ABOUT US : Strategic Plan

Our Road Map to Greatness – 2004-2009
Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Strategic Plan

Members of the Strategic Planning Council: On February 20-21, 2004, a group of 27 diverse stakeholders gathered in Philadelphia to help the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools (MSCSS) chart its preferred future. These individuals were chosen to reflect the broad diversity found in the current MSCSS membership as well as to represent the diverse constituencies that accreditation is designed to serve. Therefore, the SPC membership included individuals from many walks of educational life including:

• urban, suburban, and rural schools
• distance education institutions
• charter schools
• career and technology institutions
• educational service agencies
• public schools and non-public schools, including independent and religious schools
• schools managed by an educational management organization (EMO)
• overseas and international schools
• state education departments
• professional education organizations, including the head of a governmental relations division and the head of an accrediting agency
• long-time MSCSS members as well as those new to the organization
• team chairs
• teachers
• administrators
• heads of districts and heads of high schools
• higher education representatives, including teacher education
• representatives from our sister Commissions, the Commission on Higher Education and the Commission on Elementary Schools
• professional staff of the Commission on Secondary Schools
• members of the Commission on Secondary Schools, including the Chair, Chair-Elect, head of the Policy and Strategic Development Committee, the head and a member of the Membership and Accreditation Committee, and a public member
• President of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Board of Trustees

The Strategic Planning Council members are as follows:

We thank the above-named individuals for the time, expertise, and energy that were devoted to the development of Our Road Map to Greatness.

Our Organizing Framework: The organizing framework chosen by the MSCSS staff for the two-day planning retreat was Jim Collins’ 2003 publication, Good to Great. This book was selected because we knew from the beginning that we wanted to engage in a non-traditional planning process. Past strategic planning activities had engaged in the development of mission, beliefs, and goals, which had to varying degrees guided the work of the Commission over the past years. However, while MSCSS is an educational association, we are also a non-profit corporation and thus, we felt we could benefit from thinking like a corporation, too. Collins’ focus on corporations that moved from good to great was perceived to be helpful in thinking differently about the future of the organization.

The Key Principles of Good to Great: In Good to Great, Collins presents a six-point framework that has applicability to many different types of organizations. The Good to Great framework is broken into three stages….
• Disciplined People, which includes Level Five Leadership and First Who, Then What
• Disciplined Thought which includes Confront the Brutal Facts and The Hedgehog Concept
• Disciplined Action, which includes A Culture of Discipline and Technology Accelerators
….that take an organization from buildup to breakthrough.

Our Agenda: Based on the Good to Great principles summarized above, the agenda for the MSCSS strategic planning retreat was structured around the following themes:

• THEME #1: Defining Greatness
• THEME #2: MSCSS’s “Greatness” (Facing the Brutal Facts about MSCSS)
• THEME #3: Issues in Education and Schoolos (Facing the Brutal Facts about Education and Member Schools)
• THEME #4: Issues at MSCSS (The impact on MSCSS of Brutal Facts related to Education and Member Schools)
• THEME #5: Who We Are and What We Care About (The Hedgehog Concept)
• THEME #6: Identifying and Embracing Opportunities
• THEME #7: Taking Advantage of Opportunities
• Clarification of the MSCSS Mission
• Identification of 3-4 Strategic Goals/Priorities

The sessions were kicked off by Dr. James Foran, Chair of the Commission on Secondary Schools, and the two days were facilitated by Dr. Susan K. Nicklas, Executive Director of MSCSS. By the end of two days of intense thought and critical questioning, the Strategic Planning Council identified four broad areas to serve as the focus for the goals: Marketing, Member Services, Finances, and Relationships.

Our Action Plan Development: Based on the direction of the SPC and the many ideas provided in the two-day retreat, the MSCSS staff developed multi-year action plan. Draft plans were submitted electronically to all SPC members and they were asked to respond to the ideas, concepts, and quality of the plans. At its October 2004 meeting, the full Commission on Secondary Schools reviewed the objectives and action plans and gave official approval.

The Results: The following strategic plan is called Our Road Map to Greatness. The genesis of the word “greatness” is clear from the path the SPC and the staff followed to create the plans. We call attention, however, to the use of the word “our.” This word was carefully chosen to reflect the belief that this is not just the plan of the Commission, the staff, or the Strategic Planning Council. It is the plan of our membership and for our membership.

MSCSS Mission

The Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools (MSCSS), the premier American regional accreditation agency, is the leader in ensuring that all students in its region receive the highest quality of education and achieve at levels expected by society. Through its accreditation and school improvement services, MSCSS recognizes excellence in educational quality, planning, and growth in student performance and provides the means to meet rigorous standards of educational quality.

