Draft
12/30/03
INTERIM STRATEGIC PLAN 2004
Suffolk County Community College’s mission and emerging vision encompasses the core values of
Student success Excellence Lifelong learning
Professional Development Partnerships Quality
Effective communication Diversity Effectiveness
Relationship Building Accountability Efficiency
Service to the Community
By this new strategic plan for Suffolk County Community College, we are expressing a vision of a college that
· Promotes student growth and development and is responsive to the changing needs of an increasingly diverse student population.
· Offers considerable value to its constituencies through well- managed programs that efficiently use resources to provide quality services and effective learning experiences.
· Seeks continuous improvement in its educational offerings through collaboration with business and industry, the adoption of new curricula, the evaluation of existing curricula, and the exploration of new approaches and through the assessment of performance.
· Maintains an effective student success model that optimizes access, retention, graduation, and transfer and/or career growth.
· Recognizes and respects its employees and provides an environment supportive of their success.
· Has bold goals for harnessing technology for the improvement of education and the management of the institution and that is moving appropriately to accomplish these objectives.
· Recognizes the need to improve its image in the community.
· Will establish partnerships in support of the occupational, intellectual, social, physical, environmental, spiritual and emotional wellness of the citizenry and encourage civic mindedness in its students.
· Incorporates planning principles into its institutional fabric.
· Actively pursues the resources needed to achieve the vision.
Carrying out this vision will require the establishment of institutional goals and objectives in a variety of organizational areas.
Goal I: PROVIDE ENHANCED/EXCELLENT SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH STRENGTHENED RELATIONSHIPS AND PARTNERSHIPS.
Objectives:
1. Partner with high schools in preparing students for college.
04-05 action plan:
· Establish pre-college programs to improve the transition to college.
· Update student origin study.
· Arrange for a dialogue with high school faculty.
2. Enhance opportunities for internship credit from job experiences
04-05 action plan:
· Establish additional programs for students to obtain academic credit for engaging in public service activities.
3. Communicate the opportunities offered at the college to the community.
04-05 action plan:
· Showcase campus programs, especially the Honors Program, to attract talented students.
· Link students to their legislator.
· Implement biweekly communications to key constituencies.
· Improve communication with high school faculty and guidance counselors.
4. Develop a community presence with satellite centers in downtown areas.
04-05 action plan:
· Identify suitable locations and work with local, state and federal officials to secure funding for the development of centers in one or more downtown areas.
5. Work with the business community on addressing workforce needs.
04-05 action plan:
· Establish dedicated space on campus for these programs.
· Strengthen career program advisory boards.
· Identify key corporate leaders.
· Assess corporate training needs.
6. Partner with colleges on teacher preparation and with schools on preparation of teachers..
04-05 action plan:
· Expand MSOL course offerings in the late afternoon to accommodate elementary and secondary teachers in Suffolk County who want to obtain additional teaching certification(s). Develop a brochure/pamphlet to be sent at least annually to each teacher in Suffolk County.
7. Offer programs to meet identifiable needs in the community.
04-05 action plan:
· Offer programs in parenting.
· Offer programs in nutrition and health maintenance for children and seniors.
· Develop a comprehensive traffic-safety and injury-prevention program.
· Offer a program to assist brain injured persons in transition.
· Increase space for programs to immigrant populations.
· Offer programs in mental health.
8. Address contemporary issues and publish points of view to help lead community opinion.
9. Establish accessible programs to meet the lifelong learning needs of the elderly.
04-05 action plan:
· Develop a plan consisting of non-credit courses and cultural activities.
10. Educate for and cultivate and celebrate diversity.
04-05 action plan:
· Conduct programs on tolerance and diversity using the Holocaust Collection for school teachers, students, and the general public.
· Provide workshops for employees on multicultural issues.
· Assess the diversity content of courses.
11. Support programming designed to enable the re-entry of marginalized populations.
04-05 action plan:
· Design programs to meet the needs of varied marginalized populations.
· Seek funding to expand outreach to immigrant populations.
Goal II: MODIFY EXISTING PROGRAMS AND POLICIES TO ACHIEVE GOALS AND STANDARDS AND PROVIDE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND EFFICIENCY.
