Ivy Tech Community College is committed to enabling our hardworking students to finish their programs and find high-value careers in growing fields. The eight goals of our strategic plan outline how we will achieve our vision of students earning 50,000 high-quality certifications, certificates, or degrees annually.
The state of Indiana has adopted the Big Goal: have 60% of the state’s workforce equipped with a high-value, post-secondary degree or credential by 2025. Ivy Tech is leading the way with state, business, and community partners to help achieve the Big Goal. Dr. Sue Ellspermann, President, Ivy Tech Community College, shares Ivy Tech’s role.
Ivy Tech Community College students will earn 50,000 high-quality certifications, certificates, and degrees per year aligned with the needs of our workforce.
We are Ivy Tech, Indiana’s Community College. We serve the people of our state through accessible and affordable world-class education and adaptive learning. We empower our students to achieve their career and transfer aspirations. We embrace our vision of economic transformation inspired by the education and earnings attainment of our citizens, the vitality of our workforce, and the prosperity of our unique and diverse communities.
Student-Centered
We affirm ethical and academic standards that guide personal and intellectual development through principles of honesty, integrity, and fairness.
We foster engaging learning environments that employ leading technology and learning pathways that both challenge and support our students as they explore their potential.
We stand with students facing challenges impacting their college and career aspirations by leveraging the resources and services of our college and our community partners.
Outcome-Driven
We commit to the discovery of insight and understanding through research, analysis, and measures as we advance educational attainment and align our contributions to the future needs of employers, educational partners, and communities.
Inclusive
We cultivate intellectual and cultural diversity; promote the free, open, and civil exchange of ideas; and celebrate the uniqueness of students, employees, and communities.
Collaborative
We seek and support collaborative relationships with community, philanthropic, workforce, and educational partners as we strive to achieve our mission.
Trustworthy and Transparent
We practice honesty, courtesy, and civility, respecting all. We believe in a college community inspired by collegiality, collaboration, and open communication.
Student success is a shared responsibility among students, faculty, staff and other college community members. A campus culture of student success is fostered when all actively seek to improve on the following behaviors.
Students
Attend class, learn the names of your instructors, and work to develop a relationship of trust with them
Complete what you start
Attempt each assignment
Develop well-organized and disciplined study habits
Ask questions and be prepared to use campus support resources, such as tutoring or Disability Support Services, when needed
Faculty
Interact with student by name by first class/end of first week
Monitor student behavior and progress closely and intervene immediately, including providing timely feedback on assignments/exams so students can make changes to their learning practices
Initiate one-on-one and frequent communications with students early in semester, and maintain communication throughout the semester
Conduct highly structured courses with penalties for missed exams and assignments but be flexible when appropriate
Know your campus resources and direct students to them when needed
Staff
Make eye contact, smile, and say hello to everyone on campus
Celebrate positive student behavior and intervene when vulnerable behavior is noticed
Engage with students, staff, and faculty – establish a personal connection
Establish clear and coherent practices and processes for students – eliminate barriers and make others aware when needed
Know your campus resources and direct students to them when needed
Ensure every student persists towards their educational objective.
Ivy Tech Community College has one primary purpose: to engage all students so they successfully launch or expand their careers, or educational opportunities, upon certificate or degree completion. Together, faculty and staff are committed to educational and career-oriented success. Ivy Tech strives to help students move through programs efficiently, passing courses on the first attempt and persisting through to certificate or degree completion. In addition, Ivy Tech will find ways to expand selective admissions and high-demand programs while balancing student aspirations and workforce needs.
Develop and orchestrate intentional wraparound services to meet the unique needs of students, ranging from individual case management to location of external resources and service providers while enrolled.
Expand programs, including but not limited to, Project Jump Start and Growth Mindset to prepare and position students for success. Provide additional professional development training for faculty to ensure student achievement.
Quantify areas of vocational challenges, nursing in particular, and develop plans for expansion. Expand the online application process to other limited enrollment programs.
Expand structured scheduling, coaching models, and number of eight-week courses offered to help enrolled students complete their studies on their time and schedule.
Increase co-curricular opportunities and access to coaching and mentoring programs to show students how academic progress translates into meaningful careers.
Develop user-driven applications for students to enhance College communications, deliver pertinent information, and improve scheduling.
GOAL 1 PLAN METRICS
Metric
Year 1 Target
Year 5 Target (2023)
Fall to Spring Retention
70%
80%
Fall to Fall Retention
50%
60%
Recruit and enroll Hoosiers from every demographic into high-demand/high-wage career pathways.
