Strategic Plan

2010-2013 STRATEGIC PLAN AND ASSESSMENT

Mission

South Puget Sound Community College’s mission is to support student success in postsecondary academic transfer and workforce education that responds to the needs of the South Sound region.

Vision

South Puget Sound Community College is recognized in the South Sound region for student success, active partnership in community development, and innovative use of technology to enhance learning.

Values

• Pursues excellence – We use our resources responsibly and ethically in pursuit of excellence.  We continuously improve our programs, services, and operations.
• Operates in an atmosphere of accountability and respect – We work cooperatively in taking on challenges, making good decisions, helping each other be successful, and promoting respectful, open, and safe communication.
• Responds to and partners with the communities we serve – We continually monitor and are responsive to the community’s changing needs in an increasingly global economy. We seek opportunities for effective partnerships with community members, businesses, and organizations.
• Fosters inclusiveness at our campuses – We honor diversity and encourage compassion for individual expression.  We promote inclusiveness and equity on our campus and in the community.
• Provides student-centered education – We facilitate student success by maximizing learning opportunities and reducing barriers.  We provide resources to support students in achieving their goals.

Core Themes

• Academic Transfer Education – provide educational programs and services that prepare for associate degrees and transfer to baccalaureate institutions.   
• Workforce Education – work in partnership with business and industry to provide educational programs and services that prepare for employment.
• Support Student Success – provide educational programs and services that ensure and prepare for ready access to, retention in, and completion of postsecondary educational goals.

Objectives and Indicators

Core Theme: Academic Transfer Education - provide educational programs and services that prepare for associate degrees and transfer to baccalaureate institutions.  In practice, this core theme includes all programs and services that prepare for academic transfer such as general education requirements, Associate degrees, and continuing education with this focus.

Objectives:
Proficiency - Students demonstrate proficiency in College Wide Abilities (CWA)
Indicators
- Student performance on college wide abilities
- Student engagement in intellectual, rigorous, and creative work
Completion - Students seeking associate degrees will complete
Indicators
- Students completion rate for assoicate degrees
Success - Students who transfer to a baccalaureate institution will be successful upon transfer
Indicators
- South Puget Sound Community College student grade point average (GPA) at baccalaureate institution

Core Theme: Workforce Education - work in partnership with business and industry to provide educational programs and services that prepare for employment.  In practice, this core theme includes all programs and services that prepare for employment such as certificate and degree programs, customized training for businesses, and short term continuing education for updating and upgrading workforce skills.

Objectives:
Responsiveness - The college aligns its programs and services in response to state and local trends and business and industry needs.
Indicators
- Economic demand for each program for the next three years
- Curricular changes made as a result of program review and advisory committee input
- Number of newly developed workforce education courses and programs
Partnerships - The College has partnerships that benefit students, faculty, business and industry, and community Indicators
- Percent of students with related work experience/cooperative internship programs, experiential learning, clinical experiences, and/or service learning
- Employer satisfaction with cooperative internship programs
- Partner satisfaction with college partnership
- College satisfaction with partnerships
Success - Students are prepared with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be successfully employed in related field
Indicators
- Student performance on college wide abilities
- Student engagement in intellectual, rigorous, and creative work
- Percent of graduates employed in related field one year later
- Rating of program by graduates

Core Theme: Support Student Success - provide educational programs and services that ensure and prepare for ready access to, retention in, and completion of postsecondary educational goals. In practice, this core theme includes all programs and services that assist with supporting student success.

Objectives:
Access - Students are helped to enroll
Indicators
- Student satisfaction rating of support services
- Percent of applicants to enrollment
Engagement - Students are helped, after enrollment, to engage in the college community
Indicators
- Percent of student participation in college sponsored activities
- Percent of students actively involved in their learning
- Student rating of student interaction and contact with faculty
- Student rating of academic and social support
Completion - Students are supported as they progress to completion of their educational goals
Indicators
- Percent of student retention
- Percent of student completion
- Graduates satisfaction with instruction and support services
- Student rating of the degree to which they apply themselves and contribute significantly to their learning

Overarching Strategies (for next three years and in order of priority)

• Acquire technology – identify and acquire technology in a coordinated way that meets the learning, support service, and administrative needs of students, faculty, and staff
• Engage and retain students – improve programs and services college-wide to better engage and retain students  
• Empower faculty and staff to improve processes – improve processes to better serve students within the context of the college’s accountability requirements
• Increase partnerships – increase the number and level of engagement with partners (e.g., employers, other colleges) that serve the needs of students  
• Increase and diversify funding – seek ways to increase funding available to the college and diversify its funding base for increased stability
• Develop Hawks Prairie – assess, align, and define the role of the Hawks Prairie campus and its relationships to the main campus to better serve the needs of the North Thurston County community
• Rename and brand – determine the costs and benefits of renaming, branding, and marketing the college in a way that is consistent with its mission, values, and vision  

Relation of Overarching Strategies to Core Themes

The core themes listed above are designed to be overarching and address all or multiple core themes and their objectives and indicators.  The relationship of the strategies to the core themes is shown in the following table.  As is evident, each of the overarching strategies addresses and impacts all of the core themes.

First-year Actions

The first-year actions for each overarching strategy recommended by the Strategic Planning and Assessment Team for the college during the next three years are as follows:

Overarching Strategy: Acquire technology – identify and acquire technology in a coordinated way that meets the learning, support service, and administrative needs of students, faculty, and staff

Overarching Strategy: Engage and retain students – improve programs and services college-wide to better engage and retain students

Overarching Strategy: Empower faculty and staff to improve processes – improve processes to better serve students within the context of the college’s accountability requirements

Overarching Strategy: Increase partnerships – increase the number and level of engagement with partners (e.g., employers, other colleges) that serve the needs of students  

Overarching Strategy: Increase and diversify funding – seek ways to increase funding available to the college and diversify its funding base for increased stability

Overarching Strategy: Develop Hawks Prairie – assess, align, and define the role of the Hawks Prairie campus and its relationships to the main campus to better serve the needs of North Thurston County community

Overarching Strategy: Rename and brand – determine the costs and benefits of renaming, branding, and marketing the college in a way that is consistent with its mission, values, and vision

Implementation Considerations

The implementation considerations recommended by the Strategic Planning and Assessment Team to enhance putting the Strategic Plan and Assessment effectively into place for the college are as follows:

• Communicate the plan – intentionally and clearly communicate the plan and how it will be in enacted and supported
• Assign responsibilities – assign responsibilities for implementing the plan including sponsors, managers, consultants (if appropriate and financially feasible) for each component of the plan
• Assess progress – measure and track progress annually on implementing the plan
• Shift resources – shift resources (i.e., time, funds) in alignment with the plan
• Integrate efforts – continue to ensure that the college’s organization and culture supports integrative and collaborative efforts to implement the plan
• Align timing – align the implementation time schedule within the college with the time horizon of important external groups (i.e., legislature, state board of community and technical colleges, special commissions)
• Be realistic – be realistic with implementation expectations in the context of other factors such as resources, staffing, and priorities among component of the plan
• Update continuously – update the plan through continuously encouraging feedback and new input and being watchful for new opportunities