Organizational planning and policy analysis: Combining theory with experiential learning

Planning is vital to the continued effectiveness of educational institutions. The course described in this paper succeeds in combining two crucial elements of a student's comprehension of the planning process: first, an overview of the strategic planning literature provides a theoretical underpinning; then, an experiential planning exercise reinforces and extends the student's appreciation for this complex process. This course focuses on the alternative futures approach to planning. This approach has the added benefits of linking a study of relevant developments in the real world, through the planning process, with strategy formulation for the simulated institution.