Strategic Plan for Institutional Excellence

For the academic year 2025-2026

 

Vision (Who we want to be)

Approved: June 1, 2021

To Enrich Everyone Through Education

 

Mission (Who we are)

Approved: June 1, 2021

We serve the educational needs and economic growth of our community, by promoting lifelong student learning and success.

 

Core Values (What guides us)

Approved: June 1, 2021

Support

Providing a helpful and encouraging environment where exceptional learning and experiences can exist.

Collaboration

Working together for a shared purpose by fostering positive and productive relationships with diverse populations throughout the college and our community.

Excellence

Striving for the ongoing pursuit of the highest quality inside and outside the classroom.

Integrity

Maintaining honest and open relationships, utilizing strong ethical principles, in everything we do.

Creativity

Encouraging thinking and exploring beyond the bounds of traditional ideas.

 

Strategic Goals and Objectives

Approved: June 1, 2021
Revised: May 28, 2025

Goals are defined for a 5-year period. The Objectives defined herein are for the 2025-2026 academic year only.

Goal 1: Enrollment

Increase enrollments by 5% over a three-year period, college-wide, with a focus on targeted populations (eg, high school, adult learner, workforce continuing education, career and technical education, college transfer) and an emphasis coming from Haywood County residents.

Objective 1: Implement the formal strategic enrollment management plan that focuses on increasing the diversity of the student body and prioritizes programming that proactively responds to community and student needs.

Objective 2: Develop standardized metrics for enrollment in targeted programs with a plan to create tactics for improvement.

Objective 3: Optimize and monitor the holistic onboarding processes in coordination with NCReconnect and Inside Track to increase new student enrollment.

Goal 2: Engagement

Consistent year-over-year improvement in our engagement levels with students, community, and employees.

Objective 1: Use a variety of measurement tools to track student engagement with a focus on tracking communication method success and event/meeting attendance. Review trends to determine which methods are most effective and how to strengthen those not.

Objective 2: Create an alumni engagement plan to engage and connect with students following graduation, consisting of event invitations and sharing success stories.

Objective 3: Engage with our community in a variety of ways to increase overall brand awareness. Tracking community events in a new way will allow proper examination of the events, which will be included in the formalized recruitment plan.

Objective 4: Engage with employees on a variety of levels to encourage organic program marketing, community involvement, and overall awareness of campus happenings.

Goal 3: Facilities and Infrastructure

Progress on our short- and long-term facilities and infrastructure needs based on our comprehensive infrastructure academic and facilities master plan.

Objective 1: Develop a formal, comprehensive, and well-integrated technology, infrastructure, and facilities roadmap.

Objective 2: Conduct annual evaluation to prioritize capital project needs.

Objective 3: Create a communication strategy to inform faculty, staff, and students about the progress and future plans for capital improvements and projects.

Goal 4: Talent

Meet or exceed expectations on employee engagement, diverse representation, people development, and talent recruitment, based on a defined workplace culture of excellence, well-being, and high performance.

Objective 1: Improve and grow employee satisfaction by listening to employee needs and then developing planning and execution strategies relative to these needs.

Objective 2: Provide meaningful and frequent employee professional development opportunities.

Objective 3: Monitor, measure, and respond to employee turnover; perform proactive planning for transitions.

Goal 5: Growth

Increase student success data indicators to identify targets over a three-year period, to ensure students are progressing on or meeting their goals, and the college is providing skilled workers to the community.

Objective 1: Monitor the standardized set of student success data indicators (graduation rate, retention rate [fall-to-fall, fall-to-spring], course success rate [fall, spring]).

Objective 2: Increase student completion rate of course evaluations to 40%..

Objective 3: Execute and monitor the strategic retention plan for all instructional program areas.

Objective 4: Develop a standardized set of student success data indicators for continuing education/workforce development.

These outcomes were changed to better reflect the current conditions and future expectations regarding enrollment and retention.