MSCSS Vision of Excellence

MSCSS will demonstrate that it is accomplishing its mission and that it is the premier American regional accreditation agency when:

• All eligible institutions in its region are accredited or are seeking accreditation by MSCSS.
• Every student in an MSCSS accredited school is achieving at the highest levels of student performance.
• MSCSS’s Standards for Accreditation are acknowledged as the most respected standards of educational quality in the world.
• MSCSS’s accreditation materials and school improvement services are recognized as the most respected and effective motivators for institutions to attain the highest levels of student and organizational performance.
• The value of membership in MSCSS, as an “organization of educators for educators” is known throughout the world of education. MSCSS promotes networking and professional development and provides unique opportunities for educators to work with and for each other.

Our Four Five-Year Goals and the Action Plan Strategies to Achieve Them:

Goal #1: Marketing, Recruitment, and Communication
By the year 2009, the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools will increase its market share and the value of its services by implementing mission-based, consistent, sustainable, diverse, data-driven marketing, communication and recruitment practices.

The Marketing, Recruitment, and Communication goal will be addressed through ambitious, multi-year action plans developed around the following sixteen strategies that include 181 action steps:
• Strategy #1: Establishing A Data System to Improve Marketing Decisions and Track Progress ( 9 action steps)
• Strategy #2: Communicating the Value of Accreditation; Development of Marketing Materials (23 action steps)
• Strategy #3: Enhancing the Image of CSS to Member Schools (17 action steps)
• Strategy #4: Marketing MSCSS Accreditation to Parents ( 8 action steps)
• Strategy #5: Marketing MSCSS Accreditation to School Boards/Boards of Trustees (10 action steps)
• Strategy #6: Marketing MSCSS Accreditation to Other Organizations and Groups (10 action steps)
• Strategy #7: Marketing MSCSS Accreditation to Team Chairs and Team Members (12 action steps)
• Strategy #8: Recruitment of Non-Member Schools (General) (15 action steps)
• Strategy #9: Recruitment of Non-Member Public Schools ( 9 action steps)
• Strategy #10: Recruitment of Non-Member Non-Public Schools ( 9 action steps)
• Strategy #11: Recruitment of Non-Member Charter Schools ( 9 action steps)
• Strategy #12: Recruitment of Non-Member Career and Technology Institutions ( 9 action steps)
• Strategy #13: Recruitment of Non-Member Distance Education Institutions ( 9 action steps)
• Strategy #14: Recruitment of Non-Member Supplementary Education Organizations ( 9 action steps)
• Strategy #15: Recruitment of Non-Member CIWA Schools and Service Agencies ( 1 action step)
• Strategy #16: Communication with/About Member Institutions (21 action steps)

Goal #2: Member Services
By the year 2009, the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools will be the “#1 organization of choice” for institutions seeking accreditation and school improvement services that are responsive to client needs, resourceful in helping and supporting educators, and useful in effectively improving performance of all students.

The Member Services goal will be addressed through ambitious, multi-year action plans developed around the following six strategies that include of 83 action steps:
• Strategy #1: New Services/Materials for Member Institutions (22 action steps)
• Strategy #2: Enhancement of Current Member Services—Workshops (11 action steps)
• Strategy #3: Enhancement of Current Member Services--Team-Building, Team Member, and Chair Training (11 action steps)
• Strategy #4: Enhancement of Current Member Services—General ( 6 action steps)
• Strategy #5: Accreditation Materials (25 action steps)
• Strategy #6: Providing Services for a Fee ( 8 action steps)

Goal #3: Finances and Organizational Capacity
By the year 2009, the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools will possess the financial viability and organizational capacity necessary to achieve its short-term operational objectives and its long-term strategic growth.

The Finances and Organizational Capacity goal will be addressed through ambitious, multi-year action plans developed around the following four strategies that include of 50 action steps:
• Strategy #1: Financial Viability (19 action steps)
• Strategy #2: Organizational Effectiveness (11 action steps)
• Strategy #3: Organizational Capacity ( 8 action steps)
• Strategy #4: Technology Infrastructure (12 action steps)

Goal #4: Relationships with State, Regional, National, and International Organizations
By the year 2009, the Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools will set the standard for mutually beneficial and effective collaborative relationships with a diverse range of state, regional, national, and international organizations and educational agencies that support the efforts of member schools and education in general.

The Relationships with State, Regional, National, and International Organizations goal will be addressed through ambitious, multi-year action plans developed around:
• Strategy #1: Relationship-Building ( 23 action steps)

Each of the goals has a number of areas where baseline data has been collected and will continued to be collected. The following chart shows the number of action steps to be implemented in each goal area in a year-by year format.

	Marketing, Recruitment, and Communication	Member Services	Finances and Organizational Capacity	Relationships with Local, State, Federal, and International Organizations	TOTAL action steps to be implemented in each year of the plan
Year #1 2004-2005	58	38	20	7	123
Year #2 2005-2006	47	25	20	8	100
Year #3 2006-2007	30	11	6	5	52
Year #4 2007-2008	30	5	4	3	42
Year #5 2008-2009	16	4	0	0	20
TOTAL # of action steps for each goal	181	83	50	23	337

For Further Information: Anyone wishing further information on Our Road Map to Greatness—The MSCSS Strategic Plan for 2004-2009 should contact Executive Director Hank Cram at hcram<at>css-msa.org.