Throughout 2015-2016, the Board of Trustees, through its Long Term Planning Committee, revisited the VSCS system mission, vision, and strategic plan. The result was the adoption of six strategic priorities for the system:
Six Priorities to Support the Mission
of the Vermont State Colleges
For the benefit of Vermont, the Vermont State Colleges system provides affordable, high quality, student-centered, and accessible education, fully integrating professional, liberal, and career study, consistent with student aspirations and regional and state needs.
Strategy 1: Increase the continuation rate of high school students on to postsecondary education.
- Provide effective leadership and advocacy, with partners, on the urgent need to increase postsecondary affordability and attainment while sustaining program quality.
- Expand strategies (e.g. Introduction to College Studies, dual enrollment, “try a major” events) targeted at current populations of high school students who are not continuing with postsecondary education.
- Expand existing and create additional flexible academic pathways into and through our degree programs, including providing meaningful certificates and associate degrees.
Strategy 2: Improve the retention and graduation rates at our colleges.
- Implement degree maps to create clear curriculum paths to graduation.
- Improve access and use of data and advising technologies.
- Develop multiple delivery models for degree completion, including online, connected classrooms, and flexible schedule options.
- Continue to increase comprehensive and strategic approaches to student support services.
Strategy 3: Become a more attractive destination for Vermont high school graduates.
- Create a positive brand at the VSCS system level that supports the unique characteristics of each college and is rooted in the sustained quality of the academic experience.
- Continue to improve technological and physical infrastructure.
- Enhance relationships with school counselors statewide.
- Establish VSCS celebration and support of academic excellence (e.g. VSCS Hall of Fame).
Strategy 4: Serve well more working age Vermonters.
- Improve and expand flexible and online delivery of programs across the VSCS to increase number of degree programs available to students statewide.
- Work with employers on needs assessment and flexibility of delivery.
- Improve the entire technology infrastructure of the system to ensure that it is user friendly and competitive.
Strategy 5: Operate as a more integrated system to expand student opportunities and achieve operational efficiencies.
- In addition to maximizing productive collaboration and integration across the entire system, develop strategic alliances between Johnson and Lyndon State Colleges, as well as Vermont Technical College and Community College of Vermont, intended to complement and/or supplement their individual strengths and weaknesses.
- Improve the entire technology infrastructure of the system to ensure that it is user friendly and competitive.
- Review the financial model of the system to ensure institutional stability and explore financial incentives that support collaboration and system interconnectedness.
- Reduce transferability and course-sharing barriers to expand the diversity of student academic and co-curricular learning opportunities.
Strategy 6: Increase state financial support and other supplemental revenues.
- More effectively advocate for state support.
- Increase grant-writing capacity in the system.
- Collaborate on shared fundraising resources.
