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Georgia Tech’s Strategic Plan advisory process will soon be reconstituted to support the Commission on Creating the Next in Education (CNE) Program Office, now housed in the Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U). The new role is a result of an organizational change that took place during Fall 2018. In the new structure, faculty and student representatives from the Strategic Plan Advisory Group (SPAG) will advise the CNE Program Office to ensure Institute initiatives and communities are deliberately aligned with the Strategic Plan.

“The Strategic Plan Advisory Group has monitored progress in implementation of Georgia Tech’s Strategic Plan since 2010. At the moment, our foremost and most important strategic initiative is articulated by the report of the Commission on Creating the Next in Education (CNE): Deliberate Innovation, Lifetime Education,” said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Rafael L. Bras. “As an internal advisory component of the CNE program office, this new version of SPAG will continue its role in monitoring and guiding us in this important effort.”

The change will allow for optimized coordination and execution of strategic initiatives identified in the 2018 CNE report. Prior to the launch of CNE initiatives, SPAG was responsible for campus alignment with the Strategic Plan. Beginning in Spring 2019, the Strategic Plan advisory process, as guided by SPAG, will pivot to consult on the CNE Program Office’s efforts to seek out faculty, staff, and student engagement in Institute-wide projects and initiatives that will define Georgia Tech as a leading research institution, propelled by “progress and service.”

“Campus engagement is a critical factor in the success of strategic initiatives at Georgia Tech,” said David Frost, chair of SPAG and a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “In the years since SPAG was established, our organization has played a critical role in engaging the Georgia Tech community in institutionalizing this plan. Going forward, we are excited about seeing that same enthusiasm and level of engagement accomplished by the CNE Program Office as it works to partner with faculty, staff, and students to advance an innovative education vision for the Institute”.

Since the publication of the CNE report, Institute leadership’s focus has shifted to implementation of many of the ideas and projects outlined in the report. The creation and growth of the CNE Program Office will advance initiatives in focus areas such as flexible learning experiences, new tools for modern advising practices, and early achievement.

“We need to foster a campus culture that encourages educational innovation and provides pathways to pilot such ideas,” said Rich DeMillo, executive director of C21U and the CNE Program Office. “The CNE report describes a new approach for taking deliberate, targeted actions at the organizational, team, and individual levels to create a culture of innovation. SPAG’s guidance will become a critical arm of this deliberate approach."

The Georgia Institute of Technology's report, “Deliberate Innovation, Lifetime Education,” follows the work of the Commission on Creating the Next in Education (CNE), an Institute-wide effort of more than 50 faculty, staff, and students. The Commission outlines recommendations on alternative educational models that reduce costs, improve the effectiveness of current methodologies, and increase opportunities and accessibility to serve the needs of the next generation and beyond. If you would like to find out more about the Commission, read the full report, or become involved, please email ed-innovation@gatech.edu.