The process leading to this CIP had several major phases.
They are as follows:
1. Data Collection: a brainstorming session by the Administrative Council using a nominative group process established the data to be collected on the college. Then various members of the council were assigned the responsibility for collecting the data.
2. Collection of all past strategic planning efforts: the Office of Research, Assessment & Program Development completed this task.
3.
Review and analysis of data and strategic planning efforts: this report
was accomplished under the direction of the Director of Research, Assessment
& Program Development.
4.
A task-force of administrators then reviewed the data and began
developing the "Strategic Visions" of the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa
Community College based upon the findings. A draft was written and distributed
to the College's faculty and staff for their input and evaluation.
Several rewrites occurred during this process, until all college
personnel agreed upon the 17 Strategic Visions written in this document.
5.
Stakeholder Meetings: during
the data
collection process,
meetings, conducted by various members of the Administrative Council and the
college's Tribal Extension office were held with all of the college’s
stakeholder groups This information
helped to clarify the general statements of the SWOT Analysis. These groups
included college students, faculty, staff, and the Board of Regents;
identifiable community groups; businesspeople in the areas served by the
college; and administrators from LCOOCC as well as from partner institutions
such as the LCO Tribal School, the Hayward School District, University of
Wisconsin-Superior, and Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College. A variety of
processes were used to conduct these meetings, depending on the nature of the
group. Included were the affinity
diagram, nominative group, and focus group planning processes. A number of
surveys were also conducted with community members, students and alumni.
6.
Stakeholder Meeting and Brainstorming data was then assembled and
packaged by the Office of Research, Assessment & Program Development.
7. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Trends (SWOT) Analysis: The task-force led by the Director of Research, Assessment & Program Development then conducted a review of all the data collected and the results from the Stakeholder Meeting and Brainstorming process. This group then authored a formal SWOT analysis of the college. This analysis was then shared with faculty, staff, and administration in order to ensure its comprehensive nature.
8.
The task-force then identified two questions to further the progress of
implementing strategies toward improving LCOOCC's institutional effectiveness.
The questions were:
a.
What programs, tasks, or projects should LCOOCC undertake to improve
educational opportunities for the benefit of its students and the communities it
serves?"
b.
"What facilities are in need of expansion and what facilities will
need to be built to help sustain our mission into the future?"
9.
The group working with the Director of Research, Assessment & Program
Development then prioritized ideas from the Stakeholder Meetings and
Brainstorming Sessions as they related to the college's strengths and
weaknesses.
10. Then various staff members were assigned, based upon their areas of expertise, to develop activities designed to implement the priorities identified as having the best capacity of strengthening LCOOCC as an institution.
As this Continuous Improvement Plan was being developed, a few
opportunities for improvement came about that addressed needs being identified
through the strategic planning processes. These
opportunities are currently being acted upon. For example:
· apprenticeship programs with area businesses;
· a planning effort is underway to develop a Career Center;
· an Admissions Officer position has been created and will be filled by the 2000-01 academic year;
· Outreach sites will be receiving updated computer equipment;
· several college faculty are pursuing Microsoft and CISCO certification
· plans for constructing a "Living Culture Center" are being developed;
· library expansion plans are being established;
· Renewable Energy/Sustainable Development Initiative has begun; and,
· on-line course development between LCOOCC and UW--Superior is being established in the area of Information Technology.
These initiatives, originating from various formative evaluative processes will help to strengthen the College. The following Mission Statement, Philosophy, and Purposes of the Institution, as well as the in-depth summative examination of the SWOT Analysis, reaffirm the College's current undertakings as representation of its pursuit for institutional effectiveness.
Continuous
improvement beyond the above stated initiatives will be addressed later in this
document, as the strategic planning efforts have already led to several ideas
insights, and collaborative efforts to improve the institution. Long-range
initiatives will continue to relate to the 17 established Strategic Visions
found later in this
document.