Disruptive transition to an integrated organizational planning and resource allocation model.

Singh, Alka Arora

This is the story of how Glendale Community College in Arizona took intentional steps to integrate its strategic and operational plans with resources and assessment to develop a holistic approach to planning and implementation.

HISTORY AND CONTEXT

GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE (GCC) is part of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) in Arizona. The district was established in 1962 and serves about 225,000 credit students across 10 colleges and two skill centers. All colleges are individually accredited and have their respective plans and budget processes in place.

GCC serves more than 30,000 students during an academic year. Over 500,000 students have completed associate's degrees, certificate programs, industry-specific training programs, university transfer programs, or credit classes since GCC opened in 1965. The college offers 101 career and technical programs and 18 academic programs, 10 of which are specifically intended for university transfer. (See Glendale Community College, n.d. for additional college facts.)

GCC has had a systematic and comprehensive planning process in place for well over a decade to serve its diverse student body. The plan has traditionally been revisited every three to five years to ensure that it reflects current needs and realities. The college has also been long committed to budgeting and assessment. However, these components operated somewhat in isolation, and few stakeholders were typically involved in the creation of the related processes and documents. This caused employees to be generally disengaged, with only a few knowledgeable of and interested in the overall planning and integration process.

For GCC to survive and thrive in the current fiscal and compliance environment, it was crucial for a broader reach of stakeholders to own the campus plan, understand how it integrates with resources and assessment, and advocate for strategic thinking in all realms of the organization. This prompted the college president to charge her dean and a team of key employees with revamping the planning process--a team that spanned a cross-section of functions and employee groups to capture various voices and perceptions and provide training within the institution for the work of integrated planning. The timing was right for a disruptive solution, and the college embraced this opportunity to plan and prioritize work leading to student success with the full backing and support of college leadership.

The following section elaborates on how GCC's disruptive innovation was implemented in three phases over a span of three years.

METHODOLOGY

GCC's desire to improve its overall planning process was buoyed by a very successful Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation visit in April 2012, during which the college renewed its commitment to continuous quality improvement and the development of a new integrated strategic planning model. This resulted in a model that holistically merged planning, resource allocation, and assessment into a dynamic process that has the flexibility to guide GCC to 2020 and beyond. The process was developed through a three-phased approach:

PHASE I: ESTABLISHING AN INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLAN

In fall 2012, the Strategic Planning Task Force (SPTFr, pronounced "spitfire") was created and implemented to develop a holistic approach to campus planning. The 30-member task force comprising faculty, staff, and administration (the largest ever convened by the college for planning efforts) worked to update the institution's existing strategic plan and associated planning processes. The task force convened a total of nine full committee meetings and 15 task-based subgroup meetings over the 2012-2013 academic year. A variety of sources informed this work, including MCCCD Governing Board Outcomes and related initiatives, GCC's 2012 Self-Study and Stakeholder Needs Assessment reports, and feedback from internal and external stakeholders representative of education and industry in the West Valley of the Greater Phoenix metropolitan area. The task force created a holistic plan to advance student access and success in an increasingly global society, the central focus of all work at GCC.

The final product, GCC's Integrated Strategic Plan (Glendale Community College 2013) and accompanying Implementation and Monitoring Guide, is the result of SPTFr's year-long efforts on behalf of the college. The plan reaffirms GCC's vision and mission, highlights environmental factors influencing the plan, defines the college's strategic directions, and outlines the strategic goals. The plan also introduces the institution's new integrated planning paradigm.

The college's vision, mission, strategic directions, and strategic goals serve as the foundation for the new integrated planning system. Central to this process is the application of integrated strategic planning across the three levels (or "tiers") of the organization: collegiate (Tier I), divisional (Tier II), and departmental (Tier III). This tiered system of integrated planning helps ensure that planning efforts at all levels of the organization are in alignment with the overall vision, mission, strategic directions, and goals of the college.

PHASE II: RESOURCE ALLOCATION BASED ON AN INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLAN

Once SPTFr had developed the process and infrastructure for integrated strategic planning, GCC established the Integrated Resources Planning Committee (IRPC) in fall 2013. IRPC works in collaboration with SPTFr and individual stakeholders to ensure that all planning tiers closely review the resources (budget, facilities, information technology, and human resources) available for implementation of departmental/divisional initiatives. Requests are evaluated in light of the organization's strategic directions and goals. Outcomes of approved requests are assessed to ensure both the effective use of the institution's resources and continuous quality improvement.

