Strategic planning is a “deliberative, disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, what it does, and why” (Bryson 2011, 7–9). We “plan strategically” to clarify and align our goals, ensure continuity of effort toward them, and establish KPIs to help us meet them. In other words, we do strategic planning because it will help us decide what the University of Wyoming should be doing, why we should be doing it, and how it will be accomplished. UW’s regional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, also outlines in accreditation Criterion 1 that UW should articulate our mission publicly and clearly, and operationalize that mission. A strategic plan accomplishes this as we adopt and implement the plan.