Ivy Tech Community College welcomes those interested in furthering their education or advancing their careers. Students of all ages, backgrounds, interests, and education levels can earn any of the College’s broad-ranging degree and certificate options. Ivy Tech will actively recruit students into high-value programs, placing them on a pathway to high-demand, high-wage jobs within their communities. The College will purposefully work with those students to enroll them in the right program, classes, and schedule to meet their diverse needs.
Students earn 50,000 high-quality certificates, certifications, and degrees annually.
Ivy Tech Community College is committed to seeing students through to completion and will provide intentional academic advising to students so they can choose a career or higher education pathway from the beginning of their college experience. Ivy Tech will quantify the value of certificates in the workplace, expedite the time to completion through enhanced scheduling, streamline Prior Learning Assessment, and increase the understanding of the value of a credential, both long- and short-term.
Identify gaps in high school programs and create solutions to fulfill Statewide General Education Core (STGEC) completion. Design a college-wide definition and framework for Career Technical Education (CTE) concentrators and illuminate potential funding sources.
Generate additional reverse transfer agreements with four-year transfer partners. Explore competency based approaches to the reverse transfer degree structure.
Students are placed into and succeed in high-demand, high-wage jobs.
By 2025, employers in Indiana will need to fill one million high-demand, high-wage jobs. Approximately half of those jobs will require a high-quality, post-secondary degree or certificate. Ivy Tech Community College will play a central role in preparing Indiana’s workforce by being student-centric, demand-driven, and aligned with the state’s key economic sectors.
Create college-wide, high-demand sector employer councils. Implement an adjunct engagement model that includes employer data capture and facilitates connections between students and their employers. Design resources and programs that help students with career readiness.
Median Wages at Year One (Percent Above State Median)
41%
80%
Become known as a great place to work.
Ivy Tech Community College faculty and staff are the most critical resources on campus. They enable student success, respond to employer needs, and help Ivy Tech make a difference within their communities. It is incumbent upon the College to recruit and retain high-performing talent, provide venues for creativity, and increase innovation. Ivy Tech will adopt a model to attract, retain, and develop a cadre of diverse faculty focused on student engagement.
Engage the Faculty Council to establish a more meaningful evaluation process and develop tactics to increase retention of high-performing, talented faculty. Create electronic performance evaluation process for all employee classifications.
Designate space on each campus where individuals and teams can gather to share and foster creative ideas. Reward those who innovate through an “Innovationeers” program.
Recruit a diverse and talented Ivy Tech workforce by fostering a culture of inclusion and flexibility. Create more progressive work-life policies. Develop assessments for hiring.
Ensure the institution has sufficient financial resources to achieve our mission.
Ivy Tech Community College is a good steward of state tax dollars and keeps tuition affordable to best serve its students. Simultaneously, the institution requires sufficient financial resources to achieve its mission. The College’s funding model must align with the funding support and educational objectives of the State of Indiana. Adopting an outcomes-based budgeting model will ensure financial viability. Ivy Tech will diversify revenue sources by attracting and securing external funding and leveraging capital assets to support students and campus communities.
Increase the donor pipeline by formalizing a results-driven alumni engagement strategy. This will be part of a comprehensive college-wide campaign designed to generate funds through charitable donations.
Effectively engage with and serve our unique communities.
Ivy Tech Community College campuses are integral to the communities they serve. In addition to providing education and career opportunities to students, campuses are filled with talented faculty, staff, and students interested in serving their communities. The campuses have facilities, equipment, and gathering spaces. Fully engaging campus personnel and resources as partners and collaborators will help communities deal with their most pressing needs and realize their fullest potential. Ivy Tech is committed to putting more “community” in community college.
Integrate service learning into more program curriculum. Strategically host community events and convene community leaders for collaborative leadership training.
Form partnerships with social service agencies to address the unique needs of local communities. Engage staff and faculty to experience community challenges firsthand to spur ideation for community service.
Develop a mechanism for sharing learnings and best practices college-wide. Identify and share best practices across higher education and other industries.
Revise and update policies to reflect systemwide guardrails and promote campus flexibility.
GOAL 7 PLAN METRICS
Metric
Year 1 Target
Year 5 Target (2023)
Community Satisfaction Survey
8.0
8.0
Establish a sustainable culture of diversity, equity, and belonging
Goal 8 will establish a sustainable culture of diversity, equity and belonging. It now includes five strategies, which were developed with input from faculty, staff, and students from around the state.
