The following St. Petersburg College goals were
approved by the Board of Trustees in February 2010 during Tom Furlong’s interim
presidency. These goals were supplemented with detailed guidance from the 7/24
Plan developed by Bill Law during the presidential transition. Recent
initiatives include the Collegiate Experience and the Life Plan project as described
below.
2009-2012 Goals:
I. Expand student access to baccalaureate programs, bachelor’s
degrees, graduate degrees, and careers; as well as prepare lower division
students for successful transfer into baccalaureate programs through the
associate in arts and articulated associate in science degree programs;
II. Maintain the “open door” by providing opportunities for
under-prepared students to achieve college entry-level skills through college
preparatory programs and services;
III. Promote the community’s economic and cultural development
with noncredit programs, continuing education life long learning, and targeted
partnerships and leadership initiatives;
IV. Contribute to the international education of students by
providing opportunities that encourage global awareness and perspectives;
V. Provide challenging educational opportunities for area high
school students through dual enrollment, charter school and similar programs;
VI. Promote student learning and maximize opportunities for
student success by enhancing services delivered by student affairs staff;
VII. Provide a diverse student body with innovative teaching
and learning technologies in various instructional modalities;
VIII. Build/acquire and maintain a high-quality infrastructure,
including technology, facilities, and equipment, to meet student and community
needs;
IX. Recruit and develop an outstanding, diverse faculty and
staff;
X. Perform continuous institutional self-evaluation and
efficient and effective operations to assure a culture of excellence in student
services and academic success.
During the presidential transition, Bill Law
developed the 7/24 Plan to provide additional guidance until the Trustee’s
strategic retreat in January, 2011.
Two recent major
initiatives include:
Student Life Plan Project
St. Petersburg College has always been
student-centered. However, we know we must do a better job of ensuring that
each student experiences the type of success that ultimately will lead to a
better job and a higher standard of living.
We believe students should have individualized life plans so they know where they are, where they are headed
and what it will take to get there. We intend to help our students form their life plans.
At SPC, we already have a number of programs
and procedures in place that benefit our students.
But can we do better? We intend to find out.
For the next year, we will study how to improve graduation rates and reduce the number of “W” or unsuccessful grades
our students receive. We will develop stronger support systems to guide our
students toward a successful academic performance and refine our initiatives to
better align available resources with student needs.
We will study grading scales, plans and programs we already have in place and look for options that might give us
greater outcomes. We will not be afraid to make changes.
In addition, we want our students to take more responsibility for their own success and we intend to provide support and
training to help them do this.
Our Student Life Plan committee is already in place and meetings have been scheduled throughout the year. We intend to
have a final report by May 2012 and implementation by January 2013.
The College Experience at St. Petersburg College
“The pressure is on community colleges to again make the United States the No. 1
producer of workers with professional credentials in the global market.”
(Dorsey, 2011) To that end, community colleges must embrace a framework of
accountability for the full range of services, processes, and support programs
provided to students. An intentional review and data-driven improvement plan in
these areas would result in increased student through-put and success rates.
Student success and achievement is the overarching goal at St. Petersburg College (SPC). To
achieve this goal, SPC is deliberately focusing on what students experience
from application through graduation. This is The College Experience. Led by campus
Provosts, and supported by district and campus staff, The College Experience
includes all processes/systems, activities and programs that support, nurture
and impact student success from inquiry through graduation.
Since January 2011, our focus has been student services and processes, a student-learning
plan, facilities in advising areas, staff training, and mandatory on campus
orientation. In addition, we have put into place new innovations in the
areas of student planner (registration enhancement), student involvement in
decision making (student activities budget), early alert/warning system, and
several other initiatives designed to help students succeed.
Provosts are collaborating with district and other staff to establish goals that influence
The College Experience for the Spring 2012 term. To accomplish these goals and
improve the college experience, staff must take a different approach and
redesign other student services and processes, as well as to develop and
introduce new ones. This approach requires stakeholders to create effective
processes that provide a clear path of navigation through our services,
programs and systems to earn their certificate, degree or other credentials
according to their educational and career goals. These processes must be
inclusive of student needs, systemic college-wide, integrated and linked to
student success.
At SPC student success is our number one priority. We will vastly improve student achieve
and success by providing quality processes, support services and programs to
help our students accomplish their goals.