Planning Process

The Planning Process

Planning and institutional effectiveness at Cleveland Community College is the responsibility of each employee and requires a commitment to a broad-based, comprehensive system of planning and evaluation which makes use of assessment outcomes to improve educational programs, services and operations.

The Cleveland Community College Planning Council - composed of representative faculty/staff and key administrators, including the President - severs as the umbrella organizations responsible for determining the strategic process and plan for the vision of the College.

Strategic Planning Process Steps

Planning Component Planning Process Steps

Mission, Vision, Strategic Goals, Strategic Initiatives 1. The College Planning Retreat Team (Cleveland Community College Planning Council and other College personnel) creates, refines, and endorses the Mission, Vision, and Strategic Goals.
2. The College Planning Retreat Team
creates, refines and endorses Strategic
Initiatives for each assigned goal and establishes benchmarks for each initiative.
3. The College Planning Council disseminates
and shares the Mission, Vision, Strategic
Goals, and Strategic Initiatives with the
College community.
4. Unit Vice Presidents (Academic Programs,
Student Services, Finance/Administrative
Services, Continuing Education) and the
President's General Administration Staff (Assistant to the President for Planning; Executive Director of the Cleveland Community College Foundation) are charged with implementation.

Environmental Scan and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis 1. The College Planning Retreat Team refines
and endorses the Environmental Scan conducted earlier in the year.
2. The College Planning Retreat Team
completes the SWOT Analysis conducted every other year.
3. The Planning Council is charged with
addressing the SWOT Analysis.

Unit/Program Plans (These plans include annual goals, objectives, benchmarks, assessment outcomes, and use of assessment data in improving programs and services)
Unit Plans:
Academic Programs
Student Services
Continuing Education
Finance/Administrative Services
General Administration (President's Office)

1. The Vice-Presidents explain and clarify
expectations in regard to the College's strategic plan.
2. Based on the College's strategic plan, the
Vice-Presidents get input from Deans/Department Heads/Directors/ Coordinators to develop plans for the respective units.
3. The Vice-Presidents, Program/Department
Heads develop plans jointly with the faculty/staff so that there is ownership at the unit level. Unit/Program level plans address strategic initiatives but also include unit/program specific goals and action plans.
4. The President and the Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness and the Dean of Community Relations develop the General Administration Unit Plan which includes unit specific goals and action plans.
5. The Vice-Presidents forward Unit/Program
plans to the Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness for review.
6. The Office of Planning and Institutional
Effectiveness makes recommendations to Vice-Presidents regarding comprehensiveness.
7.   The Planning Council endorses the plans.

College-wide plans (Enrollment Management, Campus Master, Information Technology, Diversity, Development, and Institutional Effectiveness) 1. College-wide plans are components of
unit plans but they involve personnel from all units.
2. The Enrollment Management Plan with its
focus on three major areas: marketing, recruitment, and retention is a component of the Student Services Plan. The Vice-President of Student Services works with a broad-based Enrollment Management Team to determine goals, objectives, benchmarks, etc.
3. The Campus Master Plan is a component of the Finance/Administrative Plan. The Vice-President of Finance works with appropriate College staff to determine goals, etc.
4. The Information Technology Plan is a component of the Academic Programs Plan. The Director of the Library works with a broad-based Committee to determine goals, etc.
5. The Diversity Plan is a component of the
Finance/Administrative Plan. The Human Resources Manager and a committee appointed by the President determine goals, etc.
6. The Development Plan is a component of
the General Administration Plan. The Executive Director of the Cleveland Community College Foundation, the President of the College, the Foundation’s Board of Directors, and other College personnel determine goals, etc.
7. The Institutional Effectiveness Plan is a component of the General Administrative Plan. The Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness and the President of the College determine goals at this level. The Director and the Planning Council then determine the Strategic direction of the College. This strategic direction ultimately involves input from all educational/service levels of the College.

Professional Development Plans 1. Each employee completes an annual
Professional Development Plan which ultimately becomes part of the employee's unit level plan and which also serves as a component of the employee's annual evaluation.
2. The employee takes the initiative for the
PDP which is approved/evaluated by the employee's immediate supervisor.

