European-American University™

Introduction
The Strategic Plan for EAU was drawn up following consultation and discussion involving the Society for Humanistic Potential, the Executive Council and Academic Board, along with input from external consultants. It was ratified in June 2007.

The concept behind the Strategic Plan is to actualize a dynamic and responsive profile for EAU over the coming five years, and to build on the considerable achievements of the recent past in the planning and development of the fulfilment of the EAU vision. It responds to the challenges of operating in a global environment that is often hostile to the private sector and seeks to ensure that stakeholders can be given clear guidance on EAU's intentions regarding maximising the opportunities that are open to it within the markets in which it seeks to make a significant impact.

The Strategic Plan is to be subject to a rolling review to ensure that it remains current and that it reflects the real-world developments that will affect its implementation. The intention is to enable EAU to deal with whatever circumstances it may face in the external environment with a continuation of its mission and preservation of its core values.

Inasmuch as the Strategic Plan impacts on EAU's International Partners, we will continue to welcome input from those institutions so as to maximise the academic and commercial potential of our relationships.

The core values of EAU

EAU conceives its five-year mission in terms of establishing itself as a determinedly different provider of education and building a student base that will ensure that its core values are conveyed to many parts of the world and have the opportunity to influence global thinking on postsecondary education.

Where possible, this mission will be fulfilled through collaboration with other institutions, but in the event that such collaboration is rendered impossible because of the vested interests of the public sector, EAU remains committed to fulfilling its mission using its own resources and integral strengths.

EAU offers a unique opportunity for the private sector to prove its credibility while choosing independence and innovation over conformity and conservatism. This opportunity demands that EAU commit to an effective balance of meeting market demand while maintaining high academic standards. Through extensive internal quality assurance commitments meeting established external standards, EAU aims to build trust with stakeholders and create lasting and fulfilling client relationships.

EAU in the global marketplace
The coming five years will be of great significance in further defining the relationship between the market and private and public sector providers of postsecondary education. The growth of the Internet and of distance learning have fuelled demand for flexible academic methodologies which have posed significant challenges for education providers. It has been those providers in the private sector that have met these challenges to the greatest extent. However, reputation and institutional standing remain highly significant factors in university choice and brand power remains often able to override issues of methodology. A further issue is that of quality and the perception thereof.

EAU's market during the coming five years will be distinctive and, notwithstanding any campus-based activities, will continue to be led by distance learning. In this market it will compete both with specialist distance learning providers and with traditional universities offering distance learning programs.

Relatively few institutions with high brand recognition (Harvard, Yale, INSEAD etc) presently offer programs of significance via distance learning, instead employing that technology mainly for continuing education delivery. This means that fewer institutions with high brand recognition than one might otherwise expect are active in the same markets as EAU at present. This can be expected to change as those institutions become more aware of the desirability of embracing distance learning in the future. In this situation it will be important for EAU to carve out a distinctive niche and to differentiate its products within the market, competing both on affordability and on flexibility of access to learning, and above all on the basis of the individualization of programs.

High brand recognition for institutions results in the recruitment and retention of high-quality faculty and a teaching and learning environment of the highest quality. However, through its policy of the appointment of adjunct faculty rather than granting tenure, it is likely that students at EAU will experience tuition by a number of individuals who are or have been associated with institutions which have high brand recognition and benefit as a result.

Many institutions with low brand recognition operate within the current distance learning market and there is a high growth rate of new institutions. The low attrition rate of recently founded and established institutions suggests that they are generally finding a niche within the market sufficient to maintain profitability. This in turn, coupled with anecdotal evidence from a number of institutions, suggests that the market is both open to new providers and that in itself it is growing at a robust rate.

The legal framework continues to be adverse for private sector providers because of widespread public sector and big business protectionism. However, this protectionism is unlikely to be sustainable as the market for private sector educational offerings continues to grow. This will likely be a painful and difficult process for the market as a whole. It is notable that there are some areas of liberalization, though there are also signs of a considerable public sector backlash against private sector provision. This backlash takes the form of aggressive advocacy and a regrettable disparaging of the private sector. EAU will continue to provide accurate and vigorous response to material that is motivated in this way and will assertively defend its interests where necessary.

To ensure its continued sustainability, EAU will see that it remains both compliant with the law in its operating jurisdictions and watchful against the risks of changes in the law that will affect it negatively. Where such changes are contemplated by lawmakers, EAU will seek to influence the decision-making process through advocacy and will also participate in such advocacy as is undertaken through related organizations. EAU will remain responsive to change and where necessary will take such action as is required within the law to enable it to perpetuate its mission and provide for its continuation.

EAU and other institutions
Since EAU is not exclusively an on-campus institution, its teaching environment is to a large extent independent of resource considerations except inasfar as these affect the distance learning setting. Where programs are offered on-campus, EAU will continue to endeavor to partner with institutions which are appropriately accredited and recognized in their home country and where there is a solid track record, or for newer institutions, the realistic prospect, of a high-quality student experience. It will continue to review such partnering arrangements to ensure that the quality of the EAU brand is not compromised and that such partnerships enhance EAU's profile as a federally-structured institution.

Where possible, EAU will seek involvement with institutions and organizations that are sympathetic to its aims and that are independent of vested interests that are opposed to those of EAU. EAU will be prepared, where necessary, to support the formation and growth of new organizations that can represent the aims and objectives of the private postsecondary sector with integrity.

EAU and accreditation
EAU's model of education and status as an institution permits it to operate without external accreditation on an indefinite basis. However, EAU recognizes that commercial advantages as well as some academic elements may result from accreditation processes.

At present, the model of education offered by EAU is too innovative, and historically has been seen as too much of a threat to the mainstream, to be acceptable to many accreditation agencies. It is possible that in time, accreditation agencies may change to recognize, for example, experiential credit at the graduate level, or completely internet-based institutions, or doctoral programs entirely by non-resident study (there are a few isolated examples of these, but they are within otherwise mainstream institutions), and EAU will watch for these changes closely. However, EAU will not abandon its educational model purely for the sake of conforming to the standards of an accreditation agency.

There are two strategies which are of interest to EAU in the coming five years. One is to seek either government educational licensing or an equivalent status as an institution. The flexibility of EAU's operational model allows it to be based almost anywhere in the world. EAU can offer the possibility of inward investment in an economy as well as opportunity for its citizens.

Although no state in the United States presently permits religiously-exempt institutions to issue degrees in any but narrowly-defined religious fields (a position that has changed within the past 10 years), EAU notes the recent Texas case and will look with interest to see if any state acknowledges the full independence of institutions under religious control in the future.

The second strategy is to seek partnerships between EAU and schools holding recognition in order to deliver validated programs. EAU will pursue such partnerships where they are seen as being compliant with its philosophy and in the best interests of its students.

Significant strategic objectives for EAU
EAU as a global institution

EAU with others

EAU academics

EAU operationally