Objectives:
1. Establish uniformity among the offerings on each campus.
04-05 action plan:
· Complete the revision of course syllabi.
· Provide for exit exams for developmental courses.
2. Deliver quality education while efficiently using resources.
04-05 action plans:
· Evaluate the effectiveness of blended programs.
· Assess progress of Developmental Studies Program.
· Further develop the distance education program within the bounds of academic appropriateness.
· Evaluate class size minimums and maximums to determine the optimal configuration for learning within budget constraints.
· Coordinate the offerings of courses among the campuses.
· Offer a broader array of courses during the summer semester.
· Study community needs for weekend certificate and degree programs.
· Maintain the classroom utilization rate at an average of 88%.
3. Promote seamless movement for students among educational entities.
04-05 action plan:
· Further develop the unified program approach.
4. Address specific identified needs for new and revised programs.
04-05 action plan:
· Emergency Management.
· Cyber Security.
· Study the costs and benefits of establishing baccalaureate degree programs in select areas.
· Assign a faculty leader to implement the Education Teacher Preparation Program.
· Increase and expand programs that promote global awareness and understanding.
· Formally respond to program review recommendations.
· Infuse critical thinking and active learning into all courses.
5. Provide for a safe and secure environment for learning and working.
04-05 action plan:
· Develop appropriate policies, procedures, and systems to insure that all students have ID cards before attending class and all employees carry ID cards..
· Consider the opportunity offered by the new State law permitting peace officers to be hired by community colleges, and determine the extent to which it should be implemented.
· Identify procedures for quickly replacing public safety staff as turnover occurs.
· Provide for additional counseling support for appropriate students; develop procedures for insuring appropriate referral, monitoring, and follow-up.
· Review the Code of Conduct and Mandatory Withdrawal Policies, especially sections dealing with disruptive behavior and interim suspensions; recommend revisions as appropriate.
· Arrange for a psychiatric consultant to provide assessment and consultation as needed.
· Develop procedures for insuring that the campus safety committees are actively identifying needs for corrective action.
· Implement a system of parking decals and visitor permits.
· Expand the system of blue light and safe haven phones to provide ready access to classrooms.
· Provide training for staff on conflict management and the identification of potential problem students.
Goal III: DEVELOP THE HUMAN RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE THAT CAN BEST ACHIEVE THE VISION.
Objectives:
1. Recognize and respect the lives and work of employees.
04-05 action plan:
· Establish employee recognition program.
· Provide enhanced orientation and training for new hires, along with a new mentoring program.
2. Improve internal communication and teamwork.
04-05 action plan:
· Evaluate the effectiveness of the existing organizational structure in promoting college-wide planning and coordination and the integration of planning and budgeting.
· Provide staff for the planning department.
· Distribute the Strategic Plan to all college departments.
· Review, revise, and disseminate policies and procedures.
· Include campus personnel in decisions that concern campuses.
· Define and establish clear expectations, priorities, and responsibilities.
· Initiate faculty meetings by disciplines across campuses.
3. Identify faculty and staff development needs and implement new programs.
04-05 action plan:
· Survey for technical training needed and develop programs to meet those needs.
· Establish an institute to develop leadership skills for those with demonstrated potential.
· Train academic chairs and evening administrators.
· Develop a new faculty-orientation program.
· Reinforce a customer-service orientation among staff and provide training on customer-service and dealing with difficult people.
· Provide technical support for faculty explorations of new teaching-learning paradigms.
4. Establish a governance and organizational structure able to respond quickly to the need for change.
04-05 action plan:
· Study and consider how the academic structure can enhance interdisciplinary activity.
· Provide for an annual review of Middle States recommendations to determine action plans that may be necessary.
· Renegotiate the Plan C arrangement to provide for greater local management authority.
· The Board of Trustees should consider establishing a committee structure.
· Instruct unit personnel on new budget process.
· Establish a budget committee, including broad representation.
· Establish procedures to assure that all costs associated with action plans, including those of support departments, are considered.
· Include action plans from the Technology Plan in the consideration of budget priorities.
· Establish a system to prioritize departmental resources to the goals and objectives identified within the Strategic Plan and the Strategic Technology Plan.
