NURS FPX 8020 Assessment 1 Sample FREE DOWNLOAD
NURS FPX 8020 Assessment 1
Strategic Plan Appraisal
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Capella University
NURS-FPX 8020 Doctoral Executive Leadership in Contemporary Nursing
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Strategic Plan Appraisal
The healthcare organizations must possess thorough strategic planning that will enable them to deal with the intricate regulatory surroundings and evolving patient needs. The strategic plans must create a balance between competing priorities, including financial sustainability, quality improvement, workforce development, and community health outcomes, and operational excellence (Huebner and Flessa, 2022).
Strategic planning in healthcare entails the involvement of stakeholders, evidence-based decision-making, and performance measurement through a systematic approach in clinical and administrative domains. The dynamic adaptation to the changes in the regulatory environment, technological shifts, and demographic trends is a necessary component of strategic implementation in any healthcare environment ( 2024). The following analysis of the strategic planning strategy of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will entail the analysis of the credibility of the information, stakeholder engagement, and the holistic performance measurement systems of the organization.
Strategic Plan Analysis
The majority of the organizations have elaborate strategic plans, which are utilized in the determination of institutional direction and resource allocation. The Forging Ahead 2024-2028 strategic plan utilized by the UAB demonstrates a high degree of alignment between the mission of enriching the society and making it healthier and well-being and five core pillars of education, research/innovation, community engagement, patient care, and the cornerstones of financial sustainability, diversity, and environmental stewardship (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The plan’s emphasis on transformational education, breakthrough research, and high-quality patient care is directly related to the vision of the university as a world-class research university focused on making the human experience better.
Strategic priorities of higher education institutions are likely to reflect the market positioning and strength of an institution. Apparently, research and patient care are centralized in the UAB plan, with ambitious objectives of a 28 percent increase in external research expenditure to $913 million and an increase in the number of patient visits by 15 percent (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024).
This focus on the development of the economic influence up to 15 billion and maintaining strong clinical programs within the plan aligns with the fact that UAB is the biggest research institution and a complete Academic Medical Center in Alabama ( The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The strategic planning ought to possess priorities that are clear enough and capable of capitalizing on the organizational capabilities, besides addressing the needs of the stakeholders.
SWOT Analysis
The strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis provides an organization with a rational method of evaluating its internal resources and the external environmental forces. The UAB is proud of strong institutional capacities featuring a highly developed research infrastructure, the 27th highest research spending in the state ,and a highly developed peer benchmarking system, which is strategically located among other similar institutions (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024).
Nonetheless, the university also faces a number of weaknesses, including the absence of full baseline data on the key performance indicators and persistent differences in graduation rates among various groups of students that are to be mitigated by using a specific intervention.
Opportunities of the external environment are high, particularly by aligning with the trends of national research funding and the requirements of workforce development in Alabama that can support the ambitious growth objectives of UAB (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Conversely, threats include the stiff competition with more aspirational peer organizations, higher in the ranking, and a potential dearth of available resources because of the growth strategy at the same time across eight strategic priority areas. Strategic planning involves an element of environmental scanning that allows the strategy planner to make and deploy decisions.
The table below presents the data of the SWOT of the University of Alabama at Birmingham taken by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2024).
Table 1
SWOT Analysis of UAB Strategic Positioning
Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
1. UAB has developed robust peer benchmarking against six similar institutions and three aspirational peers using more than 100 measures. | 1. Measurement frameworks do not have baseline data on a number of important metrics, such as sustainability flags and wellbeing participation (marked TBD). | 1. The target increase of 28 percent in research expenditure to $913 million is consistent with the national patterns of funding and the UAB high ranking of #27 in the HERD. | 1. The current credit ratings of Aa2/AA+ could be challenged by the ambitious and simultaneous expansion of eight strategic areas. |
2. The organization developed a strong research infrastructure that was ranked 27th in NSF HERD with a baseline expenditure of 713$ million and a full-service academic medical center. | 2. There is a gap in graduation rates across student populations that needs to be improved by 5% which demonstrates that there are still challenges of equity in education. | 2. The needs of the Alabama workforce development present possibilities to achieve the objective of UAB to retain 77 percent of the graduates in the state to be employed and educated. | 2. Rivalry in faculty hiring and research funding to be obtained with bigger aspirational universities (University of Pittsburgh #9, Rutgers #28). |
Note. Data reflects internal assessments and public institutional benchmarks, including NSF HERD rankings and graduation metrics.
Validity of Data and Analytical Strategies
It is the overall analysis of data that organizations are relying on to come up with significant performance indicators and strategic priorities. The UAB has employed over 100 different measures, which are based on different reputable databases like the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) National Science Foundation’s higher education research and development survey (HERD), and U.S. news and World Report ranking (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024).
The university incorporated the measures that were given by the National Student Clearinghouse, Blue Ridge Institute of Medical Research, and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The other sources included the Association of American Universities (AAU), the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), and the U.S. Census Bureau demographics ( The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The multi-source technique enabled effective examination of peer comparison of research spending, enrollment trends, retention rate, and operational measures. Widespread data collection improves the validity of strategic planning and the decision-making process in an organization.