Unit Level IE Plans Evaluation Formal evaluation of services and programs is a crucial step in gaining feedback for improving services and programs. The Institutional Effectiveness Committee reviews the unit level plans to ascertain if the following steps have been followed:
1. Program purpose/goals have been
identified. (Example: Manage institutional funds efficiently and effectively by refining the planning and budgeting processes.)
2. Intended outcomes/objectives have been
identified. (Example: Annual audit will verify funds used efficiently and appropriately.)
3. Assessment criteria and procedures have
been identified. (Example: Upon completion of audit, Auditor issues an unqualified opinion—clean audit.)
4. Assessment results have been reported.
(Example: The College received a clean audit for 1997-1998.)
5. The use of assessment results has been
described. (Example: Continue efficient and appropriate planning and budgeting.)
6. An action plan identifying action items,
responsible personnel, methods, tangible results, and time frames for each goal has been formulated. (Example: Use of Funds; Conduct audit; Vice President of Finance/Administrative Service & Comptroller; Independent auditors will conduct audit; Audit Report will reflect unqualified opinion and will be on file in Business Office; October 1998.)
7.   A strategic goal report identifying strategic
goals, strategic initiatives, objectives, unit initiatives, responsible personnel, methods, tangible results, time frames, and assessments (if applicable) has been completed. (Example: Strategic Goal: To provide a quality work environment with the necessary infrastructure—both space and technology—equipment, and learning resources to support the Mission of the College. Strategic Initiative: Complete the construction of the technology classroom building by 1999. Objective: To oversee the construction completion of the technology classroom building. Unit initiative: Technology Classroom Building; action: Oversee construction. Responsible Personnel: Vice-President of Finance; President; Board of Trustees; other Appropriate Personnel. Methods: Determine and adhere to deadlines. Tangible Results: Building Completed. Time Frame: Summer 1999. 1998-1999 Assessment: The classroom technology building is completed and will be fully operational by Spring Semester 2000.)

Educational Program IE Plan Evaluation (Implementation in Fall 1999; System mandated program reviews -- no longer to be used -- were conducted in 1998 and prior years) Formal assessment of an educational program is a crucial step in gaining feedback for improving the programs. The Institutional Effectiveness Committee reviews the educational program level plans in the Academic Programs Plan to ascertain if the following steps have been followed:
1. Program purpose/goals have been
identified. (Example: Students will be provided with a fundamental knowledge of the accounting process and an understanding of its uses and contributions to our total society.)
2. Specific objectives have been identified for
for the broad goals. (Example: Students will demonstrate their ability to design, plan and set up basic accounting structures.)
3.   Assessment criterion(a) has (have) been developed for each objective. (Example: Ninety (90) percent of students presenting a project portfolio will receive a score ranging between 3.0 and 4.0.)
4. Practices to be used to achieve goals have
been determined. (Example: The selection of courses by faculty/students, revised syllabi, revised instructional methodologies, etc.)
5. Assessment methods for each objective have been selected. (Example: Student project portfolios will be evaluated by department faculty.)
6. Assessments have been conducted/ reported. (Example: Ninety five percent of 60 students received a score ranging from 3.0 to 4.0 on their portfolios.)
7. The use of assessment results has been described. (Example: Assessment criterion was met and surpassed; however, the department will continue to improve practices.)

Since College-wide IE Plans and Program Level (other than educational programs) Plans use basically the same format or variations of the format of the unit level and educational program level plans, the Institutional Effectiveness Committee reviews those plans using the same criteria.      See previous criteria.

Budget Allocations 1. The President's Policy Council (the
President, the Vice-Presidents) are charged with budget allocations.
2. The Vice-President of Finance/
Administrative Services works with the Policy Council. Budget hearings take place: each unit presents plans and evidence of effectiveness and progress toward goals. Requests for budget allocations are based on plans and evidence with input from various departments within the units.

Research/Assessment Criteria 1. The institutional research process is decentralized.
2. The Office of institutional research is primarily responsible for student data (Student Information System) for reports to the North Carolina Community College System as well as other external constituents. The Office administers the Graduating Student Survey, the New Student Survey, the Returning Student Survey, and other service-specific questionnaires. The Office also supplies information and technical assistance to other College personnel for their research. The Office is the same office of the Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness who is assigned administrative responsibility for Institutional Research.

