Under the direction of Dr. Blandina
Cárdenas, President of The University of
Texas-Pan American, the University has
been engaged in “outcome directed
planning” since the Summer of 2005. At
that time, a retreat of over 60
university academic and administrative
leaders resulted in the University’s
strategic plan or “map” for 2010. That
map guided the President and Vice
Presidents with their senior staff in
the development of divisional ODP maps
in late Fall 2005. The divisional ODP
maps will be used by academic and
administrative colleges and departments
as they create their own ODP maps in
Spring 2006.
Outcome directed plans, or maps, are the
result of “outcome directed thinking.”
This process differs from conventional
strategic planning in that it focuses
planners on the desired outcome they
wish for the future, rather than
beginning with problems to be overcome.
The focus shifts from obstacles to
choices. References on outcome directed
thinking and planning are listed at the
end of this page.
The six (6) UTPA goals addressed by the
Outcome Directed Planning process are:
§Provide
students with a quality
educational experience that
enables them to complete
their educational goals in a
timely fashion.
§Become an outstanding
research institution,
emphasizing collaborative
partnerships and
entrepreneurship.
§Enhance UTPA’s
engagement with the
community to meet challenges
and maximize opportunities.
§Collaborate with P-12
schools to enlarge the pool
of applicants who are
personally prepared and
academically qualified for
higher education.
§Infuse Inter-American
and global perspectives
throughout the University
community.
§Optimize
institutional effectiveness
and efficiency consistent
with high quality
organizational standards.
References
Bostrom, Robert P. and Vikki
Clawson, "Outcome-Directed
Thinking: Questions that Turn
things Around,” Bostrom and
Associates, 2003. Retrieved
January 4, 2006, from
http://www.terry.uga.edu/~rbostrom/Outmodel.doc
