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Strategic Plan
Strategic Planning Committee
Goals and 0bjectives 2001-2006
June 8, 2001
Final Draft
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Environment for the Strategic Plan.......... 2
Developing Goals for 2001-2006 4
Rockland Community College Mission.... 7
Goals and Objectives 8
1 Ensure that students progress towards achievement of their goals 8
2 Maintain a curriculum and programs that respond to the present and emerging needs of our external community 8
3 Maximize the use of our human resources by recruiting, developing, and training faculty and staff 9
4 Engage in short and long range fiscal planning to support and implement the strategic goals 10
5Establish the necessary facilities, equipment and technology that support the goals and objectives of the college 10
6 Develop and apply appropriate technology to support academic and administrative functions of the College 11
7 Provide leadership and training to support the growth and development of Rockland County in response to its workforce needs 12
8 Foster an environment of expanded collaboration, consultation and communication within the college and between the college and its external constituents 12
9 Implement comprehensive methods to assess all programs, instruction, facilities, sites and services 13
10 Develop and promote activities and programs that will foster and enhance the cultural life of Rockland County 13
Strategic Planning Committee Members 14
Rockland Community College
Strategic Plan
Goals and Objectives 2001-2006
Introduction:
The Environment for the Strategic Plan: 2001 – 2006
As Rockland Community College, State University of New York, celebrates its fortieth anniversary and begins its fifth decade of service to the citizenry of Rockland County, a review of its Strategic Plan is both appropriate and timely. The College’s Mission is to provide opportunities for all who wish to learn to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for life, work and responsible citizenship remains unchanged. However, the educational, social and economic context within which that service will occur has changed dramatically since the College first opened its doors in 1959.
Today, we find that students’ goals and needs for learning, like those of our society and its organizations, are changing. Changing demography across our county and State now require that we revisit our assumptions about access to our College and the appropriateness of the programs and services we offer to students and the community at large. Unprecedented business growth and intensified economic competition challenge the college to maintain the competitive advantage of the citizenry we serve and to maintain a workforce prepared to meet the demands of the future in Rockland County and beyond. Although SUNY Rockland Community College has been recognized for its four decades of achievement in advancing the community college movement, our potential is far beyond what has already been accomplished. It is now the time to reflect upon our rich experience and to chart the journey that will take us into the future.
Fortunately, in addressing changing circumstances and new opportunities for service, our College is well prepared to move forward. During the past year, the College’s Strategic Planning Committee completed a series of environmental scans that examined the organizational structure of the college: who Rockland Community College students are and who they should be; current and future initiatives for academic program development; the potential for the adoption of technology within the operations of the College; as well as opportunities for the College community to serve as a resource for the academic, economic and creative development of the citizenry of Rockland County. The environmental scanning process was also informed by the report Rockland County: River to Ridge: a Plan for the 21st Century, which proposed goals and action plans with implications for the College.The past year also saw the conclusion of a mission review process conducted by each campus in the State University of New York system. This Mission Review reconfirmed the role of the community colleges within the SUNY system and clarified the unique mission of each community college. Concurrent with these activities, the College community participated in a regular review of the status of its accreditation by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The Periodic Review Report that emerged from this process provided an extensive examination of our performance, and gave impetus to planning the institutional agenda for the next five years. The initial response to the College’s Periodic Review Report by the Middle States Association reviewers stated that “the college is an institution committed to realizing its potential.”
This Strategic Plan: 2001-2006 serves three purposes. It defines how we will extend access to meet student and societal demands for services from the college. It establishes our priorities in developing programs and services and, through the development of the detailed plans that form an integral part of this Strategic Plan, links necessary resources and implementation strategies to these priorities. Finally, the Plan communicates to ourselves and to our external publics, the College’s purposes and strategies.
As a comprehensive public community college, SUNY Rockland Community College has an additional responsibility to help the localities it serves, through their organizations, to improve the quality of life for the citizenry of Rockland County. In doing so, the College will address students’ goals for learning so that they may exercise greater self-determination in their lives and careers, will expand educational opportunities to maintain a skilled and knowledgeable workforce, and will contribute to the growth and prosperity of the localities it serves. This Plan is the culmination of a College-wide consultation about our specific goals for the future. The Strategic Plan: 2001-2006 represents the aspirations of our College community and our commitment to their fulfillment.
