Strategic Planning for Internationalization in Higher Education, a publication by AIEA, introduces the history of strategic planning in higher education and provides a helpful definition which states: “A strategic plan is ideally developed through an inclusive, collective process through which the participants develop a mission and a set of priorities to move the college or university toward an aspirational, but attainable, future state…” (p 4). It goes on to stress the importance of strong leadership, faculty input, utilizing data and measurements to inform objectives and track progress, and investing time to develop consensus in a decentralized environment.
A case study of issues of strategy implementation in internationalization of higher education looks at the challenges that a UK institution faced when implementing their internationalization plan. Focusing on internal challenges such as coordination and fear of change, they conducted one on one interviews with the leadership, faculty, and marketing teams. Unsurprisingly, “resource allocation” was a concern shared by all three teams, especially financial resources, which is an ever-present constraint throughout many aspects of education.
One thing I thought was interesting was that the availability of staff resources was viewed differently among the different groups. While faculty, the people on the ground dealing with increased workload, were concerned about having enough manpower and time to complete tasks during the busy times, the leadership team did not think this should be a problem, as they viewed these resources as already having been allocated during the planning phase. Jiang and Carpenter (2011) sum it up well by noting, “The potential reason for this discord is that the corporate group is responsible for strategy formulation, rather than strategy implementation” (p 9). I think this example is illustrative as it also encompasses other issues discussed in the reading including cooperation and communication. Additionally, leadership being unaware of volume and complexity of staff duties is not unique to education.
It is important that institutions apply AIEA’s definition of strategic planning so that it is truly “an inclusive, collective process” where representatives from various departments and levels are involved in strategic planning. Fear of change, risks to institutional reputation, and external factors such as visa regulations and other governmental policies are also factors that can impede internationalization on campus. In order to overcome these challenges, the authors suggest more staff training and professional development, increased communication to ensure common values when internationalizing, and more cross-departmental cooperation.
Baruch’s Global Strategic Plan 2014-2019 was easily my favorite reading this week. Baruch’s comprehensive global plan included initiatives such as international student recruitment, increasing study abroad, and encouraging faculty collaboration. Not only did we get to see the recommendations from the previous readings put into action, but it is great to know that the institution where I will earn my master’s degree is making the effort to invest in a global strategic plan that is comprehensive and closely linked to the overall strategic plan of the university. One example suggested by AIEA is the benefit of targeting specific countries for internationalization initiatives, which Baruch did expertly, not only by providing a comprehensive list of current global initiatives, but also identifying “Country Commitments” where future resources and efforts will be focused. I also liked that Baruch’s internationalization strategic plan ended each section with plans for measurement and evaluation of its goals.