institutional three-year strategic plan...

Institutional Three-Year Strategic Plan

2017-2019

Version 01

-Office of Strategic Planning-

Last Update: August 21, 2016

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University of the People

225 S. Lake Ave., Suite 300

Pasadena, CA 91101

Tel. +1 626 264 8880

www.uopeople.edu

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Contents

UoPeople’s Strategic Planning Approach ......................................................................................... 5

Rationale ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Scope ............................................................................................................................................. 5

Benefit ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Leadership ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Process and Stages ........................................................................................................................ 6

Vision, Mission and Values ............................................................................................................... 8

UoPeople’s Vision ......................................................................................................................... 8

UoPeople’s Mission ....................................................................................................................... 8

UoPeople’s Values ........................................................................................................................ 8

Opportunity ............................................................................................................................... 8

Community ................................................................................................................................ 8

Integrity ..................................................................................................................................... 8

Quality ....................................................................................................................................... 9

Institutional Strategic Goals– High Level Overview ........................................................................ 10

Attract and retain students ......................................................................................................... 10

Promote academic excellence .................................................................................................... 11

Expand Institutional Capacity ..................................................................................................... 11

Increase Job Preparedness and Opportunities for Students ...................................................... 11

Implementation .............................................................................................................................. 12

Attract and Retain Students ........................................................................................................ 12

Objective 1.1: Strengthen global student recruiting capabilities, including advanced digital

marketing support .................................................................................................................. 12

Objective 1.2: Evaluate, fine-tune and implement new admission pathway......................... 13

Objective 1.3: Develop additional channels and programs to recruit students, including

Transfer Credit ........................................................................................................................ 14

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Objective 1.4: Develop the Program Advising function .......................................................... 15

Objective 1.5: Expand availability of scholarships .................................................................. 16

Promote academic excellence .................................................................................................... 17

Objective 2.1: Invest in faculty skills and development ......................................................... 17

Objective 2.2: Evaluate and implement innovative instructional strategies ......................... 18

Objective 2.3: Strengthen academic programs ...................................................................... 19

Expand Institutional Capacity ..................................................................................................... 20

Objective 3.1: Develop and implement formal, streamlined and automated procedures for all

key institutional departments ................................................................................................ 20

Objective 3.2: Develop staffing adequate for scaling up, and ensuring effective management

capacity ................................................................................................................................... 21

Objective 3.3: Accelerate technology implementation to improve efficiency and reduce

manual work ........................................................................................................................... 22

Objective 3.4 Reduce operational risk .................................................................................... 23

Increase Job Preparedness and Opportunities for Students ...................................................... 24

Objective 4.1: Develop Career Services framework ............................................................... 24

Objective 4.2: Introduce new curricula opportunities in areas of high demand ................... 25

Objective 4.3: Develop an alumni network ............................................................................ 26

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UOPEOPLE’S STRATEGIC PLANNING APPROACH

RATIONALE Strategic planning is a management tool for improving institutional performance by aligning

internal personnel and departmental goals with key institutional goals. The practice of strategic

planning brings the entire institution together to function as a single organization, and forms a

bridge between where an institution is currently and where it hopes to be in the future. Strategic

planning differs from traditional planning in that it is a process that actively brings about change

through internal and external analysis; by balancing past, current and speculative conditions; by

seeking broad input from all levels of the institution; and by re-evaluating conditions on a regular

basis. The process is able to guarantee this not only by identifying goals, but also by laying out a

concrete plan of action to achieve them.

SCOPE The strategic planning process addresses key focual areas of the entire institution for the 2017-

2019 period. These focual areas have a potentially significant impact on the level in which the

university accomplishes its mission, and require concentrated efforts from the institution as a

whole, including human and financial resources.

BENEFIT The strategic planning process benefits the institution by creating structured processes that

create efficient collaboration among relevant stakeholders to optimize the identification and

agreement upon priorities and strategic themes. It also ensures the higher focus of the

institution’s limited resources on those activities which actively contribute to accomplishing

UoPeople’s mission.

LEADERSHIP The Vice President of Strategic Planning

The VP of Strategic Planning ensures the operation of the entire Strategic Planning Cycle. The VP

of Strategic Planning works closely with the institutional leadership to set a clear long-term

vision, which provides the context within which they will determine their own appropriate plans

of action.