PHASE III: ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION GUIDED BY AN INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLAN

As the third phase of the process, GCC established the College Assessment and Review Taskforce (CART) in fall 2014 to assess programs and services across all areas of instruction and service. This committee ensures that the college is engaged in ongoing assessment conversations that inform planning and resource allocation and facilitate organizational and student success.

Together the three phases and associated committees operate symbiotically to horizontally and vertically integrate planning, resources, and assessment to effectively meet the needs of the college. Figure 1 illustrates the integration process.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

VERTICAL INTEGRATION

Over the past year, campus stakeholders have become familiar with the three planning tiers at GCC. Moving forward, all departments and units will ensure that their goals and strategies align with their respective divisions, which in turn will align with the college strategic plan.

HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION

The integrated strategic planning process will also be aligned with overall college resource allocation and assessment processes. This critical step strives to eventually allocate scarce resources only to those strategic needs that lead to student success. The planning and resource allocation loop will be closed by assessing and evaluating outcomes on an ongoing basis for continuous quality improvement. The college will also integrate its planning process with a wide variety of district plans and initiatives.

RESULTS AND OUTCOMES

According to Harvard Business School professor and disruption guru Clayton Christensen, "disruption displaces an existing market, industry, or technology and produces something new and more efficient and worthwhile. It is at once destructive and creative" (Howard 2013, [paragraph] 2). The GCC Integrated Strategic Plan is in a sense a disruptive innovation as the college moves toward a more holistic and complex paradigm for planning and resource allocation. Historically, the institution's strategic planning was the work of one individual and rather "siloed" in nature. Outcomes were neither systematically evaluated for effectiveness nor assessed for strategic impact, and there was scant consideration of planning priorities with respect to resource allocation. Now, however, several innovative approaches are underway as part of the organization's new integrated planning process.

While detailed results of the planning process will be available in the next year, some initial outcomes are discussed below.

The GCC integrated planning process

* CREATED BROAD STAKEHOLDER BUY-IN. The new plan was not the brainchild of a few key college administrators, but the effort of a 30-member task force with a total of 300 years of service at GCC and/or the 10-college MCCCD system. GCC's vice presidents, deans, directors, administrative staff, faculty, department chairs, and faculty senate president collaborated to create this plan, representing key stakeholders across campus.

* ESTABLISHED A SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE. The Strategic Planning Task Force (SPTFr) is responsible for the plan, the inputs (e.g., plan updates, SWOT and environmental scan analyses), and the overall process. SPTFr, in turn, collaborates with the Integrated Resources Planning Committee (IRPC) on implementation, resource allocation, outcomes tracking, and transparent campus communication.

* FOCUSED ON INTEGRATED RESOURCES. The plan is not tied just to budgets but to all resources including budget, information technology, human resources, and facilities for a more holistic view of what is required to sustain a strategic plan.

* CREATED A TEAM CHARTER. SPTFr has a team charter, roles and responsibilities, team expectations, and time lines that it abides by, resulting in a seamless service model.

* LAUNCHED COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING PLANS. SPTFr and IRPC are collaborating to offer college-wide consultation on the new planning process, implementation approach, and resource allocation model so that all internal stakeholders have a full understanding of the process and expected outcomes, as evidenced by increased vertical and horizontal alignment of planning goals and objectives across the organization. A joint communication is sent to the campus community on a periodic basis with updates on the activities of IRPC, SPTFr, and CART. Through communication, training, and education, GCC is creating a culture of shared understanding and common language for institutional planning, resource allocation, and assessment across the board.

* RECOMMITTED TO PUBLIC STEWARDSHIP. Conversations in IRPC are becoming increasingly strategic and sophisticated. Requests for resources are examined closely for redundancies, priority, and good public stewardship. This is imperative in these hard economic times and serves the college well.

* FORMULATED A METRICS PLAN. GCC's Office of Strategy, Planning and Accountability tracks key metrics in collaboration with stakeholders from the three tiers. The goal is to house metrics where they make the most sense, reduce redundancies, and monitor those data that are a true gauge of organizational health, thereby building a strategic institution based on analytics and best practices.

