I am excited to announce the relaunch of MICA’s strategic planning process, share some key information, and invite you to participate in a survey to help prioritize MICA’s 2022-2027 objectives.

MICA’s 2022 strategic planning process resumes and updates the campus community’s productive planning work from 2018 to 2020 that, if not disrupted by the ongoing pandemic beginning in early 2020, would have yielded a strategic plan for 2021-2026. The updated Plan will now cover 2022-2027. The final draft of the updated Plan is scheduled for review on October 21 this year by the Board of Trustees, which has the ultimate approval authority. Once adopted, the plan will serve as MICA’s roadmap for institutional development over the next five years, guiding the College through its bicentennial celebration in 2026.

 

The Strategic Plan Framework, previously developed through a highly inclusive and participatory process, remains valid. MICA’s Strategic Plan 2022-2027 (“Plan”) will center on one Overarching Goal that emphasizes the College’s focus on transformative teaching and learning and on positioning our strategic priorities in service of our academic mission. Four Themes constitute the pillars of the Plan.

 

Committed for diligent implementation, the Plan will observe the SMART principles (Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Audacious/Assignable, Realistic/Relevant/Resourced, and Time-bound/Team-based/Transparent). It will be a living plan that will be monitored, evaluated, and adjusted annually.

 

A reader-friendly 2-page Schematic Plan Summary provides the basics of planning background and the key substance of the current Plan draft priorities. You may also wish to visit the FAQ (frequently asked questions) page. Relevant 2022-2027 strategic planning materials can be found at the 2022-2027 Strategic Planning website and will continue to build as the planning process unfolds.

 

After reviewing the Schematic Plan Summary, please share your thoughts via this survey regarding three questions that will help to update MICA’s 2022-2027 planning priorities:

The survey will be open from February 18 through March 7. Your input will inform the campus community’s conversations at a Pan-College Convening on March 9 where faculty, staff, students, and trustees will mix to discuss the updating of MICA’s strategic priorities. Alumni and parents will be engaged again for additional surveys and Plan draft reviews later this year.

 

Faculty, staff, students, and trustees, please mark your calendar for a virtual Pan-College Convening on Strategic Planning on Wednesday, March 9, from 10 a.m. to noon EST.

 

The ideas and insights collected from the survey described above will help shape our conversations and exchange at this convening, which will in turn guide us into more focused planning work starting in March.

 

More information and an RSVP invitation for the March 9 meeting will be sent out the second part of next week. Please reserve the time slot on your calendar for now if you are available to attend. There is no perfect time for everyone on campus; for those who have conflicts with the March 9 time, there will be other opportunities to harness your contributions.

As with the successful articulation processes of the MICA mission and vision in 2017 and the planning work from late 2018 to early 2020, the current planning update will again be guided by the principles of transparency, inclusive campus engagement, internal and external resonance, and balance between expediency and process. Engagement methods will be varied for optimal effectiveness.

 

In consideration of everyone’s workload and in keeping with the institutional promise to keep the 2022 planning update a streamlined process, this work has been intentionally structured to be not burdensome for participants. It will broadly and deeply seek input so that our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan will reflect the hopes, aspirations, and commitments of our community.

 

Thank you in advance for your contributions to MICA’s 2022-2027 strategic planning!