Strategic Plan: Values, Vision, Mission, Directions, & Goals


During the 1996-1997 academic year, the Solano Community College (SCC) campus community developed the College’s Strategic Plan, which was adopted by the Governing Board in June of 1997. The Plan is intended to provide a shared, campus-wide direction and set of criteria for helping faculty, staff, and students prioritize decisions and evaluate performance. All the elements of the Plan are intended to work as a unified set, guiding the College towards increased performance, collaboration, coordination, clarity, communication, and efficiency.
SCC’s Strategic Plan began its development by articulating three basic elements: 1) the core values, 2) the vision statement, and 3) the mission statement. These can be viewed as the conceptual piece of the Strategic Plan, providing it with a consistent, comprehensive foundation. The remaining two elements — 1) strategic directions, and 2) strategic goals — are more operational than the first three, although they too are intended to be relatively general (as distinct from those elements found in unit-level three-year and operational plans).
The College reviews its Strategic Plan every three years. Proposed changes are discussed in venues representing all campus constituencies. The Governing Board reviews and adopts the Mission statement annually. As a whole, the Strategic Plan guides all planning, budgeting, and program evaluation within the College.
SCC Core Values
The core values are the collective principles, ideals, or concepts that most significantly guide the culture (beliefs, norms, and behavior) of the SCC campus community. Solano Community College is committed to excellence. We have adopted the following Core Values to guide our policies, procedures, and daily practices:
Focus on Students. We exist to meet the educational needs of our students. Everything we do contributes to and promotes the quality of their access, learning, and success.
Accountability. We are individually and collectively responsible for achieving the highest levels of performance in fulfilling our mission. We continually evaluate ourselves in an effort to improve our effectiveness and efficiency in meeting the educational needs of our community.
Quality. We share a commitment to excellence and continuous improvement. We emphasize the best in teaching and learning, student achievement, the use of technology, and the delivery of support services.
Innovation. We encourage and support creativity, collaboration, and risk-taking. We foster and promote innovation in the design, development, support, delivery, and management of all programs and services.
Diversity. We are a multicultural and diverse organization, an enriching blend of people and ideas. This college is a place for all people, an environment devoted to fostering the diversity of our staff, faculty, and student body. We recognize the worth of each individual and his or her ideas, and treat each other and those we serve fairly, with compassion, and with respect.
Respect. We demonstrate a commitment to the value of each individual through trust, cooperation, and teamwork. We seek active participation, open communication and exchange of ideas, and collaborative decision-making.
Responsiveness to the Community. We recognize that our students and our community deserve our best efforts and are committed to understanding and serving their educational needs. We seek to initiate and cultivate working partnerships with business, industry, government and other institutions.
Proactive Leadership. We continually set aggressive goals and commit ourselves to their achievement. We recognize the importance of learning in people's lives and understand our responsibility to provide educational leadership that responds to the current and future needs of our communities.
Vision Statement
The vision statement concisely describes the future state of SCC.
Solano Community College will be a premier educational institution for academic development, workforce preparation, and lifelong learning. To achieve our vision, Solano Community College is committed to excellence, innovative teaching and learning, and student success through the unified efforts of the campus community.
Mission Statement
The mission statement defines the primary work of SCC.
The mission of Solano Community College is to provide the highest quality academic, occupational, cultural, developmental, and continuing education programs that are dedicated to the achievement of student learning outcomes and responsive to the needs of our community. In fulfilling our mission, we are committed to a diverse educational and cultural campus environment that prepares our students for productive participation in the 21st century.
Strategic Directions & Goals
The strategic directions are categories of strategic goals. These categories provide an easy, organized way to group and refer to campus-wide priorities and institutional goals. The strategic goals, consistent with the College’s core values, are broad outcomes necessary to achieve SCC’s Mission and Vision.
Strategic Direction 1: QUALITY TEACHING AND LEARNING (QTL)
Quality Teaching and Learning is based on establishing and maintaining high academic standards. Solano's programs are focused on student needs and, as a result, quality teaching and learning is central to achieving our Vision and Mission. Maintaining high quality as a consistent academic standard will create pride in our institution and foster student learning and success. Supporting the delivery of quality instruction is a priority in making instructional and programmatic decisions and allocating resources.
Goal 1: Improve the quality of instruction.
Goal 2: Improve student success.

Strategic Direction 2: STUDENT ACCESS (SA)
Ensuring student access requires us to provide a range of educational opportunities that maximize our students' potentials and enable them to succeed. Our commitment to student access to education at Solano College is a central focus of the institution.
Goal 1: Improve the "user friendliness" of SCC for entering students.
Goal 2: Improve access to SCC for area residents.

Strategic Direction 3: INSTITUTIONAL DIVERSITY (ID)
Our community and world is becoming increasingly diverse given the rapid pace of social change, mobility, and the impact of technology and media on our lives. Solano College will actively demonstrate a commitment to appreciating the value of differences among people at an institutional level by inclusive practices, policies, procedures, programs and activities. In order to become a premier, 21st century institution, we have an obligation to involve diverse students, staff, faculty, and administrators in decision-making and committee structures, and to provide positive role models throughout the campus. We must attack the myths about diversity that separate and divide us and appreciate how increased diversity enhances our campus community.
Goal 1: Increase diversity throughout the SCC campus community.
Goal 2: Increase awareness that will enhance respect of multiple cultures.

Strategic Direction 4: ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE (OC)
The Solano culture reflects the integration of personal and professional values, beliefs, and behaviors that are rooted in traditions and history as well as in our current context. We will work cooperatively and collaboratively together towards a common Strategic Plan. This Plan seeks to improve communication among people and groups and to build a climate of trusting relationships throughout the campus.
Goal 1: Improve communication throughout the campus community.
Goal 2: Improve campus-wide decision-making processes.

