2011-2016 Strategic Plan
The Trusted Leader in Chiropractic Education
CONTENTS
Letter from the Chancellor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Theme and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Strategic Planning at Palmer College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
The Planning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Mission and Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Direction 1: Student Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Direction 2: Healthcare Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Direction 3: Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Direction 4: Resources & Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Direction 5: Advancing Knowledge Through Research . . . . . .12
Institutional Key Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Strategic Planning Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Letter from the Chancellor
To the Palmer Community;
This spring we took an important step to plan, shape and position the College for
future successes as we advance and distinguish Palmer College as “The Trusted Leader in
Chiropractic Education.” Building upon previous planning processes and our mission,
vision and tenets, the following five Strategic Directions will form the foundation of
the College’s planning for the next five years:
• Provide high quality, chiropractic-focused, academic and clinical research
programs for diverse healthcare settings
• Model and provide chiropractic healthcare that is evidence-informed
and integrates patient values and clinician experience
• Promote campus engagement, community service and professional participation
• Ensure and manage resources and processes in support of College
programs and initiatives
• Improve human health by advancing knowledge
These strategic directions are further defined by corresponding goals, objectives and
annual initiatives with key indicators to form a complete plan. To facilitate our necessary
progress over the five-year strategic plan, we have adopted a cyclical annual planning
model that adds, edits or retires objectives and initiatives under each strategic direction.
This plan is a high-level action plan that addresses the comprehensive needs of our
institution. The collective thoughts of the organization are principal to the development
of our new strategic initiatives. Therefore, the plan incorporates information and ideas
contributed by faculty, staff and administrators within our community, as well as external
stakeholders beyond our campuses. The planning committee was challenged by the
constraints on human resources and budget as they sifted through the broad scope of
improvements suggested by the community and other sources. Our students and their
learning are at the heart of the committee’s decision about what to include in the draft
plan presented to the Board of Trustees.
I want to thank everyone in our community for their important engagement in the
process that led to this plan. I believe our efforts over the past six months to develop
this plan have advanced our organization into a new era of institutional planning.
Congratulations. I am very excited about the College’s future and am committed to
providing hands-on leadership to ensure that we achieve this vitally important work.
Sincerely,
Dennis M. Marchiori, D.C., Ph.D.
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
1
Theme and Overview
STRATEGIC PLANNING AT PALMER COLLEGE
Today’s strategic planning calls for a comprehensive approach. It requires careful
consideration of not only our internal environment, but the impact of the external
environment. It documents our intended progress in such foundational areas as student
learning, quality patient care, research, campus vibrancy, faculty and staff excellence,
and appropriate resource management. In implementing our strategic plan, we must
optimize our resource utilization—our revenue, people, facilities, programs and
information technology. At the same time we must remain agile; we must be able to
respond rapidly to a fluid, competitive and progressively more demanding healthcare
education environment.
With that in mind, Palmer’s strategic plan is multilayered, and vertically and
horizontally integrated. Its origin is our Mission and Vision statements. Its
development stems from multiple sources throughout the College and the broader
community that is Palmer College of Chiropractic. Although conceived as a
five-year plan, components of the plan will be updated annually as our progress
is charted, and external circumstances and internal priorities require adaptation
in a fluid, yet deliberate, manner.
This past spring, the senior administration reviewed the past planning processes of the
College with goals of improving the process. This included a review of the literature
on planning. Following a review of commonly employed planning models, principally
Mitzburg (1994) and Bryson (1995), the College adopted a number of meaningful
improvements to its past planning efforts for the current planning cycle, including:
• Establish strategic directions under the previously accepted College Mission
and Vision statements;
• Define and standardize the descriptive terminology employed by the
strategic plan and process;
• Form a standing strategic planning committee of mid- and
senior-level administrators;
• Adopt a formal, yet flexible, three-step planning model to assess current status,
threats, opportunities, and establish annual action initiatives;
• Identify internal or external institutional mandates for change by
accrediting agencies, laws, regulations, etc.;
• Provide mechanisms to gather employee and other stakeholder input into
the initial stages of planning and to the draft annual plan;
• Link budget cycle, organizational structure and employee
performance measures; and
• Enhance communication about the formation, draft and distribution
of the final plan.
We recommitted to using strategic planning as a structured approach to focus the
people, processes and resources of the College in support of its mission. Our plan will
inform the development of administrative processes, expenditure of budget dollars,
2
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
Theme and Overview, continued
and required contributions of our stakeholders. It will guide which areas of the
College grow and which areas are targeted for retrenchment and reallocation.
