Features & Publications

Strategic Learning Plan Refresh 2004-2006

In early spring 2004, a work team of Council Officers addressed those action items in the Strategic Learning Plan that were still under development. Their review included recommendations from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Report of Reaffirmation Committee, individual college Goal Team status reports, as well as discussions of priorities suggested by a college-wide team that met with President Shugart. The result of that inquiry was the Strategic Learning Plan Precedence Diagram, which identified a logical order-of-completion for the remaining Action Agenda items in the plan. That diagram was reviewed by all Governing Councils and discussed college-wide through numerous "Brown Bag" conversations.

This collaborative process resulted in the Strategic Learning Plan Refresh Report, approved by the College Planning Council in December 2004. The report included the following recommendations:

  • Recommendation 1: That the College Planning Council accept the Precedence Diagram, with the modification of moving Action Item 2.8: Improve Student Mastery and Success in Prep Courses to urgent status. Also, recommend the Precedent Diagram should be used as a guide for Refreshing the SLP and as a guide for focusing the work of the College over the next two-three years.
  • Recommendation 2: Clarification of the definition and role of the Primus for each action item is recommended prior to making any changes in the designated Primus of an action item.
  • Recommendation 3: Capitalize on work already accomplished, design strategies to improve communication about accomplishments of the SLP and strategies to celebrate the successes of the SLP to date.

 Strategic Learning Plan Refresh Report (Dec 2004)

Strategic Learning Plan 2001-2004

The goal of the 2001-2004 Valencia Strategic Learning Plan was to institutionalize effective innovations and to focus on improving measurable learning outcomes at the College. In it, outcomes and strategies were grouped into seven Strategic Learning Goals.

A total of fifty-nine separate Action Agenda items were identified for these goals. Of these, twenty-four were focused on developing, revising, or redesigning systems at the college. Work on these action items was monitored by Valencia 's Governing Councils.

 Strategic Learning Plan (2001-2004)   (PDF 224KB)

 SLP June 2003 Action Item Agenda Annual Progress Report  (PDF 239KB)
 

Strategic Learning Plan Archive

Strategic Learning Plan Essays - Papers written by Valencia faculty and staff on each of the College's Strategic Learning Goals.  The essays were written and disseminated throughout the institution to encourage ongoing dialogue on Valencia's learning goals.

 June 2002 Progress Reports on Action Agenda Items (Strategic Learning Plan)-Brief six month update report to the District Board of Trustees on the status of each action agenda item in the Strategic Learning Plan.

 2001-02 Annual Report of College Planning Council - Report by the College Planning Council on its inaugural year of operation in the College's new governing council structure.

 Here's What's Learning-Centered About Valencia's 2002-03 Operating Budget

 Final Report on Learning-Centered Review of College Standing Committees

 President Shugart's Response to Final Report on College Standing Committees

 Goal Team Concept - Original concept document approved by the College Planning Council that established Goal Teams to provide deep, organizational feedback on progress toward attainment of individual Strategic Learning Goals.

Goal Team Reports and Response Form - Goal Team Reports that have been presented to the District Board of Trustees. (This link will take you to the Goal Team site)

  • Goal Team 1: Learning First
  • Goal Team 2: Start Right
  • Goal Team 3: Learning Leaders
  • Goal Team 4: Learning By Design
  • Goal Team 5: Learning Support Systems
  • Goal Team 6: Diversity Works
  • Goal Team 7: Learning Works

 College Learning Day Work Team Recommendations


 

Learning-Centered Initiative Archives

Advice to Our Colleagues - In December 1997, the Valencia Learning-Centered Initiative Leadership Team submitted a report to the American Council on Education regarding the college's participation in the ACE project, "Leadership and Institutional Transformation." In that report, on pages 15-21, the team offered advice to others who might wish to embark upon a change initiative that is transformational in scope.

Communications from the College President
Comments by President Sanford Shugart, who joined the college in January 2000, may be found on his web site.

A white paper and a League Leadership Abstract By Valencia's former President, Dr. Paul Gianini, serve to document the early days of the Learning-Centered Initiative. Dr. Gianini served as president from 1984 through the appointment of Dr. Shugart in 2000.

Definition of Valencia as a Learning-Centered College
The definition, purposefully left in draft form, was developed following a series of collegewide roundtables in Summer 1996 involving nearly all full-time faculty. It served to paint a picture of what the college would look like if it were more learning-centered.

Valencia Learning-Centered Reference Guide
This guide was developed by faculty involved in activities supported by Title III, Title V, and School-To-Work grants. It is useful in developing a common language for discussing learning-centered ideas and approaches.

Core Competencies
An early and important product of Valencia's Learning-Centered Initiative, new core competencies, developed collaboratively by the faculty, were placed in the college catalog in Fall 1999. Faculty development currently centers on creative and effective ways to ensure and document student mastery of the core competencies, and applications of the competencies to work across the College.

The LifeMap Developmental Advisement System
A system of shared responsibility between students and the college, LifeMap results in social and academic integration, education and career plans, and the acquisition of study and life skills. LifeMap engages the entire college in a developmental advisement approach, focusing on increased student self-sufficiency rather than prescriptive interventions. A suite of web-based tools support the LifeMap approach. LifeMap was the subject of a PBS Adult Learning Service live satellite program on November 16, 2000

Proposed Alternative Self-Study for Accreditation by SACS
"Becoming a More Learning-Centered College: A Systems Approach to the Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Institutional Change Strategies," submitted September 2000. The college is proposing to organize an alternative self-study around the goals of the Learning-Centered Initiative.

Faculty Development Activities
Learning-centered faculty development activities are underway, supported by the college, a West Campus Title III grant, and an Osceola Campus Title V grant. Click here to access the faculty development web site, articles describing the faculty work.

Educational Technologies Plan
The college collaborated in 1999-2000 to develop its first educational technologies plan.

Solutions to Problems and Issues