Strategic Planning for 2024 and Beyond
The Seattle Colleges Strategic Plan provides broad, forward-looking direction to ensure student success in the dynamic and vibrant city of Seattle. The Board of Trustees—in consultation with the district community, including faculty, staff, students, administrative leadership, and external partners—initiates and approves the Strategic Plan.
An updated districtwide Strategic Plan will be developed during the 2023-2024 academic year. This updated plan will reflect a common purpose, beliefs, commitments, and priorities. It will also establish a set of major goals to be achieved over time across the district and at each college. The foundation for this planning is facilitated at the district level and is formulated through extensive involvement from Central, North, and South.
Accompanying the districtwide Strategic Plan will be a set of Action Plans—one for each college. Each Action Plan recognizes the unique characteristics of each of the colleges and includes a range of high-level strategies that will be operationalized in a manner appropriate for each college. The individual college Action Plans, in turn, are devised and implemented to reinforce the overarching goals outlined in the districtwide Strategic Plan. These plans are locally crafted at the divisional and departmental levels. Embedded within the Strategic Plan and Action Plans are strategies designed to steer and bolster districtwide goals and objectives.
Ultimately, the Strategic Plan acknowledges our proud history, short-term challenges, and opportunities while identifying future directions, aspirations, and operational strategies. It also affirms our fundamental mission: to prepare each student for a successful life and work in a diverse, global, and dynamic society.
Project Goals and Scope
Goals
- Develop a framework that will guide the strategic planning process (see Phases section below)
- Gather input districtwide and from each college
- Ensure Seattle Colleges' commitment to equity is reflected in our mission, vision, and values and integrated throughout the Strategic Plan
- Refine preliminary ideas for a refreshed set of goals, strategies, and action plans
- Draft a final strategic plan for approval by the Board of Trustees
Scope
- Review the current Strategic Plan
- Engage the community in reflection and assessment of the prior Strategic Plan and outcomes
- Engage community in the development of the new Strategic Plan
- Create and disseminate deliverables
Steering Committee
The Strategic Planning Steering Committee has been established to guide efforts as Seattle Colleges embarks on its new strategic planning process. This committee will coordinate the development of an updated districtwide strategic plan.
Strategic Planning Updates
Updates and reports to the community will be provided on a regular basis through different communication methods. Details and frequency will be determined by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee.
Phases, Timeline, and Milestones
Develop Planning Process, Frameworks, and Timelines:
Establish committees, frameworks, timelines and governance plan for the strategic planning process.
- Form Steering Committee
- Form BOT committee
- Develop Strategic Planning Project Plan
- Develop Case Statement
- Initial data gathering and review Seattle Colleges’ current status
- Review peers’ strategic plans and current strategic plan; develop framework for Seattle Colleges District Strategic Plan
- Develop templates, clarify roles, timeline of activities, glossary
- With BOT committee, review strategic planning process; confirm approach
Input, Feedback, and Review:
Seek input from internal and external partners; target and request strategic feedback using multiple modalities; Draft goals; Board reviews draft goals.
- Data gathering and review
- Initial input gathering from students, faculty, and staff
- Request feedback from other internal partners: employee unions, faculty governance, student groups, workforce advisory groups; college and district foundations
- Seek feedback from other external partners: city government, chamber, business partners, CBO’s
- Provide update on this progress and summary of input gathered to BOT
Strategic Plan Development:
- Develop and finalize goals, strategies, metrics and develop action plan.
- Steering Committee drafts mission, vision, values, and goals
- Logistics Committee reviews mission, vision, values, and goals with college presidents’ cabinets
- Draft action plans in alignment with our mission, vision, values, and new goals
- Chancellor’s Executive Cabinet reviews near-final version of the revised strategic plan
- BOT committee reviews near-final version of strategic plan
Board Approval, Communications, and Dissemination:
- Present strategic plan (mission, vision, values, goals, and action plan) to board for review and approval; communicate key messages.
- BOT first reading and study session of near-final version of strategic plan
- Incorporate final revisions
- Seek Board approval
- Publish Strategic Plan