Strategic planning should be properly connected with internal performance data and external benchmarking standards. The current research spending, enrolment, retention, and graduation rates of the UAB are the baseline measures with the values of 713 million dollars, 22,164 students, 84.2 percent, and 62.6 percent, respectively, that is determined using the institutional records (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The university had financial targets of FY24 given by the alumni (9.0 million), philanthropic giving (80 million), and credit ratings of Moody (Aa2) and S&P (AA+) (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024).
The patient care metrics that were applied included the application of health system data in various entities whereby the variation was more than 90 percent satisfaction baseline (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Quantitative bases of growth indicators were constituted by the number of community engagement hours (24,704), and economic impact information (12.1 billion) (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Data-driven strategic planning holds planning responsible and enables tracking of progress in an orderly manner with regard to organizational priorities.
Stakeholder Input
Strategic planning entails engaging the stakeholders in a substantial manner in such a way that input and institutional buy-in are complete. The Strategic Planning Council of the UAB began its work in January 2022 under the leadership of President Ray Watts to revise the 2018-2023 plan known as Forging the Future to the next five-year cycle ( The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024).
By spring 2022, the council expanded to have a number of subcommittees and subject matter experts and provided research, analysis, and insights on the education, research, patient care, community engagement, and foundational fronts. The involvement of the faculty, staff, students, and health system staff of no less than 55 individuals within the university and the health system was included in the development (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024).
This was presented during a campus-wide town hall on October 25, 2023, and a comment period that was strongly publicized to invite the involvement of large communities was initiated (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). President Watts also discussed the importance of input from stakeholders, and he clarified that UAB possesses the greatest resources that are students, faculty, and staff who make a positive difference in lives. The involvement of the stakeholders in the strategic plans makes the strategic plans more responsive to the different perspectives and organizational needs of all the constituents of the institutions.
Effective strategic planning has feedback in a systematic way, but it is focused on the priorities of the institution. Any feedback that was provided was thoroughly revised, discussed, and analyzed against other similar and competing feedback provided by other members of the campus fraternity. The last plan underwent several reforms based on the recommendations and suggestions of the stakeholders.
Feedback was given in a thin or area-based fashion in which the schools, colleges, or units that were relevant should be utilized in the localized strategic planning efforts (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). It was a compromise between a large input and an institutional level of guidance that had to be of large size. The ownership that is the result of the organized stakeholder engagement makes it possible to implement the strategic plans successfully at the various levels of organization.
Balanced Scorecard
Balanced scorecard is a strategy that presents an organization with a broad-based approach of measuring strategic performance beyond the traditional financial measures. Kaplan and Norton developed the methodology, which includes four overlaps of perspectives, i.e., financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth, in order to enable leaders to turn their strategic vision into practical goals and measurable outcomes (Madsen, 2025). The financial side will relate to traditional financial indicators, including the objective of increasing philanthropic contributions by 12.5 million dollars, because an 80-million-dollar base and reaching a 0.75 spendable cash ratio as compared with 0.57 (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024).
The customer perspective will take into consideration the satisfaction indicators of the UAB with the objective to increase the graduation rates to 70 percent in accordance with the current 62.6 percent and make sure that patient satisfaction is over 90 percent and that the visits are going to be increased by 15 percent (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Internal processes are measured to evaluate operational efficiency by means of such ambitious objectives as UAB to raise research spending by 28 to 913 million and 25 percent of IP disclosures, which have increased to 104 per year (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). The learning and growth lens is devoted to such development objectives as exceeding 27,000 hours of community engagement in comparison with 24,704 hours in the baseline and reaching 15 billion of economic impact in comparison to 12.1 billion (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Modern organizations are increasingly using balanced measurement systems to attain sustainable competitive advantage by quantifying strategic objectives.
Strategic Priority Balance Assessment
Strategic organizations should strike a balance between competing priorities to maximize on overall performance and mission accomplishment. The strategic plan of the UAB demonstrates that the research and innovation priorities are clearly focused, as it presents the aggressive increase in the external research spending by 28 percent to reach 913 million dollars and the significant emphasis on intellectual property development (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024).
The 15% visit growth and telehealth growth are the main focus on patient care, whereas the education priorities are marked by the 5 percent growth in enrollments and the growth in retention (The University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024). Community engagement and sustainability initiatives seem to be given slightly less attention, having lower percentage targets and fewer specific measures. It has the right focus on the financial base, using the diversified revenue plans and the high credit ratings. Effective strategic implementation must be prioritized, but align the organizational mission to all the areas of operations.
Conclusion
The UAB comprehensive strategic planning process is a best practice, as it possesses extensive stakeholder engagement, good data validation, and prioritization. Balanced scorecard strategy of the university is a good method of transforming the strategic vision into a quantitative outcome in terms of financial, customer, internal process, and learning. Institutional mission and strategic pillars integration are high in order to create accountability structures, and the priorities of research and patient care are more promoted than community engagement activities.
The effectiveness of implementation will be premised on the capacity to control the allocation of the resources in eight areas of strategy and the sealing of the gaps in the basis of information at the time of implementation regarding the sustainability measures. To achieve transformational organizational outcomes, strategic planning has to entail constant monitoring, stakeholder participation, and responsive management.