In short, we believe that a strategic, transparent and community-based planning
effort is key to the future success of the College.
THE PLANNING PROCESS
Our refined strategic planning process is a rational, progressive sequence of
planning activities and resulting compilation of priorities to form a strategic
plan. The plan is structured with the following elements: mission, vision and
five overarching strategic directions. Each strategic direction is populated by
supporting goals, objectives and annual initiatives with key indicators (Figure 1).
The mission, vision and strategic directions are revisited periodically. Goals and
objectives are revisited more frequently. As the smallest unit of documented
strategy, initiatives are added, edited and archived annually.
FIGURE 1
A planning committee, comprised of senior- and middle-level administrators, is
responsible for drafting strategies to navigate the issues and events impacting the
organization. Their work manifests as short-term actions or initiatives that the
organization is committed to accomplishing. The planning committee conducts
three interlocking activities to formulate strategic initiatives for the coming fiscal year.
Each activity is designed to create a formal, yet flexible, process to recognize and assess
environmental change, as described by Milliken (1990) and illustrated in Figure 2.
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
3
Theme and Overview, continued
FIGURE 2
SCAN
Scanning is the systematic review of trends, events and background information
that impacts the organization’s future. It includes a review of the evidence, from
both qualitative and quantitative sources, internal and external to the organization.
Scanning involves a strategic assessment of the organization’s incremental progress
toward its goals and objectives with the intent of uncovering ways to modify these
steps in consideration of changing demographics, political and financial trends.
INTERPRET
Members of the planning committee make judgments about the meaning and
importance of information gained during the scan phase and the feasibility and
utility of response. Stakeholders in the organization identify more issues that can
be managed or addressed in the short term. Therefore, interpretation is the activity
of establishing a series of organizational priorities given available resources, issues
related to sequencing, and capacity of work issues, allowing the organization to
focus on the most important and urgent strategic issues.
RESPOND
Members of the planning committee formulate responses in the form of draft
initiatives and key indicators based on the evidence and their judgments. The
responses represent a community commitment to action based on the interpretation
of information learned in the environment scanning process. The codified response
has corresponding key indicators.
4
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
Theme and Overview, continued
It is important to note that the strategic planning activities are not isolated to the
planning committee. The planning effort is open to all employees by: holding open
meetings on the planning process, conducting focus groups where employees could
communicate what they thought should be included in the strategic plan, and posting
drafts and a final version of the plan for employee open access, review and comment.
Instead of consolidating everyone’s ideas, the planning committee reviews the
employee comments and takes responsibility for prioritizing, sequencing and
finalizing the draft strategic plan to be approved by the Board of Trustees.
Also, the strategic plan is not meant to comprehensively capture all the individual
contributions and services of the employees of our organization. However, very
importantly, it does transparently document the deliberate strategic directions and
actions individuals are engaged in to improve the organization. In summary,
advancing the organization is dependent on a solid plan, improved processes, and
the commitment of all of Palmer’s employees.
References:
Bryson, John M. (1995). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations:
A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Mintzberg, Henry. (1994). The rise and fall of strategic planning.
New York, NY: The Free Press.
Milliken, Frances J. (1990). Perceiving and interpreting environmental change:
an examination of college administrators’ interpretation of changing demographics.
The Academy of Management Journal, 33(1), 42-63.
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
5
Mission and Vision
MISSION
The mission of Palmer College of Chiropractic, based upon the Palmer Tenets,
is to educate and prepare students to become qualified members of the Chiropractic
profession, qualified to serve as direct access primary health care providers and
clinicians, competent in wellness promotion, health assessment, diagnosis and the
chiropractic management of the patient’s health care needs. Palmer is committed
to advancing the understanding of chiropractic through research; to providing
service to the field of chiropractic, including continuing education; and to serving
humanity through patient care and community education.
VISION
Palmer College of Chiropractic educates and prepares graduates to be the future leaders
of the chiropractic profession, successful in practice and in life through its commitment
to academic excellence, a devotion to serving humanity, continuous development of its
people, ongoing exploration and creation and utilization of new knowledge.
6
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
Direction 1: Student Learning
PROVIDE HIGH-QUALITY, CHIROPRACTIC-FOCUSED, ACADEMIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH
PROGRAMS FOR DIVERSE HEALTHCARE SETTINGS
Palmer College, rich in tradition with a commitment to student learning, patient
care and research, produces graduates who are clearly distinguished within
chiropractic and other healthcare professions. The unique blend of academic
programs and learning opportunities establishes Palmer College as the trusted
leader in chiropractic education.
