Introduction
Southern Polytechnic State University is a fortunate institution. The University is situated in a vibrant community in a state that favors higher education. It has outstanding students, a fine faculty, and an excellent staff. It concentrates on technological dimensions of education that are becoming increasingly important in most areas of human endeavor. Thus, SPSU stands on the verge of immense opportunities as the twenty-first century nears.

The University community has long recognized that to take fullest advantage of its opportunities, it needs to decide where it wants to go and how it plans to get there. This Strategic Plan is a major step in helping SPSU make those decisions, detail those plans, and take advantage of its opportunities.

SPSU’s Strategic Plan is divided into six sections: Vision, Mission, Guiding Principles for Strategic Action, Strategic Environment, Key Performance Areas and Strategies, and Key Performance Indicators. Sections One and Two offer insight to the University’s purposes and aspirations. Section Three details the principles upon which it acts and intends to act. Section Four analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which the University enjoys or must confront. Section Five discusses five key performance areas in which the University must excel if it is to succeed in the twenty-first century and details the strategies which it plans to implement so it can succeed. The final section provides indicators by which the University will measure how well it is succeeding in the coming years.

This iteration of the SPSU Strategic Plan is part of a process that will be revisited every three years, or more frequently if events warrant. This strategic plan will guide both long-range planning and SPSU’s annual Operational Plan. Each section of the plan stands alone, but it is in fact an integrated document, with each section having an impact on every other section.

1100 South Marietta Parkway Marietta, Georgia 30060 (678) 915-7778 Comments: banderso@spsu.edu Last Modified: June 17, 1998