Institutional and Community Planning
ANNUAL STRATEGIC
PLANNING UPDATE SESSION
November 20, 2003
Office of the Vice President of Research and Development
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ANNUAL STRATEGIC PLANNING
UPDATE SESSION
November 20, 2003
GROUP PRESENTATIONS
*Group I
Strengths
What are we doing especially well?
¾ Developmental Education
¾ Recruitment
o High School Students
o Transfer Students
¾ Partnerships
o Businesses
o Educational Institutions (NMSU, UTEP, ISDs)
o City of El Paso
o Chamber of Commerce
¾ Campus Locations throughout the Community
¾ Services for Students with Disabilities
¾ Dedicated Faculty/Staff
¾ Working with the Private Sector through Foundation Board
¾ Positive Image of College through CEO
¾ Grant Development
¾ Good relationship with employers of our students
¾ Supporting and meeting the needs of the community
¾ Joint admissions—EPCC and UTEP
¾ Improved streamlining of student support services
What must happen to ensure that we continue doing well & even improve?
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Title V
Increased Presence
Tailor to audiences
Week Marketing Strategies
Targeting Populations:
o Businesses
o Health Care
¾ Expand recruitment
o Team effort
¾ Resources focused
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District-wide recruitment plan
Better focus message - we can help you get where you want to go
Advisory Committee for Marketing
Become much more proactive in shaping a positive image of college in the
community
Higher Profile Role
Created positive atmosphere of cooperation with UTEP-partnerships &
NMSU
Dedicated Employees
Good at doing more with less
UACJ – other institutions in Cd. Juarez
Do “more” with “less” resources
Seek partnerships with other H.S. beyond Dual Credit
Weaknesses
What are we currently doing poorly?
¾ Marketing
o More focus on working adults
Businesses
o Military
o College Slogan should address the entire community
o Feature stories in newspaper for successful programs
o Marketing successes
o Proactively shape the image of the college in the community
¾ Lacking same level of services at all campuses
¾ Need additional sensitivity training for all faculty/staff
¾ No incentive to seek external funding
¾ Need District-wide marketing plan
Opportunities
What are some of our most promising opportunities?
¾ Research Trends to position EPCC
¾ UTEP Tuition Increase
¾ Seek Funding Sources
o Foundation
o Private Sources
¾ Targeted Occupations (Workforce Regional Data)
¾ Creation of Alumni Association
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Threats
What competitors are “knocking” at our doors?
¾ Keeping up-to-date with technology
¾ Funding for Facilities
o New Facilities
o Maintain existing facilities
¾ Decreased funding from the State
¾ Rapid Growth has hindered focus/communication
¾ Increased dependence on PT faculty/staff
¾ Improve Public Image of College
o Retention of Quality Employees
o Keep Morale up for existing employees
o Better Defining Elements of Learning College
o Internally
o Externally
¾ Look at offering Health Insurance to Students
¾ Expand Day Care services at all campuses
o Include child care for older children
¾ Recreate Women’s Center to include services for Men
o Health
o Wellness
o Job Opportunities
o Financial Counseling
o General Counseling
o Child Welfare
GROUP II
Strengths
What are we doing especially well?
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Excellent Teaching
Credentialed Faculty-100%
Diverse Programs – Wide array of offerings
Outstanding Health Science Program & Facilities
Campus Pipeline
Great Population – Employees and Students
Students – adapt to change internally and try to make the best
Budget – good at staying within
Access to Professional Development Activities (tech training)
Wide flexibility in scheduling classes
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Outstanding Relationships with External Organizations/colleges
Enrollment management – monitored daily, work to accommodate students
Responsive
Longer/better registration
Optimal Class Sizes
Program Administration Software – Student Registration, Payroll, Finance,
Financial Aid
Top – notch security (Police Dept.)
Beautiful facilities
o Accessible/Convenient
o Alternative Delivery Modes
Distance, Powerpacs, Late-start classes
Affordable Tuition
Outreach to Diverse Populations
Dual Credit Program – Headed in right direction
Have maintained our current EPCC workforce
Teaching
Collaborate – community, organizations, schools – high schools
Positive relationship with UTEP/NMSU
Strong Advisory Communities
Occupational Education Programs – can lead to partnerships/updates in
curriculum
Good job of internal information sharing
Accessibility of Campus Facilities and Classes
*Weaknesses
What are we currently doing poorly?
¾ Expand our
o Customer Services training for everyone, especially front-line staff, e.g. –
CiCi’s Pizza, Banks, Walmart
o Need to know other departments/Divisions better – (tie-ins) internally
o Direct student contact-calls, letters, outreach/counseling
o Telephone Etiquette
o Student and Faculty Mentoring
o Develop more structured self-monitoring process (self evaluation)
o Expand upon ways to save money for the College – How do we do this?
