Listening to the IUP community to create a new vision for our university.
Tell us what you think by participating in a group interview this summer.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania president Michael Driscoll announced when he took office in 2012 that he would engage all university stakeholders in developing a shared vision for the future of IUP. In an innovative approach, President Driscoll has enlisted students, under the direction of journalism professor Michele Papakie, to implement the strategic visioning project over the 2013 calendar year—“using the expertise of our own faculty and providing students with the hands-on learning experience for which IUP is known.”
Two Guiding Questions
President Driscoll is asking all stakeholders to share their views on two questions:
- What is it that makes IUP distinctive?
- What would you like to see IUP celebrate at its sesquicentennial celebration in 2025?
The student team has broken the process into the following steps:
Step 1: Research
Spring semester 2013
The spring SVP student team consisted of 30 students in Papakie’s Presentation Making class. They researched the vision, mission, core values, and strategic plan of each university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and examined PASSHE’s overall plan for the system.
Step 2: Preparing for group interviews
Spring semester 2013
The SVP Student Team learned how to facilitate interview groups and manage brainstorming sessions among students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, community leaders, and business owners. They also created a brief presentation that will explain the goal of each group interview.
Step 3: Conducting group interviews
Spring & Summer 2013
Time to conduct the interviews! The SVP Student Team is currently guiding group interview participants through a SWOT analysis exercise that will explore their perceptions of the ways IUP can capitalize on its strengths, diminish its weaknesses, maximize its opportunities, and limit the consequences of its external threats.
Interviewees will also be asked to share their thoughts on the two guiding questions.
Step 4: Qualitative analysis
Summer 2013
A team of 10 students are currently continuing the interviewing process of many and various IUP stakeholders through the summer. All the information gathered will be carefully documented and entered into qualitative analysis software.
Looking ahead to fall…
In the fall, Papakie plans to engage students in her Public Relations Campaigns course in the project. They’ll take the research and planning information gathered in the spring to the execution level of strategic visioning.
This blog will chronicle their reactions and reflections as they proceed through the facilitation process.
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