New approaches to planning and management will be required in the 1980s if community colleges are to deal with the challenges posed by declining enrollments and funds and changing public attitudes toward financing higher education. In the past two decades, management development and college planning have emphasized the creation and expansion of institutions and the establishment of a managerial infrastructure; however, to cope with the challenges of the educational environment of the 1980s a new strategic management approach will be necessary. Strategic management involves the generation and implementation of strategies for the investment of institutional resources in activities aimed at promoting organizational growth. Its basic elements include environmental analysis and forecast of conditions relevant to the institution; an internal resource audit; and the formulation, selection, and implementation of strategies and objectives. For 3 years, strategic management has been tested at Cuyahoga Community College (CCC), with emphasis on the central role of college leadership in the planning process; alternatives to comprehensive master planning; and the integration of planning and budgeting processes. Among the outcomes of the formal and informal implementation of this approach have been the exploration of linkages between economic development and higher education and the creation of a comprehensive job/career skills training center. (HB)