Introduction
The development of Pathways 2021 involved many members of the college community. The Strategic Planning Committee convened in the fall 2014 semester with the charge of creating a five-year strategic plan to guide the College’s long-term decision-making. The Committee began the process by gathering input from the greater community. A survey was developed and disseminated electronically to employees, students, board members, and community/business leaders. The content of the survey asked several open-ended questions about respondents’ opinions of the College’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities for the College to utilize and threats that could harm its overall well-being. Respondents were also asked to provide input about the mission, vision, values, and institutional goals of the College.
The Committee reviewed the survey results and developed a set of common themes for each of the four areas of the survey (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). Over a three-day period, the Committee welcomed all College and local community members to come to the Clifton Forge campus or the Rockbridge Regional Center in Buena Vista and prioritize for each area the “most important” of the common themes. Over the course of the three days, approximately 100 people came to one of the two locations and provided input. Those results were then tabulated by the Committee and used as a primary source of information to guide the plan’s development.
In the spring 2015 semester, the Committee reviewed the College’s mission statement, vision statement, and values, and, using the input from the survey, suggested revisions to the mission statement to make it more concise and relevant. The Strategic Planning Committee also recommended revisions to the vision statement and values statement.
To develop Pathways 2021, the Strategic Planning Committee relied on institutional data, community survey results, and several guiding documents such as the VCCS strategic plan; the VCCS performance funding model; the DSLCC Diversity Taskforce Initiative, and the revised mission, vision, and values statements. Over the span of three months, the Strategic Planning Committee identified nine institutional goals that, if achieved, demonstrate the Colleges’ fulfillment of its mission. The desire to achieve these nine goals, each one with a set of targeted outcomes, will guide the College’s decision-making from 2015-2016 to 2020-2021, creating new pathways for student success and strengthening the College’s positive impact on the greater community.
Pathways 2021 was endorsed by the Strategic Planning Committee on May 13, 2015 and approved by the President’s Council on May 18, 2015. The Plan was presented to the Local Board on June 1, 2015 where it was approved.
DSLCC Strategic Plan Document
Please download and view the entire Strategic Plan ( PDF document).