LCCC plans to become best higher-education institute on the Front Range

Sep. 16—CHEYENNE — The Laramie County Community College Board of Trustees is setting significant goals for the future of the higher ed institution.

They are a part of the Strategic Plan 2030, which was approved unanimously by the board Wednesday night. The development of the strategy has been cultivated over the past nine months by officials committed to the success of the college.

Board members were enthusiastic about the possibilities for success the strategic plan outlined, and Trustee Janine Thompson applauded the team.

"Your team is just top quality, highly intelligent and great writers," she told LCCC President Joe Schaffer after his presentation. "I just love reading this."

The writing wasn't the only success that came out of the plan. The vision leaders presented was another, and it goes far past the city limits of Cheyenne.

The plan begins with, "In the future, we are no longer the best kept secret in the Rocky Mountain West. Our frontier mentality will not allow us to be encumbered by habits of old constructs. Rather, we are engineered to be nimble, driven toward innovation, striving to make the impossible possible."

The board wants this vision to manifest in being a finalist for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence on or before 2030.

"This will be a big jump for us," Schaffer said, "but it's something we feel that we can do."

In order to become a finalist, the strategic planning team has set four main goals.

The first is to become the best-known higher education opportunity within 350 miles of Cheyenne. The two strategies to meet this goal are based around awareness and branding.

LCCC will conduct a public perception and awareness poll, as well as brand awareness, preference and confidence studies to assess how far the school is from this goal. Throughout the entire strategic plan, including all four goals, there will be many research initiatives put into place.

"The first thing we need to do is understand," said Schaffer.

Once that is completed, an inaugural, year-long campaign will be put into place to initiate progress toward being the best-known in the region.

The second is to engage substantially greater numbers of individuals in the intentional pursuit and achievement of post-secondary outcomes at LCCC through strategic enrollment. This goal requires similar strategies to the first.

The school will focus on recruitment, retention and marketing. Retention is one of the most important pieces of the plan, because it is what keeps students who are already enrolled at LCCC concentrated on completing their degree.

Currently, only 28% of students who are full-time, graduate within 150% of the normal time to completion. This is still significant growth from 2011, when the overall graduation rate was 13%.

The third goal is to transform the college's academic offerings into innovative programming, with paths to viable methods of social opportunity.

"Under here," Schaffer said, "we have a stakeholder engagement plan, a capacity building strategy, a program expansion strategy and a program health strategy."

He said this is the most comprehensive goal, because it requires the development of new programs and expansion. It is also a way to support and grow the local economy in Wyoming.

Through the launch of an Advanced Manufacturing Initiative, or expanding LCCC's health care and health sciences program, there will be young professionals who will find a place in the state's workforce. Economic drivers for the area are also technological advancements, which the college wants to invest in with computer science and technology educational opportunities.

Outside of workforce programs, the plan looks at how to create and implement a comprehensive entrepreneurship and innovation plan. It focuses on building programs, services partnerships to stimulate new business starts and small business growth.

Social opportunity also includes the student experience. LCCC wants to cultivate and provide deep connections to Wyoming for students, which will result in more of them choosing to stay, live and work in the state after graduation. This starts on the campus and moves through engagement in both Cheyenne and Laramie.

Lastly, the college wants to continue its goal to empower and support its employees. Encouraging employees to lead initiatives and projects, securing a more stable work-life balance for faculty and providing more retirement benefits are some of the points made in the strategic plan.

A common theme throughout this final goal was "organizations are only as strong as the people who comprise them."

There are many intricate details in the nine-year plan, but Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness Kim Bender said the most important aspect of implementing these goals will be the verification of the strategic plan. This will require accountability and communication, he said, as the college holds itself to the standards it has set for itself.

Jasmine Hall is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's education reporter. She can be reached by email at jhall@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3167. Follow her on Twitter @jasminerhphotos and on Instagram @jhrose25.