Buena Vista University (BVU) has embarked on a new strategic planning initiative with the first steps including a new mission, vision, and values statements to be completed yet this spring, announced President Fred Moore at last week’s community meeting.

Moore explained that the University is using an outside facilitator, CEO of CampusWorks Liz Murphy, to guide the process, and they have praised her qualifications and good work so far.

The first step in the planning was a review of the BVU mission statement and the drafting of values statements. Moore noted that he is a believer in well thought out mission statements.

“If they’re really done well, they give you a way to make strategic choices about what you’re going to do and, just as importantly, what you’re not going to do, and they proclaim who you are and who you serve,” Moore said.

Moore, along with his President’s Council colleagues, worked with Murphy to draft three missions that they tested in a focus group in April. The group was “broadly representative” of campus constituencies, including students, staff, and faculty. Murphy facilitated the focus group conversations, and those led to the elimination of one of the statements and the endorsement of the other two for further testing.

The final two, the first of which is the current BVU mission statement, include the following:

1. We develop students for lifelong success through innovative and imaginative academic and professional preparation.
2. We foster a zeal for learning and create transformational experiences and meaningful connections that inspire our students to do great things.

Moore noted that the focus group really responded positively to the second draft mission. Now, the President’s Council will be seeking broader feedback from the campus community about these two missions via a survey that will be disseminated in early May.

Murphy also tested drafts of values statements with the focus group, which did not test as well.

“They sent us [President’s Council] back to they drawing board, and they really liked the mission statement. So in our second draft what we tried to do was build the values statements for the institution, not exclusively but largely, around some of the ideas that were in the mission statement,” Moore said.

The draft values statements are focused on six key principles: Zeal, Transformation Experiences, Meaningful Connections, Inspiration, Stewardship & Sustainability, and Respect & Inclusiveness.

Moore noted that these draft values statements borrow key language from the draft mission statement that tested so well with the focus group.

“They felt that those words really captured the essence of the institution, so we listened carefully to what they had to say,” Moore said.

Moore outlined the next steps in the planning process, which include surveying the campus community on the draft mission and values in May. Moore will then present an overview of the entire strategic planning process to the BVU Board of Trustees at its May meeting.

Several Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analyses will be or already have been conducted with various groups such as the Board and the President’s Advisory Council as well as the Alumni Board.

Also yet this spring, five “Scan Teams” consisting of five or six faculty, staff, and administrators, will conduct research in the key areas. Those areas include student satisfaction and retention, Storm Lake enrollment, Iowa and relevant national impacts, private college trends, and trends in instructional delivery and student learning.

“This does not mean these will be the only topics that will be covered in the plan, but these are five areas where we felt we needed additional information,” Moore said.

Information from these SWOTs and Scan Team reports will be considered as President’s Council also works on a new vision statement for BVU. Work will be done over the summer as well as into early fall, and Moore said that although the plan itself will not be ready for the Board meeting next October, much of the work will be done by then, including a fully developed mission statement, vision statement, values statements, and reports and updates from the Scan Teams.

“Our goal is to put a university plan…in front of the Board in February for them to approve, and then we’re going to be more rigorous about this than we’ve been in the past with departmental planning by the end of the academic year,” Moore said.

Moore noted that the higher education industry has become “tension-filled” and that it’s not easy to exist within it but that thoughtful strategic planning could put BVU on a road to future success.

“Tension does create opportunity for those who aren’t paralyzed by fear and who think creatively and boldly about the future. And we’ve got a long history here of being able to do that,” Moore said. “So I’m confident that if we do this work right, and I think we will do it right, we’re setting the stage for a successful future. Not necessarily and easy one because times have changed but a successful one.”