2012 – 2015 Strategic Plan
CORE PRINCIPLES
The following Vision, Mission and Values statements articulate the cornerstones that direct and shape all of the Association’s work.
- The Vision provides the ultimate organizational direction;
- The Mission provides clarity of understanding regarding organizational definition; and
- The Values provide the Association’s unique lens of essential belief.
While each is of equal and unique importance, they provide the clearest direction, understanding and impact when viewed as a whole.
AHEAD’s Vision:
AHEAD envisions educational and societal environments that value disability and embody equity.
AHEAD’s Mission:
AHEAD is the premiere professional association committed to equity and inclusion of persons with disabilities in postsecondary education. As an international resource, AHEAD:
- values diversity, personal growth and development, and creativity
- promotes leadership and exemplary practices
- provides professional development and disseminates information
- orchestrates resources through partnership and collaboration
AHEAD dynamically addresses current and emerging issues with respect to disability, education, and accessibility to facilitate discourse, system change and universal access.
AHEAD values:
- Philosophy, thinking, and paradigms that view disability as the interaction between person and environment
- Diversity throughout the Association;
- Equitable, just, sustainable, and usable postsecondary environments;
- Professionals who respect and nourish student autonomy and work as allies to design inclusive communities; and
- Organizational strength that sustains essential resources and supports growth.
Strategic Objectives and Goals
- Goal 1: Achieve a dynamic and sustainable organization and membership
- Goal 2: Provide leadership to promote equitable, just, sustainable and usable postsecondary environments
- Goal 3: Integrate diversity throughout the Association
- Goal 4: Create, coordinate, refine and deliver comprehensive professional development opportunities
- Goal 5: Create and disseminate resources that further and address disability and postsecondary education
Goal 1: Achieve a dynamic and sustainable organization and membership
Objective I: Develop and implement a 5-year financial plan to increase revenue by 2-4% annual
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Develop 5-year plan that identifies strategies for financial growth | Executive Director, Treasurer | Plan presented to BOD- Spring 2012 |
| Achieve 2-4% growth in revenue | Executive Director | End of FY 2012 |
| Achieve 2-4% growth in revenue | Executive Director | End of FY 2013 |
| Achieve 2-4% growth in revenue | Executive Director | End of FY 2014 |
| Achieve 2-4% growth in revenue | Executive Director | End of FY 2015 |
| Achieve 2-4% growth in revenue | Executive Director | End of FY 2016 |
Objective 2: Research and, if feasible, establish a supplemental organization or foundation with responsibility for developing external revenue to support the goals of the Association
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Appoint ad hoc committee to research establishment of a fund development organization | President | Winter 2011/2012 |
| Report on the feasibility of a supplemental organization/foundation | Ad hoc committee | Spring 2012 BOD meeting |
Objective 3: Develop and implement an aggressive membership growth plan
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Achieve membership of 3,000 | Membership SC & Staff | End of FY 2014 |
| Achieve membership of 3,300 | Membership SC & Staff | End of FY 2017 |
Objective 4: Develop a five-year plan for implementing a project-specific, external-funding program.
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| 5-year funding proposal developed | Executive Director & Board of Directors | Spring 2013 BOD meeting |
Goal 2: Provide leadership to promote equitable, just, sustainable and usable postsecondary environments
Objective 1: Develop and implement a legislative and public policy agenda to respond to current issues and inform members of developments
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Develop, present & approve 2-year public policy plan | Public Policy SC; Board of Directors | Fall 2012 BOD meeting |
Objective 2: Anticipate, monitor, respond to and inform members of emerging issues in disability and postsecondary education.
