Following two decades of growth, both enrollment and funding at the Texas State Technical Institute (TSTI) have declined sharply over the last 5 years. In April 1989, the TSTI initiated a strategic planning process incorporating a strategy based on meeting a clearly recognized and understood public need that is within the role, scope, and mission of TSTI. The planning process included meetings and interviews with business and industry leaders which revealed that, aside from the lack of capital, the shortage of quality technicians was the single most critical problem limiting their ability to expand present operations and open new facilities in Texas. To address this problem, and to help assure the future success of TSTI and the economic well-being of Texas, six strategic planning goals were identified: (1) maintaining and increasing quality through exemplary technical programs; (2) providing statewide student access to TSTI programs through distance learning, the enrollment of special population groups, and the development of instructional alternatives for worker retraining; (3) establishing an articulated technical education and training system with secondary schools and four-year colleges; (4) maintaining an educational delivery system supportive of Texas economic development; (5) creating a management structure and culture supportive of responsive decision making; and (6) pursuing resource attainment and image development for institutional "world class" status. This strategic planning report includes an examination of the Texas economy and its role in international trade, reviews TSTI assets, profiles its students, reviews the institutional mission, lists programs offered, and includes a 62-item bibliography. (JMC)