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THE INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE

The Institutional Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by UoPeople’s VP of Strategic Planning, is

responsible for reviewing the Strategic Plan progress reports on an annual basis and directing any

required changes and corrective actions. The Strategic Planning Committee members include

theuniversity’s VP of Strategic Planning, the Provost, the Vice Provost, the CFO, the Senior VP of

Operations, the Senior VP of Enrollment, and UoPeople’s Advisor for Online Learning.

PROCESS AND STAGES The strategic planning process involves assessing internal and external environments;

determining the best response to conditions described through the analysis; identifying

assumptions about future conditions; identifying critical issues that must be addressed;

reaffirming the institution's vision, mission and values, and aligning goals accordingly; developing

action plans to implement goals and strategic indicators to monitor progress; and finally,

communicating the plan to all stakeholders and the public.

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The strategic planning process includes five phases, as described in the table below:

Step Key Activities

Step 1: Current State Analysis

A study of baseline information

Collection of supporting data (wherever necessary)

SWOT analysis

Review of UoPeople's Mission, Vision, Goals and Values

and Business Plan

Step 2: Future State Analysis

Analysis of gaps between current state with Vision,

Mission, Goals, Values and Business Plan

Step 3: Determining Strategic

Themes and Appropriate

Strategies

Based on output of Step 2, mapping of issues that may

have a strategic impact over the ability of the institution

to execute its plans

Determining priorities and agreeing upon a set of goals

to be addressed

Step 4: Implementation and

Deployment

Breaking down the strategic themes into specific

objectives, resources and timelines forming a structured

institutional work plan

Identifying strategic indicators to monitor progress

Integration and harmonization of the Strategic Plan with

the Business Plan

Communicating the strategic work plan to the

organization

Step 5: Monitoring and

Evaluation

Annual reporting of key performance indicators

Review of progress by the Institutional Strategic

Planning Committee

Annual action planning based on progress

Updating of the plan, asnecessary

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VISION, MISSION AND VALUES

UOPEOPLE’S VISION The University of the People (UoPeople) believes that access to higher education is a key

ingredient in the promotion of world peace and global economic development. The university

views higher education as a basic right, and believes that it can both transform the lives of

individuals and be an important force for societal change. UoPeople believes that education plays

a fundamental role in strengthening respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well

as in promoting understanding and tolerance.

UOPEOPLE’S MISSION The mission of UoPeople is to offer affordable, quality, online, degree-granting educational

programs to any qualified student worldwide.

UOPEOPLE’S VALUES

Opportunity

UoPeople is based on the belief that education at a minimal cost is a basic right for all qualified

applicants, not just for a privileged few. The university works to open the gates of higher

education to qualified students anywhere in the world by offering its programs through distance

learning and by making this opportunity affordable.

Community

UoPeople creates a global community by making its academic programs, educational services,

and employment opportunities available to qualified individuals from all over the world, and by

providing learning opportunities that engage students and faculty from diverse backgrounds.

Integrity

UoPeople grounds its institutional culture in candor, transparency and best professional

practices, and expects all students, faculty, staff, and administrators to uphold the highest

standards of personal integrity, honesty and responsibility. Additionally, the university expects its

students to take responsibility for their education, and to pursue their studies diligently and with

seriousness of purpose.

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Quality

UoPeople provides a high-quality, online liberal arts education suitable in scope and depth to the

challenges of the 21st century. The university assesses and evaluates all aspects of its academic

model on an ongoing basis.

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INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGIC GOALS– HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW

Through an extensive self-study, UoPeople has identified four strategic goals for the institution in

this planning cycle:

Goal 1: Attract and retain students

Goal 2: Promote academic excellence

Goal 3: Expand institutional capacity

Goal 4: Increase job preparedness and opportunities for students

ATTRACT AND RETAIN STUDENTS UoPeople aims to create a real impact; inorder toto achieve this, to the university must attract an

increasing number of students and ensure a high level of retention.

