Dateline: Home Study

Today we had an off-site retreat for the College. It lasted all day but really didn’t seem that long. Some parts dragged a little but by and large, things went smoothly and quickly. It was fun being in a room with the heads and directors today and hearing their ideas.

The goal of the retreat was to develop a strategic plan and set goals for where we want to be in 2010. It was refreshing to hear eveyone talking about outcomes rather than input; something that is not a common practice for others at the University. We tend to set things like enrollment goals without ever seemingly giving any thought to graduates or what it will take to service those students. The college however was thinking about he outcome, what it would take to serve the students to reach the outcomes, and then what we need to have for inputs to get the desired outcomes.

As can be expected, there was some disagreement but it was all friendly and merely a reflection of everyone trying to get the best they could out of the goals. There is still some work to do but we are well on the way to having a plan. I hope to get the plan, at one point, down to something we can summarize on a business card and give to everyone so they can easily see the golas when ever they need to.