GOALS
1. Attract and retain highly qualified applicants to all academic programs
1.1. Determine enrollment criteria for the Doctor of Chiropractic Program
(DCP) in accordance with the 2012 Council on Chiropractic Education
(CCE) Standards
2. Provide a high-quality education to undergraduate and graduate students through
evidence-informed academic programs that reflect contemporary practices
2.1. Publish an evidence-informed Palmer Paradigm of Care that guides
students’ education in the DCP and Associate of Science in Chiropractic
Technology (ASCT) programs and patients’ healthcare experiences within
the Palmer Clinics
2.2. Increase evidence-based knowledge, attitudes and skills in the DCP
curriculum and patient care practices at the Davenport Campus
2.3. Add personnel resources to help advance the clinical assessment plan
2.4. Raise National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) scores to above
the national average on each exam on all campuses
3. Assess all academic programs to identify outcomes needing improvement
3.1. Ensure valid and reliable data for assessing faculty teaching performance
4. Attract, support and retain highly qualified and productive faculty to
all academic programs
4.1. Secure a new Faculty Handbook Contract with the Florida Campus faculty
4.2. Train faculty in evidence-informed practices
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
7
Direction 2: Healthcare Delivery
MODEL AND PROVIDE CHIROPRACTIC HEALTHCARE THAT IS EVIDENCE-INFORMED
AND INTEGRATES PATIENT VALUES AND CLINICIAN EXPERIENCE
Patient care excellence is advanced by processes and supported with data that
demonstrates satisfaction, efficiency and efficacy, and recognition by graduates that
they are prepared to participate in the healthcare environment.
GOALS
1. The Palmer College of Chiropractic clinics provide authentic capstone
experiences for interns
1.1. College clinics reflect a contemporary practice environment
1.2. Maximize terminal term precept participation
1.3. Foster cooperative, collaborative and/or integrative patient care relationships
2. The Palmer clinics employ and contribute to clinical and educational best practices
2.1. Support engaged, quality-focused clinician educators
2.2. Advance reputation for healthcare excellence specializing in chiropractic
3. The Palmer clinics are recognized for the quality of clinical education offered
and healthcare services delivered
3.1. Maintain a reputation as radiographic imaging centers of excellence
3.2. Pursue clinical and educational quality-related acknowledgements
8
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
Direction 3: Service
PROMOTE CAMPUS ENGAGEMENT, COMMUNITY SERVICE AND
PROFESSIONAL PARTICIPATION
Palmer College strives to maintain quality relationships with our local
communities and the profession through service and to foster an
environment of inclusiveness and engagement.
GOALS
1. Enhance Relationships and Partnerships in support of the College's Mission
1.1. Prioritize professional memberships, sponsorships and external relationships
1.2. Continue efforts to engage and unify alumni
2. Enhance external understanding of Palmer's role and expertise
2.1. Ongoing implementation of health policy and governmental relations plan
2.2. Develop an effective branding strategy for the Palmer Center for Chiropractic
Research (PCCR)
2.3. Develop a comprehensive strategy targeted towards both the media and
policy makers with the goal of PCCR becoming known as a respected
resource on chiropractic science and research in general
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
9
Direction 4: Resources & Support
ENSURE AND MANAGE RESOURCES AND PROCESSES IN SUPPORT
OF COLLEGE PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES
Palmer College is committed to ensuring the coordination of the strategic
plan with budget and other resources in order for the College to achieve its
programmatic goals and objectives.