The following table describes UoPeople’s projected number of students for the coming years:

Academic Year Number of students

2017 9,500

2018 22,000

2019 47,000

Key objectives for AY2017 - AY2019 to achieve this strategic goal include:

Strengthening global student recruiting capabilities, including advanced digital marketing

support

Evaluating, fine-tune and implement a new admissions pathway

Developing additional channels and programs to recruit students, including transfer credit

recognition

Developing the Program Advising function

Expanding availability of scholarships

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PROMOTE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE UoPeople recognizes that academic excellence is fundamental to the university’s success in

accomplishing of its mission and fulfilling its vision. Key objectives for AY2017 - AY2019 include:

Investing in faculty skills and development

Evaluating and implement innovative instructional strategies

Strengthening academic programs

EXPAND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY Expanding the university’s institutional capacity is essential to enable the expected student body

growth. Key objectives to support this goal for AY2017 - AY2019 include:

Developing and implement formal, streamlined and automated procedures for all key

institutional departments including – Program Advising, Student Services, Instructor

recruitment and administration, HR, Finance, and others.

Developing staffing adequate for scaling up, and ensuring effective management capacity

Accelerating technology implementation to improve efficiency and reduce manual work

Reducing operational risk

INCREASE JOB PREPAREDNESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS Increasing job preparedness and opportunities for students is the forth strategic goal of the

university for the coming years. UoPeople is not only committed to a quality education, but to

preparing its graduates to manage their careers successfully. Key objectives to support this goal

for AY2017 through AY2019 include:

Developing a Career Services framework, including a training program, mentorship and

internship programs, and job sharing network

Introducing new curricula opportunities in areas of high demand

Developing an alumni network

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IMPLEMENTATION

ATTRACT AND RETAIN STUDENTS

Objective 1.1: Strengthen global student recruiting capabilities, including advanced

digital marketing support

Background

According to the current business plan, UoPeople’s expected annual growth for the years AY2017

- AY2019 is approximatly 100%.

To meet this target, UoPeople set the goal of strengthening its global recruiting capabilities, as

one of its top priorities for the coming years.

Strengths Focus Areas

Strong digital presence, including 1.17

million Facebook followers and 3.2 million

views of UoPeople's President’s Ted Talk

Well-established marketing department

An engaged volunteer network and student

body, committed to helping the university

to grow, through spreading UoPeople’s

message, and becoming ambassadors of its

mission and vision

Assess and implement new, innovative

online marketing approaches and tools

Expand the marketing function capacity and

capabilities of the university

Leverage the current volunteer network

and student body, particularly in developing

countries

Find new ways to enhance the word-of-

mounth marketing, including on-ground

collaborations

Key Milestones

Update the Institutional Marketing and Student Recruitment Plans, which will set the strategy

and approach to meet the university’s growth targets over the coming years (by mid-AY2017).

Meeting the university’s Student Recruitment targets, as set in the Business Plan for AY2017 -

AY2019.

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Objective 1.2: Evaluate, fine-tune and implement new admissions pathway

Background

UoPeople is undergoing a major change in the way new students are admitted to the institution.

The new admissions approach, which is in a pilot stage since Term 5, AY2016, allows prospective

students to go through a real student experience, by taking two foundational courses. In addition,

during this period, UoPeople’s dedicated staff, works closely with the prospective students, in

completing the administrative admission requirements.

By implementing this new approach, UoPeople hopes to improve not only the number of new

admitted students, but most importantly, to ensure that students are well-suited to the relevant

program requirements.


The university’s institutional infrastructures

were adapted to the new approach

(including information systems, catalog,

etc. ) and staff has been trained

New approach is in its pilot stage

Measure the new admissions pathway

approach, and understand its impact on

admissions and retention

Implement adjustments and improvements,

as needed

Key Milestones

Prepare a comprehensive study report that explores the impact of the new admissions

pathway on key institutional KPI's, and provide recommendations for improvement – by end

of AY2017

Implement recommended improvements by the end of AY2018

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Objective 1.3: Develop additional channels and programs to recruit students,

including Transfer Credit Recognition

Background

UoPeople is constantly looking for additional channels and sources to recruit new students. This

can not only help the university to meet its growth target, but also help it to reach new

populations which can benefit from UoPeople’s offerings.


