CHALLENGES OF STRATEGIC PLANNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Strategic planning is undertaken by many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to focus their energy and resources on projects that are critical for their survival and growth. The strategic plan is intended to provide a roadmap to identify and reach the future directions based on institution's strengths and potential opportunities. The strategic planning is also an important element of accreditation requirements for all HEIs. From time to time, the university administrators hire consultants, put together a planning group, and spend considerable resources on coming up with a strategic plan. Unfortunately, there is generally a lack of understanding about the fundamentals of strategic planning among university employees. For this reason, most of the elements of the strategic plan are operational/tactical rather than strategic. In this article, we will discuss some of the challenges faced by HEIs in strategic planning and attempt to make a case for a need to design a strategic planning process that takes into account the unique characteristics of HEIs.