This document discusses the need for planners in higher education to transition from traditional planners to transformation architects. A transformation architect has a future-focused mindset and proactively champions change. They demonstrate skills in futuring, apply advanced analytical tools, and integrate processes across divisions. The goal is to achieve transformative outcomes that ensure the sustainability and relevance of higher education. The presentation provides examples from a case study of how one university invested in data analytics to improve student success, restructured planning functions, and aligned strategies and metrics to guide institutional transformation efforts towards goals for 2030.

1. SCUP North Central 2022 Regional Conference | #SCUPNC22
Planners as Transformation Architects
Linda Baer
Senior Consultant
Strategic Initiatives Inc.
Lynn Akey
Vice President for Student Success,
Analytics and Integrated Planning
Minnesota State University, Mankato
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

2. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC
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3. Disruption in
Higher
Education
• SCUP Trends Outside Higher Education – Fall 2022
• SCUP Trends Inside Higher Education – Spring 2022
• EDUCAUSE Horizon Report 2022

4. TRENDS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
SCUP SPRING 2022 STEEP

5. EDUCAUSE Horizon Report 2022
• The Horizon Report on Teaching and Learning 2022
• 2022 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition |
EDUCAUSE

6. Transforming for Turbulent Times
Norris, Gilmour and Baer (2021)

7. The Challenge:
Navigating
Catalytic
Impact
•Accelerated Change
•Adaptive Challenges
•Constrained Resources
•Questioned Value and Relevance
•Organizational Transformation
Required

8. From Traditional Planner to Transformation
Architect: Six Jump Shifts
Jump Shift Traditional Planner Transformation Architect
Mindset Incremental Shape Changer
Behaviors Reactive Proactive Champion
Skills Diagnosing Futuring
Tools Basic/Fundamental Advanced
Processes Siloed Integrated
Outcome Input Impact

9. Transformation Architect: Six Jump Shifts
 Mindset. Understand that transformation is imperative, that current business models are unsustainable and
must be reinvented and recognize the need to change the existing higher education culture.
 Behaviors. Proactively champion planning for transformation and display the capacity to “think in the future
tense.”
 Skills. Demonstrate a stronger future focus, be conversant with the new tools for student success and
affordability, acquire the capacity to help develop programs to prepare today’s learners for the work and
learning forces of the future, and attain the skills to help lead, navigate, and orchestrate change.
 Tools. Apply the latest analytical tools and understand how to use collaborations and technology to reinvent
business models and create new value propositions suitable to the 2030 world.
 Processes. Become the experts in planning and strategy, meaningfully engage a broad cross-section of their
institution’s members in transformation, and orchestrate the execution of transformation initiatives.
 Outcomes. Focus on measurement and achieving transformative outcomes. Support leadership in successfully
planning for the world of 2030 and beyond and in rapidly transforming their institution into an engaged, agile,
innovative, learning enterprise.

10. Reflection: From Traditional Planner to
Transformation Architect
Jump Shift Traditional
Planner
Transformation
Architect
Self-Reflection
Mindset Incremental Shape Changer
Behaviors Reactive Proactive
Champion
Skills Diagnosing Futuring
Tools Basic/
Fundamental
Advanced
Processes Siloed Integrated
Outcome Input/Process Impact

11. Transformation Architect Impacts
• Futuring and planning
• Crafting and executing strategy
• Building organizational capacity
• Developing new programs, processes and methods
• Reinventing business models
• Changing the institutional culture
• Deploying analytics to measure outcomes on the
road to transformation

12. Case Study Illustrating Transformative Change
• Comprehensive University serving 14,500 students
• Accelerating Transformation
• Investing in data analytics and leveraging them to
optimize student success
• Change in organizational structure and the evolution
of planner to transformation architect
• Student Success, Analytics and Integrated Planning
• Focus on the “means” (key strategies and actions) in
light of the “ends” (outcomes) desired.
• Focus on coordinating, continuously improving, and
scaling our work
• Destination 2030 – Moving from a culture of
evidence to a culture of transformation, thinking in
the future tense and performance improvement

13. Create a Climate for Change
Jump Shift Examples
Mindset Engagement in futuring and visioning
Behaviors Taking risk, failing fast, transparency with dialogue and
discussion
Skills Crafting future-oriented strategies
Tools Consistent data/information for active inquiry, data
governance
Processes Design-thinking and planning from the future backwards
Outcomes Baseline measures with data-informed and shared targets

14. Example: Crafting Strategies through the Design Process
Opportunities Big Ideas Strategies
Reactive; recognized due to the
changing environment
Proactive, recognizes the changing
environment
Expeditionary; adaptive to
changing environments
Very broad or very specific Works across all partners Linked to each partner with
accountability
Interesting (maybe) Compelling (always) Clear & executable
Value undetermined Creates value Measurable value/outcomes
Favorable circumstance, but may
not help people focus
Serves as a focal point of effort Focuses behavior over an
extended period of time
Brodnick, R. (2018). Innovations in Strategy Crafting

15. Norris, Gilmour and Baer (2021). Transforming for Turbulent Times
Example: Expeditionary Planning

16. Engage and Enable the Whole Organization
Jump Shift Examples
Mindset Boundary crossing agile teams
Behaviors Integrated planning maturity and culture
Skills Boundary spanning practices
Tools Data democratization and literacy/Predictive modeling
and forecasting
Processes Aligning across the organization
Outcomes Shared key performance indicators

17. Example: Integrated Planning Maturity Model
SCUP Planning Institute

18. Example: Aligning Across the Organization

19. Metrics for Orchestrating and Sustaining Change
• Making metrics work
• Focused and pointed toward the future
• Shared understanding, support for, and ability to impact
• Reasonable SMART targets and progression measures
• Sustaining change
• Clarity for authority, responsibilities and roles
• Accountability
• Incentive the desired behaviors
• Align funding/budget structures for change
• Discipline to execution and priorities

20. Demonstrating Impact and Success: Case Study Example
• Student Enrollment
• Fall 2020 30th day enrollment increased +2.1% over Fall 2019 30th day enrollment. Currently stable.
• Student Re-Enrollment
• Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 re-enrollment rates (91.5%and 85.7%)are highest on record over the past 18 years.
• Student Loss
• Student loss from four weeks prior to the start of the Fall 2019 term through week 9 is lower this semester (670 students)
than at this same point in time last Fall (750 students).
• Student Retention
• Fall 2019 cohort of entering undergraduate students had the highest one-year retention rate (78.1%)on record over
the past 13 years.
• Student Completion
• Preliminary 6-Year undergraduate completion rate for the Fall 2014 cohort is 55.1%. This is the highest rate observed since
the Fall 2006 cohort. Preliminary 4-Year undergraduate completion rate for the Fall 2016 cohort is 34.9%. This is the highest
rate observed in over 15 years.
• Student Success Gap
• Retention Gap for entering undergraduate students went from 5.3% (Fall 2018 cohort) to 3.8% (Fall 2019 cohort).

21. Transforming for Turbulent Times
Norris, Gilmour and Baer 2021

22. Discussion

23. Thank you
Lynn.Akey@mnsu.edu
lindalbaer0508@gmail.com