George Hamada
President
______, 2001
Developing the Goals for 2001-2006
This Strategic Plan is intended to serve as a guide for the development of divisional plans for resource allocation and activities. The goals and objectives in this Strategic Plan are the product of a comprehensive process with broad participation from the College community and our Rockland County constituents. In the spring of 1999 the Strategic Planning Committee began a series of environmental scans focused on five areas of concern to the College: Students, Academic Programs, Organizational Structure, Technology and Community Involvement. Five subcommittees conducted the environmental scans with the general goals of determining our current status and projecting where we should be heading within each of their respective areas. The environmental scanning sub committees conducted interviews, collected numerical data, examined reports and consulted with distinguished members of our College community. The Strategic Planning Committee extracted and condensed 50 recommendations from those reports and from the resulting discussions and distributed them in a report in March 2000.
In the fall of 2000, the Strategic Planning Committee engaged in the process of revising the Strategic Plan approved in June 1988. Using the Mission Statement, the Strategic Plan (1998), and the five environmental scanning reports as a basis, the Committee drafted a set of goals and objectives for 2001-2006. This draft was the basis for a College-wide discussion on January 26, 2001 addressing the comprehensiveness of the goals and objectives, the priority ordering of the goals, the identification of resources to achieve the goals, and the congruence between the Mission Statement and the proposed goals. Follow-up meetings were held for the College community on March 8 and 13. The same four issues were also addressed in public hearings held on March 22 and April 24 with invited speakers from the legislative, education, arts and business communities of Rockland County.
During the environmental scanning and the Periodic Review processes several issues arose which deserve special comment and which receive attention in the goals and objectives:
Maintaining Standards of Excellence. Education is the raison d’être of our College’s existence. To fulfill that mission, we must maintain the highest standards of excellence in building a highly professional staff, developing a relevant and rigorous multicultural curriculum, delivering instruction in current and creative ways, maintaining state-of-the-art facilities, and providing varied and comprehensive support services for all members of the College community.
Ongoing Evaluation and Outcomes Assessment. To assure that we are achieving standards of excellence, that the objectives and activities of the planning process are being met, that the goals of our educational programs are being reached, and that our students are achieving success we must engage in an ongoing process of outcomes assessment. Planning activities and allocating resources successfully are dependent obtaining relevant and timely feedback on the results of our efforts.
Developing technology, in its broadest sense, refers to more than just computers and new ways of delivering instruction: it reflects our priorities as to equipment needed for teaching in many specific technical fields and the facilities in which equipment is housed in as well as support of needed repairs. It includes the infusion of technology into all curricula as well as an understanding of equipment needs for faculty, students and staff. Technology requires a commitment for the institution to support funding, usage, training, technical staff and development of teaching and learning strategies.
Recruitment and retention of students in an era of changing demographics is a broad based and critical effort which is the responsibility of the entire College community. As we recruit and develop support services, we must be mindful of the diverse educational backgrounds, motivations, age, ethnicity, social class and educational goals of the population in the county, and reach out in a manner consistent with our mission.The demographic trends of Rockland County point the way to our future. We are becoming more diverse. The needs of the emerging population groups must be identified and responsive programs and services be planned and developed.
Increasing revenue streams and mechanisms.The College budget continues to be a primary concern of the institution. Of the four sources of revenue, two are directly tied to enrollment: student tuition and state aid for FTE. Recruitment and retention priorities are directly tied to these two sources. In addition, efforts to affect the rate of reimbursement from the state are critical. Equally critical is sustaining our positive relationship with the county, and ensuring that our sponsor’s contribution is perceived as a valuable and integral part of Rockland County. The fourth area of revenue includes non-credit/continuing education programs, workforce development, and facilities rentals. In addition, it is crucial that we expand supplemental sources of revenue, such as grants, alumni development, member’s items and other sources of external funding.
