Strategic Plan 2026 Archive

Strategic Plan & Excelencia Roster 

Strategic Planning

Faculty

  • Dawn Whinnery, Professor of Psychology 
  • Sarah Snyder, Professor of English 
  • Scott Myers, Adjunct Faculty in Science 
  • Eric Lee, Professor of English
  • Hikmet Budat, Professor of Agriculture
  • Michael Murphy, Professor of Automotive

Classified

  • Silvia Kempton, Testing Services Technician II
  • Kaitlyn Kessler, Payroll
  • Elizabeth (Ely) Supley, Enrollment Services 

PA

  • Stuart Gibson, Assoc. Dean of Business, Education, Socials and Behavioral Sciences 
  • Cristina Gonzalez, Associate Dean of Advisement and Student Success 
  • James Larson, Director of Manufacturing
  • Cris Gordon, Assoc. Dean of Instructional Development and Student Learning Experience
  • Jennifer Ericson, Director of Corporate Training
  • Kathy Ocampo, VP of Human Resources
  • Ashley Herrington, Chief of Staff
  • Cris Ayala, Residential Life Manager
  • Nikki Hage, Dean of Students
  • Lori Stofft, VP for Advancement
  • Mandy Heil, Marketing & Communications
  • Tri-chairs or co-leaders

AWC Excelencia In Education

Federal Program Rep

  • Rosalia Delgado, Director of CAMP

Data Position

  • Betty Lopez, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research 

Student Services

  • Eva Aviles, University Partnership Manager

Faculty/ Academics


  • Cynthia Martinez, Professor of English

Advancement

  • Lori Stofft*, VP Advancement

Leadership / Career Tech

  • Cinthia Alvarez, Executive Director / Dean of Career & Technical Education

Faculty/ Career Tech

  • Stephanie Francis

Faculty / Academics

  • Monica Ketchum
  • Tri-chairs or co-leaders

Steering Committee Timeline & Workflow

March 2024


Leadership sets parameters

April 2024


All call for steering committee

  • Plan structure with Liz, Dr. Corr
  • kick off planning process

May 2024


Initial meeting of Steering Committee, initial meeting of tri-chairs

  • College Town Hall: Parameters, establish pillars (take reaction?), what to expect, timeline
  • Survey to current college leadership: committees, councils, LAB, Cabinet about what went well and what could have been better in planning and executing previous SP
  • Liz run a session with Cabinet on expectations
  • Liz run a session with DGB on setting the stage and parameters
  • Plan Survey to students / constituents
  • First convening of Steering Committee
  • Create Focused Scan teams
  • Future Look article assignments for summer

June 2024


  • Stakeholder (External Constituent) Surveys – Liz , Steering Committe to review
    • Use Previous Invitation List
    • Include Save the Date for November Horizon Event

August 2024


Steering Committee work

  • Review of Future Look articles
  • Review timeline and flesh out activities
    • Organize ourselves into Scan Teams (incl. Values)
  • Update at All-Fall Town Hall August 5
  • Feedback Cycle and Objective Rubric
    (AWC login required)

September 2024


Steering Committee work

  • Scan Teams complete early-mid September, Share out in workshop style
  • Disaggregated Data Party
  • Student Focus Groups – Mobile Pizza Party
  • Update at September College Governance Council (CGC) - tentative share out measurement goals

October 2024


Steering Committee work

  • Discovery: Develop potential projects within each theme
  • Staff Survey – testing our early discoveries
  • Update at October College Governance Council (CGC) - tentative share out measurement goals, updated

November 2024


Steering Committee work

  • Update to DGB
  • Update at October College Governance Council (CGC) - pace of the work, updates
  • Horizon Symposium to test concepts with wider public, host speaking event
  • Start writing the plan

December 2024


Draft test with Student Intercept surveys at all sites

January 2025


Plan Launch & Mobilization

  • Strategic Plan launched; governance and implementation teams activated
  • Initial priorities set across all five initiatives
  • Budget alignment and early planning underway

February 2025


Foundation & Goal Setting

  • District Governing Board Formally Adopts Strategic Plan of 5 Objectives at February 2025 Meeting.
  • SMART goals finalized across all initiatives
  • Early work begins on AI, scheduling, and access strategies

March 2025


Early Implementation

  • Teams operationalized across all pillars
  • Baseline metrics established (enrollment, completion, scheduling)
  • Initial pilots begin (AI tools, scheduling redesign)

