FAQs
Who should I contact for questions about strategic planning?
General questions and requests can be sent to strategicplan@psu.edu. To schedule a meeting directly, click here for a list of our services and scheduling options.
What does it mean when a “Unit” is referenced?
For strategic planning purposes, a Unit refers to a budget unit (campus, college, or administrative unit).
What information about our plan is available outside our unit?
The public Strategic Planning website only includes information about the Mission, Vision, Goals, Objectives, Key Performance Indicators (if present), and mapping of each plan. The Strategic Planning Overview unit includes all plan information (Goal, Objective, and Action Item details), but is only available to Penn State personnel with system permissions. Status update information is only available internally to each Unit’s users.
What do I do if I can’t access my unit(s) in the AMS?
If you have unit-level strategic planning reporting duties and cannot log in to the AMS or do not see your unit in the drop-down menu in the top center of the screen, contact Planning Coordinator Alison Parker at adp203@psu.edu, or the Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research at (814) 863-8721 or at strategicplan@psu.edu.
Why don’t I have access to all of the menu options I see in the AMS training?
Trainers often have access to items that other users do not. If you don’t have access to a menu option that you require to complete your assigned strategic planning tasks, contact Planning Coordinator Alison Parker at adp203@psu.edu, or the Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research at (814) 863-8721 or at strategicplan@psu.edu.
Why did the unit information disappear? Why did I get an "Unauthorized access" message?
The system may have timed you out, causing a black band at the top of the screen or reports with “x” in the data fields. Just refresh or reload your plan using your browser’s refresh button. Any changes made just prior to this happening will still have been saved.
Why isn’t my report appearing?
If your browser has a pop-up blocker enabled, your reports will not appear. Disable your pop-up blocker to view reports. See this article about disabling pop-up blockers for assistance.
Can I have someone else complete my assignments?
Yes. Users can forward their assignment URL to any other user who has permissions in the unit to submit on their behalf.
Why is my assignment still showing as due when I have completed it?
The assignment may have been saved but not fully submitted. Re-open the assignment that shows as “in-progress” from the My Assignments tab, choose to save it, then choose “complete the assignment” rather than “keep editing.” This finalizes submission of the assignment and, if it is a recurring request, will generate the next assignment. This also does not change the status of the action item itself.
Where can I find previously entered status updates?
Users with Read-only or higher permissions can view status updates on several reports (Full Plan with Status Updates, Plan Progress Data Export) or on the Progress Reporting>Status Updates tab.
When should we make action items inactive?
Completed or Abandoned Action items can be marked as inactive to remove them from reports. We recommend incorporating this step after the annual reporting cycle is completed to ensure that they are included in the annual report.
How can we view Inactive items?
On the Strategic Planning page, choose the orange filter option from the 4 squares at the top of the page. In the Action Item Filters section, choose “Show Inactive Action Items” and any inactive action items will be shown in the plan information.