The development of a Strategic Plan for Information Technology at Western Michigan University was begun in 2000 and resulted in the publication of a plan in 2001. At the time, it was one of the most fully articulated unit strategy plans at WMU. It was based on a set of principles and associated goals and objectives. A similar model was used in this plan.

During the spring and summer of 2010, a series of meetings were held throughout campus to gather input to revise the 2001 strategic plan. This input was used by the Chief Information Officer, James A. Gilchrist, who wrote the first draft of the plan, using new principles and associated strategic commitments. Many reviews and revisions resulted in a new published version.

In 2011, the University published its strategic plan and the strategic plan for information technology was again revised to align with the University's plan. That has resulted in the currently published version (draft).