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Strategic Drivers are the core of the LCC plan. Strategic Drivers
flow from the Statements of Purpose, translating intentions into
actions that are supported by resource allocation. Drivers take
into account current and projected student demographics,
characteristics and needs, skills required for 21st Century jobs,
as well as many other variables listed in the Introduction, above.
Nearly two-thirds of LCC’s current and future students were born
after 1980. Researchers refer to these students as “Millennials”
and characterize them as team oriented, public service prone,
diverse and diversity advocates, digital media users, high
achievers and college bound.
A study commissioned by the North Central Regional Educational
Laboratory on 21st Century job skills identified four major
skills: (1) digital-age literacy (scientific and economic,
technological, visual and informational, multicultural and
global); (2) effective communication (teaming, collaboration, and
interpersonal; personal, social and civic responsibility;
interactive communication); (3) inventive thinking (adaptability,
managing complexity, self direction; curiosity, creativity, risk
taking; higher-order thinking and reasoning); and (4) high
productivity (prioritize, plan, manage for results; effective use
of real world tools; relevant, high-quality products). Based on
this watershed research, other research, and stakeholder input,
the following strategic drivers will be the primary forces shaping
the College’s future direction.
The College encourages and supports the infusion of team-based
learning into College courses wherever feasible.
Rationale: “Team-based learning is a special, in-depth approach to
the use of small groups in teaching. It calls for restructuring a
course in such a way that facilitates the development of newly
formed groups into teams and then engages those teams with
challenging and complex learning tasks.” (Michaelsen & Knight) “Millennials,”
LCC’s current and planning horizon students, prefer a team-based
learning environment, and employers want employees who have the
ability to effectively communicate and work well in teams. The
major advantages of team-based learning are: (1) individual
students commit to a very high level of effort in their learning,
and (2) learning teams are capable of solving problems that are
beyond the capability of even their most talented members.
Research shows that this approach works well in a community
college environment.
The College encourages and supports service learning in order to
enhance student learning outcomes and fulfill its commitment to
strengthening the community.
Rationale: Service learning is a method by which students learn
and develop through thoughtfully organized community service that
(1) is conducted in and meets the needs of the community, (2)
fosters civic responsibility, (3) enhances the academic curriculum
of the students, and (4) includes structured time for students to
reflect on the service experience. Research indicates that
students are entering college prepared to serve their communities
and desiring to do so. A “best practice” trend in higher education
institutions is to increase opportunities for social and civic
engagement.
To maximize use of existing technology infrastructure capacity,
the College supports the development and application of additional
applications to meet internal academic and administrative needs,
as well as to generate revenue from external sources that would
benefit from LCC’s technological infrastructure, expertise, and
services.
Rationale: LCC’s current technology infrastructure has additional
capacity to both support internal academic and administrative
systems and provide fee-based services to external organizations.
To maximize the LCC-technology return on investment, the College
will broaden its usage internally in order to increase efficiency
and enhance learning and services, as well as generate additional
revenue to support College operations.
The College encourages and supports K-12 transition programs that
help prepare primary and secondary school students for
post-secondary education and the workforce.
Rationale: Research indicates that the jobs of the 21st Century
require some form of postsecondary education. To assist students
in making the transition to college, community colleges need to
increase the awareness of, participation in, and opportunities for
such transition programs as technical preparation, dual
enrollment, advanced placement, and career pathways.
The College will continue its aggressive approach in addressing
declines in state funding for community colleges.
Rationale: The College’s financial challenges continue as a result
of the State’s ongoing revenue crisis. In the past four years, the
College has experienced a decrease in state funding combined with
rising fixed costs in areas such as retirement, health care
benefits and energy costs. The College has lost more than $16
million in state aid when compared to 2001 state support levels.
The LCC 2000 strategic plan identified the coming crisis and drove
successful initiatives to bring College revenue streams into
balance and secure additional revenue from a successful millage
increase. The current fiscal reality increases the importance of
continuing this comprehensive, proactive approach, including such
things as generating alternative revenue, leveraging technology,
increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and focusing energy and
resources on strategic priorities.
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