How do public research universities develop strategic plans in response to external influences: An exploratory case study

ABSTRACT

United States historians have recorded the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the major events of 2020. The Spring 2020 session was an unprecedented time for institutions of higher education. The traditional model of higher education was supplanted by digital online modality for delivery of curriculum, not only in order to finish the Spring 2020 semester, but to carry the universities forward all the way through the Summer 2021 semester. During March 2020, a predominant majority of universities and colleges transitioned to online modality within the span of days. This accelerated transition, coupled with the already existing strategy of using online education to fill enrollment gaps, and the class action lawsuits filed by students around quality and cost during the pandemic, clearly highlighted the potential and gaps in strategic plans and investments around online education delivery. This case study of a public doctoral university with very high research activity (R1), reviewed cases that demonstrated how state policies influenced an online education strategy and, subsequently, explored the strategic planning processes for online programs in this University. The case study further illustrates how the strategic planning process influenced the level of investments in support of online education programs. In summary, the findings of this holistic single case study highlight the purposeful, focused, prioritized energy necessary to deliver an online program, equally commensurate with the quality and experience of brick and mortar institutions, with a clear and singularly aligned goal of quality and affordable access via all administrators, faculty, and departments involved in the process. The findings concluded that the influence of the State was pivotal in setting the goal of affordable access and quality, along with funding incentives designed to drive the execution of the online education strategy and the strategic plan at this public R1 university. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)