Process Update

With the spring 2024 semester under way and months of organizational analyses and restructuring complete, HHS is thrilled to officially dive headfirst into its strategic planning process, culminating in May 2024.

A Core Team of HHS representatives, established in September to drive organizational work and restructuring ahead of the strategic planning effort, spent the fall 2023 semester laying groundwork that will ultimately guide the direction of the strategic planning process based on student, staff, faculty, and stakeholder insight.

During this time, the Core Team held initial focus groups and conducted surveys among faculty, staff, alumni, and stakeholders to gain valuable feedback on which strategic planning will center.

Most notably, the HHS Core Team completed a months-long effort to reorganize the departments housed within the college into a new, streamlined structure conducive of greater collaboration among disciplines, reduced operating costs, and diminished administrative burdens.

Based on the feedback of over 270 survey responses, interviews, and listening sessions, HHS made the decision to restructure into three schools.

Moving forward, the HHS spring 2024 strategic planning timeline has begun with the formation of a Steering Committee comprised of HHS leaders and stakeholders to guide planning efforts.

In the coming weeks and months, the steering committee will work with Emergent Method to conduct listening sessions and focus groups with faculty, staff, and students, and to broadly engage members of the HHS community between March – April surveys, before drafting and finalizing the strategic plan in May.

In 2023, the College of Health and Human Sciences initiated a comprehensive evaluation of its current organizational structure. The objective was to reorganize existing units to emphasize effectiveness by facilitating improved service to students, minimizing unnecessary competition among college units, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration in both teaching and research. This proactive undertaking aimed to position the college strategically, aligning with the ambitious goals outlined in the university's Next-Gen K-State strategic plan.

From September to December 2023, a comprehensive process for identifying potential structures for the College of Health and Human Sciences restructuring unfolded under the guidance of a Core Team appointed by Interim Dean Behnke. The team, consisting of representatives from various corners of the college, comprising 8 individuals, convened biweekly with external consultants from Emergent Method. Their primary charge included overseeing progress, reviewing research, and providing guidance on stakeholder engagement, activities that facilitated Emergent Method’s formulation of recommendations.

• The process began with an extensive desk research phase, involving the analysis of organizational charts, personnel allocation, budgets, research-related data, partnership information, student enrollment, and program metrics within the College of Health and Human Sciences.
• Complementing this, 48 one-on-one interviews were conducted with internal and external stakeholders – including faculty, staff, KSRE employees, key alumni, and advisory board members – to gain insights into the current structure's functionality and effectiveness.
• Additionally, 9 listening sessions with faculty and staff from each department, the Center on Aging, Physician Assistant Program, and CCOP were conducted to gather perspectives on future priorities, needs, and potential collaborative points. Collectively, 94 faculty and staff participated in these sessions.
• A survey of all faculty and staff, yielding 123 responses, provided valuable input on college priorities and ideal organizational structures.
• Furthermore, benchmarking against comparable colleges and institutions offered insights into broader organizational trends and practices. In total, 12 institutions and their Health and Human Sciences-equivalent colleges were examined, with consideration for not only structure, but also organization and comparability to K-State’s College of Health and Human Sciences.

All these inputs were considered throughout this process, and collectively informed the development of reorganization options presented to the college in December 2023 for consideration.