Strategic Direction 5: TECHNOLOGY (T)
We define technology to be both classroom/laboratory equipment and computer technology used for instructional purposes and administrative support. In order to be fully effective and efficient as an organization, Solano must select appropriate and innovative applications of current technologies. Achieving and maintaining an up-to-date data and technology infrastructure will allow Solano College to offer and coordinate a range of instructional and administrative programs and delivery systems.
Goal 1: Increase SCC's instructional support of expanding technologies.
Goal 2: Develop the technology infrastructure needed to improve campus services.

Strategic Direction 6: FISCAL STRENGTH (FS)
Solano College will provide sufficient fiscal resources to create, maintain and enhance meaningful educational programs and services to achieve the College's Strategic Plan. An appropriate level of financial resources provides a reasonable expectation of financial viability for hiring highly qualified personnel, purchasing equipment and maintaining. To identify new sources of funding required to support innovation, the District will cultivate mutually beneficial collaborative partnerships with local businesses, industries, educational institutions, and agencies.
Goal 1: Increase the level of financial support for college priorities.
Goal 2: Optimize the efficient use of financial resources.

Strategic Direction 7: COMMUNITY RELATIONS (CR)
Solano College must be proactive in shaping its future. We must be strategically responsive to external demographic, economic, technical, and social changes. We have redefined our community to include a wide range of individuals and organizations that have a stake in our success. The College will cultivate partnerships and collaboration with local, regional, national, and international organizations such as educational institutions, businesses, government, and non-profit agencies.
Goal 1: Increase SCC's presence in the community.
Goal 2: Meet the training and education needs of organizations in Solano County.

Board of Trustees

Academic Senate President’s Report

A word version of this report can be found here.
Meetings

I wanted to share a unique experience I had at the Basic Skills Initiative Committee meeting. In conjunction with the transition to written proposals and data driven decisions that I reported on in the past, this committee has done something that I haven’t seen in my tenure here at Solano Community College. They were presented with an open and transparent accountability of their available funds and participated in a frank dialogue about how to administer those monies. In speaking with Josh Stein, the BSI Coordinator, he mentioned that this kind of dialogue can be attributed to the leadership of our VPAA Robin Steinback. As Senate President, I am grateful for this kind of collaborative efforts between Faculty and Administration. I am hopeful that this notion of presenting faculty with adequate financial data to make informed decisions will spread to other committees and decision making across campus.

In the same spirit of open dialogue, I wanted to comment that I also had a chance to meet with our new Interim Superintendent/ President Lisa Waits after our last SGC meeting. I am encouraged by her willingness to maintain the standing meeting between the Senate President and her office. I look forward to more conversations in the future.

Regular Senate Business

Reports
VPAA Steinback reported to the Senate information about the accreditation document and the next steps in the accreditation process. I’m sure that we are all anxiously awaiting the ACCJC visit on or before December 14th. Additionally, she reported that one of the benefits of changing over to Banner is now being able to manage carrying over a maximum student debt of $400. This has a very positive impact on our online and hybrid students. In the past, students who had any debt would be dropped from our eCollege classes. Now, this is not the case.

Curriculum Committee Chair Erin Farmer discussed her plans for the committee this semester, ”life after Accreditation” as it were. We can look forward to a new curriculum procedures handbook, workshops on Curricunet, and a report to the Senate on information regarding curricular processes for Job Certification and CTE.

Information/ Discussion Items

Brad Paschal, the Learning Communities Coordinator presented a proposal for Learning Committees to become a Standing Committee of the Academic Senate: As I’m sure the Board knows there are six standing committees:

· Accreditation and Student Learning Outcomes Committee
· Basic Skills Initiative Committee
· Curriculum Committee
· Distance Education Committee
· Flexible Calendar Committee
· Study Abroad Committee

By becoming a Standing Committee of the Senate, Learning Communities would be afforded broader campus input and buy-in on its initiatives, a formalized mechanism to maintain records and accountability of its actions, and a higher level of integration into the overall goals and objectives of the College. Because of the strong history at Solano College for Learning Communities, the Senate enthusiastically received this request. We will vote on its formation at our next regular meeting. The report that Brad presented can be found here.

Progress on Goals

Accreditation and SLO Committee. Initially, this committee was created and based on the State Academic Senate that combines accreditation and SLOs. Locally at SCC, we are contemplating separating these two entities. Not because they are not related, but rather because for now they have two distinct goals and are at different levels of implementation. The Senate has decided that our first step should be to create an Ad Hoc committee that will establish a plan to move forward with our accreditation process. Senators have entrusted me with the task of forming this first group and I’ve communicated with faculty who I believe might have something to contribute to the Accreditation and SLO Committee. At first blush, the committee should have a membership that very closely mimics that of the Shared Governance Council. We also recognize the need for training on Standards, improved outreach to constituent groups, folding accreditation concerns into Division meetings, and a closer alliance between narrative and evidence.

Update By-Laws: Proportional Representation. After some discussion on the current state of our constitution and proportional representation to the Senate, our At-large Senator Jeanette McCarthy and the Senator from Math and Science, Susanna Crawford agreed to spearhead this Senate goal. The constitution and proportional representation docs are available.

5000 and 6000 Policy Review. The Senate agreed with and applauded VPAA Steinback’s idea of jointly reviewing these policies. We have decided to go over them gradually between now and March and eagerly await the first batch of policies from VPAA Steinback’s office.

Action Items
The Senate voted to establish an Institutional Review Board. Rob Simas and those faculty who volunteered to participate in this group have been notified. I am confident that in short order the Board will have specific policies for their review.

Mi familia