Appendix A: Balanced Scorecard for RUSH Health Equity Strategic Plan
The data for the balanced scorecard of The University of Alabama at Birmingham in the table below is taken from The University of Alabama at Birmingham (2024)
Domain | Objectives | Metrics | Target for Metrics | Initiatives |
Financial | Increase philanthropic support | Philanthropic gift amounts received | Increase by $12.5 million from $80 million baseline | Increase estate planning gifts and scholarship endowments; increase giving for scholarships and endowments |
Enhance alumni engagement | Alumni giving amounts | Increase by $1.25 million from $9.0 million baseline | Engage alumni in campus activities, including arts and athletics; connect alumni with gift recipients | |
Improve financial stewardship | Spendable cash and investment to operations ratio | Achieve a 0.75 ratio from a 0.57 baseline | Explore revenue opportunities consistent with the mission; assess opportunities to increase efficiencies and reduce expenses | |
Maintain credit strength | External credit ratings | Maintain Aa2 (Moody’s) and AA+ (S&P) ratings | Assess ongoing debt capacity using revenue projections; monitor the market for promising debt issuance periods | |
Customer | Improve student success | Six-year graduation rate | Achieve 70% from 62.6% baseline | Reduce graduation gaps by 5% for diverse populations; promote high-impact practices and experiential learning |
Enhance student retention | First-time, full-time freshmen retention rate | Increase by 2.9 percentage points from 84.2% baseline | Enrich student belonging through enhanced engagement opportunities; provide flexible course offerings for various student types | |
Enhance patient satisfaction | Patient satisfaction scores across health entities | Maintain above 90% satisfaction scores | Achieve national recognition for highly satisfying health care; enhance patient experience from appointment to post-care communication | |
Expand patient access | Patient visits across health-related entities | Increase by 15% from varying entity baselines | Develop a phased process of integrating care; identify and remove barriers to world-class health care access | |
Increase telemedicine utilization | Telemedicine patient interactions | Increase by 25% from 3,974 baseline visits | Create a centralized telehealth support system; develop a statewide partnership network to enhance patient access | |
Internal Processes | Grow research capacity | External research expenditures | Increase 28% to $913 million from $713 million baseline | Strengthen priority research areas; promote interdisciplinary collaborations internally and externally; grow and diversify funding sources |
Enhance innovation output | Intellectual property disclosures | Increase by 25% from the 104 three-year average baseline | Facilitate IP development; streamline internal processes to lower barriers to realizing innovative ideas | |
Increase total enrollment | Student enrollment across all programs | Increase 5% from 22,164 baseline (1% per year) | Grow recruitment focused on a diverse student body; provide innovative academic programming and flexible offerings | |
Expand sustainable practices | LEED-certified new construction percentage | 80% of new square footage meets LEED standards | Pursue LEED certification on projects over 20,000 sq ft; analyze energy use and environmental impacts of construction | |
Increase sustainability education | Students earning the Sustainability flag in Blazer Core | Increase by 8% from FY23 baseline TBD | Pursue academic department collaboration for sustainability learning outcomes; explore Blazer Core sustainability participation | |
Learning and Growth | Enhance community engagement | Community engagement hours completed | Exceed 27,000 hours from 24,704 baseline | Increase the proportion of students in community activities; elevate and reward faculty/staff community engagement activities |
Retain graduates in-state | Graduating students remaining in Alabama | Achieve 77% from 69% baseline | Address state workforce needs with degree programs and certificates; retain students for employment and graduate school | |
Expand health initiatives | Live HealthSmart Alabama program sites | Add five sites beyond current five Birmingham area sites | Align internal resources to enable action; expand inclusive processes for UAB and community participation | |
Increase economic impact | UAB’s total economic impact on state | Increase to $15 billion from $12.1 billion FY22 baseline | Strategically invest in student enrollment and retention; facilitate faculty/staff hiring and increase patient volume | |
Enhance wellbeing education | Students earning Wellbeing flag in Blazer Core | Increase by 8% from FY23 baseline TBD | Integrate health and well-being in curricular and co-curricular experiences; promote UAB as a Health Promoting University signatory |
References For NURS FPX 8020 Assessment 1
Use the given references for your assessment:
Huebner, C., & Flessa, S. (2022). Strategic management in healthcare: A call for long-term and systems-thinking in an uncertain system. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8617. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148617
Madsen, D. O. (2025). Balanced scorecard: History, implementation, and impact. Encyclopedia, 5(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia5010039
Ștefan, A.-M., Rusu, N.-R., Ovreiu, E., & Ciuc, M. (2024). Empowering healthcare: A comprehensive guide to implementing a robust medical information system, components, benefits, objectives, evaluation criteria, and seamless deployment strategies. Applied System Innovation, 7(3), 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/asi7030051
The University of Alabama at Birmingham. (2024). University of Alabama at Birmingham strategic plan 2024-2028: forging ahead. In uab.edu. https://www.uab.edu/plan/images/2024-2028-plan/forging-ahead.pdf
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