Our Process and Outcomes
1. Invited and confirmed key campus stakeholders to serve on the steering committee
Ann Cudd (President and committee chair) and Lindsey Wilkinson (Faculty Senate Presiding Officer and committee co-chair) invited and convened the Strategic Planning Steering Committee in October 2023. Four work groups were created to focus on affirming our mission, vision, and values; analyzing the external market; differentiating our unique value proposition and defining PSU in 2030.
Review the steering committee meeting notes and slides for academic year 23-24 to gain insight into the meeting objectives and discussions.
2. Carried out team learning to build cultural competency and advance equity
Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion, Ame Lambert, guided the steering committee through personal and group training and reflection to ensure equity was held at the center of the strategic planning process.
Volunteer equity ambassadors participated in each work group. The role of the equity ambassador was to advance equity and justice by asking questions to help work group members test their thinking and assumptions, identifying and promoting practices that advance equity and social justice, and minimizing the impacts of cognitive and structural biases on the strategic planning process.
3. Guided the strategic planning team to live out PSU’s values throughout the planning process
The Vision, Mission, Values Work Group developed Guiding Principles for Strategic Planning that served as the foundation for all strategic planning activities. These activities were regularly assessed against the principles to identify areas needing increased attention.
Key questions asked:
- How do we encourage the steering committee to move from saying they value something to actually acting and operating in ways that are guided by those values?
- How do we inspire individuals, groups and institutions to act in alignment with their stated values, as expressed through guiding documents like strategic plans?
4. Studied our key constituencies and their needs and motivations
The Value Proposition Work Group gathered and analyzed existing institutional data on current PSU students from the Office of Student Success and Office of Institutional Research and Planning to gain insight into the experiences and expectations of students, staff and faculty. These analyses helped guide campus-wide conversations about what makes PSU special.
Key questions asked:
- Who are our students, staff, and faculty?
- What are their specific needs, challenges, and motivations?
Learn more about how PSU community members engaged directly with the strategic planning process →
5. Analyzed key market forces affecting prospective students and graduates
The External Market Work Group identified and compiled existing data, reports and relevant literature to answer key questions about external markets for PSU degree programs and graduates.
Key questions asked:
- What are the main market forces we need to pay attention to?
- What change has happened over the past 5 years?
- How could the university change to meet the needs of the future?
Read the summary of findings→
6. Created foundational commitments to the PSU community that connect core values with practical actions
The Vision, Mission, Values Work Group leveraged learning from campus community engagement focused on defining “The Heart of PSU” to create a set of action-oriented pledges that bridge the gap between our values and the practical actions we must take to live up to them.
Read PSU’s Purpose Statement and Guiding Commitments →
Key questions asked:
- What do our community members think PSU’s core values should be?
- How is PSU living up to the values our community members see as priorities?
- What are the foundational commitments we are making to students, faculty, staff, and the community?
Learn more about the collaborative process for building guiding commitments →
7. Clarified our differentiated strengths
The Value Proposition Work Group used data analysis and campus community engagement to understand the challenges, concerns, desires, and opportunities of PSU’s key student segments. This work resulted in a list of distinctive benefits PSU provides to students, staff, faculty and the community.
Learn more about the Value Proposition Work Group →
Key question asked:
- How do we distinctively meet the needs of the students, PSU employees, and community we aim to serve?
Learn more about the collaborative process for creating value propositions→
8. Developed strategic vision and milestones
The PSU in 2030 Work Group led the development of a strategic vision that described how PSU will be different if it lives up to the commitments made to its priority student markets. The group also created milestones and metrics to show positive progress.
Learn more and read PSU’s draft 2030 strategic vision →
9. Drafted a set of large-scale actions to bridge current state performance with long-term milestones
The President’s Executive Council reviewed all data and products to date, then built a list of actions we must take to move toward our vision for 2030. Strategic Imperatives were reviewed by the Steering Committee and PSU in 2030 Work Group, then refined and finalized by Project Leadership.
Read PSU's draft strategic imperatives →