3.   The Office of Institutional Research
regularly evaluates its function and uses the findings to improve the process.
4.   Vice-Presidents and other College personnel in their units conduct research. The Vice-President of Academic Programs and Deans/Department Heads/Faculty conduct Annual Program Reviews, survey employers, and conduct needs assessments. The results of these surveys are utilized by all units in their planning. The Vice-President of Continuing Education surveys businesses and industry. The Vice-President of Finance/Administrative Services conducts studies related to plant operations. Most evaluations of services in all units are conducted at the program level.
5. The Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness administers the Institutional Climate Survey. The Assistant to the President also provides relevant literature on trends and issues affecting higher education to the Planning Council and planning materials (e.g., survey examples) to Vice-Presidents.
6. Personnel, Vice-Presidents and the Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness are responsible for data dissemination.
7. Program level assessment results are
presented to appropriate Vice-Presidents.

CCIPSS (Cleveland’s Continuous Improvement Plan for Student Success)
(System of Planning)

1. The College's System of Planning is
predicated on the College's institution-wide approved Mission Statement: Cleveland Community College—established in 1965 by and for the people of Cleveland County—is a comprehensive, public two-year college and member institution of the North Carolina Community College System. The College's mission is threefold: (1) to help students achieve professional and personal goals by providing quality, accessible educational programs and services, (2) to serve as an agent for economic development by responding to the educational and training needs of business and industry, and (3) to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life in Cleveland County by actively participating in collaborative community initiatives.
2. CCIPSS is a working document with a
basis of seven strategic goals approved by the Planning Council, the Administrative Council, and key faculty:
I.     To offer quality educational and training
        programs designed to meet the needs of a
        diverse student population and which are
        responsive to the changing educational
        and training needs of the College's service
        area.
II.    To provide comprehensive student support
        services with an emphasis on access and a
        focus on student success.
III.   To provide a comprehensive program of
        professional development and
        performance evaluation for all College
        personnel.
IV.   To provide a quality work environment
        with the necessary infrastructure—both
        space and technology--, equipment, and
        learning resources to support the Mission
        of the College.
V.    To serve as a prominent educational and
        training resource in the economic
        development of the College's service
        region.
VI.   To be an integral part of Cleveland
        County’s lifelong learning processes
        (early childhood through late adulthood)
        which enhance the community's quality
        of life.
VII. To provide a sound and comprehensive
         institutional effectiveness program
        dedicated to student success and the
        assurance of continuous improvement
        in all areas of the College.
3.   The strategic initiatives of CCIPSS, which include the performance measures of the North Carolina Community College System, are working initiatives.
4. Strategic Goals/Initiatives are addressed through all the components previously described in this document.

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Last modified: May 9, 2006
Comments to hardinl@cleveland.cc.nc.us

