Empowering students and enriching communities through education.
The best place to learn, work, and grow.
East Central College is committed to the highest ethical and professional standards of conduct. Employees and constituents recognize that the College is held in trust for the community. The college is committed to the following:
Empowerment • Learning
Service • Collaboration
Tri-Chairs
Navigator
Biology
Institutional Effectiveness
The Process
In 2024, East Central College renewed its partnership with CampusWorks to develop a new strategic plan, centered on the theme “Your Journey, Our Mission.” Building on past successes, ECC’s approach emphasized broad engagement, involving over 850 faculty, staff, students, community members, and Trustees to shape the future of ECC.
The journey began in March with a Strategic Planning Kickoff, featuring workshops on Trends in Higher Education and Student Experience, which set a collaborative tone for gathering insights into ECC’s evolving needs. Throughout March and April, ECC held eight Community Focus Groups, five Employee Focus Groups, and four Student Focus Groups. Additionally, a college-wide SWOT survey captured diverse perspectives on ECC’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities.
The Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC) analyzed these insights to identify key themes, aligning them with ECC’s mission and values. In April, a strategy workshop helped solidify core initiatives, followed by a review with community partners in May and June. Throughout the summer and fall, workshops engaged the Board of Trustees to refine ECC’s Mission and Vision, with the SPSC developing institutional values, strategies, and actionable objectives.
On Nov. 4, 2024, ECC’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the new strategic plan. Moving forward, ECC is committed to ongoing community engagement and transparent progress reporting, underscoring its dedication to empowering students, strengthening the community, and building a stronger future.
ECC's Strategic Plan Strategies
Student-Centered Experience
Assist and empower students by creating engaging educational experiences and offering holistic support.
- Improve staff and faculty’s reporting and usage of accurate and consistent student-centered data by June 30, 2026.
- Identify and improve four student-success early-momentum metrics by June 30, 2027.
- Improve ECC’s Noel Levitz student satisfaction mean score for instructional quality above 6 by June 30, 2028.
- Improve CCCSE student-faculty interaction score to be above small college average by June 30, 2029.
- Improve course success rates by December 31, 2028.
- Increase student usage of student supports by December 31, 2030.
- Improve ECC’s Noel Levitz satisfaction score for caring and helpful staff from a challenge to a strength by June 30, 2028.
Strategic Enrollment
Increase enrollment and retention through targeted recruitment strategies, comprehensive pathways, and support services to meet the needs of diverse learners.
- Increase enrollment by 15% by 2029.
- Improve application yield to reach 60% enrollment by December 31, 2028.
- Implement a college-wide recruitment plan by May 31, 2026.
- Reduce withdraw rate for ECC by December 31, 2029.
- Increase the overall sense of belonging of ECC students by December 31, 2027.
- 75% of students will submit a completed next step plan regarding their post ECC experience.
Community Vibrancy
Drive intellectual, personal, and socioeconomic growth within our communities through mutually beneficial relationships with stakeholders.
- Establish educational attainment goals for ECC in partnership with each community in the region by August 1, 2025.
- Enhance recognition of ECC’s contributions to the community and increase alumni engagement 10% by December 31, 2025.
- Develop programs that address the top 10% of unmet labor market demand by December 31, 2026.
- Increase the engagement of on-campus events to foster community participation and personal growth by June 1, 2026.
- Strengthen ECC’s presence in school districts that yield the smallest percentage of graduates to ECC by December 31, 2026.
Operational Innovation & Effectiveness
Improve institutional effectiveness and innovation by leveraging technology, data, and assessment.
- Assess gaps and redundancies to inform future technology improvements by June 30, 2025.
- Implement dynamic institutional Artificial Intelligence committees and policies addressing ethical, academic, and administrative AI usage by December 31, 2025.
- Establish and implement data definitions and data governance policies by December 31, 2026.
- Develop data literacy and decision-making capabilities.
- Establish an institutional council to support strategic planning, assessment, and results by June 30, 2025.
Employee Development & Institutional Culture
Foster a supportive and rewarding institutional culture by prioritizing professional development, horizontal collaboration, and transparent communication for all employees.
- Increase professional development opportunities tailored to different departments and roles to enhance employee skills and growth by September 30, 2028.
- Implement and assess a Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program with at least 49% of participants reporting increased knowledge sharing and collaboration by September 30, 2028.
- Improve positive response rates on the ModernThink survey for Communication, and Evaluation and Promotion by December 31, 2027.
- Increase horizontal collaboration with employees reporting improved cooperation and support across departments.
Ideal Student Experience
East Central College provides a quality education exemplified by a transformative and empowering student experience. That student experience is characterized by:
- An engaging education that is academically challenging and personally meaningful, equipping students with the tools for continuous improvement in their lives and careers.
- Innovative programming that cultivates critical thinking and prepares students for community leadership and life-long learning.
- Robust support that extends beyond academics, providing essential services that bolster student resilience and goal attainment.
- Diverse opportunities that spark exploration and discovery, reinforcing the joy of learning.
- Clear educational pathways serving the varied aspirations of our students.
East Central College faculty, staff, and administration support this experience with:
- A dynamic and data-informed college community, dedicated to continually refining our services, programs, and instructional approaches based on best practices.
- Thoughtful integration of teaching strategies to create enriching learning experiences that resonate with and include every student.
- Accessible, streamlined services that empower students to be independent while promoting growth and accountability.
- A commitment to inclusion, diversity, and a caring approach.