Services
Strategic Planning
Effective strategic planning is the lynchpin for successful management of educational institutions in our rapidly changing world. The Stevens Strategy five-phased strategic planning process has been proven successful at numerous colleges, universities and schools whether they are large or small, public or independent. Our process encourages the president and board to lead their institution in developing its vision and strategy, yet it also provides a process that allows the whole community--its faculty, staff, students, alumni and others--to take ownership of the plan through extensive involvement in its development. The consistent achievement of both these objectives (executive leadership and broad ownership) while producing a sound and compelling strategic plan is a feat that distinguishes the Stevens Strategy process.The five strategic planning phases include:
I - Process Design
II - Response to Strategic Issues
III - Strategic Agenda Development
IV - Operational Planning, and
V - Implementation.
We can work with your institution through some or all five phases, depending on your needs, to develop and achieve the path to your desired future.
Strategic Governance
Governing your institution strategically starts at the top of the organization...and the bottom...and everywhere else. We can help your Board learn to govern strategically, focusing on high level policy and the measurement of key areas of institutional performance. And we can work with your whole institution to determine what internal governance and management structures and systems for collaboration, communicaiton and decision-making will serve it most effectively. We help boards of trustees, senior administrators, faculty and staff understand their domains of authority and roles in a sound system of shared governance. Our experienced consultants can help your institution improve its capacity for making big strategic decisions effectively and quickly, as required by a rapidly-changing marketplace.Focused Strategic Analysis
In addition to comprehensive strategic planning, we work closely with our clients in providing a variety of strategic analyses that focus on selected areas within the institution, specific issues, or unique planning scenarios. We apply the principles of our comprehensive strategic planning process to particular institutional needs to enable institutional leadership to evaluate the environment, think strategically and make significant decisions about the future with confidence and alacrity. Click on the link below for examples of focused strategic analyses.Financial Analysis and Planning
Through financial planning, we guide you in the preparation of comprehensive plans for financial operations, reporting systems, benchmarking and other methods to manage your finances more effectively. Our Financial Planning Model predicts institutional income and expense over periods of five years. It is a fixed and variable income/cost model that is designed to respond to all the relevant financial planning assumptions at your campus. We design and test the model, using your historical audted financial information. Our Revenue Center Analysis system identifies the divisions or schools that generate cash for your institution and those that use it, showing the way to making thoughtful resource allocation decisions.Institution-wide Policy Manual Development
Our Policy Manual service consists of the organization and preparation of a systematized and comprehensive policy manual suitable for searchable use on an institution's Intranet. This allows all members of the campus community to have access to a consistent, "living" policy manual in which there is only one policy on each addressed topic. An institution-wide policy manual gives an institution a greater ability to mitigate risk, enhance stakeholder relationships and otherwise allow for smooth administrative operations.
Each policy manual we create is individually tailored to meet the needs of our higher education clients. We typically work with our clients to organize policies into discrete Volumes, such as those described below:
Volume I - Governance and Administration Policies
Volume II - Campus Community Policies
Volume III - General Institutional Employment Policies
Volume IV - Faculty Personnel Policies
Volume V - Staff and Administrator Personnel Policies
Volume VI - Academic Policies
Volume VII - Student Policies