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Develop sustainable strategy to continuously monitor and effectively communicate & address emerging issues | Board of Directors, SC Chairs & Executive Director | Spring 2012 BOD meeting |
Objective 3: Formulate a strategic research agenda that establishes AHEAD as a leader in developing and documenting effective practice and informs the field of disability and postsecondary
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Research the feasibility of creating a staff position focused on research | Executive Director | Fall 2011 BOD meeting |
| Develop and implement a system of collaborative creation between staff and volunteer committee to shepherd research agenda. | Executive Director, Research Committee Chair & BOD | Spring/Summer 2012 and ongoing |
Objective 4: Monitor and inform members of international policies and research that have relevance to the field of disability and postsecondary education
Target |
Responsible party | Time line |
| Develop means of sustainable and effective means of engagement between AHEAD and those in other countries. | Membership SC & BOD | Spring 2012 BOD meeting |
| Develop sustainable strategy to continuously monitor international developments | Board of Directors & Executive Director | Spring 2012 BOD meeting |
Objective 5: Collaborate with organizations that intersect disability in postsecondary education to grow Association capacity, develop allies and enhance understanding of disability and access
Target |
Responsible party | Time line |
| Identify and prioritize target organizations | Board of Directors | Fall 2012 BOD meeting |
| Plan and implement sustainable strategy for developing and maintaining relationships | Board of Directors | Fall 2013 BOD meeting |
Goal 3: Integrate diversity throughout the Association
Objective 1: Evaluate the demographic characteristics of the membership annually and use the data to target underrepresented constituencies and increase the diversity of the membership
Target |
Responsible party | Time line |
| Develop & approve member survey | Diversity SC; Board of Directors | Spring 2012 BOD meeting |
| Deliver member survey; compile and report results | Staff | Fall 2012 BOD meeting; ongoing annually |
| Develop, present & approve 2-year diversity plan | Diversity SC; Board of Directors | Spring 2012 BOD meeting |
Objective 2: Achieve and maintain a diverse Board of Directors
Target |
Responsible party | Time line |
| Review and revise, as necessary, policies and practices to infuse a sustainable commitment to diversity; | Board of Directors | Winter 2011/2012 and ongoing |
| Review Board composition and use Director appointment to ensure representation of diverse racial, ethnic and disability characteristics on the Board | President | Following each election and prior to appointment |
Objective 3: Actively recruit members from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and Tribal Colleges
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Develop and present strategy to recruit actively from these institutions; targets established | Diversity SC | Fall 2011 and ongoing |
| Member recruitment plan initiated | Membership SC, and Staff | Targets monitored annually |
Objective 4: Promote the inclusion of disability in campus diversity agendas and the importance of diversity in disability services work
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Develop resources to enhance members’ skill in infusing disability into diversity initiatives on their campuses | Diversity SC | Summer 2013 |
| Create best practice model for welcoming diverse students into campus disability resource offices | Diversity SC | Summer 2014 |
Goal 4: Create, coordinate, refine and deliver comprehensive professional development opportunities
Objective 1: Identify and review annually the knowledge, skills, and abilities important to a range of disability resource professionals in postsecondary education.
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Develop, present & approve 2-year professional development plan | Professional Development SC; Board of Directors | Spring 2012 BOD meeting |
Objective 2: Ensure that all professional development programming and materials are consistent with and reflective of the Association’s values of diversity, equity, sustainability and disability scholarship
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Develop and present a guiding document to reference in identifying standards for professional development content | Professional Development SC; Board of Directors | Fall 2013 BOD meeting |
Objective 3: Develop a slate of professional development opportunities that includes face-to-face training, distance education and Web and print-based resources and meets the training and resource interests of full and part-time DS professionals (with a variety of specializations)
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Research, identify and present recommendations on effective distance education delivery systems | Technology SC | Spring 2012 BOD meeting |
| Develop and implement strategies to identify training interests of various DS professionals | Professional Development SC; staff | On-going |
Objective 4: Provide professional development opportunities that enhance member knowledge, skills, and abilities requisite to working with diverse student populations
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Research and collaborate to identify requisite skills and offer programming and resources | Diversity and Professional Development SCs | Summer 2013 |
Goal 5: Create and disseminate resources that further and address disability and postsecondary education
Objective 1: Develop and maintain a dynamic, interactive Association Website that disseminates high quality, relevant and timely information to a variety of users
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Review current Website and recommend changes in structure, format and content | Member Services and Technology SC | Fall 2013 BOD meeting |
| Implement changes or initiate development of new Website | Board of Directors; Executive Director; staff | Completed by 2014 |
Objective 2: Produce and disseminate pertinent publications of interest to members, education and disability professionals, students and families
| Target | Responsible party | Time line |
| Review and recommend changes to AHEAD Professional and Program Standards and Ethics | Professional Development SC & BOD | Fall 2012 BOD meeting |
| Review, edit and develop models of best practice | Professional Development SC; staff | On-going (establish target dates for various items) |
| Develop resources for students and families | Professional Development SC; staff | On-going (establish target dates for various items) |
| Identify and produce materials that address DS management skills, emerging issues, etc. | Professional Development SC; staff | On-going (establish target dates for various items) |