Developing links with the community.The College should work closely with business and industry and community organizations to develop programs in response to stated needs. These partnerships will stimulate economic and cultural growth of the county, and provide workforce access and enhanced learning experiences for our students. The development of a skilled and knowledgeable workforce in Rockland County is a significant component of our Mission Statement.
Examining our Mission. Our Mission Statement is the driving force behind our goals, objectives and activities. It deserves regular review to confirm that it provides us sufficient breadth and scope to pursue the course set by the Strategic Plan.
Goals, Objectives and Activities
Goals are general, philosophical, broad statements which embody common values we hold for the institution. Based on our Mission Statement, the goals are statements that will direct our planning activities for the next five years. Each of the ten goals in the following pages is important and will contribute significantly to the future of Rockland Community College. Nevertheless, some goals have more immediacy than others. The goals are therefore arranged in the order proposed by the Strategic Planning Committee which was confirmed through the hearing process. It should be emphasized that this priority ordering of goals does not diminish the importance of each goal to the future of the College.
Objectives are more directly related to the activities which will help the College achieve the goals, and have a direct impact on the priorities of the institution. Ultimately, the goal statements and objectives will serve an integral role in the budget process, by providing the means for operationalizing the Mission Statement. The objectives are listed under each goal.
Activities are the specific steps the College will undertake to achieve the objectives. While the activities are not listed in this document, they are an integral component of operational plans, and are linked tooperational unit accountable for the activity. The five environmental scanning reports present many examples of suggested activities that will move the college towards achieving the goals and objectives listed in this plan.
It is expected that the detailed recommendations in the scanning documents and the goals and objectives of this plan will guide the divisions of the College as the plans and activities for the coming years are developed. It is highly recommended that college-wide division retreats provide the forum for developing the activities that support the goals and objectives.
Rockland Community College
Mission Statement
Ø Seek out and encourage all those who wish to learn without regard to ethnic or racial background, color, religion, gender, physical ability, nationality, age, marital status, sexual orientation, economic status, development stage or prior educational achievement.
Ø Develop the knowledge, skills and understanding for life, work and responsible citizenship within a diverse and changing world and culture.
Ø Foster opportunities for life-long learning which integrate a person’s life, andcareer and educational goals.
Ø Provide leadership in Rockland County for academic, economic and creative development, serve as a resource for community services and cultural affairs.
Ø Promote values and purposes of higher education by reaching out actively to diverse populations who might otherwise not have considered attending college, discerning their needs and devising programming and servicesto meet them.
Rockland Community College Strategic Planning
Goals and Objectives 2001-2006
To provide excellence in education to prepare students for a diverse and changing world, Rockland Community College will:
Goal 1:Ensure that students progress towards achievement of their goals.
As students enter and move through their educational career at the College, it is incumbent upon the College to provide not only the highest quality instruction, but to ensure that the progression of the student from first contact to the achievement of their educational goals has continuity and support. The population of Rockland County continues to grow and diversify and the College must continue to identify emerging educational needs and prepare the means to best attract, serve and retain new student populations.
1. Identify the needs of our emerging student body, both current and future, and respond with appropriate teaching and learning methodologies and content.
2. Implement comprehensive advisement for all students.
3. Expand existing academic support systems and explore other possibilities.
4. Develop adequate orientation and support services for diverse college populations.
5. Develop and implement a cohesive retention plan.
6. Develop an enrollment management plan that incorporates and coordinates the activities related to recruitment and retention.
Goal 2: Maintain a curriculum and programs that respond to the present and emerging needs of our external community.
As the needs of our students and prospective students change in response to workforce needs, we must be able to continue to respond rapidly. Currently offered programs must ensure that they contribute to the overall educational goals of the College and maintain currency in their field. While new program development occurs regularly, a systematic and more broadly inclusive approach may be required to fulfill our Mission and respond to these changes.
1. Define the college core of general education and affirm the College’s commitment to its implementation.
2. Include information literacy as a basic requirement for students.
3. Conduct ongoing curriculum review to ensure its relevance to civic, social and economic realities.
4. Recognize and address the complexities of offering a technology curriculum.
5. Implement the multifaceted student recruitment plan.
6. Explore the possibility of offering new degree and certificate programs.
7. Incorporate technology, where appropriate, into teaching and learning.
Goal 3: Maximize the use of our human resources by recruiting, developing, and training faculty and staff.
