The growth and success of Sinclair Community College have always been the result of collective effort and forward-thinking strategies. The key goals of Sinclair’s Strategic Plan are to build collaboration, cohesion, and commitment, define Sinclair’s path for the future, and identify growth areas that ensure student and community success. Departments and divisions within Sinclair Community College will align their goals and priorities with the Strategic Plan.
For Sinclair Community College, the strategic planning process is a crucial step in defining our path now and in the future. As the needs of our region and students change, Sinclair Community College must remain vigilant in addressing those evolving needs. The strategic planning process involves collaboration with faculty, staff, students, and external stakeholders. Sinclair’s Strategic Planning Process began in October 2023 and will continue through 2026. There are four phases to Sinclair’s Strategic Planning Process:
Sinclair's Strategic Planning Team includes:
Sponsors:
Team Members:
Sinclair recognizes the importance of faculty input. During the listen and learn phase, input was received by multiple groups including the Provost’s Office, Department Chairs Council, Faculty Senate, Leadership Council, and Staff Senate. In addition, faculty members are part of the Strategic Planning Committee.
The student voice is crucial for ensuring that Sinclair’s goals and initiatives align with students’ needs and expectations. During Sinclair’s strategic planning process, more than 900 students were surveyed.
These results are key pieces of the strategic planning process and are helping Sinclair shape how we better serve our students.
Yes. Sinclair Community College is partnering with Darcy Bien, co-founder, Stretch Strategic Leaders and author of Strategy in Motion, who is guiding us through the process. Darcy has more than 20 years of experience helping hundreds of companies and institutions through her team-based approach and time-tested processes.
Sinclair’s Strategic Planning Process draws on expertise from within and outside of the organization. Utilizing a consultant, who has decades of strategic planning experience, provides objectivity and fresh perspective. Consultants can challenge assumptions, uncover blind spots, and offer creative solutions that internal teams might miss. Our consultant is skilled at facilitating discussions, encouraging participation, and navigating conflicts constructively. This can ensure everyone has a voice and the plan reflects diverse viewpoints. She can also offer Sinclair expertise in stakeholder engagement, industry insights, competitor analysis, data analysis, and market research.
In 2018 and 2019 hundreds of people—including community and business leaders, elected officials, and Sinclair faculty, staff, and students—joined the Sinclair Board of Trustees annual Board Advance planning retreats to discuss the future of Sinclair. 10 strategic initiatives emerged from the discussions. The 10 priorities are outlined in this document, along with some of the successes associated with them.
Sinclair Community College is aligning two other projects with the strategic planning process: Unlocking Opportunity and the Higher Learning Commission’s Open Pathway Quality Initiative. The goals of these projects include elevating program quality to increase graduation rates in living wage/transfer programs, addressing poverty, and fulfilling regional job needs for a thriving and sustainable community.
The focus of these projects goes beyond completion and looks at post-graduation success for our students:
Sinclair Community College will utilize multiple channels to communicate updates internally about the Strategic Planning Process including this web page, email, meetings, and videos. As the Strategic Planning Process enters the Implementation Phase (Phase 3), Sinclair Community College will broaden its communication to include internal and external audiences through in-person presentations, external website, email, videos, social media, etc.
Revised 6/21/2024