GOALS
1. Enhance internal communications at Palmer College
1.1. Develop and deploy internal communications plan
2. Institutional effectiveness is assessed in relation to defined desired outcomes
2.1. Evolve strategic planning process
2.2. Appropriate links are clear between the College’s Directions/
goals and operations and resource allocation
2.3. Appropriate facilities are created or maintained to support the
College's Directions/goals
2.4. Enhance staff development
2.5. Maintain optimal corporate, educational and healthcare
delivery compliance
3. Enhance College position through marketing
3.1. Continue implementation of comprehensive Integrated Marketing Plan
4. Enhance inclusiveness and diversity through implementation of diversity plan
4.1. Implement targeted changes to campus culture
4.2. Enhance enrollment, retention and graduation of diverse students
reflective of regional populations
4.3. Enhance attitude, knowledge and behavioral learning goals
surrounding diversity in the curriculum
(continued)
10
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
Direction 4: Resources & Support, continued
4.4. Increase employment and retention of diverse employees
4.5. Reflect local diversity in our patient base
5. Enhance enrollment
5.1. Deploy enrollment strategies to attract the highest level
performing students
5.2. Continue implementation of Enrollment Plan
6. Expand annual and project-related gifts
6.1. Review and enhance structure, function, and effectiveness of
Development Office
7. Develop and implement a plan to enhance compliance with Title IX
7.1. Create a five year plan for athletics
7.2. Create a five year plan to guide compliance with new regulations re: violence
8. Award scholarships in the best interest of the College and all students
8.1. Determine population of students receiving scholarships
8.2. Maximize scholarship opportunities for students on all three campuses
8.3. Ensure that students applying for scholarships have equal opportunity
for awards
9. Enhance career opportunities for students and alumni
9.1. Re-energize the Palmer Center for Business Development
9.2. Develop a "Destination Success Plan" for our students
9.3. Provide new and innovative business modules for our students and alumni
9.4. Enhance alumni and student career networking and mentoring opportunities
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
11
Direction 5: Advancing Knowledge
Through Research
IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH BY ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE
Palmer College is dedicated to the advancement of public health by developing
knowledge and translating that knowledge to the practice of chiropractic health care.
GOALS
1. The PCCR is acknowledged by scientific and healthcare peers as the leading
center for chiropractic research in the world
1.1. Increase the number of publications in top tier journals
1.2. Increase visibility of faculty and staff within scientific community
1.3. Increase the number of collaborations that are initiated by outside institutions
2. The PCCR has developed its clinical and translational research abilities across
all campuses, strengthening both scientific expertise and research infrastructure
2.1. Increase scientific expertise and ensure adequate succession planning
2.2. Increase external funding
2.3. Increase support services for research
2.4. Increase mentorship of and by PCCR faculty and staff
3. The PCCR is noted for translating research findings into both clinical and
public health practices
3.1. Establish baseline data and increase awareness of evidence-informed practice
of faculty, students and practitioners
3.2. Disseminate information in peer-reviewed and widely-read publications
12
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
Institutional Key Indicators
Palmer College will monitor the effectiveness of the strategic plan through the
institutional key indicators, which are both qualitative and quantitative. More
detailed key indicators for strategic goals and objectives are attached to individual
division or department initiatives. The College’s progress towards achievement of
the plan will be shared with the Palmer community.
Examples of institutional key indicators include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clinical Integrity Plan Outcomes
Research grants and publications
Enrollment Scorecard
Marketing Program Outcomes
Compliance Report
Diversity Plan Outcomes
Evidence-Based Teaching Tracking Report
Student, patient and employee satisfaction survey results
Report on organizational communication
Allocation of Funding for Strategic Plan Initiatives
Facilities Report
Palmer Center for Business Development Scorecard
Academic Scorecard
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
13
Strategic Planning Committee
CO-CHAIRS
Dennis Marchiori, D.C., Ph.D.
Chancellor
Judy Silvestrone, M.S., D.C.
Executive Director for Strategic Development,
Chief Compliance Officer
MEMBERS
Kevin Cunningham, D.C., Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Student Success
Jeannette Danner, M.S.
Senior Director for Accreditation and Licensure
Darren Garrett, B.A., APR
Executive Director for Marketing and Public Relations
Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Health Policy
Donald Gran, D.C.
Dean of Academic Affairs, Florida Campus
Robert Lee, M.B.A.
Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement
Peter Martin, D.C.
President, Florida Campus
William C. Meeker, D.C., M.P.H.
President, West Campus
Michael Novak, M.B.A.
Vice Chancellor for Enrollment
14
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
Strategic Planning Committee, continued
MEMBERS
Kevin Paustian, D.C., C.C.S.P., C.C.E.P.
Associate Professor and Director of Student Academic Affairs
Robert Percuoco, D.C.
Vice Chancellor for Academics
Tom Souza, D.C.
Dean of Academic Affairs, West Campus
Thomas Tiemeier, B.B.A., C.P.A.
Vice Chancellor for Administration, Chief Financial Officer
Alexis VanderHorn, M.B.A.
Senior Director for Financial Affairs
Dan Weinert, D.C., M.S., DACRB
Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs
Kurt Wood, D.C.
Vice Chancellor for Clinic Affairs
The Trusted Leader in Chiropractic Education
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
15
16
Palmer College 2011-2016- Strategic Plan
DAVENPORT CAMPUS
1000 Brady Street
Davenport, IA 52803
WEST CAMPUS
90 East Tasman Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
FLORIDA CAMPUS
4777 City Center Parkway
Port Orange, FL 32129-4153
www.palmer.edu