Strategic Higher Education Finance and Planning Course Completion

After successfully completing this course, participants will be able to— - Explain strategic planning, its relationship with higher education leadership, and its importance for college and university effectiveness - Describe how to use analytics to develop, communicate, and affect institutional strategies - Discuss the drivers behind higher education expenses and strategies for improving resource generation - Apply best practices of communication for more effective presentations This course includes the following modules: Module 1: The Finance Leadership Role in Strategic Planning As you journey through Module 1, you will learn and understand what strategic planning is, its relationship with higher education leadership, and its importance for college and university effectiveness. You will evaluate institutional strategic planning and how it relates to the mission of your institution. Module 2: Making Data-Informed Decisions to Support Institutional Mission and Strategy Module 2 is focused on the importance and effectiveness of building institutional data literacy and capabilities to leverage analytics—including financial metrics—to develop, communicate, and affect institutional strategies. Module 3: Revenue and Resource Allocation in Support of Mission and Strategic Goals In Module 3, you will learn about the history of college cost discussions, the role that planning and budgeting have in revenue generation and resource allocation, drivers behind higher education expenses, and strategies for improving resource generation and use at colleges and universities. Module 4: Strategic Financial Leadership and Institutional Success In the final module of the course, you will learn about strategic leadership and its benefits, as well as the importance of leadership presence in higher education. You will analyze persuasive communication and learn to apply best practices of communication to present financial information to different stakeholders.