Strategic planning is a proactive process of analyzing an organization to identify the organization’s values, mission, vision, goals, and objectives. Within campus recreation, research has focused on the processes of strategic planning, without examining the distinct organizational strategies of individual departments. The purpose of the study was to examine the content and structure of strategic plans within campus recreation and identify major priorities across institutions as a means to inform campus recreation practice. To achieve this aim, document analyses were conducted on campus recreation strategic plans of five large universities (public and private) across the United States for content and structure. The data were categorized by prominent strategic planning components outlined in Haines’s campus recreation assessment model, from which codes and themes emerged. A standard of excellence, service, and outcomes were identified as major priorities across institutions and strategic planning components. The results demonstrated an ineffective structure of goals and objectives, highlighting areas for improvement. Through empirical investigation, industry standards can be established to enhance quality programming in campus recreation.
AllisonM.KayeJ. (2005). Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations: A practical guide and workbook. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
2.
ArmstrongJ. S. (1982). The value of formal planning for strategic decisions: Review of empirical research. Strategic Management Journal, 3, 197–211.
3.
BernardH. R. (2011). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (5th ed.). Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
4.
BowenG. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9, 27–40.
5.
BrysonJ. M. (1990). Formulating strategies to manage the issues. In GiesD. L.OttJ. S.ShafritzJ. M. (Eds.), The nonprofit organization: Essential readings (pp. 166–176). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
6.
BrysonJ. M. (2011). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
7.
BrysonJ. M.AlstonF. K. (2011). Creating your strategic plan: A workbook for public and nonprofit organizations (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
8.
CarrJ. W. (2013). Program planning using a student learning approach. In NIRSA (Ed.), Campus recreational sports: Managing employees, programs, facilities, and services (pp. 1–24). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
9.
CarrJ. W.HardinS. (2010). The key to effective assessment: Writing measurable student learning outcomes. Recreational Sports Journal, 34, 138–144.
10.
CooperN.FairclothC. (2006). Repositioning campus recreation: A case report on designing program evaluation procedures. Recreational Sports Journal, 30, 126–135.
11.
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. (2009). CAS professional standards for higher education (7th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
12.
CreswellJ. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
13.
DeyF.CruzvergaraC. Y. (2014). Evolution of career services in higher education. New Directions for Student Services, 2014, 5–18.
14.
FranklinD. (2013). Evolution of campus recreational sports: Adapting to the age of accountability. In NIRSA (Ed.), Campus recreational sports: Managing employees, programs, facilities, and services (pp. 1–24). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
15.
FugazzottoS. J. (2009). Mission statements, physical space, and strategy in higher education. Innovative Higher Education, 34, 285–298.
16.
GubaE. G. (1981). Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic inquiries. Educational Communication and Technology, 29, 75–91.
17.
HainesJ. D. (2010). The campus recreation assessment model. Recreational Sports Journal, 34, 130–137.
18.
HenchyA. (2013). The perceived benefits of participating in campus recreation programs and facilities: A comparison between undergraduate and graduate students. Recreational Sports Journal, 37, 97–105.
19.
KantabutraS.AveryG. C. (2010). The power of visions: Statements that resonate. Journal of Business Strategy, 31, 37–45.
20.
KozechianH.HeidaryA.SaiahA.HeidaryM. (2012). Campus recreation worldwide: A literature review. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2, 132–139.
LowerL. M.TurnerB. A.PetersenJ. C. (2013). A comparative analysis of perceived benefits of participation between recreational sport programs. Recreational Sports Journal, 37, 66–83.
24.
LowerL. M.TurnerB. A.PetersenJ. C. (2015). Does greater opportunity for recreational sport involvement translate to greater degree of involvement. International Journal of Sport Management, 16, 62–76.
25.
McClellanG. S.KingC.RockeyD. L. (2012). The handbook of college athletics and recreation administration. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley.
26.
MerriamS. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.
27.
MintzbergH. (1990). The design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 11, 171–195.
28.
MintzbergH. (1994). The fall and rise of strategic planning. Harvard Business Review, 71, 107–114.
29.
O’ConnorK. M.LynchK.OwenD. (2011). Student-community engagement and the development of graduate attributes. Education & Training, 53, 100–115.
PearceJ. A.DavidF. (1987). Corporate mission statements: The bottom line. Academy of Management, 1, 109–116.
32.
PoisterT. H. (2010). The future of strategic planning in the public sector: Linking strategic management and performance. Public Administration Review, 70, S246–S254.
33.
SteinerG. A. (1979). Strategic planning: What every manager must know. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
34.
StraussA. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
35.
ThibaultL.SlackT.HiningsB. (1993). A framework for the analysis of strategy in nonprofit sport organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 7, 22–44.
WinstonW.StevensR. E.LoudonD. L.YowD. A.MiglioreR. H.BowdenW. W. (2013). Strategic planning for collegiate athletics. Abingdon, England: Routledge.
38.
YoungS. J.RamosW. D.YorkS. L.FletcherA. L. (2016). On the 25th anniversary of the ADA: How inclusive are campus recreation programs?Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, 26, 22–35.
