Our Focus

Our focus at Northwood University is extremely clear thanks to the strategic planning process.  Articulating and addressing student needs is critical to our success and these needs tie directly to AQIP’s Category 1: Helping Students Learn.  We have prioritized the needs into three categories–Required, Primary, and Secondary.  You can view the diagram at this link.

We all have a role in the process!

Primary needs can be defined as why students select Northwood over other schools; secondary needs help gain additional students and may appeal to market segments; and required needs are those we need to fulfill to be minimally competitive.  Defining these needs allows us to focus our actions in a deliberate, forward-thinking manner.  They allow us parameters to act or, in some cases, decline to act on various endeavors.

When we began the Northwood Strategic Planning Process (NSPP), we had an aggressive timetable.  Discussions began in fall 2007 and the Board of Trustees received a complete report at their meeting in May 2008.  We were fortunate to have our own experts on staff and we turned to them to help guide the way.  Dr. Lisa Fairbairn of the DeVos Graduate School was a major architect of our planning process and, along with Dr. William Busby, facilitated the discussions across all operating units (Michigan, Florida, Texas, University College, DeVos, and Advancement).  Dr. John Jasinski was the project champion and was responsible for strategic oversight.

Student focus is our key guiding principle and is based on a Market Based Management (MBM) approach as discussed in The Science of Success by Charles Koch of Koch Industries, Inc.   The book was the subject of our winter 2007 Omniquest discussions, and Koch has become one of the largest and most successful private companies in the world by using the principles of MBM.

As discussed in last week’s message, we are embarking on the execution of our strategy.  As we develop strategic actions, I invite you to think regularly about how you personally are and can continually meet the needs of our students as we excel at Helping Students Learn.

Understanding we all have a role in Helping Students Learn and these roles are interconnected will help us drive toward our BHAG. We are moving and will continue to move at a very fast pace to deliver the finest in full-service educational opportunities for all our students.

Enjoy your  weekend!

Keith A. Pretty, J.D.
President and CEO
Northwood University
4000 Whiting Drive
Midland, MI 48640
989.837.4203 (phone)
989.832.9590 (fax)