Planning Component	Planning Process Steps
Mission, Vision, Strategic Goals, Strategic Initiatives	1. The College Planning Retreat Team (Cleveland Community College Planning Council and other College personnel) creates, refines, and endorses the Mission, Vision, and Strategic Goals. 2. The College Planning Retreat Team creates, refines and endorses Strategic Initiatives for each assigned goal and establishes benchmarks for each initiative. 3. The College Planning Council disseminates and shares the Mission, Vision, Strategic Goals, and Strategic Initiatives with the College community. 4. Unit Vice Presidents (Academic Programs, Student Services, Finance/Administrative Services, Continuing Education) and the President's General Administration Staff (Assistant to the President for Planning; Executive Director of the Cleveland Community College Foundation) are charged with implementation.
Environmental Scan and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis	1. The College Planning Retreat Team refines and endorses the Environmental Scan conducted earlier in the year. 2. The College Planning Retreat Team completes the SWOT Analysis conducted every other year. 3. The Planning Council is charged with addressing the SWOT Analysis.
Unit/Program Plans (These plans include annual goals, objectives, benchmarks, assessment outcomes, and use of assessment data in improving programs and services) Unit Plans: Academic Programs Student Services Continuing Education Finance/Administrative Services General Administration (President's Office)	1. The Vice-Presidents explain and clarify expectations in regard to the College's strategic plan. 2. Based on the College's strategic plan, the Vice-Presidents get input from Deans/Department Heads/Directors/ Coordinators to develop plans for the respective units. 3. The Vice-Presidents, Program/Department Heads develop plans jointly with the faculty/staff so that there is ownership at the unit level. Unit/Program level plans address strategic initiatives but also include unit/program specific goals and action plans. 4. The President and the Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness and the Dean of Community Relations develop the General Administration Unit Plan which includes unit specific goals and action plans. 5. The Vice-Presidents forward Unit/Program plans to the Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness for review. 6. The Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness makes recommendations to Vice-Presidents regarding comprehensiveness. 7. The Planning Council endorses the plans.
College-wide plans (Enrollment Management, Campus Master, Information Technology, Diversity, Development, and Institutional Effectiveness)	1. College-wide plans are components of unit plans but they involve personnel from all units. 2. The Enrollment Management Plan with its focus on three major areas: marketing, recruitment, and retention is a component of the Student Services Plan. The Vice-President of Student Services works with a broad-based Enrollment Management Team to determine goals, objectives, benchmarks, etc. 3. The Campus Master Plan is a component of the Finance/Administrative Plan. The Vice-President of Finance works with appropriate College staff to determine goals, etc. 4. The Information Technology Plan is a component of the Academic Programs Plan. The Director of the Library works with a broad-based Committee to determine goals, etc. 5. The Diversity Plan is a component of the Finance/Administrative Plan. The Human Resources Manager and a committee appointed by the President determine goals, etc. 6. The Development Plan is a component of the General Administration Plan. The Executive Director of the Cleveland Community College Foundation, the President of the College, the Foundation’s Board of Directors, and other College personnel determine goals, etc. 7. The Institutional Effectiveness Plan is a component of the General Administrative Plan. The Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness and the President of the College determine goals at this level. The Director and the Planning Council then determine the Strategic direction of the College. This strategic direction ultimately involves input from all educational/service levels of the College.
Professional Development Plans	1. Each employee completes an annual Professional Development Plan which ultimately becomes part of the employee's unit level plan and which also serves as a component of the employee's annual evaluation. 2. The employee takes the initiative for the PDP which is approved/evaluated by the employee's immediate supervisor.
Unit Level IE Plans Evaluation	Formal evaluation of services and programs is a crucial step in gaining feedback for improving services and programs. The Institutional Effectiveness Committee reviews the unit level plans to ascertain if the following steps have been followed: 1. Program purpose/goals have been identified. (Example: Manage institutional funds efficiently and effectively by refining the planning and budgeting processes.) 2. Intended outcomes/objectives have been identified. (Example: Annual audit will verify funds used efficiently and appropriately.) 3. Assessment criteria and procedures have been identified. (Example: Upon completion of audit, Auditor issues an unqualified opinion—clean audit.) 4. Assessment results have been reported. (Example: The College received a clean audit for 1997-1998.) 5. The use of assessment results has been described. (Example: Continue efficient and appropriate planning and budgeting.) 6. An action plan identifying action items, responsible personnel, methods, tangible results, and time frames for each goal has been formulated. (Example: Use of Funds; Conduct audit; Vice President of Finance/Administrative Service & Comptroller; Independent auditors will conduct audit; Audit Report will reflect unqualified opinion and will be on file in Business Office; October 1998.) 7. A strategic goal report identifying strategic goals, strategic initiatives, objectives, unit initiatives, responsible personnel, methods, tangible results, time frames, and assessments (if applicable) has been completed. (Example: Strategic Goal: To provide a quality work environment with the necessary infrastructure—both space and technology—equipment, and learning resources to support the Mission of the College. Strategic Initiative: Complete the construction of the technology classroom building by 1999. Objective: To oversee the construction completion of the technology classroom building. Unit initiative: Technology Classroom Building; action: Oversee construction. Responsible Personnel: Vice-President of Finance; President; Board of Trustees; other Appropriate Personnel. Methods: Determine and adhere to deadlines. Tangible Results: Building Completed. Time Frame: Summer 1999. 1998-1999 Assessment: The classroom technology building is completed and will be fully operational by Spring Semester 2000.)
