4. POLICY + PLANNING: SHIFT FROM REACTION TO STRATEGIC INTEGRATED PLANNING
It is difficult to focus on planning while in survival mode—to plan for a multi-year runway while addressing current and urgent challenges. Likewise, policy making and strategic planning are about defining the problem and the problem is very much in flux.
The amount of decision making (and the weight of the decisions) leaders within higher education must make is unprecedented. People whose job it is to think 5-10 years out are being asked to make decisions with time horizons of 5-10 weeks. Leaders within higher education must find a way to respond to the shifting demands of the pandemic in real time—facing complex short-term questions around logistics, pedagogies, prioritization, and costs—while considering long-term implications.
The following insights may inform an approach:
Plan in Collaboration With a Diverse Constituency
Nicholas Santilli, PhD, senior director of learning strategy for SCUP, points out that “shelter in place” provoked a rise in cross-silo conversations on campuses throughout the world. Being physically separate from one another demanded we remain in contact and brought people together across functions to do the kind of quick planning that is required to move forward, one day at a time. The experience has largely shown that the more people at the table, the better—those with expertise across a range of university functions and interests bring insights about short-term decisions that will synthesize into a better whole for long-term policy and planning.
The more people at the table, the better—those with expertise across A range of university functions and interests will bring insights about short-term decisions that synthesize into a better whole for long-term policy and planning.
Reevaluate Policy and Align With Emerging Practices
Institutions implemented a number of operational, pedagogical, financial, and other responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. These potentially long-term shifts in practice could produce lasting changes in institutional functionality. Often, policy is slow to catch up with behavioral changes that occur on campus; this moment provides an opportunity to re-evaluate and revise institutional policies to follow practice.
This rethink requires discontinuing policies that may no longer “fit” in different COVID-19 or post-pandemic scenarios related to parking, office space, admissions, approval/sunsetting of programs, and faculty/staff amenities, to name a few. For example, the pandemic has shown that working from home is possible for many within academia. If and when we do return to the campus or to work in various ways, what are the expectations? Two days per week? And what days? What is the policy on office sharing? Peak demand may come into play, in which case we would still need the same amount of offices if people aren't sharing. These questions just brush the surface relative to the space planning implications of COVID-19, many of which may set policy and inform planning for years to come.
Town/Gown Relationships May Be More Important Than Ever
The relationship between a college or university and civic leaders is more important now than ever. City leaders are in a tough position—in many cases, universities are cities’ largest employers and/or tax contributors. Likewise, colleges and universities have a significant impact on the local economy and culture. When universities welcome back students, citizens may be put at risk, as we’ve seen with upticks in COVID-19 cases where campuses have reopened. Yet, shutting down campuses presents financial risks. The issue is multi-layered, presenting dilemmas like the fact that many retirees, a population with higher COVID-19 mortality rates, live in college towns. As colleges and universities respond in real time to the regulations of their local and state governments, how might we collaborate to identify long-term strategies?
Given the porosity of so many campuses and cities relative to one another, and the need for collaboration between institutional and civic leaders, there may be opportunity to form transformational and long-lasting synergies that leverage funding channels, like public-private partnerships (P3). www.public-privatepartnerships.com