by Dana Grove

STRATEGIC PLANNING

The Spring 08 Strategic Planning meeting on Friday, April 11, was attended by approximately 90 individuals, who provided enthusiastic input into the discussions that transpired.  During the first part of the meeting, the six Strategic Initiative Teams summarized the plans that they are currently working on, giving insights into the challenges and successes that they have experienced this past year.  One of the themes that quickly emerged is that, because the new (and improved!) Strategic Planning process is only one year old, we are involved in a “work in progress” and are learning many valuable lessons along the way.  One such lesson that I have learned is that Strategic Initiatives do not need to be seen as megaliths that exist in perpetuity; they have life cycles that grow, mature, and retire, to be replaced by other vital initiatives.

The second part of the April 11 meeting focused on identifying such vital, new initiatives.  After breaking into smaller groups for discussion, everyone at the meeting then re-assembled and considered together potential institutional issues that participants suggested.  After nearly 90 minutes of lively discourse, the following list emerged:

It is significant to note that, after Institutional Research published its most recent Indicators and Outcomes document, the president and I independently identified the college’s key indicators and then compared notes.   Afterwards, we asked the membership of the President’s Council to do the same, and then we collectively consolidated what council members suggested.  The following matrix summarizes the results of those activities:

LEARNER ENGAGEMENT

The specific goal of Strategic Initiative Team #1 is to increase graduation rates at JCCC.  As the team began deliberations, however, they realized that many direct and indirect student support activities must be involved in helping students succeed here.  One of the challenges that the team identified facing them was that there are a number of campus committees already addressing various aspects of student success.  To better coordinate planning activities, I scheduled a meeting with representatives from these groups to brainstorm through a method of more comprehensively dealing with these major issues.  What has emerged from these conversations is the common belief that for students to learn successfully, they must be engaged, engaged in all stages of the learning process.  The following is a VERY rough draft of what has come out of our group deliberations:

I.                   VISION STATEMENT

JCCC commits to student success, and this success is directly tied to the attainment of learning objectives.  In order to insure that learning does, indeed, come first, JCCC will work with students to engage them initially and to keep them engaged subsequently in the learning process.  This process begins first with working with school districts to be certain that graduating students are prepared for college level studies.  It continues through the recruitment stage and the stage where students transition into the college.  JCCC also actively engages students as they take and complete classes at the school and move on in their careers.  The final stage of this process involves those individuals who choose to return to the college to take part in a wealth of activities the college offers to enhance their lives professionally and personally.  At each stage JCCC engages people by prioritizing their learning experiences.

II.                THE LEARNER ENGAGEMENT PARADIGM

Stage One:  K-13/K-16 Connection

• College Now
• Tech Prep
• Connection with K-12 Faculty
• Pre-Testing
• GED Bridge Program

• Marketing
• High School Visits
• Campus Tours
• Outreach to Parents
• Targeted Populations

• Placement Testing (levels, pre-requisites)
• Orientation (institutional, program)
• First-Year Experience
•  Advising
• Financial Aid

• Developmental Courses
• Counseling
• Early Alert
• Career/Major Fairs
• Student Life
• Classroom Pedagogy
• Outcomes Assessment
• Instructional Support Services

• Bridge to Four-Year Transfer
• Job Placement
• Exit and Follow Up Surveys
• Graduation

• Professional Certification and Licensure
• Job Re-Training
• Career Change Opportunities
• Self-Improvement
• Marketing

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND LEARNER ENGAGEMENT

Very clearly, some of the proposed Strategic Initiatives in the lists above – such as Sustainability – are wholly new and are worthy of consideration of inclusion into the plan.  However, what I find equally important is the number of proposed initiatives that can and should fit into one of the stages of the Learner Engagement Paradigm.  Here is a revised version of the paradigm with these suggestions included:

THE LEARNER ENGAGEMENT PARADIGM

Stage One:  K-13/K-16 Connection

• College Now
• Tech Prep
• Connection with K-12 Faculty
• Pre-Testing
• GED Bridge Program

Stage Two:  Recruitment

• Marketing
• High School Visits
• Campus Tours
• Outreach to Parents
• Targeted Populations

Stage Three:  Transitioning In

• Placement Testing (levels, pre-requisites)
• Orientation (institutional, program)
• First-Year Experience
• Advising
• Financial Aid
• Degree/Career Intent-Intake process
• Special Population Needs (adult/alien/veteran)

Stage Four:  Transitioning Through

• Developmental Courses
• Counseling
• Early Alert
• Career/Major Fairs
• Student Life
• Classroom Pedagogy
• Outcomes Assessment
• Instructional Support Services
• Learning Communities
• Student Union
• Evening/Weekend Expansion

Stage Five:  Transitioning On

• Bridge to Four-Year Transfer
• Job Placement
• Exit and Follow Up Surveys
• Graduation
• Collaborative Curriculum

Stage Six:  Transitioning Back

• Professional Certification and Licensure
• Job Re-Training
• Career Change Opportunities
• Self-Improvement
• Marketing

PROPOSAL

Once we come to a consensus on what the Learner Engagement Paradigm looks like and what should be included within it, let’s institutionalize the paradigm by establishing a team to address each one of its six (or however many) stages.  Those teams can identify aspects of each stage and prioritize which ones they will initially focus on, drawing together a subcommittee of individuals with which to work.  The paradigm, in fact, could easily become the basis of our institutional planning with specific dollars dedicated to it through the annual budget process.  In doing all of this, we can continue on with the excellent work that many people have put into the Advising Summit, Retention Task Force, Underprepared Students Committee, and Strategic Initiative #1 Team while at the same time coordinating these efforts and elevating them to the level of the highest of institutional priorities.