UoPeople’s experienced staff, has the

knowledge and expertise to establish

programs such as Transfer Credit

Recognition

UoPeople’s respected brand opens doors

for partnerships

Develop the required infrastructure for a

Transfer Credit program, in a cost-effective

way

Key Milestones

Finalize a plan for implementing Transfer Credit program – mid-AY2017

Implement the plan by mid-AY2018

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Objective 1.4: Develop the Program Advising function

Background

To increase retention, UoPeople began the process of implementing the role of Program

Advising. The Program Advisor’s role is to serve as a single point-of-contact for students. Program

Advisors are expected to apply a proactive approach, and ensure that students get all the support

required for them to continue their studies.


An established function, with over 30

employees and managers

Clear processes and working procedures

are in place

Must develop the technology needed to

empower Program Advisors, by providing

them aggregated information about

student activity

Key Milestones

Develop a technology roadmap for Program Advising by mid-AY2017

Complete core elements by End of AY2017

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Objective 1.5: Expand availability of scholarships

Background

One of the main challenges for the university’s expansion is a lack of available scholarships, as

there are a growing number of qualified prospective students on a waiting list for suitable

scholarships.

UoPeople is committed to focusing efforts on raising necessary funds for scholarships.


Established institutional fundraising

capabilities

Strong base of foundations and companies

who have granted scholarships to UoPeople

students, such as Hofman Foundation, HP

and Microsoft

Continuously focus on raising funds for

scholarships

Key Milestones

Develop a fundraising plan by mid–AY2017

Substentially Increase scholarship by end of AY2018

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PROMOTE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Objective 2.1: Invest in faculty skills and development

Background

UoPeople sees the quality of its faculty as a major element of its academic excellence.

Since the business plan suggests fast growing faculty numbers (over 1,200 by AY2019), it is critical

that UoPeople will have the capacity in place to train and develop the faculty.


Well established Provost Office, capable of

leading internal improvement programs

Strong technology capabilities

Develop processes, infrastructure and

capabilities to train and develop hundreds

of new instructors each year

Key Milestones

Develop faculty management framework and roadmap by mid– AY2017

Execute roadmap in phasesstarting AY2017, through AY2019

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Objective 2.2: Evaluate and implement innovative instructional strategies

Background

Over the last years, UoPeople has standardized, proven instructional methodologies.

A major consideration was, and still is, providing access to all students, even in countries where

broad-band connectivity to the Internet may not be available.

Due to some global changes such as the increasing availability of mobile Internet, UoPeople

considers reassessing its strategy regarding this matter.


Proven, consistent and simple instructional

methodology

Insights and experience gained through

over 8 years of operation

Discover, evaluate and implement new

instructional strategies

Key Milestones

Develop a recommendation and implementation roadmap for UoPeople’s future instructional

strategy by the end of AY2017

Execute roadmap in phasesstarting AY2018, through AY2019

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Objective 2.3: Strengthen academic programs

Background

During AY2017, UoPeople introduced three new programs, which brings the total number of its

available programs to seven.

UoPeople is looking to strengthen its existing programs by continuously improving their quality.


Relatively small number of programs,

allowing UoPeople team to focus more on

each program

Consciously evaluating and improving

existing programs

Key Milestones

Conduct annual review cycle of existing programs AY2017 through AY2019

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EXPAND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY

Objective 3.1: Develop and implement formal, streamlined and automated

procedures for all key institutional departments

Background

UoPeople must prepare itself for the accelerated increase in the number of its students, expected

in the upcoming years.

While scaling up, UoPeople must ensure quality, consistency and efficiency across all student

administration processes.


Top academic and administration experts

are engaged with UoPeople as employees,

consultants or as volunteers.

World class, highly flexible technology

infrastructure, allowing rapid development

of tools and applications to automate

processes.

Focus areas include institutional functions

that are involved in high-volume

administration, such as program advising

and faculty administration.

Key Milestones

Establishment of organizational effectiveness function early AY2017

Establishing improvement team for each area and develop a work plan and methodology

(probably Kaizen), by mid AY2017

Ongoing improvement and stabilization cycles until AY2019

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Objective 3.2: Develop staffing adequate for scaling up, and ensure effective

management capacity

Background

In the next few years, UoPeople is planning to transform itself and become a large-scale, global,

online institution. Such a transformation requires a highly competent management team that can

manage all aspects of the change effectively, and adjust itself to new types of management

challenges presented.

