University System of Maryland Strategic Plan


A Letter from Chancellor Perman and Regent Gonella

The University System of Maryland (USM) Strategic Plan will serve as a blueprint for the USM’s future, articulating where we are and where we want to be. It will detail how we’ll achieve our vision, how we’ll gauge our progress, and what values are indispensable to our success. 

Higher education faces disruption on a scale and of a scope none of us has seen firsthand, forcing us to reconsider questions foundational to our work: Who are our students? Why and how do they learn? What’s the value of the education we provide? The size and pace of change will test our strategic planning, as we set out to envision the future landscape and how the USM will lead through it. 

This strategic plan will focus on the next five years, while positioning the University System to address potential challenges 10-plus years into the future. The planning process entails talking with the USM’s many stakeholders, documenting our existing strengths and opportunities for impact, and developing and prioritizing our strategic themes, goals, and strategies. A final plan will be submitted to the USM Board of Regents Strategic Planning Working Group in June 2022.

This planning process—and, of course, the plan itself—will be made immeasurably better by your ideas and perspectives. The comment box on this page is for you. Tell us what sets the USM apart and what stops us from achieving our potential. Tell us what barriers the USM faces and which assets we could leverage to dismantle them. Tell us why the USM has value, and what we can do to amplify it.

Strategic planning has never been more important. We'll be updating this site regularly throughout the year, so we hope you'll check back in often and tell us what you think about our plan to move the USM forward.
 



Strategic Plan Background, Planning Process, and Timeline

The USM BOR Strategic Planning Working Group is charged with leading the development of a new system strategic plan, in consultation with the system community and other stakeholders. The resulting plan will serve as a blueprint for USM's future and align new goals with current strengths. The USM has partnered with Huron Consulting Group to serve as objective facilitators of the process.

Strategic Planning will fundamentally address where we are, our vision for the future, a plan to achieve this vision, a process for monitoring our success, and the resources we will acquire and apply in the execution of this plan.


Phase I
January - March

USM Phase 1 - Current State

Baseline the Current State and Align on the Future Environment

  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Internal data analysis

Phase II
March - May

USM Phase 2 - Blueprint the Future

Blueprint the Future State

  • External environment analysis, benchmarking and SWOT
  • Blueprint opportunities for new growth and impact

Phase III
June - July

USM Phase 3 - Walk the Future Back

Walk the Future Back

  • Development of set of emerging strategic options
  • Prioritization framework

Phase IV
August - December

USM Phase 4 - Develop the Path Forward

Develop the Path Forward

  • Identification of priority initiatives
  • Finalization of strategy and deliverables
  • Present recommendations to BOR steering group




Your Role in the Planning Process

As stakeholder engagement is a crucial part of the strategic planning process, Huron will conduct outreach to various groups including the USM institutional presidents and their executive leadership teams, including the provosts and other vice presidents; USM’s faculty, staff, and student advisory councils; USM alumni groups or their representatives; and other State and regional political, business, and community stakeholder groups.

The USM welcomes community feedback during the development process of the strategic plan. Please fill out the form below to have your voice heard.