No flying cars.

No robot Bulldogs.

The University of 2020 you may have imagined in kindergarten will not become a reality any time soon. At least, not according to the University Strategic Planning Committee.

The University renews its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools every 10 years, and as part of that process, the University must develop a plan to govern the next decade’s goals for improvement. In preparation for 2020, the Strategic Plan Committee has posted the drafted plan online for students, faculty and staff to review with hopes of garnering some helpful critique.

“People should look at the document, and if they have constructive suggestions, please provide,” said William Vencill, professor of agricultural and environmental sciences and chair of the 2020 Strategic Planning Committee.

The 30-member committee has organized staff, faculty and student forums held within the next month to promote discussion of the draft as well as to solicit input from the forum participants.

“We solicited public input before we began the process and would like public input regarding the current product,” said Irwin Bernstein, professor from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and member of the Strategic Planning Committee.

“The Web site also has a way for any member of the campus community to provide input electronically if they cannot make one of the forums,” Vencill said.

Vencill said the forums are organized to address questions specifically about the drafted 2020 plan.

“These forums are not for complaining about day-to-day issues,” he said.

Three students are on the committee – Jessica Seagraves of the Student Government Association, Will Rooks from the Graduate Student Association and William Turner from University Council.

“Students have a unique perspective on the University and that perspective is very useful in the Strategic Planning Committee,” Vencill said.

The committee encourages University students to participate in the upcoming forums.

“The first thing students should do is read the draft of the plan,” Bernstein said.

The committee’s goal through the plan is to make University students better global citizens. The drafted plan calls for increased excellence in undergraduate and graduate education; greater investment in proven or infant areas of research at the University; heightened participation in service; improved faculty recruitment, retention and development; and maintenance and improvement of academic facilities.

The committee has also determined “benchmark goals” for each of the objectives to help track the plan’s progress over the next decade. Many of these goals involve comparing the University’s efforts and progress to that of aspirational institutions.

The committee began the process of crafting the new strategic plan in April, and the final draft must be approved by the University Council Strategic Planning Committee by next September to secure the SACS reaccreditation.

“The committee met regularly, and these directions are the result of those deliberations,” Vencill said.

The University’s last strategic plan was formulated for the development of 2000-2010. The previous planning committee sought to develop schools and colleges of the highest caliber in all disciplines, to further improve on the University library and to promote new levels of information technology among other goals.

The drafted plan can be found at http://www.uga.edu/effectiveness/sp.html.