Initially, Rickes Associates (RA) provided expertise in revising and supplementing documents for a focused site visit by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education for the Pratt reaccreditation process. Services included identifying appropriate data for inclusion in response documents, facilitating group decisions on response documents, editing, preparing supporting materials, and assisting with preparations for the site visit.

RA led a Strategic Planning Committee through the creation of a self-sustaining planning process. RA guided the President's Senior Staff in the selection of the Planning Committee's members, drafted the Charge to the Committee, and provided the documents outlining the planning process. The process included crafting a Vision Statement, organizing input from the Institute's stakeholders, developing a new budget process linked to the planning process, and creating the implementation plan.

RA facilitated all Planning Committee meetings, worked with the President's Senior Staff to develop institutional effectiveness and assessment measures, and provided documentation for use by the Pratt Community. RA was responsible for making multiple presentations on the development of the Institute's planning process to the campus community. RA also facilitated the Institute's Board of Trustees meeting to review the draft planning document. RA has since been contracted to continue to coordinate assessment of goal completion over the next several years. (2005)