Development Strategy Guidelines

DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY GUIDELINES OF THE WARSAW SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS FOR 2008-2012

1. The factors determining the School’s strategic approach to development are varied, both external and internal in character. The external factors mainly relate to the effects of the country’s social and economic transformation, European integration and the process of globalization, which shape the new profile of the SGH graduates, their predispositions and competencies. Changes are also taking place in the European system of higher education as well as in the organization and financing of academic research in Poland. Another important factor is the rapid development of the higher education system in Poland, as the privatization and commercialization of university studies are determining the rules for competition between all institutions of higher education. The internal factors are mainly organizational and programmatic experiences stemming from the School’s functioning in a non-departmental system and adoption of a two-tier teaching system, the conditions for financing the basic functions of universities in this system and the generational change in staff. The absence of a development strategy causes difficulty in making decisions concerning the future and current functioning of the School, hinders efforts by the School to obtain support from European funds and limits opportunities to participate in joint projects. The lack of a development strategy also has negative consequences for the School’s prestige.
   The complexity of issues relating to strategy formulation entails a multi-stage approach. At the current stage, it is necessary to present the general guidelines, including identification of the main challenges and development directions as the basis for further systematic work on the development strategy of the Warsaw School of Economics.
    
2. Changes in the School’s environment are rooted in demographic, economic, technical, political, legislative and socio-cultural processes. These processes give rise to developmental opportunities as well as threats for all institutions of higher education, though the same challenges can have different consequences for good and weak schools. The development opportunities for SGH include the increasing affluence of society, increased expenditures on education, increased availability of grants and loans, increased professional mobility on the Polish labour market, the increased importance of a university diploma in professional competition, increased qualitative requirements being imposed on universities, European Union enlargement to the east and its consequences for the School, and the globalization of science and higher education. The main developmental threats are posed by the declining number of candidates for higher studies and planned changes in the organization and financing of academic research in Poland. 
   All changes in the environment resulting in increased qualitative demands on institutions of higher education and stimulating demand for educational services that are prestigious in character are potential opportunities for SGH. From this standpoint, the School’s financial and material foundation, particularly the way its activities are financed, is of fundamental importance. The School’s main source of income is government subsidy; the revenue generated by the School itself is declining; and income from academic and expert activities covers a very small portion of the budget. If this situation continues, it will result in increased dependence on the government’s research and education policy, which could become a threat to the School’s autonomy.
    
3. Key importance for the development of SGH lies in its competitive position within particular areas of activity. The School’s current position among Polish universities educating economists and managers can be regarded as strong. However, symptoms of diminishing distance between SGH and several other Polish universities have become evident, while the School does not appear to be closing the distance between itself and the best European universities. SGH’s strengths on the Bachelor’s and Master’s segment of the Polish higher studies market are: the School’s prestige, high quality level of teaching, numerous staff with high qualifications, the value of SGH diplomas on the labour market, its rich offer in foreign language teaching, location in Poland’s capital city, attractiveness of the curriculum and the high level of entrants’ preparation for studies. The weaknesses of SGH on this market are the relatively high tuition fee for extramural studies, insufficient condition of premises, declining number of students and difficulty of maintaining a comparable quality level of teaching for all subjects offered.
   In respect to the market of Ph.D. studies, it is necessary to stress the changes taking place in this field around the world – above all, the popularization of these studies, emergence of programs offering doctorates in professional fields and internationalization, i.e. doctoral programs conducted jointly by universities in different countries. In Poland, SGH holds a dominant position on the extramural Ph.D. studies market in the fields of economics and managerial sciences, though it remains a regional university in terms of candidate recruitment. The School’s doctoral studies offer is very rich, the tuition fees are higher than at other universities, but its degree of internationalization is low, the efficiency of these studies is also low, and their level is inconsistent.
   In the case of post-graduate studies, SGH faces competition not only from economics and managerial programs at other universities of economics, but also from technical, agricultural and social sciences programs with economics profiles offered by institutions of higher education not dedicated to economics. The stability of this offer – dominated by programs in management, marketing, finance, accounting, banking and insurance – appears to indicate that it is shaped less by the labour market and more by the faculty specialization of the particular schools. A comparison of SGH’s offer of post-graduate studies with topically similar programs at other universities leads to the conclusion that it usually has a smaller number of hours, yet is distinctly more expensive. Nevertheless, recruitment for these studies remains stable.
   A special case of post-graduate studies are internationalized MBA programs. SGH holds a very strong position in this class of programs.
    
