Parkland College

Introduction

Parkland College continues to experience significant change in terms of technology, pedagogy, student needs and preparation, and community employment needs and expectations. A college-wide planning process enables Parkland to better respond to changing external and internal needs. Parkland College must strengthen ties to the community it serves to enhance its premier community college status in the state, region, and nation.

The Parkland College planning process is based on its mission and purposes statement and continues to evolve and be reviewed and refined. The following three objectives, however, remain constant:

The strategies in Parkland College: 2010-2015 will enable the college to address and achieve these objectives. The result is a consensus-driven, integrated, and efficient planning process. The Parkland College Association College Planning Committee sincerely thanks the many community and college members who provided their input.

This plan reflects a deepening awareness not only of how much Parkland College has accomplished since its formation in 1966, but also of the many opportunities that lie ahead. This plan builds on these accomplishments by focusing on continuously improving the quality of teaching and learning and the services that support them.

A Vision of Parkland in 2015
Parkland’s Core Values will guide the direction of the college and the decisions made on a daily basis. It will be readily apparent to the casual observer, stepping into the modern, clean, and well-equipped campus on the first day of class that Parkland College is everything that a college should be and more. It is a gateway to higher education for individuals, employers, employees, and K-12 students.

It is well known that the mission of Parkland College is to engage the community in learning.

There is a distinct feeling that the faculty and staff are engaged and interested in the students, manifested in a number of ways. It is recognized that learning takes place at different paces and in different ways for each student. The faculty and staff are intimately aware that the teaching and learning process is equal parts art and science.

All are familiar with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning because it is the place where professional development occurs; instructional skills workshops, seminars, and courses that effectively address the professional needs of faculty and staff are delivered regularly and open to all. Our desire to sustain and grow Parkland’s reputation as a premier learning institution continues, supported by ongoing professional development of faculty and staff.

Learning is supported. Our students are supported. The Center for Academic Success is well-known and all students are directly connected to a full range of support services.

Parkland students, no matter where they are in the world, will have access to these same support services, including library resources, online technical assistance, tutoring, financial aid, career planning, and mentoring. Individuals who are not yet ready for college-level learning and who have minimal career opportunities will be supported by a training continuum in which they can access adult education, short-term skills training, job-readiness skills, life-skills training, and connections to employers.

Continuing our service as a key resource to our district in terms of economic and workforce development, we understand the pressures facing businesses and industry. We understand our role in supporting organizations that need trained employees and students to move quickly into jobs or advanced education. Nearly every aspect of the college is reviewed and evaluated in order to streamline procedures and to be more responsive to these needs. Parkland College remains the first, best option to provide employees with opportunities to attain certifications that meet worldwide quality standards.

It is up to us to develop relationships and partnerships, and to prepare the workforce needed to grow and expand businesses in our district. We know our mission. We educate, train and re-train the workforce our district needs to thrive and expand.

As the call for accountability at the federal and state levels grows louder, our staff and faculty continue to embrace the philosophy of using data aggressively — and sharing it. We know that “hard numbers” can be persuasive with many audiences: legislators, high school administrators, Trustees, our community, and others.

Programs and services will remain agile and innovative based on the needs and demographics of our community. As demand for technology-mediated instruction increases, Parkland will remain a leader in making learning available anytime, anyplace.

Diversity and inclusiveness will permeate Parkland’s learning culture, our hiring practices, pedagogy, programs and services, curricula, and policies.

Parkland will continue to be a convener and a safe, common ground for solving our community’s most challenging problems.

 

We will embrace our role in creating a more sustainable environment and implement sustainable practices through management of our physical resources, curricular development, and in outreach to the community.

We will demonstrate the highest return for donors interested in providing a stable, reliable funding source that enhances development, promotes economic growth, and affords access to higher education for Parkland College students.

Derived from a desire to better serve our communities and students, as well as to enhance and maintain the college’s financial stability, Parkland College will continue to assess long-range fiscal health. It is common practice to look beyond conventional sources of income and partners, as well as conventional instructional methods and program structure. We seek to adapt to change and to streamline our processes.

And finally, a tour of the campus leaves one with the impression that time, attention, and care have been invested in the hallways, classrooms, and labs. It is evident that facilities reflect and support the quality of our academic and student services.

Well-marked signage and waypoints allow students to find their way from room to room and wing to wing, including the recently constructed Student Services and Applied Technology Centers.

In the Student Services Center, our constituencies find navigating the process of applying to and enrolling at Parkland to be simple and logical, guided along the way by helpful and knowledgeable student services staff.

 

Goals and Strategies for 2010–2015
In order to realize its vision, Parkland College has established the following strategic goals. The related strategies that follow each goal will be implemented through the annual planning process.

