THE TALENTS ENTRUSTED TO OUR CARE:
A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR MUHLENBERG

• The President's Staff gathered and analyzed information for consideration by the PPG.
• The PPG weighed information and recommendations, posed further questions, revised and (ultimately) approved fundamental planning documents (principles, goals, values, mission statement, etc.), and proposed priorities.
• The Board of Trustees, both through its standing committees and meeting as a Committee of the Whole, reviewed planning principles and fundamental documents, considered major financial assumptions (such as student charges, debt levels, enrollment targets), and weighed priorities proposed by the PPG. Final approval of the plan is the responsibility of the Board.

In addition, the process reached out to members of the Muhlenberg community by various means and on many occasions throughout the year, including reports at faculty meetings, alumni and parent gatherings in 16 cities around the country, campus forums with faculty, students, staff, and alumni, and conversations with community and business leaders through the Muhlenberg Board of Associates. Throughout the process, faculty, staff, students, parents, and Trustees were encouraged to follow and comment upon the planning dialogue through regular posting of key documents and PPG meeting summaries on the planning website ( http://www.muhlenberg.edu/committees/stratplanning/), e-mail bulletins, and articles in Muhlenberg magazine. The President's Staff, PPG, and Board of Trustees gave such input serious consideration at multiple stages during the process, often modifying drafts of key documents and readjusting priorities as a result of suggestions from members of the community.

The completion and acceptance of the plan will require the substantive engagement of other important groups in operational planning to implement specific initiatives of the plan. These groups include standing committees of the faculty, student leaders, and ad hoc committees or task forces organized by the President to provide recommendations on the implementation of specific initiatives.

1. The first stage of the planning process included the development of four fundamental planning documents:
• a new mission statement;
• a set of planning principles;
• a vision statement and set of strategic goals
• a statement of institutional values.

After extensive discussion by the President's Staff, PPG, and Board of Trustees, these documents were posted for comment on the strategic planning website and discussed at a number of forums for alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and members of the Allentown community throughout the winter and early spring. Extensive feedback resulted in numerous drafts and, ultimately, in the considerably strengthened final versions found in this plan.

2. The second stage involved a review of the College's various operational areas, including the academic program, academic services, international study, the Wescoe School, student life, facilities and technology, religious life, enrollment, public relations, development, human resources, and others. In each of these areas the PPG reviewed comparable data from our benchmark institutions, considered Muhlenberg's strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and approved planning principles specific to that operational area. These materials were further reviewed by appropriate Trustee committees and, in the case of the academic program, academic services and, some aspects of enrollment by the Board Committee of the Whole. Summaries of these operational analyses were posted on the planning website for community comment.
   
   

3. The third stage of the process included presentations to the President's Staff and the PPG of strategic initiatives representing each operational area's possible contributions to advancing the College's mission and addressing the strategic goals articulated during stage one of the process. An overview of these proposed initiatives was published on the planning website and, during the late spring and early summer of 2004 extensive comments and advice were received from faculty, staff, and students and considered by the President's Staff and the PPG in preparing proposals for the Board of Trustees.
   
   

4. The fourth stage entailed a detailed review by the President's Staff and the PPG of the costs of the proposed strategic initiatives within the context of a ten-year budget model (see below, Section IX The Financial Plan) that weighed anticipated revenues and fund raising results against possible costs. This process required difficult choices, but was made easier by the community's earlier agreement on strategic planning principles, strategic goals, and our institutional mission and values, all of which guided the priority-setting process. The proposals resulting from these deliberations were then referred to the Trustee Committee of the Whole which, after a daylong planning retreat (June 17-18, 2004), approved them unanimously. These proposals form the core of this plan.
   
   

5. The fifth stage of the process is ongoing during the summer and fall of 2004. Alumni and parents, as well as faculty and staff, were apprised of the emerging themes of the plan in the Summer 2004 issue of Muhlenberg magazine. A draft of the plan was reviewed by the President's Staff and PPG in August and will be shared with faculty, staff, students, and Trustees for discussion at a campus forum in September and at the October Board meeting. After revisions resulting from these discussions have been incorporated into the next draft of the plan, we anticipate final approval at the January Board meeting.

C. Implementation and Assessment
This plan is strategic, not operational. It deliberately sketches broad strategies, suggests institutional directions, and sets financial priorities. At the same time, if it was unclear whether a specific initiative was strategic or tactical, this plan errs on the side of inclusiveness. The plan should not and will not override the prerogatives of the faculty, which, through its committees, must consider and amend or approve some of the initiatives suggested in the plan. Neither will the plan overlook the important continuing role of student leaders and members of the staff in the process of implementation. Operational plans for the implementation of other initiatives in the plan will be the responsibility of various College committees, faculty, and staff.

Several initiatives, deemed to be high priority, approved by the Board, and/or falling within the prerogatives of the administration, have already been launched. These include, for example, an increased investment in the Development operation, an optional program of faculty development for service learning, market research into community development, and time-sensitive planning for facilities projects.

Regular assessment of Muhlenberg's progress is essential to the success of the plan and, ultimately, to the continued success of the College. This assessment will take several forms:

1. The goals themselves must be assessed at least annually. As the future reveals itself we must assure ourselves that we have chosen the right goals, and that changing circumstances have not altered our commitment to these goals, the priority we assign them, or our ability to achieve them. While goals that have been articulated through careful deliberation and consultation should not be changed capriciously or autocratically, we must remain open and flexible. A good strategic plan is never carved in stone.
   
   

2. The assumptions on which our financial model is based must be assessed at least annually, and budget adjustments made to assure that we can continue to afford the implementation of the plan.
   
   
3. We should monitor at least annually the progress of the various faculty committees and offices of the College in developing and implementing operational plans to bring strategic initiatives to reality.
   
   
4. The effectiveness of strategic initiatives, once implemented, in achieving our strategic goals must also be reviewed at least annually. This may be achieved, at least in part, by the development of agreed upon management metrics that measure Muhlenberg's academic and fiscal progress.
   
   
5. The College will strive to create a culture of planning and assessment to ensure that such activities are ongoing and become institutionalized. The implementation of the Board of Observers Visiting Committee program, approved by the Trustees in January, 2004, and enthusiastically supported by the faculty in a series of departmental meetings with President Helm and then-Interim Dean Hass during the 2003 fall semester, will play an important role in developing this culture.