| With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, higher education in China has entered the stage of mass higher education. Many universities have been expanding in size, and some are involved in merging. Therefore, competition for discipline brand, talents, teaching resources, innovation, and student employment among universities is increasing intensively. At the same time, the move toward internationalization requires new and higher standards for the development of higher education. In the late of 1990s, some Chinese universities formulated the objective of becoming top international universities by the year of 2020 through a great-leap-forward strategy. Such a strategy seeks to span and break through the old pattern of education, mode and methodologies.Strategic planning is regarded as a systematic theory which guides the university in adapting to the changing environment; an action which looks for solutions prior to possible problems resulting from environmental shift in the future; and an approach which helps to compete successfully for scarce resources. Further, strategic planning assists the university in adapting its future to the predictable part of the environment. Through strategic planning, the university is better able to achieve its mission and objectives more successfully.Currently, the significance of strategic planning is widely recognized in Chinese higher education, and some universities have formulated their own plans, including University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). However, currently there is no theoretical framework to guide Chinese universities in the formulation of such plans. Therefore, current university strategic plans are lacking in integration, systematization, individuation, innovation and practicability. In order to facilitate the further development of Chinese universities, this paper addresses itself to the growing need for research in strategic planning for higher education.From the stand point of planning objects, this paper analyzes the key factors of strategic planning at top international universities, and the expectation of our government for the further development of higher education, as well as studies on certain environmental features. It thereby seeks to find a more ideal approach and framework for successful university strategic planning. In addition, this paper offers some suggestions to USTC regarding strategic planning based on its actual situation. Since this paper concerns a wide ranging field, it applies a constructivist methodology which is especially suitable for the context-driven nature of strategy. Constructivist methodology is a useful methodological frame of reference to make sense of strategy, which is a philosophical school of thought arguing that research is fundamentally theory-dependent and emphasizing the interaction of social factors. Constructivist methodology believes that the way to do research and find solutions to questions is through the study of objects and their relationships. According to constructivism, researchers are active participants rather than reactors or information processors, whereby they construct new knowledge and theories based on their understanding of existing knowledge and situation.Within the framework of constructivism, this paper employs an object-oriented methodology, which is a mainstream methodology in computer programming. Object and type are the basic concepts. Objects are the description of objective reality, which are the basic units in doing research, consisting of their attributes and operations. Type consists of objects with same or similar attributes and methods. By utilizing object-oriented methodology, this paper identifies objects in strategic planning, and categorizes them into types according to strategic theories. It thereby constructs a conceptual model to assist in the process of strategic planning.According to the model of university strategic planning presented in this paper, there are 12 main objects: mission, objectives, culture, organizational structure, management system, discipline, teaching and research, faculty, student, internationalization, financing, and campus construction. These objects are categorized into three types: strategic orientation, key strategies, and a supporting system, which constitute the complete strategic planning system. Strategic orientation identifies the value and development direction of a university, including mission and objectives. Key strategies refine the strategic orientation into several key performance indexes, including culture, discipline, teaching and research, faculty, students, internationalization, and financing. A supportive system supports, coordinates and ensures achievement of the general objective, as well as partial objectives, including organizational structure, management system, and campus construction.Following constructivism, this paper adopts the approach of constructing a theoretical framework or model step by step. In the beginning, the paper explains the basic concepts and theories concerning each object. It then analyzes the current situation in existing Chinese universities to finally integrate ideas and arguments of research scholars. It further constructs an innovative theoretical framework or model. On this basis, this paper makes some suggestions for strategic planning according to the current situation of USTC.In conclusion, this paper systematically and holistically analyzes objects and content in the work of strategic planning, points out the challenges and common problems faced by Chinese universities. These common problems may get in the way of Chinese universities in achieving sustainable development, thereby achieving world class status. Solving these problems will enable Chinese universities to successfully accomplish the great-leap-forward development. Finally, it is hoped that the suggestions presented in this paper will accelerate remarkable progress for USTC in achieving top university status globally. |
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