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Where SMU will be in the Coming Five Years

Strategic Directions

In an attempt to meet its strategic objectives, SMU will consider elements of gender, HIV/AIDS, interpersonal skills, co-curricular activities, ICT competencies, employability skills, English proficiency upgrading skills as cross-cutting issues that are at the forefront of the University ’s plans of action. Accordingly, the following seven strategic directions are set:

  1. To enhance the ICT and physical infrastructures of the University
  2. To recruit and retain staff members of the highest caliber and continuously develop their capacity
  3. To improve the quality of teaching - learning and effectiveness of research, both in the conventional and distance mode
  4. To extend the University ’s services and outreach activities and augment SMU’s role as a local development partner
  5. To improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the administrative processes and services
  6. To enhance link and partnerships with local and international institutions
  7. To strengthen and deepen quality assessment and sustained improvement schemes
    1. the Faculties of Business, Informatics, Law, and Teacher Education;
    2. the Distance Education Division;
    3. administrative and student support units and offices, and
    4. the Center for Educational Improvement Research and Quality Assurance.

Implementation Plan, Monitoring and Evaluation

This strategic plan establishes goals and strategic priorities of the University over the period of five Academic Years from 2007/8 to 2011/12. These strategic directions shall be translated into programs and projects so that they can effectively and efficiently be implemented.

Towards this end, strategic plan objectives have been developed by:

These strategic plan objectives shall further be translated into annual/operating plans. Performance against thestrategic priorities and goals of the plan is regularly monitored by the SMU Senate. CEIRQA, together with Faculty level Quality Assessment Units, shall collect data to monitor the implementation of the strategic plan primarily to provide the management with early indications of progress, or lack thereof, in the achievement of objectives. The Senate shall receive regular reports from CEIRQA.Moreover, the annual planning and review program will create greater awareness about the University ’s organizational performance.

Apart from the regular monitoring activity, systematic and objective evaluation will also be carried to assess the overall relevance of plans, design of strategies, implementation, effectiveness, efficiency and result of actions taken in light of specified objectives. In this respect, institutional quality audit shall be conducted in 2008 and 2012.

The mere fact that an activity has been performed does not necessarily enhance quality and standards in a given higher academic institution. Evaluation shall, thus, go beyond reported magnitude of activities and should further examine the relevance, reliability and validity of theperformance measures with due focus on both coverage and cost effectiveness.

Concluding Remarks

St. Mary’s University strives to significantly enhance its efforts and achievement in the higher education services sector. During the latter part of the Strategic Plan Period, SMU aspires towards growing to St. Mary’s University. Its fast growth so far is largely attributed to the unreserved commitment of the academic and administrative staff. The contribution of external stakeholders has played no lesser role to that effect. Without their support, the institution would not have met the expectations of its students even to the minimum level possible. Therefore, by working closely with its stakeholders towards the strategic directions aforementioned in this document, St. Mary’s looks forward to do its best to be among the leading institutions of higher learning in the years to come.

The Second Strategic Plan

 

Forming the Steering Committee

The University, since its establishment in 1998, has laid down the core values of transparency and accountability as its institutional guiding principles.  During its formative years, the University focused on ensuring the short term tasks of meeting the needs of its students by way of solidifying its institutional strength.  Through time, the values manifested themselves in the blueprint of a five-year strategic plan, which was designed to cover the years stretching from 2007/8 to 2011/12.

 

Noting the few months that the 2007 – 2012 strategic plan was left with before its completion, a Steering Committee, comprising v/presidents and the Director for the Center for Educational Improvement and Quality Assurance (CEIQA), was set up by the Senate in March 2012 to oversee the preparation of the 2012/13 – 2016/17 strategic plan.  However, at a later stage, considering new developments, the university management made the decision that the 2005 E.C. (2012/13) annual plan be taken as interim and the 2nd Strategic Plan be launched in 2006 E.C. (2013/14), at which time and by mere coincidence, St. Mary’s was to be upgraded to a university. To that effect, the four major divisions were given the tasks of taking charge of their respective divisions to do the SWOT analysis and review the achievements and setbacks of the previous strategic plan. Accordingly, the College of Open and Distance Learning (CODL), the School of Graduate Studies, Research, and Outreach Services, the Business and Administrative Division, and the Undergraduate Regular Division, Testing Center, and CEIQA took up their assigned tasks. To that effect, to expedite the activities, they formed committees that would handle the actual work on the ground.  The SWOT analysis collected from the various offices was later compiled by CEIQA.

 

Entrusted with coordinating the strategic planning process in their respective divisions and later compiling the reports, which make part of the comprehensive document, the Steering Committee developed Terms of Reference (ToR) to be used by sub committees.  The ToR included the framework, which outlined all the steps and resources necessary to finalize the strategic planning along with a tentative time frame. 

 

At the preparation stage, the previous strategic plan document was looked into side by side with other relevant documents.  After gathering inputs from SMU community and other external stakeholders about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and after careful examination of stakeholders’ expectations, interest and needs, SMU has charted its path for the next five years, and has duly identified strategic issues.

 

Objectives of SMU Strategic Planning

 

The objective of preparing this strategic planning document is to develop a five-year, forward-looking plan that will serve as a guide for SMU from 2013/14 to 2017/18.   Having addressed the direction towards which SMU is heading, the Strategic planning document sets forth overall goals in nine strategic directions.  The strategic planning document examines where SMU is now, and embodies situational analysis from internal and external perspectives.

 

This plan establishes the major strategic goals together with the plans for achieving them. The strategic plan goals are expected to set the framework for developing the University’s annual plans until the Academic Year 2017/18.  In effect, the document lays the foundation for strategic plans, projects and action plans that are to be developed at faculty/school and administrative unit level for each academic year during the Five-Year strategic planning period.

