Strategic Planning

Tulane University
SWOT ANALYSIS

Draft Date: November 20, 1998

Strengths

Opportunities

Name recognition (Tulane and Newcomb)

Academic reputation and national ranking of undergraduate program

Quality and geographic mix of undergraduate student population

AAU and Carnegie I status

Distinctive coordinate college system

Manageable size

A few highly ranked schools and programs (professional & graduate)

Attractive location (city and culture) for students, especially undergrads

Attractive urban campus

Diversity of programs offered

Richness of unique on-campus resources for teaching, research and development

International presence in specific regions (Latin America, Taiwan, Africa, Europe)

Growing international alumni base

Alumni pride

Success in achieving fund-raising goals

Dedicated and loyal faculty and staff

History and culture of doing more with less

Weaknesses

Lack of financial resources (no reserves, underendowed, too tuition dependent)

Not meeting fund-raising potential

Highly centralized system of financial management (i.e. lack of financial incentives at unit level)

Close to minimum standards for maintaining AAU and Carnegie I status

Uneven quality of graduate programs

Inadequate levels of funded research, especially competitively awarded grants, and inadequate support structures for research activities of all kinds

Barriers to interdisciplinary study

Barriers to effective collaboration and coordination between uptown and downtown campuses and between schools, colleges and departments

Often competing on the basis of "price" rather than differentiation

Perception that we are not responsive to the local (city/state) community

Inadequate information systems

Inadequate relationships with external constituencies, including alumni

With some exceptions, programs that lag behind in use of the latest technology for learning

With some exceptions, lack of speed and flexibility in responding to trends and issues

Maintenance and condition of campus

Physical constraints of uptown and downtown campuses

Enhance Tulane’s brand name through more effective marketing and communications

Capitalize on the fact that Tulane is the premier university in Louisiana and one of only a few prestigious private research universities in the south

Develop a differentiated strategy within the traditional research university

Capitalize on Tulane’s relatively small size to create an intimate, personal learning experience.

Enhance development of centers of excellence.

Leverage distinctiveness of Tulane’s location for teaching, research, and public service, especially at the undergraduate level.

Leverage Tulane’s diversity and mix of academic programs and schools/colleges to create new areas of study and degree combinations as well as research opportunities.

Develop new sources of income through program development, increased research funding, and pursuit of partnering/alliance strategies.

Build on strengths at developing programs internationally.

 
Realize Tulane’s long term funding potential.

Make Tulane a "true" university with synergy between units, schools and colleges and connections and traditions that reinforce the unity of the institution.

Threats

Tulane’s financial status

Resource advantage held by institutions we want to surpass

Small, and shrinking, corporate sector in New Orleans

 
Loss of AAU and/or Carnegie status,

Significant negative shift in program rankings, especially in those already ranked

 
Location, especially in recruiting faculty and senior-level administrative staff

Public and private political pressures

Increased external competition and emergence of new approaches to education