The Strategic Planning Process

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC) directs the strategic planning process. The Steering Committee receives input from:

1. the three groups that constitute the shared governance structure of the College—trustees, faculty, and senior staff;
   
2. the key constituencies that have been vital to the College’s proud history and are essential to its future—alumnae, students, staff, parents, and friends; and
   
3. an external research firm, Art & Science Group.

In addition, the Steering Committee organized three task forces composed of staff, faculty, alumnae, and trustees to focus on three components of R-MWC’s financial reality:

1. the College’s endowment;
   
2. gifts from alumnae and friends; and
   
3. net revenue from tuition and fees.

When considering net-fee revenue, the Committee realized that in order to proceed effectively, it needed excellent external market information. The trustees hired Art & Science Group (A&S) from Baltimore, Maryland to help the committee and R-MWC understand its current position in the marketplace. In gathering information, A&S developed and administered surveys to five R-MWC constituencies — alumnae, current students, withdrawn students, inquiring students, and admitted applicants.

A client committee composed of faculty and staff was appointed to work with A&S, which then reported the results of each survey to the client committee. A&S presented its final report (a consolidation of all the information gathering) and its recommendations at the November Board of Trustees’ meeting. It is important to note that A&S’s report is not the College’s strategic plan; but rather, it is one important source of information that the Steering Committee will take into account in its planning.

The Steering Committee will consider the research and recommendations of A&S as well as its own research and the work of senior staff and faculty as it charts thoughtful, targeted, and research-based strategic actions. The strategic plan will be developed in three stages: major themes and goals, draft position, and final plan.