About the Strategic Plan

ACHA Strategic Plan About the ACHA Logo

Background

During the winter 2012 ACHA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting in Baltimore, board members expressed their consensus that the association should undertake the process of developing a new strategic plan, fully acknowledging that this would be a major and time-consuming undertaking for ACHA leaders.

In May 2012, the BOD further directed that ACHA acquire services from a professional consultant to facilitate the process and engagement of board members.

In February 2013, facilitated by a strategic planning consultant, the board engaged in extended sessions over two days to begin development of the new strategic plan. The American College Health Foundation (ACHF) provided assistance to partially offset additional board meeting expenses incurred, and the Foundation provided a representative from its Board to also participate in the planning process.

In May 2013, at the BOD's meeting in Boston, the Board and consultant devoted further time to review the evolving strategic plan content, refine the board’s collective thinking, and sustain the strategic planning process. Following the Boston annual meeting, a team from the Executive Committee (EC) worked through the summer to review and analyze the additional BOD input as synthesized and provided by the strategic planning consultant.

On February 1, 2014, at the BOD's winter meeting in Baltimore, the board reviewed and approved the new ACHA strategic plan.

Strategic Plan Summary

The result of ACHA's strategic planning process is:

  • A revalidation of our aspirational Vision. It remains the same as in the former strategic plan: To be the recognized voice of expertise in college health.

  • A shortened, more concise Mission statement that synthesizes our many activities into three overarching foci (advocacy, education, and research): To serve as the principal leadership organization for advancing the health of college students and campus communities through advocacy, education, and research.

  • An articulation of those foci as major Goal areas — broad and ongoing aims — that are interconnected, overlapping, mutually supportive, and together define continuous accomplishment of ACHA's mission:
    • Provide continuous and timely advocacy for national policies that support the health and well-being of college students and their campus communities.
    • Provide high-quality education to college health professionals, students, and other stakeholders to enhance the skills and capacities needed to advance health and build healthier campus communities.
    • Support and disseminate relevant research and evidence-informed knowledge related to issues impacting the health and well-being of college students and their campus communities.
  • The establishment of supporting Objectives and Strategies that will be pursued in furtherance of ACHA's major goals which ultimately define the association's mission.

Actions that ACHA will initiate under those strategies will be the domain of the various entities within the association (sections, coalitions, committees, task forces, and association liaisons) as charged, tasked or otherwise guided and directed by the ACHA President and Board of Directors.

The strategic plan is intended to be a living document that ACHA leadership periodically reviews and changes as appropriate to remain current and relevant to college health, and to the members and students that ACHA serves. Hopefully, through the coordinated efforts of all members, supported and assisted by ACHA national office staff, the association will continue to grow, serve, and be the recognized voice of expertise in college health.