Leveraging Data to Support Strategic Planning: Carnegie Mellon's Process

Session Abstract: Institutional Research offices are often asked to provide data to support institutional strategic planning processes. However, being intensively engaged in facilitating the strategic planning process is uncommon. Carnegie Mellon’s leaders recognized that as institutions face evolving challenges in higher education—ranging from changing demographics to shifts in labor market demands—a data-intensive approach is crucial to making data-informed decisions. In this presentation, we will share a case study of Carnegie Mellon University’s Institutional Effectiveness and Planning Office providing comprehensive data analysis support to the university’s strategic planning efforts. Our process includes a multifaceted environmental scan, benchmarking against peer institutions, and stakeholder surveys to guide the future institutional strategy. These data points are essential to support all stages of the planning process.

Keywords: strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, benchmarking, administrative data support