Can Pipeline save money on this? Pipeline - training
o Postage – grades, academic status; utilizes technology to save on costs,
paper, copies
o Welcome/information center or desk is needed at ASC needed
o Information maps need to be updated or added
o No information desks
o What about weekend/evenings information and services for students?
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Signage near elevators
Signage throughout campuses
Recruitment-word of mouth, advisory committees, advertising, Cable TV
Customer Relations/Externally & Internally
Telling students what books they need before classes start – either through
divisions/Web
*Opportunities
What are some of our most promising opportunities?
¾ “Packaging” of weekend courses; not just due to schedule overloads; market these
¾ Address trends for certificates – quick training
¾ Computer training – make available to companies? Short, quick, and for a fee,
e.g.-technology camps
¾ Housing Authority – Potential large student population. Tenants receive
computers in apartments through a grant and have to attend 2 semester of courses
of EPCC in computers via distance, etc.; can recruit students at monthly resident
meetings
¾ Monthly resident meetings
¾ Develop an entrepreneurial dept. to disseminate information and ideas; like a
“Think Tank”.
¾ Internal/Formal Networking
*Threats
What competitors are “knocking” at our doors?
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Budget Cuts
Continued Decrease in State Funding
Hiring Freezes
Change
Legislative Changes
Proprietary Schools
Territorialism – Organization Concerns/Benefit
Being on the Border
If our work depends upon others-have well-trained administrators and
administrative Assistants.
Improve New Employee Orientation – Have New Points Administrator and
training sessions even on such things as forms.
Mentoring
Cross-training – what happens when someone is out?
Answering phones-Improve this
Program Needs/Review-will there be elimination of jobs?
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Tax Cap
Working in a vacuum sometimes
Lack of Communication
Negative Perceptions in Community – (Currently much more positive/stable)
Treatment by media?
Possible enrollment declines
Classroom space
Need more work toward more paperless college
Maintaining contact with graduates & promote ourselves
Information delivery – checks, grades, student files, create efficiencies/ create
savings through technology
Security – particularly at Mission, NW – during shift changes & cross-training
Find off-campus facilities to expand course offerings. – partner with
community groups
Maintain satellite facilities well because they impact the College’s image
Continue to improve student retention rate and new student orientation
Recruitment and Retention of qualified faculty – full & part-time
Employ more full-time faculty
Evaluate hiring 9-month faculty on 12-mo. Basis – look at cost to college
o Maintain pool – what are other colleges doing?
o Cost of benefits
GROUP III
*Strengths
What are we doing especially well?
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Great instruction
Personalized attention
Responsive to community needs
Good, adequate facilities
Good community partnerships
Good Recruitment
Affordable tuition
Great Dual Credit Program
Expansive Distant Learning Services
What must happen to ensure that we continue doing well & even improve?
¾ Hiring more FT instructors (funding sources)
¾ Promote campus Pipeline – increase access to evening & work study and
weekend students
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Joint efforts between credit and non-credit
Continue funding for previous maintenance & cleaning & future growth
Encourage active advisory committee participation
Improve and update WEB
Improve Cost Effectiveness (Distance Learning)
Quality Control and Evaluation Process
Allocate resources for Recruiting and Marketing of faculty
Weaknesses
What are we currently doing poorly?
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Non-competitive starting salaries
Website
Evening & Weekend Student Services
Need to improve customer service
Need to improve on Internal communications
Too many meetings with no results
What do our students/customers tell us we should improve?
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Additional funding and market value
Priority on Administrative training
Mandatory on-going training
Information Sharing
Textbooks – costly
Counseling
Access to Information
Customer Services
Faculty Access
Structure Meetings to Produce Results
o Agendas should be shared prior to meetings, time limits, use of
available technology
What do our employees tell us we should improve?
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Salary and Benefits
Workload Allocation
Recognition of Good Work
Eliminate “Dead Weight” Employees
Technology and poor work environments
Communication
Dirty Campus at Valle Verde
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How?
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More funding
Accountability (improve transfer mechanism)
Implement New Horizon concepts
Accountability for Performance
Needs Assessments
Make all Information accessible
Better Provider Campaign (in keeping campus clean)
What should we do to improve these aspects?
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Cost, standardization (district-wide)
Training, get advisors correct program information
Student Hotline
Attitude Training
Faculty must keep posted office hours
What are some of our opportunities?
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Better Articulation
Short-term Certificates
Marketing Occupational Programs
Population Growth
International Students
Grants
Why are they promising?
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Save Credit Occupational Programs – Improve Student Transfer
Increases Completion Rates
Help meet needs of city workforce
Major Provider with multiple service centers
Another target market
Diverse Population
Competitors
¾ Technical Schools
¾ University of Phoenix, Park College
¾ Updated Technology
Threat
¾ Delivery, Marketing, Funding, Convenience
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