Perceptions held by selected Mmbers of the Wayne Community College Planning Council about their Prticipation in the Strategic Planning Pocess at Wayne Community College

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the perceptions held by Planning Council members about their experiences in participating in Wayne Community Colleges strategic planning process. Generally, Council members viewed their experiences as positive and indicated that they valued the opportunity to serve on the College's Planning Council. They attributed their positive experiences to several factors, including having an opportunity to provide inputs in the process, becoming more knowledgeable about a wide array of the College's programs and communicating the plans of their respective program areas to fellow Council members. Council members reported changes in their understanding of the strategic planning process as they acquired additional experiences in implementing the process.

While Council members seemed aware of, and committed to, the College's strategic planning process, the information that they shared indicate that their greatest involvement was at the program level implementing the several subprocesses of the strategic planning process. These subprocesses are: environmental scanning; including data collection analysis and interpretation; needs assessment; formulation of goals and objectives;development of strategies for implementing the objectives; and the development of plans for assessing or measuring outcomes. For the most part, Council members viewed strategic planning at the institutional level to be the responsibility of the College's administrators. Council members connected planning at their program levels to institutional level planning. Moreover, they viewed these strategic plans developed for their respective programs as the College's principal means for implementing its overall strategic plan.

Council members reported that lack of time and the lack of preparation to engage in strategic planning were impediments to their perceived effectiveness in implementing the College's strategic planning process. They felt that the college needed to aid them in acquiring a better understanding of the strategic planning process and skills that will facilitate their engagement in the process.

The findings of this study yield insights about Council members' experiences acquired in implementing the several subprocesses encompassed in Wayne Community College's strategic planning process. Significantly, they perceived that their greatest involvement in these subprocesses occured at their respective program level rather than at the institutional level. These findings imply that Council members' involvement in the College's total strategic planning process is limited. Additional research is necessary to determine whether Council members are fully informed about and, importantly, are provided opportunities to contribute fully to the College's strategic planning process.