Educational Program IE Plan Evaluation (Implementation in Fall 1999; System mandated program reviews -- no longer to be used -- were conducted in 1998 and prior years)	Formal assessment of an educational program is a crucial step in gaining feedback for improving the programs. The Institutional Effectiveness Committee reviews the educational program level plans in the Academic Programs Plan to ascertain if the following steps have been followed: 1. Program purpose/goals have been identified. (Example: Students will be provided with a fundamental knowledge of the accounting process and an understanding of its uses and contributions to our total society.) 2. Specific objectives have been identified for for the broad goals. (Example: Students will demonstrate their ability to design, plan and set up basic accounting structures.) 3. Assessment criterion(a) has (have) been developed for each objective. (Example: Ninety (90) percent of students presenting a project portfolio will receive a score ranging between 3.0 and 4.0.) 4. Practices to be used to achieve goals have been determined. (Example: The selection of courses by faculty/students, revised syllabi, revised instructional methodologies, etc.) 5. Assessment methods for each objective have been selected. (Example: Student project portfolios will be evaluated by department faculty.) 6. Assessments have been conducted/ reported. (Example: Ninety five percent of 60 students received a score ranging from 3.0 to 4.0 on their portfolios.) 7. The use of assessment results has been described. (Example: Assessment criterion was met and surpassed; however, the department will continue to improve practices.)
Since College-wide IE Plans and Program Level (other than educational programs) Plans use basically the same format or variations of the format of the unit level and educational program level plans, the Institutional Effectiveness Committee reviews those plans using the same criteria.	See previous criteria.
Budget Allocations	1. The President's Policy Council (the President, the Vice-Presidents) are charged with budget allocations. 2. The Vice-President of Finance/ Administrative Services works with the Policy Council. Budget hearings take place: each unit presents plans and evidence of effectiveness and progress toward goals. Requests for budget allocations are based on plans and evidence with input from various departments within the units.
Research/Assessment Criteria	1. The institutional research process is decentralized. 2. The Office of institutional research is primarily responsible for student data (Student Information System) for reports to the North Carolina Community College System as well as other external constituents. The Office administers the Graduating Student Survey, the New Student Survey, the Returning Student Survey, and other service-specific questionnaires. The Office also supplies information and technical assistance to other College personnel for their research. The Office is the same office of the Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness who is assigned administrative responsibility for Institutional Research. 3. The Office of Institutional Research regularly evaluates its function and uses the findings to improve the process. 4. Vice-Presidents and other College personnel in their units conduct research. The Vice-President of Academic Programs and Deans/Department Heads/Faculty conduct Annual Program Reviews, survey employers, and conduct needs assessments. The results of these surveys are utilized by all units in their planning. The Vice-President of Continuing Education surveys businesses and industry. The Vice-President of Finance/Administrative Services conducts studies related to plant operations. Most evaluations of services in all units are conducted at the program level. 5. The Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness administers the Institutional Climate Survey. The Assistant to the President also provides relevant literature on trends and issues affecting higher education to the Planning Council and planning materials (e.g., survey examples) to Vice-Presidents. 6. Personnel, Vice-Presidents and the Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness are responsible for data dissemination. 7. Program level assessment results are presented to appropriate Vice-Presidents.
CCIPSS (Cleveland’s Continuous Improvement Plan for Student Success) (System of Planning)	1. The College's System of Planning is predicated on the College's institution-wide approved Mission Statement: Cleveland Community College—established in 1965 by and for the people of Cleveland County—is a comprehensive, public two-year college and member institution of the North Carolina Community College System. The College's mission is threefold: (1) to help students achieve professional and personal goals by providing quality, accessible educational programs and services, (2) to serve as an agent for economic development by responding to the educational and training needs of business and industry, and (3) to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life in Cleveland County by actively participating in collaborative community initiatives. 2. CCIPSS is a working document with a basis of seven strategic goals approved by the Planning Council, the Administrative Council, and key faculty: I. To offer quality educational and training programs designed to meet the needs of a diverse student population and which are responsive to the changing educational and training needs of the College's service area. II. To provide comprehensive student support services with an emphasis on access and a focus on student success. III. To provide a comprehensive program of professional development and performance evaluation for all College personnel. IV. To provide a quality work environment with the necessary infrastructure—both space and technology--, equipment, and learning resources to support the Mission of the College. V. To serve as a prominent educational and training resource in the economic development of the College's service region. VI. To be an integral part of Cleveland County’s lifelong learning processes (early childhood through late adulthood) which enhance the community's quality of life. VII. To provide a sound and comprehensive institutional effectiveness program dedicated to student success and the assurance of continuous improvement in all areas of the College. 3. The strategic initiatives of CCIPSS, which include the performance measures of the North Carolina Community College System, are working initiatives. 4. Strategic Goals/Initiatives are addressed through all the components previously described in this document.