September 5 - 7
Before we go, each department should have written an initial:
- Mission Statement for Department
- 5 year plan for Department
- Current and forseeable issues for Department
Questionairre :
MediaCenter questionnaire for retreat preparation
– Working Copy – 7 May, 2002 – Christopher Robbins – Based on Enhancements to Centre Support plans byTom Pierce (pierce_t@usp.ac.fj)
Please provide the following information and forward to austin_l@usp.ac.fj by ? ?? July-August-September? ?? Please discuss these questions with the members of your department prior to completion.
Department: _
A) Mission Statement Exercise
(this section is based on 
http://www.allianceonline.org/faqs.html)
What is the purpose of your Department? (eg: To enhance the education of USP students and to train local people as Multimedia professionals)
What activities are you going to do to accomplish our purpose? (eg: Through the creation of educational CDs and websites for USP students)
What are the basic beliefs that we share in the department? (eg: Commitment to Excellence, Enrichment of education, Accessibility)
What is the problem or need your organization is trying to address? (eg: We address the need for more dynamic and detailed teaching modes, especially where there is limited contact with a Lecturer. We also provide vital on-the-job training of Multimedia skills)
What makes your organization unique? (eg: We are the only Multimedia organization in the South Pacific exclusively dedicated to education at USP)
Who are the beneficiaries of your work? (eg: USP students and Lecturers, MediaCentre Staff)
B) Strengths and weaknesses
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the department? What are we already doing to achieve this mission statement? What are we not doing?
What are some recurring issues? (eg: staffing, competition, conflict, disorganization, lack of skills, lack of funds, lack of equipment: be specific!)
What about this department makes it indispensable to USP?
C) Department focus and growth
List the categories of the different projects your Department has completed over the past 3 years. (eg: USP education: which subject, fundraising, community development: specify, art, etc.)
How many from each category?
Which departments did you work with on these projects and how?
If there are trends of busy and open times, please describe.
Project | Category | Depts involved | Target Audience
What sorts of projects would you like your department to focus on?
Which aspects of projects might be better served by another department?
Which categories are most crucial to your Department’s mission?
How can you increase the focus on these categories? (eg: training, marketing, fund-raising, new staff, new equipment, reorganization: be specific!)
D) "Year 2007" Exercise
In a few paragraphs (one page at most), describe the Department in Year 2007, the plan to get there and the major requirements to achieve that plan. Wording is flexible but the three-step approach of "Vision"-- "Plan" – "Key Requirements" should be followed.
Vision: Describe how you would like your Department to look in Y2007:
- Number and scope of focus of projects, staff
- Relationship with other departments in Media Centre
- Relationship with related departments at USP (Extension, CELT, others)
- Relationship/usage with/by students/lecturers
- competition
- facilities
- other
Plan: Describe the major steps you expect to take to achieve that vision. Summarize growth areas where you will focus — e.g. media focus, marketing activities, interdepartmental affiliation/reorganization, fundraising, staffing, etc.— how you will address competition. What potential problems do you see?
Needs: Describe the key things you need to achieve the plan you just described. Approval for new staff; funding for specific buildings; new equipment, interdepartmental cooperation, etc.
As an aid to completing this section, below is a sample write-up for a hypothetical Department.
(to come)