Strategic Planning Progress

THE CHARRETTE (January 2022)

Studio of the Future: The Charrette week kicked off the Hines College’s strategic planning processing at the start of the spring 2022 semester. The charrette served as an assessment from the student perspective, meant to challenge normative thinking and question, redefine, and reshape the studio culture of the College. The effort sought to reconnect the Hines College community, imagine the future of the studio, establish goals and strategies for investing in the College’s digital and physical infrastructure, and pave the way for the future strategic plan.

Summary Document

FACULTY ADVANCE/RETREAT (August 2022)

The Hines College’s faculty gathered for their annual retreat prior to the start of the fall 2022 semester for a first assessment from the faculty perspective. Facilitated by strategist Jim Oswald, faculty brainstormed and examined the future of the Hines College over two days of small and large group discussions.

Graphics Summary

WORKING GROUP

The working group included Hines College administration, academic directors, coordinators, faculty, students, and alumni. It was divided into topic teams that met independently between working group meetings to develop goals and strategies for the College related to their topic. Meetings focused on bringing together the work of the topic teams and reviewing framework draft iterations. Some of the topics overlapped and supported one another, which is reflected in the final goals of the strategic plan.

FACULTY WORK SESSIONS

Throughout the strategic planning process, faculty were invited to participate in a series of work sessions to provide feedback on draft iterations of the framework. Faculty feedback provided essential validation, recalibration, and refinement of the draft. They were also given the opportunity to give feedback through surveys.

STUDENT FOCUS GROUPS

Two open student focus group meetings were held late in the spring 2023 semester when the draft framework was coming together. These meetings were designed to allow students to participate in the strategic planning process in a smaller, more hands-on setting than the all-college open houses. The focus groups closely followed the model for working group meetings and faculty work sessions: sharing a full draft of the framework for participants to respond to and engaging in group conversation about the draft.

OPEN HOUSE #1 (September 2022)

The first of three open house events brought together about 150 Hines College students, faculty, staff, and alumni in the architecture building’s atrium to learn about the strategic planning process, review assessments from the charrette and faculty advance/retreat, and brainstorm on the College’s weaknesses, strengths, and opportunities. The event provided a chance for those interested in the strategic planning process to have a transparent understanding of strategic planning and the College’s path forward.

OPEN HOUSE #2 (March 2023)

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered for a second Open House event to provide feedback on the emerging strategic plan framework. The work on display reflected feedback compiled from the first open house and showed the diligent work of the working group up to this point of the strategic planning process.

OPEN HOUSE #3 (September 2023)

The College's third strategic planning open house event welcomed its community to review the final strategic plan framework and provide feedback on the individual academic program's action plans. Directors from each program - graduate studies, undergraduate architecture, interior architecture, and industrial design - were on hand to answer questions and provide more information on how they are advancing their programs in alignment with the College's strategic plan framework. Participants were given stickers to indicate their top three priorities.

HINES COLLEGE | Strategic Planning