4. The funds obtained by SGH for academic research are dominated by statutory subsidies, the easiest accessible source of funding. The share held by other types of funding, including funds obtained on a tender basis, is small. It bears emphasizing that changes in the roles of particular sources of research financing in the School’s overall budget have been unfavourable, as the share of statutory subsidies has increased systematically, while the share held by project grants has declined. The income stream for conducting international projects, including EU programs, has also been small. 
   The low share held by funding obtained through tender offers has been accompanied by low staff activeness in efforts to obtain funding for such projects. The relatively low activeness of SGH in academic research should be viewed in the context of projected changes in the system for financing research in Poland. These changes, meant to make financing more flexible and channel funds to the best units, are aiming at conducting academic policy by specifying strategic research areas, giving preference to large projects conducted by inter-disciplinary consortia, increasing the share of Polish researchers in international projects, increasing innovation in the economy by promoting applied research and giving preference to funds awarded on a tender basis.
   At the same time, work is being conducted in Poland on changes to the criteria and parameters for evaluating research units. These changes are meant to limit the scope of evaluation to the results of research activity and the practical application of research findings. The projected changes will therefore strengthen areas which play a relatively small role in the School’s activities. SGH has not formulated its research priorities and does not have much experience in conducting large research projects, including interdisciplinary projects performed by international teams. The School’s staff have not demonstrated much initiative in submitting tenders for funding. Transfer of knowledge to the economy has likewise not been a strong suite of SGH. As a result, when the projected changes go into effect, they could significantly reduce the School’s income stream for academic research.
    
5. SGH has substantial intellectual potential, as it is rated among the country’s leaders in the field of economic research. This potential, however, could be used much more effectively. The School’s strengths in the area of research, in addition to its human potential, are its historical achievements, international reputation and international connections as well as its graduates working in renowned research centres and international institutions. The School’s weaknesses are: the low funding it devotes to academic research, the financing of research from the easiest sources of funding, the scattered nature of research, excessive focus by staff on obtaining successive degrees and academic titles, the relatively small number of publications in peer-reviewed international academic journals, the lack of facilities for conducting research at the School, insufficient administrative services supporting research and the absence of a system to motivate staff to conduct research. This also applies to activity in consultancy. While the School has highly qualified staff, contacts with potential clients and a good reputation and credibility, teaching activity has proven to be an easier way to obtain additional earnings.
    
6. Europe is intellectually weakening by globalization of higher education and research. Poland, too, has been suffering from a loss of talented students and employees abroad. Basic research and higher levels of education are shifting to northwest Europe, while the first degree of higher education and simple applied research is left to the rest of the continent. Thus, opening of the European research and educational area is currently working to the disadvantage of SGH, which is neither a strong research nor a strong teaching institution on a European scale. This situation needs to be reversed by taking advantage of the opportunities created by the European Union. To do so effectively, it is necessary to find a leading, unique and recognizable research and teaching specialty, which would make it easier to obtain EU funds. It is also necessary to raise the level and quality of teaching and attractiveness of the curricula offered by the School.
   Raising the level of education and making the programme offer more attractive requires that courses of study be made comparable with those offered by the best universities of economics and management in Europe, that the School’s position be strengthened on the level of Master’s and Ph.D. programs, that teaching be conducted on an interdisciplinary basis, that the teaching be closely tied to research conducted by staff, that the courses offered be rendered more appealing by linking them to real-life business practice, and that cooperation with other institutions of higher education be intensified. SGH should mould the graduate profile by means of its courses, teaching methods, studying system, also via its organizational culture, so that graduates’ competencies not only are adapted to the current needs of the market, but also play a role in shaping these needs. The pace and dynamics of change in the economic environment and also the results of studies conducted among graduates and employers clearly indicate the need to ensure educational flexibility as well as knowledge that is not only specialized, but also universal in character.
    