* EXPLORED ONLINE PLATFORMS TO HOUSE INFORMATION. The college is exploring the possibility of investing in an online tool that can house the various components of the plan. Having a common platform that houses all the plan information will help the three committees assess progress and make nimble, iterative changes to continually improve the process.

* RECEIVED AN AWARD FOR PLANNING EFFORTS. In 2014, GCC received the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) award for Institutional Innovation and Integration. This honor, granted to only one college annually, recognizes innovative thinking, planning, and implementation in strategic planning. SCUP acknowledged GCC for allocating resources successfully and linking them to the institution's vision, mission, and academic priorities. The college garnered $218,000 in publicity value from this award.

* EDUCATED COLLEGE PEERS ACROSS THE SYSTEM. As noted, GCC is part of MCCCD's 10-college system. The college has been invited by several sister colleges to share its experience and the lessons learned thus far with integrated strategic planning.

CHALLENGES

While GCC continues to make progress with its new planning model, the process is not without challenges. The work of planning and resource allocation is done in addition to employees' daily responsibilities. A large part of this process includes educating stakeholders on the benefits of planning in the short and long run. Employees also must understand how this portion of their work will integrate with other college and district efforts and how they can avoid replicating efforts. The three institutional committees are true task forces in that sense, and membership fit and continuity are crucial to their success.

When the college began this process three years ago, the overall mood was one of compliance. Various stakeholders just wanted to be told what to do so they could check a box and get back to their "real" job. A gradual culture shift has occurred in the past three years, and employees now are becoming more engaged in and committed to planning, resource allocation, and assessment and see the value they bring to the institution.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The factors contributing to the success of the integrated strategic planning process at GCC include leadership vision, commitment, and support at every step over the three-year period. The college president, vice presidents, deans, and department chairs were integral to the entire process, which led to employee engagement and buy-in. A tiered and staggered approach to the full scope of work allowed the institution to become immersed in the experience and to adapt gradually. Finally, the college created a detailed project plan for all three phases of the planning process and followed a disciplined implementation strategy.

All higher education institutions have some variation of planning, resource allocation, and assessment present in their system. Critical to success is a commitment to integrating these efforts, co-creating a process with key stakeholders that works for the culture of the institution with full support from leadership and ongoing and transparent communication. GCC's approach to planning has been one of commitment to student success, a core value that unites all of us in education.

RESOURCES

The following resources are intended to help higher education institutions in developing their own integrated strategic planning process:

* SCUP Planning Institute: www.scup.org/planninginstitute

* Academic Impressions conferences: www.academicimpressions.com/conferences

* GCC planning: www2.gccaz.edu/departments/administrative/spa/planning.

REFERENCES

Glendale Community College. 2013. Integrated Strategic Plan. Retrieved November 10, 2015, from the World Wide Web: www2.gccaz. edu/sites/default/files/imce/Administrative_Departments/SPA/20l3_tier_i_final.pdf.

--. n.d. Glendale Community College Facts at a Glance. Retrieved November 10, 2015, from the World Wide Web: www2.gccaz.edu/sites/default/files/imce/Administrative_Departments/SPA/facts_at_a_glance_jan_2015.pdf.

Howard, C. 2013. Disruption vs. Innovation: What's the Difference? Forbes, March 27. Retrieved November 10, 2015, from the World Wide Web: www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2013/03/27/you-say-innovator-i-say-disruptor-whats-the-difference/.

by Alka Arora Singh

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

DR. ALKA ARORA SINGH currently serves as dean of the Office of Strategy, Planning & Accountability (SPA) at Glendale Community College (GCC) in Arizona. Her office oversees strategic planning, assessment, and program review for the college; institutional research; and all matters pertaining to federal compliance and accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission. Prior to her role at GCC, she was an assessment director at Arizona State University (ASU) and held various research and consultant positions with the Arizona State Department of Education, the World Bank in Washington, DC, and PetSmart headquartered in Arizona. She holds an M.B.A. from ASU and a Ph.D. in higher education policy from SUNY Buffalo. She can be reached at alka.arora.singh@gccaz.edu.