccalaureate degree within a traditional four-year pattern causing public concern with the lengthening educational process.
i. The Texas work force will require higher basic skill levels, and it will be more oriented toward service jobs rather than manufacturing. During the next decade, job requirements for reading and problem-solving skills will exceed the current skill levels of most young adults.
j. Although nearly half of the current teachers in the public schools will be eligible for retirement in the next ten years, the demand for newly certified teachers will be moderate. It is anticipated that the demand for special education teachers, school counselors, and school psychologists will remain strong.
k. 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.
l. The number of persons transferring from community colleges to four-year institutions will increase and the variety of community college programs seeking transferability will increase.
m. Universities will increase their focus on teaching and move toward a broader definition of scholarship.
n. Interdisciplinary programs will become more common (e.g., environmental science).
o. Alternate credentials in the public schools and other areas requiring licensing or certification will become more common.
p. Persons with disabilities, especially learning disabilities, will increasingly seek opportunities in higher education.
q. Increased salary competition from the public schools and private agencies and aging of the workforce will make attracting and retaining faculty more difficult.
r. More high school seniors will want college credit courses integrated with the secondary school schedule.
s. The percentage of higher education students speaking English as a second language will increase.
t. The demand for specialized accreditation will increase.
u. Pressure to improve student retention rates will increase.
v. The traditional definition of faculty workload and productivity expectations will change.
w. Numbers of women and minorities with doctorate degrees will continue to increase.
x. The idea of a "community of scholars" that has shaped the traditional university will be broadened by the advent of the electronic global university.
y. A struggle between undergraduate and graduate programs for funds generated through the formulas will exist, but graduate education will continue to be funded at a higher rate.
z. Large universities will likely acquire smaller universities and junior colleges.
6. Political/Legal Trends
b. Affirmative action and equity will become increasingly complex in Texas.
c. There is potential for realignment of higher education entities in Texas.
d. 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.
e. HEAF resources will continue to be appropriated for Sam Houston State University.
f. 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.
g. The trend toward regionalization may result in the emergence of more MITCs, which will negatively impact on-campus enrollments.
h. Communities will continue to pressure lawmakers for their own locally developed and controlled higher education options.
i. University actions will increasingly be tested in the courts.
j. The demand to purchase university goods and services from historically underutilized businesses (HUBs) will increase.
k. Universities will play a more active role in addressing student loan default rates.
Americans are increasingly concerned about the quality of air, water, and food they consume. While it is recognized that students, faculty, and staff are the most important parts of a university, physical facilities are a critical setting for the learning environment. The following external and internal trends are expected.
b. Fees to support computer access will need to be raised.
c. More students will live off campus.
d. Funding from the legislature for new buildings and maintenance of existing buildings will continue to be modest during the next ten years.
e. A changing student body and work force may call for increased child care facilities on campus.
f. State and federal regulations will continue to require that priority be given to some modification to facilities, e.g., ADA.
g. The University needs to plan and construct a major faculty office building.
h. The University needs to plan for increased parking needs.
i. There will be a reduced need for space and increased need for technological support.
8. Trends in Philanthropy
b. The growing number of nonprofit organizations will increase the competition for the philanthropic dollar.
c. An increase in transfer enrollment to Sam Houston State might not have a direct impact on our development efforts unless those transfer students are only attending for one or two semesters. (The continued growth of the transfer enrollment will have a direct impact on the university’s future development efforts.)
d. The hiring of a director of development and the establishment of an annual giving program will lead to greatly enhanced university development activities.
e. 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.
f. 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.
g. As the world borders continue to shrink, 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 to develop charitable habits.