Strategic Planning and Institutional Development
A practice-focused course that equips senior academics, heads of department, deans, senate/council members, and academic administrators to develop, implement, and sustain institutional strategies. It covers environmental and situational analysis, formulation of vision, mission, and strategic goals aligned to stakeholder needs and African development agendas, translation of strategy into operational plans and resource allocation, and design of robust performance-management systems including KPIs and balanced scorecards. Grounded in African institutional realities and CAA's ethos of strategic, evidence-based transformation.
A practice-focused course that equips senior academics, heads of department, deans, senate/council members, and academic administrators to develop, implement, and sustain institutional strategies. It covers environmental and situational analysis, formulation of vision, mission, and strategic goals aligned to stakeholder needs and African development agendas, translation of strategy into operational plans and resource allocation, and design of robust performance-management systems including KPIs and balanced scorecards.
Instruction & Evaluation
Online / Asynchronous (Self-Paced with Faculty Mentorship)
Self-paced modular instruction with continuous continental access via the CAA Member Portal, supplemented by faculty moderation.
Continuous Assessment & Practical Portfolio
Continuous Assessment (30%) — strategy case studies, environmental-analysis exercises, applied strategic exercises (evidence-verified per the CAA CPD verification convention). Participation & Professional Conduct (30%) — seminar and strategic-planning scenario engagement. Capstone Reflective Assessment (40%) — a Strategic Development Plan (1,000–1,500 words): a coherent institutional strategy and implementation outline for the participant's own institution or a modelled African university, including environmental analysis, strategic priorities, and a performance framework. Credential: Certificate of Completion in Strategic Planning and Institutional Development (3 CPD credits).
What You Will Master
- Diagnose an institution's strategic position using environmental scanning, situational analysis (SWOT, PESTEL), and stakeholder mapping within the African higher-education context.
- Formulate a compelling institutional vision, mission, and strategic goals aligned to stakeholder needs, institutional values, and national/continental development agendas.
- Design and manage an inclusive strategic planning process, translating strategy into operational plans, priorities, and resource allocation.
- Establish effective performance management systems — key performance indicators, scorecards, and monitoring and evaluation — to track progress and drive accountability.
- Lead institutional development initiatives that build institutional capacity and sustain continuous improvement in resource-constrained African settings.
5 Modules
Foundations of Strategic Planning in Higher Education
Introduces the conceptual foundations of strategy in universities, setting it apart from operations, establishing mission, vision and values as anchors, and connecting strategy to governance and quality.
3 Lessons
Environmental Analysis and Strategic Positioning
Develops the diagnostic discipline of strategy — PESTEL, SWOT, stakeholder mapping, demand and market analysis, and benchmarking — grounded in the realities of African higher education.
3 Lessons
Strategic Formulation and Mission Alignment
Focuses on choosing direction — setting SMART priorities, aligning with development agendas, making strategic choices and roadmaps, balancing the portfolio, and inclusive consultative planning.
3 Lessons
Implementation, Performance Management, and Accountability
Addresses making strategy happen — cascading into operational plans, resource allocation and sequencing, and building performance-management systems (KPIs, balanced scorecards, dashboards) with monitoring, evaluation, and review.
3 Lessons
Institutional Development and Continuous Improvement
Addresses how institutions build the capacity to realise and sustain strategy — capacity, talent and resources, sustaining momentum, adaptive strategy, and continuous improvement and transformation in African contexts.
3 Lessons
Weekly Topics
Ready to enrol in LMA303?
Access this course, study modular pedagogical frameworks, and earn verified CPD credits through the CAA member portal.
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