During the process of creating a draft of UMKC´s Strategic Plan, the Steering Committee and subcommittees reviewed several previous studies and reports about the university. The planning process also includes a timeline for presenting the draft to the entire UMKC community for review and feedback. These elements of the planning process are described below.
 
 

Background
 
Beginning in October 2008, UMKC initiated a Strategic Planning process. The Strategic Planning Steering Committee, chaired by Provost Gail Hackett, had 27 members representing UMKC constituents: faculty, staff, students and community members. The names of the Strategic Planning working groups, which began meeting in December, reflect UMKC´s historic mission areas and several other broad objectives important to UMKC´s mission: Undergraduate Education/Student Success; Life/Health Sciences; Visual/Performing Arts; Urban Vision/Community Engagement; Diversity/Campus Climate; Science and Technology; and Economic Development.
 
At the broadest level, UMKC´s Strategic Planning process was framed in general by legislative mandates and in particular by the policies and oversight of the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Operating as one of four universities in the University of Missouri system, UMKC´s planning was also framed by system-wide planning and goals, which are sanctioned by the UM Board of Curators.
 
In addition to state-wide and system-wide objectives, UMKC´s current Strategic Planning process was informed by several previous internal and external self studies and evaluation reports. Among these were Life Sciences Task Force (Danforth Report), UMKC Trustees´ Initiative, Blue Ribbon Task Force ("Time to Get It Right" and "Time to Get Things Done," reports), Chancellor Guy Bailey´s Interim Plan and the Provost´s Academic Commissions.[A full description of these studies and reports is available at the Strategic Planning web site: http://www.umkc.edu/StrategicPlanning/
 

The Process
 
In early March 2009, the UMKC Strategic Planning working groups submitted their findings to the Steering Committee. These findings were compiled into a single, comprehensive report by a writing team, made up of faculty and staff. Although the Steering Committee approved the team´s synthesized report, it is only a draft. Everyone at UMKC is invited to read the proposed Strategic Plan and to submit ideas and comments. We welcome your feedback. [See the Strategic Planning web site for a copy of the draft: http://www.umkc.edu/StrategicPlanning/
 
In order to solicit and encourage campus-wide participation in the review of the draft, the Provost and members of the Steering Committee are scheduling a series of meetings, including Town Halls on both campuses, during the month of April. The first Town Hall will be videotaped and made available at the above website, where viewers can also read a downloadable version of the Strategic Plan draft and provide electronic feedback. Based on responses from these meetings and the web site, a final version of the Strategic Plan will be drafted. The new Strategic Plan will be implemented in fall 2009.