The Strategic Planning and Steering Committee recently published a series of long-term plans and goals for Bellevue College. Formed in 2013, by President David Rule, the SPSC has been working on this series of plans since Rule said in a recent campus-wide email “it gives me great pleasure to announce that the Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC) has posted recently-completed Strategic, Academic Master, and Student Affairs plans to the Bellevue College website.” The main goals of these plans include improving student success, improving the culture of the campus, and affirming pluralism. These documents are meant to guide the college from 2015 through 2020.According to the Bellevue College website, they will be “reviewed and updated on an annual basis.”
A committee of Bellevue College staff, faculty and students worked to put together the Academic Master Plan, the Strategic Plan and the Student Affairs Plan. The Future Vision page on the Bellevue College website contains each of these plans as well as documents which explain the guiding values behind them. “Future Vision, a new webpage linked from the About Us page, contains information about the college’s vision, core values, mission and on-going planning efforts,” said Rule. The page contains a letter from Rule, likening these new plans to an arch. [It] symbolizes the interconnections and interdependence of our major guiding plans – held together by the keystone of the 5-year Strategic Plan,” he said.
The Strategic Plan has six main goals. The first is to “deliver Innovative and High Quality Educational Opportunities.” The idea is that Bellevue College should be willing to change and experiment to provide a better education. The other goals aim to educate students to be better citizens of their communities and the world, for the college as a whole to work towards improving social justice, and to create a better workplace for employees.
The Academic Master Plan focuses particularly on the education of BC students. “[The Academic Master Plan Task Force] identified Phase One goals to receive the most immediate attention, with the intent that in subsequent phases the growth of the [Academic Master Plan] will be holistic and robust…” The immediate goals identified in this plan include improving the learning quality for BC students and the professional development for BC faculty and staff. The plan also focuses on giving students better skills for the workplace, and making courses that integrate the communities around them. According to the plan, “We will promote teaching and learning that reflects our diverse, multicultural world.”
The mission of the Student Affairs Plan is to “Provide student-driven services and support through equitable and accessible practices, engage with and advocate for all populations, respond to the unique individual needs of each student, and promote an exceptional service experience.” This plan’s goals include social justice, creating programs that are student driven, and investing in the infrastructure of BC.
The SPSC is also currently working on an Equity Plan that will outline the ways that BC can become a more diverse environment. According to the Future Vision page, “This plan will express the college’s commitment to be a diverse and equitable place to work and study.” The Equity plan is set to be published this spring.
These plans are now available for questions and comments at the Future Vision Web page.