 

Overview of the Process of the 2013/14-2017/18 SP

 

While the Steering Committee was primarily responsible for giving directions and making deliberations based on reports coming from the various divisions, diverse tools were employed by the sub-committees to do the SWOT analysis. Chief among them were questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews, and field visits.  Document review, was another tool to assess past performances.  The most resourceful documents consulted were the annual performance reports covering the last five years and produced by CEIQA on annual basis.  These documents included the activities planned by the core organs and offices of the University.  The template, designed for annual plans, embraced the responsible body for each activity, indicator and target, means of verification and execution period stated in months.

 Strategic Priorities for Years 2013/14 - 2017/18

 

Examining the previous strategic plan and reviewing the contexts of higher education in Ethiopia and using the results of the SWOT analysis carried out at different levels, five strategic priorities, which are crucial for the sustained fulfillment of the vision, mission and goals of SMU, have been identified.

 

The following overarching strategic priorities are identified to guide institutional planning and operation for the years 20013/14 - 2017/18. The objectives to be attained in the coming five years under each strategic priority are indicated below.

 

Strategic Priority One:  Teaching Learning and Assessment

 

Strategic Priority Two: Research and Publication

 

Strategic Priority Three: Outreach, Community Services and Partnership

 

Strategic Priority Four: Governance, MIS and Resources

 

Strategic Priority Five: Quality Assurance and Best Practices

 

Strategic Priorities for Years 2013/14 - 2017/18

 

Examining the previous strategic plan and reviewing the contexts of higher education in Ethiopia and using the results of the SWOT analysis carried out at different levels, five strategic priorities, which are crucial for the sustained fulfillment of the vision, mission and goals of SMU, have been identified.

 

The following overarching strategic priorities are identified to guide institutional planning and operation for the years 20013/14 - 2017/18. The objectives to be attained in the coming five years under each strategic priority are indicated below.

 

Strategic Priority One:  Teaching Learning and Assessment

 

Strategic Priority Two: Research and Publication

 

Strategic Priority Three: Outreach, Community Services and Partnership

 

Strategic Priority Four: Governance, MIS and Resources

 

Strategic Priority Five: Quality Assurance and Best Practices

 

Implementation Plan

 

This strategic plan establishes goals and strategic priorities of the University over the period of five Academic Years from 2013/14 to 2017/18.  These strategic directions shall be translated into programs and projects so that they can effectively and efficiently be implemented.  

 

Toward this end, with the active involvement of the top management team, thestrategic plan objectives were dulydeveloped by:

 

a)      The  Faculties and operational units of the regular division;

 

b)      The College of Open and Distance Learning;

 

c)       Research, School of Graduate Studies and Outreach Services division;

 

d)      Administrative and support services;

 

e)      The Center for Educational Improvement and Quality Assurance;

 

f)       The Testing Center;

 

g)      The ICT Development and Support Unit and

 

h)      Students.  

 

Noting its long term goal, the SP shall further be translated into annual/operating plans in the coming five years.

 

Monitoring and Evaluation

 

Monitoring, evaluation and performance measures contribute to the organizational body of knowledge about what works, what does not work and why.  They also indicate under what conditions in different focus areas lessons learned should be shared at the University level.

 

The performance of each department and office during a given period along with indicators that provide information about performance, and effectiveness shall be monitored.  Moreover, formative evaluation while a given activity is in progress and summative evaluation upon completion of phases of performance shall be conducted with a view to examine what should be changed and what has been missed.

 

a) Monitoring

 

Performance against the plan’s strategic priorities and goals is regularly monitored by the SMU Senate.  CEIQA, together with Quality Assessment Units at the level of Faculty and administrative units, shall collect data to monitor the implementation of the strategic plan.  These tasks shall primarily provide the management with early indications of progress, or lack thereof, in the achievement of objectives.  The Senate shall receive regular reports from CEIQA.  Moreover, the annual planning and review program will create greater awareness about the University’s organizational performance.

 

The reporting breakdown during the Strategic Plan Period shall include:

 

a)      Monthly Reports;

 

b)      Quarterly Reports;

 

c)       Performance Reports: At the end of every Academic Year;

 

d)      Interim Reports: After two and half years;

 

e)      Final Report: At the end of the Strategic Plan Period.

 

The Strategic plan shall be reviewed on a yearly basis based on inception reports, progress reports and changing external environment.

 

b) Evaluation

 

Apart from the regular monitoring activity, systematic and objective evaluation will also be carried out to assess the overall relevance of plans, design of strategies, implementation, effectiveness, efficiency and result of actions taken in light of specified objectives.  Accordingly, evaluation of institutional strategic plan implementation shall be conducted in January 2015 and January 2017.

 

The mere fact that an activity has been performed does not necessarily enhance quality and standards in a given higher academic institution.  Evaluation shall thus go beyond reported magnitude of activities and should further examine the relevance, reliability and validity of the performance measures with due focus on both coverage and cost effectiveness.

 

 

 

Concluding Remarks

 

St. Mary’s University strives to significantly enhance its efforts and achievement in the higher education services sector.  At the end of the 1st Strategic Plan period, SMU aspired for becoming a full-fledged University.  That aspiration has now been realized. Its fast growth, so far, is largely attributed to the unreserved commitment of the academic and administrative staff. The contributions of external stakeholders have played no lesser role to that effect. Without their support, the institution would not have met the expectations of its students even to the minimum level possible.

 

Therefore, by working closely with its stakeholders towards the strategic priorities aforementioned in this document, St. Mary’s is committed to excellence in the pursuit of its mission and function, and looks forward to do its best to be among the leading institutions of higher learning in East Africa in the years to come.