Hi! Welcome to the comprehensive
Web Manual for
The Strategic Planner software is intended to serve many ends:
1. to consolidate, retain, and mobilize the institution’s wide knowledge base for the purpose of continuous improvement.
2. to enable input from directly all university stakeholders directly into the planning process without bias or limitation
3. to reduce redundant paperwork involved in reporting from diverse stovepipe processes that do not inform one another directly
4. to eliminate information ambiguity and conflict inherent in maintaining separate systems
5. to avoid loss of institutional knowledge arising from the departure of key individuals engaged in prior planning efforts
6. to save time for unit leaders and clerical staff in having to track separate data collections, maintain files for separate reports, and repeatedly enter standard “boiler plate” data into separate reports
7. to inform and coach unit leaders in planning process “as needed” and level the playing field for new inexperienced and old experienced leaders
Available from this Web Manual site are extensive help menus and explanations designed to describe each phase of the planner itself and assist users in understanding how to navigate it.[2] Help menu instructions in the Web Manual are accessible from any page of the Strategic Planner under the “Help” window, as in any MS Window application.
The Strategic Planner software is available for download by anyone connected to the SSU campus network, whether on site or via remote access—provided remote access has been enabled by SSU’s computer service department. (Click the “Install & Access” button to the left for instructions.)
Access to SSU’s Strategic Planner is available for several classes of users, whose roles are detailed below. All users have access to read all plans, comments, budgets, and evaluation measures at will, for any unit across the University. The Strategic Planner records the name of users accessing or entering data along with the time and date of entry:
Unit Leaders: any organizational unit leader (chair, manager, dean, director, etc.) has full access to enter data (i.e.: plans) directly into his/her own unit’s site.
Supervisor: any Unit Leader’s supervisor has the unit leader’s access to his/her own unit’s site as well as approval authority/responsibility over key components of subordinate unit plans. Supervisor is able to distribute surplus funds under his/her supervision directly to units reporting directly to him/her.
Budget Officer: budget officer has additional access to distribute institutional funds directly to units per instructions of the institution’s budget authority—the President’s Cabinet.
Named Stakeholder: key stakeholders may be suggested by themselves or any named users. They will be provided with id and password with the approval of a President’s Cabinet official. Named users may leave comments at any point for consideration by institutional planners. Their comments, like others, will be identified by name. [Named stakeholders might come to include, for example, Alumni President, Student Body officers, community officials, program advisory committee chairmen, key vendors, etc.]
Un-named stakeholder: any member of the campus community may enter the planner at will from a campus site with read-only access and leave anonymous comments at any point for consideration by institutional planners. (Unnamed comments are monitored by the Strategic Planner’s administrator; comments judged to be spam or not useful positive contributions are subject to removal.)
SACS Accreditation Liaison: (role assigned by President responsible for ensuring that institution functions are in compliance with SACS criteria) responsible for assigning sacs criteria to individual operating units in the form of assigned “functional tasks.”
Strategic Planner Administrator: staff in the Office of Institutional Research & Planning monitor use of the planner, provide instruction and guidance in its use, maintain the password access list, and adjust (re-program) the Strategic Planner itself as necessary to meet growing institutional needs.
Clicking on any of the bullet items in the left-hand window (on this page) will open a window describing a particular component of the Strategic Planner.
Please contact SSU’s office of Institutional Research and Planning with further questions, concerns, or information.
912-691-6880
[1] SSU’s Strategic Planner has been developed and programmed in-house by Michael Crow and Erik Lauffer of the Office of Institutional Research and Planning with the assistance of funding by Title III of the US Office of Education.
[2] Suggestions
for improvement or enhancement of this web manual will be gratefully received;
please use the e-mail addresses to share your ideas. Send technical suggestions to lauffer@savstate.edu and substantive
suggestions to crowm@savstate.edu ]