Mission, Vision, Values and Strategic Goals & Objectives

Adopted by the Board of Trustees 4/11/2006

> Printable Strategic Plan Document

Mission

Skagit Valley College exists to expand opportunities and horizons for students and to improve the communities in which they live. We achieve this by welcoming and valuing diverse learners, providing quality education and support, and contributing community leadership and service.

Vision

We will be the community’s college, respected by our diverse population for open access, a welcoming climate, excellent teaching and support services, successful student learning, and for our contribution to economic development, cultural enrichment, environmental awareness, and social justice.

Values

• Learning: Our focus is on learning in a climate of open inquiry, respect, academic freedom, and scholarship.
• Excellence: We deliver skillful teaching, innovative curricula and co-curricular activities, effective services and support, continuous assessment, and systematic, measurable change.
• Student Success: We foster student success by being learner-centered, remaining flexible and accessible, and engaging students as active partners in their learning and in shaping and participating in the life of the college community.
• Employees: We support, value, and reward our employees, who are key to the achievement of our vision and mission.
• Diversity and Global Multiculturalism: We affirm individual uniqueness, celebrate diversity, and encourage mutual cultural understanding.
• Civic Responsibility: We are committed to democratic ideals that encourage engagement in the affairs of the college and the community it serves, involvement in the global community, and the promotion of social justice.
• Sustainability: We model best practices to create facilities, systems, and programs that are regenerative and sustainable.
• Communication: We value honest and respectful communication that contributes to effective relations, operations, personal growth and learning.

General Education Learning Values

0. Integration and Application: Using information, concepts, analytical frameworks, and skills from different fields of study to understand and develop comprehensive approaches/responses to personal, academic, professional, and social issues.

1. Information Literacy: Recognizing when information is needed and having the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

2. Critical Thinking: The ability to think critically about the nature of knowledge within a discipline and about the ways in which that knowledge is constructed and validated and to be sensitive to the ways these processes often vary among disciplines.

3. Communication: Understanding and producing effective written, spoken, visual, and non-verbal communication.

4. Community & Cultural Diversity: Recognizing the value of human communities and cultures from multiple perspectives through a critical understanding of their similarities and differences.

5. Global & Local Awareness & Responsibility: Understanding the complexity and interdependence of, and stewardship responsibilities to, local and global communities and environments.

6. Individual Awareness & Responsibility: Understanding, managing, and taking responsibility for one’s learning and behavior in varied and changing environments.

7. Aesthetics & Creativity: Interpreting human experience through engagement with creative processes and aesthetic principles.

8. Mathematical Reasoning: Understanding and applying concepts of mathematics and logical reasoning in a variety of contexts, both academic and non-academic.

9. Scientific Literacy: Understanding scientific principles, and analyzing and applying scientific information in a variety of contexts.

10. Technology: Understanding the role of technology in society and using technology appropriately and effectively.

Strategic Goals & Objectives

The SVC Strategic Plan serves the decision-making process of the institution. Using the Strategic Plan as a foundation, the institution's decisions are proactive rather than reactive, follow a clearly designated timeline, and are both informed and justified by the Plan.

1. INSTRUCTION and STUDENT SUCCESS:

Provide effective learning options for student success.

1.1 - Evaluate programs and scheduling at all SVC locations, and develop a plan to effectively and efficiently meet community/employer and student needs.

1.2 – Increase professional development opportunities for faculty and staff to encourage excellence in learning.

1.3 – Enhance articulation with K-12 and four-year colleges and universities.

1.4 – Support growth of interdisciplinary programs to enrich student learning.

1.5 - Increase international/global opportunities across the college curriculum, including through student and employee study, travel, and exchange.

1.6 – Research and develop new markets and opportunities to identify curricula and programs that respond to student, employer and community needs, and enrollment targets.

1.7 – Support the development and maintenance of co-curricular learning opportunities to foster students' social and personal development, including a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

1.8 – Based on assessments of students and programs, establish appropriate preparatory or prerequisite course requirements to enhance students' transition to and success in college-level courses.

2. COLLEGE CLIMATE:

Create rich, respectful, and welcoming learning environments for students and employees.

2.1 – Develop effective communication strategies that improve working relationships throughout the college district.

2.2 – Provide educational opportunities to increase respect and civility among diverse student groups, college employee groups, and all college locations.

2.3 – Attract, support, and retain a qualified and diverse workforce.

2.4 - Celebrate and support learning and accomplishments

2.5 – Evaluate, develop and implement procedures that ensure safety and security for all throughout the college district.

3. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS and RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT:

Develop strategic alliances that contribute to educational, cultural, economic, and community development.

3.1 – Increase community partnerships that support the college's responsiveness to employment needs and community economic viability, and enhance college visibility in the community.

3.2 – Create and promote educational opportunities for our community, particularly the underserved populations in the district.

3.3 – Develop a regional university center.

3.4 – Encourage, sponsor and support community cultural activities and events.

4. FACILITIES and TECHNOLOGY:

Create sustainable, improved, and modernized learning and working environments.

4.1 - Develop and implement an inclusive planning process for upgrading and building sustainable facilities throughout the district.

4.2 – Develop and implement a district-wide integrated plan for purchasing, maintaining, upgrading, and replacing technology and equipment for classrooms and college operations.

4.3 - Evaluate administrative structure and staffing of Information Technology to improve coordination and services.

4.4 - Increase technology training for Information Technology, staff, and all faculty.

4.5 - Establish regenerative and sustainable processes in campus facilities, grounds, and college operations.

5. ASSESSMENT

Enhance instruction, student services, and institutional effectiveness through comprehensive assessment processes.

5.1 – Based on assessments of the on-line delivery of learning and related support services, develop and coordinate program standards that enhance student success and curricular coherence and quality, and improve decisions regarding offerings across the district.

5.2 – Assess the General Education Learning Values and Learning Outcomes to ensure integration across the curriculum and improve student learning in both academic and technical programs.

5.3 – Continually assess the college governance system to ensure improved inclusiveness and better accountability in decision making.

5.4 – Collect and analyze data and information to respond to changing demographics and employer needs in communities throughout the college district.

5.5 – Assess college systems and processes against core values, Learning Values and Learning Outcomes to continue building a learning college.