From Strategic planning to Adaptive design at the University

University is a complex, dynamic organization where the flow of information (the most important factor in social transformation) is generated. At the present time, the rapid development of information has caused a rapid change of universities. In such circumstances, what aspect of strategic planning can meet the needs of universities? This study examined the theoretical achievements in the field of university strategic planning from 2000 to 2012 and the results were compared to the key concepts of Yamani (1382, p. 39) for the years before 2000. To do the present research, all articles downloadable from Google Web site, Shahid Beheshti University database, Shahid Beheshti University Central Library and the Higher Education journals available to the library. 54 abstracts in the field of strategic planning in higher education were reviewed. Of these, 24 articles were selected to be analyzed full text. Content of the 15 articles was associated with questions of this study, thus the body content analysis was performed on 15 papers. Each transcript was analyzed using content analysis categories. After selecting the paper, based on content analysis of articles, essays key phrases were classified in 5 main categories: (1) defining strategic planning, (2) the characteristics of strategic planning,(3) strategic planning challenges ,(4) specificity of the University, and (5) strategic planning considerations. The findings suggest that the changes in the strategic planning concept from 2000 onwards are the following concepts: 1. Strategic planning is a contemplate or reflection. 2. Thinking about future is all about exploration. 3. Strategic planning is participatory. 3. Strategic planning is self-organization. 4. Strategic planning is complex-oriented. 5. The strategic plan is evolutionary. The findings of this study suggest that a new approach to strategic planning needs to change its meaning. The concept of adaptive design, can initiate a discussion on the evolution of the concept of "academic program".