Seeking a Roadmap to Becoming World Class: Strategic Planning at Peking University, by Xie Guangkuan

Strategic planning plays an important but sometimes controversial role in higher education. This paper examines how strategic planning works in Chinese universities, using Peking University as a case study. This essay discusses the rationale for why Peking University (PKU) decided to pursue status as a world-class university along with objectives and value of its various strategic plans beginning in the 1990s. These plans have had four main roles at Peking University: as a means to periodically alter the development path or "roadmap" of the university; as a method to gain or "accelerate resources" largely from government; as a way to communicate with the business community, alumni and other stakeholders regarding the aspirations and needs of the university; and as a tool to engage central government leaders in the future of the university.