Yearly Plan vs. Five-year Plan
We do end of the year meetings to review our Yearly Plan but never have done it on a five-year Plan basis. Why is so important a 5 year-plan, besides giving a sense of being here for the long run, are there other benefits? Isn't a yearly plan more up to date?
Which one is better?
Thanks!
Hi Vicky, Your comments generated a few ideas. Just wondering why you wait until the end of the year to review your yearly plan. We think that a plan should be visited more often so if you are off course then corrections can be made. Good question about why a 5 year plan rather than just year to year plans. Here are some of our thoughts: Some ideas take more than a year to implement. For example, some programs require about 18 months to get approved and started. Some plans require approval by state, accrediting boards, and other regulatory boards. They may have deadlines that total more than a year to implement. We feel that thinking in terms of 5 years pushes people to think creatively. And with thoughts of a 5 year plan maybe your team can come up with at least 2 or 3 years of ideas. So that's some reasons. Hope they are helpful. Susan
I find it very helpful to have both....the long tern plan which gives me a template to better measure my progress on the short range goals of a one or two year plan. One can always make adjustments along the way.
Well said Charles. A five year plan gives you a full picture of the big plan. It also helps you to see the sequence of events that have to take place to meet your goals. If you want to add a new program for example, it needs to go through the licensing process first. Then accreditation, etc. So tasks, timelines, and deadlines are very important and a five year plan provides that direction. The yearly plan drills down to the detailed steps. Thanks, Susan
Hello,
I believe both long and short term plans are needed. As the instructor said a lot of programs take much more time to implement, which you would definately need a five year plan for. You also need milsones in that five year plan or due dates, a timeline to have a realistic view of when and how things can be implemented. Everyone should be involved in this, not only can they bring good ideas to the table but it really gives the staff a feeling of ownership.
My school used to provide short term IT training so when we moved to long term healthcare training, it was a painful move. One of the things that made it less painful was our CEOs insistence that we develop long term plans. Though we did not involve the communnity, our staff developed 3 year plans. We have found these to be quite useful, especially in understanding the impact of new programs on accreditation timelines.
Another benefit of the plans was space allocation. By using the plan, we were able to convince our CEO that we needed more space, and he was able to negotiate a better rent contract for more space by using the longer lease as a bargaining chip.
Definitely both short term and long term plan are helpful. We keep coming back to original plan and modifying it based on internal or external factors. A plan is just a plan but it gives us idea if we are doing good or not.
Hi Jack, Yes, a plan is just a plan. But without it there are no roadmaps or budget, or tasks, timelines, or deadlines. And no ideas. We definitely agree that a plan has to be constantly revisited. And while a 5 year plan is nice to have, the reality is that if you can create a well thought-out and researched plan for 2 -3 years that's great. We've noticed that a plan can identify options, challenges, and opportunities. It helps to head off and prepare for surprises - especially the really bad ones. A really effective plan is very well researched. Then when new ideas are generated you have the information to check out the viability of the idea. Thanks, Susan
I agree. Without it, we can easily get lost where we want to go. We have a 5 year plan but are excited to learn something new from this lesson. Thanks, Jack
Thanks, Jack. There are amazing discoveries with 3 - 5 year planning. Done right you can get a lot of great ideas from the people who are on your 5 year planning committee (or advisory board.) Just create an open environment where they feel free to share their thoughts and opinions. Best wishes,Susan
I think that both are important since many of the larger goals for schools can take more than 5 years. We are planning a new facility in addition to new programs. Since funding determines which gets done first we have to rearrange assets to reach our goals. This also changes a 1 year goal into a 2-3 year goal.
Most banks and accrediting organizations want to see where you will be heading in 3-5 years. Your plan helps everyone get a clear sense of your objectives and to see if you support your mission.
I work for a private post secondary school which is maybe why I look at this differently than perhaps a traditional public school might but, I my case we have nearly doubled our enrollment in the past 4 years and expect to double it again within the next 3 years... we have never used a 5 year plan, we never needed one until now. Now we really need one because with the complication of the exponential growth we expect to achieve we could easily miscalculate what we need to do financially if not logistically. We still need our yearly plan to track campus budgets and individual growth plans. But we will also need a less detailed, even if abstract, 5 year plan to achieve our goals.
HI Brian, Actually private career schools need a five year plan. And if accredited it is required although the document is usually called institutional improvement plan. The goal is to capture where you want to be in 5 years. Then put the details and steps to get there starting with lots of details the first year or two. You want to know if the goals are do-able. And if yes, what are the tasks, timelines, deadlines, and what does it cost. If you are doubling your student population frequently then space and staff are certainly issues that need planning, for example. Thanks, Susan
As you mentioned above that accredited schools need to do a institutional improvement plan. Sometimes the hard part is to look at where you want the school to be in 5 years. Sometimes we are so busy we don't plan where we want to be in 5 years. Is there a particular item that accreditation looks for in the 5 year plan? If you could name one item, what would you say that item would be?
I suspect that [our] accrediting commission will be most concerned with our success in placing students in jobs... I think that they will look at us and all the other schools they accredit and judge on how well we prepared for the changing economy. For instance did we plan to teach out programs that have less viability in the coming years or did we just let people keep enrolling in programs that represent a "dying field"? The one basic conflict with a for-profit school is that its share holders expect growth while its accrediting commissions expect a conscious effort to only enroll as many students (or offer only the programs) that have viability in the job market.
Hi Kimberly - Good question about what accreditation boards look for. Ask 5 consultants and you'll probably hear 5 different answers! We would say that accreditors look for completeness and how well thought out and detailed the responses are. And if you show how you are going to measure the goals and fund them. And where you want to be in 5 years. Yes it is hard to focus on year 5. But possibly it is quite easy. What if you are diploma school and want to be a college. That's probably a 5 year goal with each year showing what has to be done to get structured and approved as a college. Thanks, Susan
Interesting situation, Brian. There are several standards to meet. Sometimes it seems that regulatory boards are just looking for satisfactory placement numbers. However, they are also looking for short and long-range plans that are about programs, keeping programs current, and anticipating the training needs of your local workplace. Saturating the market with grads who won't find jobs is always a problem. So yes - some programs have to be eliminated or modified significantly from time to time. And new programs need to be added. That's a reason to stay in close touch with employers and key members of your industry and community. Thanks, Susan
Thank you,
Plannning out a 3 year to a 5 year plan isn't so bad once we break it down into where we want to be. The section on brainstorming was very good too. Getting the staff together and finding out common goals and how each department does have to work together is essential in the schools five year plan.
Hi Kimberly - Great point. The entire brainstorming process yields so much results when workiing on a five year plan. Lots of great ideas and solutions are generated. It gets everyone on the same page in terms of development. And it gets your entire team excited about working toward common goals. And it gets everyone focused. Thanks, Susan
I agree -- looking at term enrollment, assessing the popularity of courses makes yearly or interim assessments necessary even with a five-year plan in place. Today the markets are changing rapidly.
