The strategic plan development will be a multi-phased process over the next year. It will culminate in the recommendation of a draft three-year plan in September 2025.
The strategic planning process includes six phases spanning from September 2024 to September 2025:
- Project Kickoff and Fact-base Development in September 2024
- Stakeholder Engagement: Listen & Learn from October 2024 through December 2024
- Stakeholder Engagement: Align & Design from January 2025 through March 2025
- Goal Setting and Metrics Development in April and May 2025
- Implementation Planning in May and June 2025
- Implementation Advising from July to September 2025
Throughout the process, the steering committee will be meeting monthly and there will be regular updates provided during bimonthly Board of Trustee meetings.
The plan will be developed through an inclusive, iterative process facilitated by renowned higher education consultant
Sova. It is critical that all stakeholders have
opportunities to engage in this process and provide input and feedback. A Steering Committee has been appointed to represent system constituencies by gathering their input and serving as their voice, and there will also be multiple opportunities for direct engagement throughout.
The inclusive and iterative planning process includes multiple points of feedback and reflection across key stakeholders:
- Chancellor Garcia shares and informs the board.
- The board of trustees provides feedback to Chancellor Garcia.
- The steering committee informs Chancellor Garcia’s recommendations
- Chancellor Garcia provides feedback to the steering committee
- The steering committee informs stakeholder engagement
- Internal and external stakeholders (including students, faculty and staff, alumni, community & business partners, and system associations) provide input to the Steering Committee
- Sova guides and facilitates the entire process.
It is important to note that this plan cannot be all-inclusive – we will have to prioritize. And we will need to challenge ourselves to stretch and think beyond the “here and now” to ensure that we are not only set up for today, but that we are leading the way for higher education well into the future.
About the Steering Committee
The Chancellor's Office has appointed a Steering Committee comprised of systemwide and university leadership, as well as representatives of all major CSU constituencies, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and the CSU Board of Trustees. The committee will serve a critical and valued advisory role to Chancellor García, and the Board of Trustees, while collaborating with Chancellor's Office staff.
About Sova
Sova is a mission-driven strategy consultancy focused on helping make good on this country's social contract that education is a path to opportunity and upward mobility for all. Sova has worked with higher education systems and institutions, associations, and philanthropies across the country - in more than 40 states, including California - to achieve large-scale change through careful attention to actionable strategy and practical implementation. We focus on the places where change falls apart in practice, and all our strategy work is oriented by a commitment to meeting people where they are.
Sova's approach includes:
- High-quality innovation that is evidence-based, sustainable, and scalable;
- Attention to both the technical and human dimensions of change;
- Clear-eyed attention to resource allocation and business modeling;
- Rigorous focus on process design;
- Planning for meaningful engagement of critical stakeholders;
- Improving collaboration between groups to build a base of support for change and to drive progress on key initiatives.