This will be achieved by developing the exsiting team and streanghening it, by hiring additional

leaders with proven experience and qualifications.


Diverese and highly experience institutional

management

Develop and formalize talent management

plan

Key Milestones

Develop and maintain a cohesive talent management plan, covering aspecst such as

succession, planning, skills development, and hiring, in correlation with the business plan,

until mid 2017.

Execute the talent management plan through AY2019.

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Objective 3.3: Accelerate technology implementation to improve efficiency and

reduce manual work

Background

The daily operations of managing a university typically require intensive resources and a large

number of personnel to manage the numerous issues and concerns.

Driven by its mission of providing affordable education, UoPeople seeks to achieve a high level of

automation of its administrative processes in order to keep manpower costs minimal.

The core elements of this architecture include:

Core Student Administration System - built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. UoPeople's team

uses this system to manage the full student life cycle including admission, courses, grades,

SAP, fees and graduation. It requires minimal resources to monitor the system

Learning environment - built on Moodle


Durable, state-of-the-art, cloud

infrastructure that manages the full student

life cycle within the institution – from

application to graduation.

Integrated, synchronized solutions

Experienced and stable R&D team

Technology coverage around areas such as

alumni management and instructor

management

Developself-service capabilities for students

and instructors

Key Milestones

Develop 3 year technology strategy and roadmap by Mid-2017

Execute roadmap from AY2018, through AY2019

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Objective 3.4 Reduce operational risk

Background

The continuous growth in the number of UoPeople’s student body increases the complexity of

the university's operation and administration.

UoPeople is committed to managing its risks systematically, to reduce the probability for any

negative impact on its operation, once a risk is realized.


Experienced leadership that can plan and

execute an institutional risk management

program

Manage technology risks

Manage talent risks

Manage compliance risks

Key Milestones

Nominate an Institutional Risk Management Officer early AY2018.

Develop institutional risk management and mitigation roadmap, by mid-AY2018

Execute the roadmapthrough end of AY2019

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INCREASE JOB PREPAREDNESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

Objective 4.1: Develop Career Services framework

Background

UoPeople leadership sees helping students to understand the job market and successfully plan

their careers as part of its institutional mission.

In the coming years, the number of graduates will grow significantly and the institution must

develop its career services offerings.

Strengths Improvement Areas

UoPeople has a well-defined framework for

implementing career services for students.

This framework was developed by

UoPeople’s teams over the last 3 years.

While the framework has been

implemented, it is still in pilot stage, so the

main focus for the upcoming years will be

on evaluation and improvement of the

existing framework.

Key Milestones

Develop updated implementation roadmap by mid-AY2017

Execute on plan from mid-AY2017, through AY2019

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Objective 4.2: Introduce new curricula opportunities in areas of high demand

Background

Recently, UoPeople added three new programs, bringing the total number of its available

programs to seven.

UoPeople is careful in expanding its program offerings, to avoid the investment and operational

complexity involved in such expansion.

However, in a timeframe of approximately 2 years, UoPeople will consider renewing its focus on

adding more programs to its portfolio, to meet new areas of high demand, assuming it has

acheived financial sustainability.


Flexible infrastructure, allowing the

university to accommodate additional

programs with relative ease

Identifying new high-demand areas

Adding suitable institutional resources to

lead the expansion program

Key Milestones

Present short-list of top 2-3 recommended programs, by end of AY2017

Develop a Development and Implementation Plan by mid–AY2018

Yea or Nay decision, budgeting and planning, by end of AY2018

Development of new academic program(s) through AY2019 and AY2019

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Objective 4.3: Develop an alumni network

Background

An alumni network is an essential component of the echo-system of any mature institution.

While the number of UoPeople graduates grows, UoPeople will dedicate resources to establishing

and maintaining its alumni network.


Engaged, committed student body

Strong technology capabilities, including an

active social network

Improve UoPeople alumni program

Key Milestones

Present concept and implementation roadmap by end of AY2017

Implementation roadmap in phases from AY2018, through AY2019

institutional three-year strategic plan...

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