Strategic Plan 2021-2026
"If you want to go quickly, go alone, if you want to go far, go together" - African Proverb
"We can either regularly encourage student success or we can make it happen every day, one student at a time" - President Trevor M. Bates, 2020
Mission
The mission of Wilmington College is to educate, inspire and prepare each student for a life of service and success.
Vision
Wilmington College intends to make significant progress in the next decade toward being a model college that melds the liberal arts and career preparation in order to graduate liberally educated professionals.
Quaker Core Values
- Integrity
- Community
- Diversity
- Eiversity
- Excellence
- Peace and Social Justice
- Respect for All Persons
- Service and Civic Engagement
Guiding Perspectives
Quaker Core Values
- Integrity
- Community
- Diversity
- Excellence
- Peace and Social Justice
- Respect for All Persons
- Service and Civic Engagement
Strategic Vision
6 Major Challenges Specific to Wilmington College
1. Changing student resource needs, expectations and demographics
a. Underprepared students (academic, social, emotional, etc.)
b. More diverse and fewer traditional college-aged students
c. Continuing and new adult education need for flexibility and quality
2. Consumers questioning the value of a college education
a. Hyper focus on jobs
b. Disconnect of importance of career and life skills provided by a liberal arts foundation (employer surveys)
c. Clarity needed on value proposition when choosing WC
d. Speed to market innovation for WC, overcoming implementation lag
3. Strategic enrollment management
a. Recruiting (traditional, transfer and transient students)
b. Retention (regular coordinated efforts RE: information/resources)
c. Distinctive recognition [branding, marketing, communication, public relations) and building relations (alumni, community, business (public and private) and donors]
d. Resources for people (i.e. revenue for salaries)
4. Being prepared to effectively apply our Quaker WC values to address societal threats known and unknown
a. Social injustices including the recent and past history of unjustified murders of people including George Floyd (2020), Breonna Taylor (2020), Emmett Till (1955) and many more
b. Immigration related challenges (i.e. DACA)
c. Race and gender and other social injustices LGBTQ
5. Local, national and global changes and challenges
a. Pandemic - public safety, compliance, medical staff needs, vaccine
b. Weather, food, water insecurities and uncertainties
c. National and local election result implications for higher education [Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG), Title XI regulations, "free" college, student loan forgiveness, etc.]
6. Need for planned and focused recruitment strategies and professional development for faculty and staff to allow our people to nimbly address necessary changes in their roles and responsibilities
a. Application of current teaching and learning strategies
b. Technology integration in all aspects of the College
Why Wilmington College? What is the Wilmington Way?
Addressing challenges from diverse lenses...
1. Who are we and what/where is the evidence?
2. Who do we aspire to be (now, near and far)?
a. INTERNAL - faculty, staff, current students, BOT, etc.
b. EXTERNAL - alumni, community, 2-year colleges, etc.
c. SUSPECTS - don't know WC but should know WC
d. PROSPECTS - who know and are considering WC
e. PEERS, ASPIRANTS AND COMPETITORS - develop a list of peers and aspirants considering: academics, student services, athletics, enrollment, private, location, resources, student demographics, branch campus, mission driven, values based, facilities, etc.
Why does all this matter?
"We are attracted/drawn to people, places and products that are strongly associated with what we believe, our WHY, beyond simply what we do." - inspired by Simon Sinek
1. How is what we believe clearly articulated and infused in EVERYTHING that we do and how we do it?
2. Who do we desire to ATTRACT? Why and how will we do it? (Faculty, staff students, partners, leadership, BOT, etc.)
3. How do we consistently answer the most essential question: WHY WILMINGTON COLLEGE?