Calendar

The calendar of events covers just over 2 years, beginning with the Feb. 5th kick-off presentation by Dr. Ann Chard, Associate Vice President of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The department committees will be formed shortly thereafter and will write responses to a series of questions in 4 phases concluding in Feb. 99. During the 6 months following that the Steering Committee will draft and finalize the written report which will be submitted to SACS in the fall of 1999. The site visit will occur in the spring of 2000. The site visitors will submit their report for reaffirmation action by the Commission at the December 2000 meeting.

Forming Committees

The program director or budget supervisor and the provost or vice-president should appoint or solicit a chairperson and together they should select additional members to serve on the EDGE COMMITTEE. In some cases the entire department will make up the committee, and in others the committee will be representative of the department.

Public Members

The department committees should then work with the provost or adminstrator to recruit at least one public representative from the community or industry. It is critically important in our strategic planning process that we involve the community we serve. The best way to do this is to have representatives on each EDGE committee from the businesses or industries where our graduates are employed. For the Communications department, for example, public members might be faculty from USF and the vice president for human resources for a large employer in Pinellas County.

Student Members

The department committees should recruit at least one student representative or solicit student input. It is critically important in our strategic planning process that we involve the community we serve. The best way to do this is to have representatives on each EDGE committee.

Events

Committee members should attend college wide and campus presentations associated with EDGE. There will be a number of speakers brought to campuses to help with the process, and EDGE steering committee members will be assigned to work with department committees. The department committee will determine any research that is necessary, experts to be consulted, and items for department-wide discussion. Committee members should plan to meet several times to draft the reports for each phase of EDGE. Committee members are encouraged to share this process with colleagues who are not on the EDGE committee and seek their input.

Phase I Tasks

In this first phase of the project each department will consider possible opportunities and challenges created by the changing technology, economics and demographics projected by futurists and consultants. Committee members should consider the effects of projecting current trends into the future as well as try to anticipate paradigm shifts which could cause dramatic changes. Keep a big picture perspective and work in the 5-10 year time frame. This phase of the process involves a lot of brainstorming, speculation and uncertainty. You will want to examine opportunities to reach new groups of students, reach current students in different ways, and improve quality. In addition, you need to look at possible threats to your department such as competition in quality, cost and convenience from other colleges and businesses.

With the above thoughts in mind, please address the following questions. Your committee's responses will be shared throughout the College via the EDGE web site. Let your narrative be as long as necessary to address all the issues raised by each question.

Phase I Report questions (opportunities and challenges)

Report Due Date: April 30th 1998

Directions:

1. Describe how you expect the increase in telecommunications to affect your department operations. How might things be different due to increasing computer power and networking?

2. Describe how you expect the changes in student demographics and changes in the labor market to impact your department operations. How will changes in the labor market, students age, interests, outside commitments, experiences outside of college, and expectations affect what you do?

3. How will increased competition from private schools, business training, and other institutions affect your department? Will you experience direct competition? Could you lose students or financing, or be unable to compete economically? Why do your "customers" keep coming to you, and what alternatives might they have in the future? Define your current customers and your role with them. Could your department function be outsourced, delivered from offsite? Do you have a monopoly or do your "customers" have viable choices? Is your market share static or decreasing? Where is the market growing?

4. How does the increasing rate of change in the world impact your department? Is it necessary to be more flexible, able to change quickly, and innovative?

5. What important question has not been asked? Give your answer.?

Make sure the public members of your committee and business and community leaders participate in the drafting and review of this report.

6. This section of the report is for the public member(s) response. Although the public members have participated in drafting the other responses, in this section they can further expand on any of the questions, offer support or dissent, and add their perspective. It is not necessary to respond to each question.

Phase II Report questions (solutions)

Report Due Date: September 15th 1998

Directions:

In this phase your department will brainstorm many possible solutions to the opportunities and challenges identified in phase I. Solutions could be minor adjustments to current practices or major restructuring of operations. The goal is to be first in quality, to regularly exceed the client's or student's expectations rather than apply temporary or band-aid fixes to a flawed process. This phase begins the decision making process of prioritizing the needs, goals, and solutions. Identify the most significant opportunities and threats, and rank them in priority order. List the possible solutions to each one and rank them in priority.

. The first Phase II task for your committee is to review the Phase I reports submitted by your colleagues in similar disciplines or on other campuses. Look for similar ideas and answers as well as for novel ideas that are not in your report. Considering the information from the other reports, revise your answers to Phase I questions as needed before starting on the Phase II questions.

1. What strategies are possible choices for your department to use in coping with anticipated changes in technology?

2. What strategies are possible choices for your department to use in coping with anticipated changes in student demographics?

3. What strategies are possible choices for your department to use in becoming more nimble to cope with the increasing rate of change?

4. Rank, in priority order, the changes, projects, or goals you feel are critical to your department's future success.

5. What important question has not been asked? Give your answer.?

6. This section of the report is for the public member(s) response. Although the public members have participated in drafting the other responses, in this section they can further expand on any of the questions, offer support or dissent, and add their perspective.

Phase III Report questions (action plans, timeline, budget)

New Report Due Date: January 29th 1999

Directions:

In this phase the department will build a case to justify the priorities determined in phase II. The unit will describe the best solutions to each priority and list in detail the steps needed to carry out the solutions. Attempt to budget for the solutions as they impact your department. Plan a realistic timeline to implement each of your proposed solutions.

1. Describe the benefits of carrying out each of your first three priorities from Phase II.

2. Describe the steps that must be taken within your department in order to carry out each of these initiatives. Describe the steps that must be taken outside your department in order to carry out each of these initiatives.

3. What possible obstacles might prevent these initiatives from being completed? How will you overcome these obstacles?

4. Describe a timeline to accomplish each step for each of the three top priority items.

5. Describe the consequences of not accomplishing your top goals (ex. lower success rate for students, lower enrollments, higher attrition).

6. Describe the budget necessary to accomplish each step in the process as listed above.

7. Describe the impact on the annual budget for your department once these goals have been accomplished.

8. What important question has not been asked? Give your answer.?

9. This section of the report is for the public member(s) response. Although the public members have participated in drafting the other responses, in this section they can further expand on any of the questions, offer support or dissent, and add their perspective.

Phase IV report questions (college wide supporting procedures and policies)

Report Due Date: February 25th, 1999

Directions:

1. Describe obstacles and difficulties you have encountered or anticipate in carrying out your plans from the previous phases. The items to address in this question are policies and procedures within the college but outside your department which affect your department's ability to be nimble and make innovations.

2. Describe how your dept. depends on services from other departments in the College to be more responsive and supportive to your clients. The justifications for responses here are to improve efficiency and quality, and reduce costs especially in relation to instruction and improve customer service.

3. Indicate the request which is your highest priority and describe why this is necessary and critical. What is the cost and lost opportunity for not making the change, and what are the cost savings (if any) and benefits anticipated by making the change?

4. What important question has not been asked? Give your answer.?

5. This section of the report is for the public member(s) response. Although the public members have participated in drafting the other responses, in this section they can further expand on any of the questions, offer support or dissent, and add their perspective.