7. The basic direction of academic research activity is for SGH to get involved in the European research area. This requires strengthening of the School’s position as a research institution within Poland as well as reorientation of the research process away from scattered research projects conducted individually and undertaken mainly for the sake of the individual’s academic advancement toward team research projects that are interdisciplinary in character and undertaken for the purpose of advancing knowledge and supporting the needs of the economy. Above all, this requires SGH to specify its research specializations. They should take into account the needs for progress in specified academic disciplines, continuing education of academic staff, modern teaching techniques, needs of the economy as well as national and EU research priorities. It is also necessary to develop an evaluation system for research activity at SGH. This system should ensure that employee and unit evaluations are tied to parametric criteria, that reporting conforms to external reporting requirements, that information about research conducted at the School is disseminated more broadly and that a data base of projects is compiled. The development of a research evaluation system should include the issue of motivating staff to undertake research projects. Requiring staff to devote a minimum number of hours to research, and relieving staff of the obligation of fulfilling teaching requirements when they are involved in major research projects, are solutions that should be taken into consideration.
    
8. It is thus evident that the School’s present model of functioning is gradually becoming exhausted. This primarily concerns the current excessive focus on teaching, which is resulting in conflicts and excessive increase in the School’s operating expenses. SGH must expand its activities in research and consultancy while increasing cooperation with foreign partners. It must also expand the commercial offer of studies in foreign languages at all levels. These steps would improve the School’s financial situation and make better use of its intellectual capital.
   More effective use of SGH’s research potential, however, requires that all of the School’s units adopt professional research service standards, that the School improves organizational and administrative servicing of the research process, that regulations on hiring persons for conducting specific research projects and the financial servicing of these projects be made more elastic, and that the School’s material base be upgraded. The entire academic community must become more active in seeking out funding for research, and the School must introduce changes in the research financing system. It is essential to search for the funding from all possible sources – including government funding provided under statutory subsidies as well as via tender, EU funds and funding from business partners. It is especially important to increase the share of funding obtained on a tender basis. Internal financing of research programs of strategic importance for the School’s development should also be considered, as well as support for research projects under way, particularly in the stage of concept development and team formation.
   Achievement of these aims will require creation of an appropriate research promotion system, increasing the flexibility of the School’s organizational structures and establishment of a unit charged with the task of preparing and administering research programs. The process should be aided by the high qualifications of staff and potential ease of making new academic contacts stemming from the School’s traditions, its location and the fact that many of its graduates work in renowned research institutions or hold prestigious posts in government administration and the business world.
    
9. In order to become a full-fledged partner in the common European educational and research area, SGH should represent the highest standards in teaching, research, its links with business practice and its facilities and equipment. Outside of the last aspect, which requires expenditures by the School, this will depend on the attitudes of all employees and their exploitation of all the opportunities and resources available to them. It’s also essential that the School be well organized and effectively administered, and in particular, that individual responsibility for the realization of programs and processes be introduced and consistently enforced.
   A key element in the process of implementing SGH’s development strategy guidelines is the flexibility of its organizational structures. This refers to the gradual preparation of changes meant to respond to both external and internal developmental challenges, taking into account limitations imposed by legal regulations, the financing system and tradition. Changing the School’s organizational structures should not be a taboo, but a subject for conscious consideration and discussion logically proceeding from the accepted guidelines for development. Adoption of the SGH development strategy guidelines therefore entails gradual changes in the functioning of the School – above all, the conscious acceptance of the structure of preferences and priorities set forth herein. This means that all interest groups must be highly flexible and open-minded concerning the common good and should perceive the necessary changes in terms of future opportunities, not solely in terms of threats to the existing order that has become deeply ingrained over many years.
   Finally, a fundamental pre-requisite for success of the strategic approach to the School’s development is therefore the readiness of all its employees – academic as well as administrative – to see themselves as members of a single community whose basic interests are a subject of common concern.

Appendix to resolution no. 61 of the Senate of SGH dated 26 November 2008