In preparing the CDP, each campus carried out a process, which involved some common elements that produced a coherent single CDP upon which this proposal for a cooperative arrangement was based. Both campuses used the following four common elements in preparing their contribution to the CDP: current institutional five-year strategic plans; institutional involvement in most recent regional accreditation, a Self Study (UPRA) and a Periodic Review Report (UPRH), for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE); institutional reviews for local accreditation by the Puerto Rico Council on Higher Education (PRCHE); and the CDP’s of their respective individual Title V grants which were the result of a thorough and widely participatory process of all the university’s constituents. Representatives from each campus with authority to collaborate in the preparation of a consolidated CDP appropriate for a cooperative agreement met to assemble the final document, which was subsequently reviewed and approved by the pertinent authorities at each campus.

Planning for the CDP and this proposal has included a review of practices in place at other
colleges that might be adapted to remedy the problems of the partner institutions; visiting
colleges that have successfully addressed similar problems; conducting a review of the relevant
literature to assist in determining possible solutions to problems identified; and holding various
individual and collaborative planning sessions. The technologies planning processes at both
institutions have also played an important role in the design of this proposal.

The Campuses’ comprehensive programs of planning, management and assessment have four
major stages: strategic planning, operational planning, management, and evaluation. The process includes the involvement of faculty, administrative staff, students, alumni, and community representatives. It links the strategic goals of the campuses to their ongoing operations and to the goals to the UPR system to maximize quality and effectiveness.