Strategic planning in higher education

Abstract

Strategic planning, a management innovation at first used primarily in business and industry, has slowly but steadily been transforming the way colleges and universities cope with an uncertain future. Since the late 1970s, the practice of strategic planning has become fairly widespread in American institutions of higher education. This article will explain how strategic planning differs from conventional planning, how it is used in colleges and universities, and how it can be used to advantage by academic libraries.