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Opening Week 2023

Strategic Planning

John R. Mosby, Ph.D.

Travis Exstrom, Board Chair

Emily Lardner, Ph.D.

Emily Coates

James Peyton, Ph.D.

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What to Expect

Welcome
Housekeeping
Land acknowledgement
Chair’s remarks
President’s goals
What is strategic planning?
Why strategic planning now?
Highline’s approach to strategic planning
Where Accreditation comes in
Student Achievement Data
Conclusion
Celebrate BINGO winners

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Housekeeping

Schedule of events: https://openingweek.highline.edu/

(including zoom links for virtual & hybrid sessions)

Table buckets

Handouts!

Student Success Council Annual Report
Strategic Goals & Objectives
Student Achievement Report

This week’s meeting materials

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Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge the people whose land we are gathered on today. Present day Des Moines is located on the traditional village sites of the Muckleshoot, Puyallup and many other Coast Salish tribes who made their homes on these lands and along these waters.

Let us also acknowledge the robust Indigenous communities made up of tribal diversity that originate from around the country, and whose journeys have brought them here and to other locations by ways of forced displacement or seeking opportunities.

Today the same communities celebrate their heritage, showing resilience and tenacity that would be greatly admired by their ancestors.�— Inspired by Se-ah-dom Edmo and Dr. Christine Dupres, Portland

Further, we respectfully acknowledge the enslaved people, primarily of African descent who provided exploited labor on which this country was built, with little to no recognition. Today, we are indebted to their labor and the labor of many black and brown bodies that continue to work in the shadows for our collective benefit.

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Highline College Board of Trustees

Travis Exstrom,

Board Chair

Jesse Johnson,

Vice Chair

Joseph S. Bowman IV,

Trustee

Sharmila Swenson,

Trustee

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President’s Goals

Build a stronger community
Focus on enrollment growth
Fiscal stability and sustainability

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Why Strategic Planning Now?

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Why Strategic Planning?

Organizations have reasons for existing
In successful organizations, everyone works together to achieve that purpose
In complex organizations, it can be harder to see the connections between a person’s work and a successful outcome
The purpose of a strategic plan is to help everyone stay focused on what the overall organization is trying to do
Good strategy planning helps everyone in their organizations see how their specific work helps achieve that goal

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Highline’s Approach to Strategic Planning

Not writing a long plan and never reading it again
Identify big things we want to do – strategic goals
Objectives under each area help break the goal down into smaller pieces
Each year, staff set goals for their departments through the Institutional Effectiveness process
Faculty departments go through the Program Improvement Plan process
Through the Student Success Council (SSC), we tackle concerns that are larger than a single department

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Highlights

We’ve organized our Outreach and Recruitment team. We’re starting to use a technology tool that lets us keep track of prospective students before they apply. And we can track them all the way through the enrollment process.
We’ve improved our funding processes
We’ve revised student-facing pages on the college website
We’ve launched an adult learner recruitment campaign
We’ve reorganized our high school outreach processes
We’ve implemented faculty advising

(A printed copy of the annual report is on your table)

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In the Coming Year…

Highline will

Continue working to improve students’ experiences on the website
Continue improving our funding processes
Improve our outreach and recruitment processes
Add focus on retention

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Accreditation

Dr. Emily Lardner

Vice President, Academic Affairs

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Northwest Commission on Colleges & Universities (NWCCU)

Accreditation required to receive federal funding and maintain value of degrees

NWCCU is our regional accreditor (Alaska, BC, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and WA)
3rd year of a 7 year cycle
October 16-17 visit: formative assessment

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What is NWCCU looking for at this visit?

Are we addressing the recommendations we got in our Year 7 visit?

Assess core competencies
Use data to assess and improve programs, allocate resources
Focus divergent priorities &
Financial stability

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Financial Stability

Plan from last year:

Increase enrollment – yes
Reduce expenses – yes
Utilize fund balances – yes

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Assessing core competencies

Students in all our degrees, and certificates 45 credits become proficient in our core competencies

Thursday Assessment Retreat – FT faculty, please attend! PT faculty, please attend if possible!

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Use data to assess & improve programs

Institutional Effectiveness plans

Meet and greet colleagues with a shared focus on one of our strategic goals today

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Focusing divergent priorities

Student Success Council for college-wide priorities

Institutional Effectiveness & Program Improvement plans for department-wide priorities

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What else are they looking for?

How are our students doing in some key areas, in comparison with specific peer institutions?

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Student Achievement Data

Emily Coates

Director of Institutional Research

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Structured Reflection on Measures and Peer Comparisons

In groups of 2-3, pick a Student Achievement table that is interesting to you with peer data. Have someone from your group enter your responses to the questions below on the Google Form for your chosen table (see this morning’s email with the links) or answer on one of the Response pages on your table. Answer in any order and it’s OK if you respond to only some of the questions. Informal language is OK.

1. For just the HC data for the three years, what seems important in these numbers?

2. Comparing the HC data to the peer data, what seems important in the numbers?

3. What questions do you have about these numbers?

4. Based on your discussion, what do you think HC should focus on related to this measure?

If you use the google link, be sure to hit “submit” to have your response recorded. Click the toggle if you want a copy of your responses.

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Conclusion & Thank You!

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BINGO Sponsors and Winners!

Presented by

Dr. Aleya Dhanji, Josh Gerstman, and Jennifer Johnston

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Thank You Bingo Stops!

We wanted to extend our heartfelt thanks for your fantastic contribution to

Opening Week Bingo. Your creativity and enthusiasm made the event truly special.

The bingo stops you created were a hit, adding excitement and engagement for our participants. Your efforts helped build connections and a sense of community on campus. Your dedication didn't go unnoticed, and we are grateful for your valuable role in making our college a welcoming community.