The human resources of the College are its most important and expensive asset and should be developed and nurtured in a planned manner. As technology needs and capabilities continue to develop and grow a systematic, comprehensive and intentional method of staff development is necessary. This is true both for the pedagogical interests of the faculty and the operational processes of the College. The availability of technology in not sufficient to assure its incorporation into the ongoing activities of the College staff. We are obliged to train and develop our personnel, not only for the benefits accrued to this institution by developing our human resources, but also to make the best use of our substantial commitment of resources to technology.
1. Provide resources for faculty and staff growth, development and training as a priority towards excellence in instruction.
2. Develop and/or revise and distribute policies and procedures to faculty, staff and administrators.
3. Develop and implement a five year staff development plan to infuse technology into pedagogy and the work environment.
4. Determine College labor force needs and deploy staff as appropriate.
5. Integrate adjunct faculty as fully as possible into campus life.
6. Address issues in attracting and retaining personnel in technology.
7. Identify and maintain an appropriate ratio of full to part-time faculty.
8. Identify and respond appropriately to the needs of staff.
9. Achieve a diverse College workforce which is reflective of our changing student population.
10. Implement a performance review process for all employees.
11. Develop and implement a process for the orientation of new faculty and staff to the Mission, programs and services of the college
Goal 4:Engage in short and long range fiscal planning to support and implement the strategic goals.
The Strategic Plan represents the combined thinking of representative constituencies of the College. It is conceived with the best interests of the College and students at heart, and represents the best opportunity for the College to develop a sense of vision, purpose, enhanced communication, commonality of pursuit, and the means to realize the Mission. It is critical for the institution to continue to develop the connecting links between strategic planning, fiscal planning and the budgeting process.
1. Develop a process to ensure that budgeting reflects the priorities of the strategic plan.
2. Seek alternative external funding sources and revenue diversification.
3. Develop disaster recovery and crisis management plans.
4. Maintain the initiative for institutional advancement.
5. Collaborate with the RCC Foundation and the Alumni to develop ways in which they can best serve and support the College.
6. Solve budgeting issues to stabilize technology funding predictability.
7. Affirm the role of the RCC Association as a financial vehicle for the college.
8. Reinstate an appropriate fund balance.
Goal 5: Establish the necessary facilities, equipment and technology that support the goals and objectives of the college.
Academic and support facilities are a critical component of the overall educational program, influencing not only the existing learning environment but also the overall capacity to accommodate students and emerging technologies. In order to provide an appropriate educational learning environment, it is essential that adequate facilities be provided and maintained to meet our needs. The Master Plan embodies our response to these needs for facility development. Resources must be obtained to implement the Master Plan in the most expeditious manner.
1. Develop a comprehensive technology plan as described in Goal 6.
2. Inventory and assess current resources and project future needs.
3. Advocate for support and implementation of the master plan.
4. Align the physical plant with health and safety needs.
5. Expand the use of technology to support information gathering and dissemination.
6. Provide appropriate facilities and technologies for programs and services at all sites.
7. Develop a plan that assures and schedules maintenance and proper repair of facilities and equipment.
Goal 6: Develop and apply appropriate technology to support the academic and administrative functions of the College.
As technology needs and capabilities continue to develop and grow, a systematic, comprehensive and intentional method of incorporating available technological advances into the core functioning of the College is essential. This is true for the pedagogical interests of the faculty, the technological literacy of the students, and the operational processes of the college.
1. Develop a comprehensive institutional technology plan that incorporates organizational structure, needs assessment, a process for decision making, oversight and evaluation. The plan should address the complexities of offering a technology curriculum, developing staff to infuse technology into pedagogy and the work environment, and provide budgeting stability to fund technology.
2. Assure that students achieve competency in information literacy.
3. Incorporate technology, where appropriate, into teaching and learning at all College sites.
4. Attract and retain personnel to support and teach technology.
5. Expand the use of technology to support institutional information gathering and dissemination.
Goal 7: Provide leadership and training to support the growth and development of Rockland County in response to its workforce needs.