5. Engage the most talented personnel to work at the College.
04-05 action plan:
· Implement a system for soliciting, receiving, distributing, and retaining job applications electronically.
· Provide a training program for hiring committees.
· Seek candidates for teaching positions with doctoral degrees, when available.
· Work with County Civil Service to improve the process of identifying and appointing qualified individuals for specialized positions.
· Acquire an affirmative action software package.
6. Provide for adequate faculty and staff levels to deliver quality academic and student services programs.
04-05 action plan:
· Increase the ratio of full-time to adjunct faculty to comply with Board-established goals.
· Provide for appropriate staffing in the custodial, maintenance, clerical and security areas.
· Provide adequate support for the use of technology.
7. Evaluate the feasibility and appropriateness of supporting Association programs through College funded personnel.
Goal IV: CARE FOR FACILITIES AND RESOURCES AND DEVELOP SUFFICIENT, APPROPRIATE SPACE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF A GROWING STUDENT BODY FOR QUALITY PLACES IN WHICH TO LEARN.
Objectives:
1. Maintain and improve facilities and grounds.
04-05 action plan:
· Implement and assess a computerized maintenance management system that includes reasonable replacement schedules for critical infrastructure.
· Survey staffing needs and review the organizational structure.
· Study and implement automated systems to enhance safety, security, and energy conservation.
· Update laboratories to meet technical trends in the workforce.
· Provide improved handicapped parking.
· Plan for improved signage, directional maps, and landscaping.
· Develop procedures for reviewing technology requirements for facilities.
· Develop and propose a replacement schedule for furnishings in student spaces.
· Update the college's LAN infrastructure to extend to departments and labs the benefits achieved as a result of the recent WAN equipment upgrade.
2. Pursue funding to meet the facility requirements as outlined in the Master Plan Update.
Action plan:
· Develop public and private partnerships to enhance available facilities.
Goal V: INTEGRATE ELECTRONIC TOOLS INTO THE FABRIC OF THE COLLEGE TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS.
Objectives:
1. Implement the goals and objectives of the Strategic Technology Plan.
04-05 action plan:
· Prepare a plan for migrating to a new platform that can better serve the needs for student administration and business systems.
· Allow students to check financial aid status on-line.
· Maximize the capabilities of the student portal to enhance communication among students and establish a greater sense of community.
· Create a system that allows for online registration by new and restricted students.
· Use the student portal to communicate with students and reinforce and/or replace mailings currently scheduled in the Enrollment Management Calendar.
2. Evaluate progress achieved and develop a revised strategic technology plan.
04-05 action plan:
· Incorporate by reference the actions authorized within the revised Strategic Technology Plan.
Goal VI: DEVELOP PROGRAMS THAT SUPPORT STUDENT SUCCESS.
Objectives:
1. Ensure the appropriate placement of students in a course of study.
04-05 action plans:
· Explore how to best integrate the testing and advising database into the college’s computer systems
2. Support faculty research.
3. Recognize the importance of standards, monitoring, mentoring, evaluation, and development.
04-05 action plans:
· Strengthen the approach to remediation in order to achieve higher levels of improvement.
· Establish appropriate pre-requisite requirements that recognize academic and life-skills development.
· Ensure that all students develop appropriate computer skills.
· Develop a system for insuring that final high school transcripts are received before the release of financial aid.
4. Strengthen student support services through the deployment of new strategies.
04-05 action plan:
· Use the SUNY Student Opinion Survey to identify ways in which the college can be more responsive to students.
· Provide individual advisement sessions for all new students.
· Develop a proposal for an enhanced and expanded approach to orientation.
· Enhance student opportunities for jobs, cooperative education and internships.
· Implement a pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness of a case-management approach to financial aid.
· Provide institutional support for the VTEA case-management project for high-risk students
· Develop a plan for delivering all student services in an on-line environment.
5. Expand counseling and career exploration services for undecided students.
04-05 action plan:
· Review the results of a pilot test of a Career Exploration credit course, and decide whether it should become a permanent offering.
· Consider the creation of a separate curriculum category for undecided students with the benefit of providing targeted career counseling services.