19 Chapter Operations Chapter operations must be strategic, organized, and integrative for the effective and successful management of a Chapter. Strategic Planning Strategic planning refers to the process of articulating and formalizing the mission, goals, objectives, and strategies of the chapter. All Chapters will be engaged in strategic planning at some point and on some level. Some institutions require all student organizations to develop a strategic plan. Additionally, the periodic reassessment of the strategic plan's aspects as circumstances, priorities, or capabilities shift is a critical step to growing, not just maintaining, a Chapter. Chapter Leaders are encouraged to attend Regional Summits for tailored and curated training on strategic planning. Collaboration among chapter leaders, members, faculty and staff is necessary when defining the chapter’s strategic plan. Even shorter strategic plans are intended to address many aspects of the Chapter over relatively long periods of time. The first step of strategic planning is to evaluate the current standing of the chapter. Understand where the chapter is currently and where you want the chapter to be so ambitious, yet reasonable goals can be defined for the strategic plan. Steering Committee A steering committee is an invited group of stakeholders that decide on the priorities or order of business of the Chapter and manages the general course of its operations. This is generally created for new Chapters and may not be appropriate for Chapters with established priorities and operations. The members of a Chapter steering committee should include Chapter Leaders, certainly, but also university administration, faculty, and staff, community members, etc. Campus Culture There are over 4,000 institutions of higher learning (IHLs) in the United States with unique campus cultures, communities, opportunities, and logistical challenges associated with each. Understanding your campus is critical to managing a Chapter that meets the needs of student veterans and the type of programming the Chapter should pursue. Campus culture is affected by the student and student veteran populations, campus location (rural or urban setting), campus setting (residential or commuter school), and student life. Once these factors are understood, it is helpful to further explore campus culture by answering the following questions as it relates to student veterans. 1. What do new student veterans on campus say about their first impressions of the institution? What did they notice first and what sense did they make of what they saw or heard? 2. How do community members talk about the campus? Do those views match up with what experienced members of the campus community or newcomers or students say about the institution? 3. What does the institution value most and how is that expressed? 4. Are Chapter Leaders’ core values and expectations aligned with the main elements of the campus culture? If not, what might Chapter Leaders do to describe the Chapter in ways that fit that culture?
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