The development of the workforce in Rockland County should occur not only on the campus, but also in response to the needs of business. The College will continue to identify the need for workforce skills development in the community and provide services to address them with credit, non-credit and customized training. Developing these services to the community not only provides valuable service, it also provides the College with additional means of developing of resources.
1. Provide workforce development for business and industry to enhance economic development.
2. Form collaborative partnerships with government, organizations, business and industry to determine needs, develop resources and provide appropriate education.
Goal 8: Foster an environment of expanded collaboration, consultation and communication within the College and between the College and its external constituents.
The need to enhance communication between the college and its internal and external public has been a recurring theme within the environmental scans and the Periodic Review. Students, faculty, staff and the public should receive and perceive all services as coming from the College with a continuity of purpose and clarity of process. This is difficult in a complex institution, but the goal of seamless continuity can be more closely approximated with open, honest, formal and informal frequent communication and collaboration. Shared governance implies a collaborative and interactive process of decision making involving all represented constituencies of the College, and requires the development of involved and strong leadership, open lines of communication and a College commitment to process.
1. Create an environment of mutual respect that allows for open access and comfortable exchange of ideas between the College and community it serves.
2. Provide opportunities that encourage interaction and collegiality and foster morale within the College community.
3. Ensure the use of formal and informal vehicles of communication.
4. Develop partnerships with high schools, other community colleges and four-year colleges.
5. Expand the use of technology to support information gathering and dissemination.
6. Establish linkages to county wide organizations.
7. Develop a public relations program.
Goal 9:Implement comprehensive methods to assess all programs, instruction, facilities, sites and services.
The assessment process is integral to self-renewal and planning. To ensure that the College maintains healthy programs and services which address student needs, the curriculum must remain responsive and flexible and the College must regularly assess the effectiveness of its services.
1. Conduct ongoing curriculum review to assess effectiveness.
2. Implement the institution-wide outcomes assessment process.
3. Develop a process for ongoing environmental scanning.
4. Coordinate strategic planning with the Outcomes Assessment and Curriculum Committees for the review of academic programs.
5. Develop review processes for services and programs not covered by the Curriculum Committee.
6. Ensure the capacity for an adequate level of institutional research.
Goal 10:Develop and promote activities and programs that will foster and enhance the cultural life of Rockland County.
The Mission directs that the College serve as a resource for cultural affairs for the community. There are numerous opportunities for the College to provide these resources by making existing activities available to the community and expanding this role of the College.
1. Define and expand the role of the College in the cultural life of the community.
2. Form partnerships with existing institutions and collaborate in the development and delivery of new cultural programs.
3. Support the cultural activities of RCC’s departments.
4. Support ongoing efforts which recognize and celebrate diversity.
Strategic Planning Committee
Tim Judd, (Chair) Director of Institutional Research
Bill Baker, Chair Math and Science
Libby Bay, Chair Humanities and Liberal Arts
Monique Caubere, Director of Development
Steve Ferres, Director of Computing and Technology
Maire Liberace, Professor Health Professions
Elaine Padilla, Professor Anthropology/Sociology
Robert Schuler, Director of Plant Facilities
Paul Shiffman, Vice President of Institutional Planning and Advancement
Sue Solomon, Chair Applied Sciences
Ellen Spergel, Professor Allied Health/Disability Services
Environmental Scanning Sub-Committees
Students Programs Technology
Elaine Padilla (Chair) Beverly Brown (Chair) Steve Ferres (Chair)
Josephine Figueras Bill Baker Harry Nelsen
Tim Judd Steve Hano Betty Sinowitz
Tim Judd Sue Solomon
Shelly Salzberg
Organizational Structure Community Involvement
Libby Bay (Chair) Jo-Ann Vega (Chair)
Bill Baker Monique Caubere
Peggie Flynn Eileen Mandel
Deborah Merrigan Dan Keeley
Caroline Osinga Estelle Yahes
Rosalyn Pier Peter Arvanites
Ellen Spergel Maire Liberace
Edward Thayer Roberta Panish
Lorraine Glynn
Bob Kowles