Introduction
The Arizona State University Technology Office has been making strategic plans and setting annual goals for future academic years for many years. Such initiative helps structure the educational process and have clear goals, which contributes to the development and modernization of the university itself. The strategic plan and goals for several years, which state the primary objectives of the institution compiled by the UTO’s specialists, are outlined in this report.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
In light of the pandemic, many planned objectives had to be revised and adapted to the vague nature of the upcoming year. Nevertheless, a team of numerous organizational leaders at ASU managed to determine achievable goals with precise timeframes and focus on empowered collaboration, which is an excellent asset at the time of pandemic (Arizona State University, 2014). SWOT analysis will help gain a better understanding of all the advantages of the strategic plan and identify points that need improvement. One of the biggest strengths of the UTO’s strategic plan is the increased cultural and community orientation. The university aims to bring all students together, focusing on continual empathetic communication, which is relevant and exceptionally important during the current United States situation. Among other UTO strengths are their ability and opportunity to collaborate with international stakeholders to provide the most innovative and interactive experience for the students. Lastly, the technological advancement of the UTO is an absolute advantage, which makes the educational process not only innovative and contemporary but also safe. The university develops strict security systems, both on campus and in the technology resources.
Weaknesses
Every institution has room for improvement; therefore, UTO’s strategic plan has some factors that may need more attention and development. At a difficult time of protests for equality and pandemic, it is vital to educate the community on the importance of these issues, and relevant solutions to the topics. It is also essential to incorporate it in the strategic plan as one of the crucial goals. The UTO’s plan lacks such essential in the current situation emphasis on the health and anti-discrimination problems. Moreover, the university must adopt specific practices to identify unethical behavior and have particular committees designed to track any controversy. In addition, the strategic plan lacks the point of identifying health safety for the next academic year. The current issue with COVID-19 requires each educational institution to develop specific strategies on how to avoid mass contamination and ensure a safe environment for each student. These health and ethical issues would be a valuable addition to the UTO’s primary goals.
Opportunities
There are many opportunities for UTO’s development, which can attract new undergraduates and make the educational process more engaging. Minding the university’s higher goal for technological advancement, is a surpassing opportunity to collaborate and acquire new partners and stakeholders from the tech industry. They can provide modernized equipment, and an opportunity for the university to become a brand ambassador of a specific corporation. In such a way, UTO will gain new long-term partners and equipment, while the partners will acquire new clients and receive effective advertising. Besides, such a partnership may also be beneficial for the students. While cooperating with the leading tech businesses, UTO may establish such a connection, where its undergraduates could have an opportunity to take internships, or the corporations may even offer jobs for prominent graduating students. Such an opportunity could not only benefit the students but also raise the universities’ positions on the academic market.
Threats
Apart from the opportunities, UTO’s strategic plan has some significant threats that may influence the university’s future development. The first threat is based on the fact that the university is highly focused on technological advancement and the incorporation of brand new devices, techniques, and programs into their system. Despite that, it is an essential step for a university, which creates an advantage and distinguishes it among the competitors; there is a potential threat of stealing the information or hacking into the system. Because of its novelty and lack of detailed knowledge, which may threaten the security of information in the institution. Therefore, before incorporating innovations, UTO must properly study the equipment, develop advanced security and intellectual property protection. It will ensure the overall safety of not only the materials of the institution but also the personal information of the students.
Additionally, the higher-education industry is hugely competitive in the United States. Many universities actively progress and integrate plans to overrule other institutions. For that reason, UTO must consistently integrate campaigns, be up-to-date, and develop innovative ways of recruiting new students to keep the leading positions. The university must always be on the frontlines of new trends and demands of the academic market to maintain its place and continuously aspire to be better.
Track of the Progress
Additionally, as for the strategic plan’s timeline framework, each area of focus in the plan is outlined to have a particular deadline, which is an effective way of keeping track of the program. The project provides tables on the updates and their accomplishment of a specific year visible to anyone. Such a model is a sufficient mechanism of achieving progress, as it is more plausible to meet all the set objectives under the eye of your audience. Transparency is an extremely valuable asset that evokes more trust in the targeted market, which UTO successfully implements. Providing annual updates on the university’s accomplishments is an efficient plan to keep track of the progress relating to the Goals of the Areas of focus.
Reference
Arizona State University. (2014). Information Technology Strategic Plan 2014- 2018 (pp. 1–44).