April 2025


Pilot Development

  • Launch of early pilots in:
    • AI integration (Center for the Future groundwork)
    • Scheduling efficiency models
  • Outreach planning begins for targeted populations

May 2025


Capacity Building

  • Faculty/staff engagement expands (training, workshops)
  • Experiential learning framework defined
  • Industry and community partnership development begins

June 2025


Scaling Implementation

  • Early gains in scheduling efficiency and course alignment
  • Expansion planning for Early College, OTA, and workforce programs
  • Continued AI strategy development

July 2025


Data & Strategic Alignment

  • Institutional benchmarking and learning (Excelencia focus)
  • Data analysis begins to guide equity and completion strategies

August 2025


Visible Progress

  • Center for the Future: Leadership structure and AI initiatives advancing
  • Scheduling: Increased 8-week offerings and improved alignment
  • Access: Growth in Early College and expanded outreach programs
  • Excelencia: Data disaggregation and student success focus

September 2025


Governance Update

  • Formal progress update to District Governing Board
  • Focus on Center for the Future, Entrepreneurial College, Excelencia
  • Resource alignment and priority refinement

October 2025


Program Expansion

  • AI Fellows program launched with solicitation of faculty, staff, and students engagement
  • AI guidelines developed and implemented through the AI for All initiative
  • Makerspace evolution into Center for Emerging Technology underway

November 2025


Workforce & Innovation Growth

  • Final AI for ALL Guideline reference released
  • Expansion of Entrepreneurial College programming:
    • Wellton Accelerator
    • Rural healthcare initiatives
    • Apprenticeships and prison education programs
  • New grant funding secured to support workforce development (~$3M+)

December 2025


Year 1 Momentum

  • Record-setting enrollment trajectory established
  • Continued scaling of AI, scheduling, and access initiatives
  • Strong institutional performance and fiscal efficiency gains

January 2026


Measurable Outcomes Emerging

  • Largest Fall enrollment in college history achieved
  • Continued improvements in student satisfaction and experience
  • Strategic Plan initiatives demonstrating early return on investment

February 2026


One Year in Review

  • Centralized Scheduling (Major Breakthrough):
    • Fall 2025:  
      • +10% FTSE growth  
      • +8.9% enrollment increase  
    • Spring 2026:  
      • Continued upward trend (+709 enrollments; +3.5% FTSE)  
      • 8-week courses expanded to 25%+ of total offerings (From Spring 2025) 
      • Nearly tripled GE course availability in 8-week format (47 → 132 sections)  Reduced total sections while increasing enrollment → clear fiscal efficiency gains
  • Student Success Maintained: 
    • ~79–80% overall success rate despite increased scale  

March 2026


“A Year of Impact” Milestone (Strategic Planning Report Release)

  • Center for the Future
    • Director of Emerging Technology selected and onboarded
    • AI Fellows program operational (faculty, staff, students engaged in training and outreach)
    • AI training topics expanding across disciplines (instruction + operations)
    • Center for Emerging Technology advancing with infrastructure and leadership in place
  • Access & Early College
    • +15.3% total credit hour growth YoY
    • +22.5% Early College credit growth
    • Continued expansion of dual enrollment and new high school partnerships
    • Early College delivering significant affordability (66% discounted tuition)
  • Student Outcomes
    • Record number of credentials awarded
    • Strong student satisfaction and belonging indicators
    • Clear alignment between programs and workforce outcomes
  • Entrepreneurial College
    • Launch and expansion of:
      • Workforce accelerator near completion: Future48 – Wellton Manufacturing Center
      • Industry-aligned programs and grants continue to be earned
      • Continued growth in applied, experiential, and workforce-based learning
  • Excelencia (Culture & Belonging)
    • Development of new SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) across the College
      • Student progress notification
      • Embedded academic support for gateway courses
    • Focus areas:
      • Reducing success gaps
      • Increasing HSI awareness
      • Creating clearer pathways to completion
    • Ongoing professional development and institutional alignment

Feedback Cycle

Discover all the opportunities for input during the year.

Data & Survey Results

Title/Filename File/Link
FY25 Innovation Fund Townhall Download
AWC Horizon Welcome Download
Executive Summary Horizon Symposium Download
Student Intercept Survey View
10 Themes of Survey  View
Common Themes Initial Surveys View
Focus Group Schedule View
AWC Strategic Plan 2028: Faculty & Staff Areas of Focus Survey View
Steering Committee Final Themes (Buckets) Download

Research

District Leaders

Past Strategic Plan Survey to College Leaders

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External Constituents

AWC Strategic Plan Survey to External Constituents

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