 

Goal A: Parkland College will build on its reputation for academic excellence, innovative use of technology, and attention to assessment and accountability measures.
A1. Continually evaluate the quality of student learning outcomes and alignment of instruction with appropriate standards of student performance in all academic programs and disciplines.
A2. Assess and measure the work of the instructional support units to ensure they are achieving their stated benchmarks for institutional effectiveness.
A3. Effectively assess and measure learning outcomes to ensure that students are receiving the highest quality education. Provide data regarding the performance of the college relative to graduation, persistence, and completion rates, taking steps to improve performance where needed.
A4. Support faculty in the development and dissemination of improvements in teaching and learning strategies, innovative applications of instructional technology, and related pedagogies that address students’ diverse challenges and learning styles.
A5. Effectively respond to the educational, financial, and support needs of an increasing number of students who are not prepared or are underprepared for college-level work and/or who are at risk.
A6. Promote awareness and access to global/international perspectives across the curriculum.
A7. Prioritize the maintenance and replacement of instructional equipment, and implement the Campus Master Plan.

Goal B: Parkland College will promote relationships with secondary education, the private sector, and local government in District 505 to enhance seamless transitions, maximize access and opportunity, and foster a better understanding of the mission of Parkland College.
B1. Grow business and university partnerships to increase educational opportunities for students and employers.
B2. Expand articulation and dual credit courses with District 505 schools to facilitate students’ transition to post-secondary education.
B3. Engage our partners in business, industry, and the trade unions to develop, deliver and assess technical, career, and professional programs. Partner with the business community and area agencies to mutually refer, support, and better serve small and underserved businesses as well as large businesses. Assess the needs of our business and industry partners on a regular basis via our town-hall styled strategic planning initiatives.
B4. Concentrate on communicating and marketing the opportunities, outcomes, and benefits of Parkland College to our P-20 partners, parents, alumni, and the greater community.
B5. Capitalize and build on the strengths of the college: affordability, small class-size, outstanding faculty, dedicated and knowledgeable staff, flexible and relevant programs and services, and student success.
B6. Aggressively market programs of study that meet the employment needs of the community and the interests and talents of students.
B7. Develop annual staffing plans based on enrollments, programming, and resources.

Goal C: Parkland College’s facilities will support all learners.
C1. A Student Services Center will be planned and constructed so that the full array of support services will be brought to bear on students and potential students in a comprehensive, efficient, and logical manner.
C2. An Applied Technology Center will be planned and constructed so that students have unparalleled access to learning environments in automotive, collision repair, and industrial technology fields leading to well-paid jobs and creation of additional high skilled jobs in our community.
C3. The re-purposing of existing spaces on campus will be executed taking into consideration enrollment, programming, and resource needs as well as the economic and social needs of the community.

Goal D: Parkland College will contribute to the development of the individual learner as well as to the development of social responsibility.
D1. Incorporate Parkland College’s general education objectives into every credit course and assess attainment of these objectives in degree-seeking students.
D2. Incorporate Parkland College’s student development learning objectives in order to fully develop a collegiate community of learners that demonstrates personal and institutional values and a positive work ethic, as well as job and career skills, including communications, basic computer use, problem-solving and critical thinking/decision-making, interpersonal/conflict resolution, and the ability to work in teams.
D3. Encourage students to develop civility and work ethic that will assist them in a diverse society and job market where rapid changes are commonplace.
D4. Provide professional development opportunities that address the history, culture, objectives, and statement of values of the college. Parkland will facilitate leadership development and the value of recognizing one’s full potential.
D5. Commit to cultural change at the college through implementation of sustainable practices on an everyday basis.
D6. Recruit and retain a faculty and staff whose composition reflects the diverse student population being served.


Definition of College Planning Terms:

Strategic Planning: The effort to identify the most important trends and forces that will have the greatest impact on Parkland College over the course of the next five years; to analyze and interpret this information in order to identify key planning assumptions; to use these key planning assumptions to identify and develop consensus for a strategic plan for the college.

Strategic Plan: An outline of key planning assumptions, a vision statement, strategic goals, and strategies for effectively managing and taking maximum advantage of the most important trends and forces that will affect the college over the next five years.

Key Planning Assumptions: A list of statements about current and projected trends and forces that will most significantly impact the college’s future direction.

The Vision Statement: A description of how the college envisions itself five years from now, especially in light of current trends, forces, needs, and planning assumptions

Strategic Goal: A general statement arising from the vision statement which identifies where the college intends to position itself in order to deal effectively with current and future trends and forces.

Strategy: A more specific, but not necessarily measurable, statement of the most important steps to take for accomplishing a particular strategic goal.

Annual Planning: The effort to collect, sort, evaluate, and budget for action proposals that would most effectively implement the goals and strategies that arise from the strategic plan.

Environmental Scanning: The surveying, collecting, and analyzing of external trends and forces (economic, demographic, political, educational, technological) and internal forces and trends (faculty, staff, and student opinion; staffing allocations; curriculum developments; institutional effectiveness; instructional effectiveness) that directly bear on the college’s future.

Performance Indicators: Quantifiable measurements, agreed to beforehand, that reflect the critical success factors of an organization.