Michael Seymour, President, Alexandria Technical & Community College
Printed in the Echo Press.
The year was 2008. Dr. Kevin Kopischke was college president.
Alexandria Technical College’s (ATC) mission did not allow the college to offer Associate of Arts (AA) degrees – despite offering dozens of liberal arts courses to 500+ students. Many of these students were unable to receive federal financial aid since they were not actively enrolled in a program. ATC had forged a temporary partnership with Bemidji State University to award AA degrees on the college’s behalf, but with more students seeking transfer education, it was clear a bold step was needed.
In the book titled Still Caring, college historian Doug Tatge highlighted a change to the college’s mission in 2010, in response to the growing transfer student population. ATC became Alexandria Technical & Community College (ATCC), evolving from a stand-alone “tech school” to a comprehensive community college offering both career and transfer education. “The most important aspect of this change,” Tatge wrote, “was to be certain we were only adding to, and not diminishing from, what the college already was—a nationally recognized ‘premier technical college.’”
ATCC has a long history of evolving to meet the needs of students, with the past several years being especially transformative. We have transformed from a great technical college to a great technical and community college that provides opportunities for students on-campus and online. We have transformed from a regional institution to a nationally recognized leader in technical, transfer and online education. This positive change was achieved through thoughtful planning from college leaders over the years, and through the dedication of staff and faculty. By truly caring, our employees have always been deeply connected to the work we do, the communities we serve, and, most importantly, the success of our students.
As we look forward, we envision an even bolder future for ATCC. Based upon the input of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community, a new strategic framework (2025-2030) titled “The Best is Yet to Come” more succinctly restates our mission, vision, and values - bridging our successful past with our desired future.
Operationally, a strategic plan is needed to maintain our accreditation; to demonstrate that the college systematically approaches its work, identifies future opportunities, and reduces risks. But it’s more than a checkmark on an accreditation review. A thoughtful, holistic approach to strategic planning aligns our resources, activities, and goals, so that every ATCC employee sees their role in future success, understands the shared vision, and feels empowered to work toward it, together.
We began the Strategic Planning process in early October by creating a Strategic Planning Task Force that included faculty, staff and students. The task force developed surveys that asked questions about experiences and expectations of ATCC for employees, students, and community members, including alumni and retired employees. Feedback was also gathered from the college’s Community Advisory Committee and the ATCC Foundation Board. After tallying these survey results and reviewing hundreds of comments, suggestions, and ideas, we held forums with each of the audiences (employees, students, and community) to delve deeper into common themes from survey responses. Between the three groups several common themes kept appearing, so the direction of the strategic plan was plain: Students First.
Thank you to our students, employees, and community for taking the time to inform this process, and special thanks to Mark Deterding from Triune Leadership Services for his expertise in facilitating the community forums. The feedback we received assisted the Strategic Planning Task Force in developing a draft of a Strategic Framework that includes the college’s Vision, Mission, Values, Foundational Priorities and Long-Range Targets.
While previewing draft framework, Deterding immediately recognized our effort to keep students at the heart of the plan. “I love how the top Long-Range Targets all focus on students,” he said. “Focus on the people you are serving, and you will continue the amazing momentum you have built for the College.”
We recognize that while the framework is the keystone of the entire planning process, it is just the beginning. The heavy lifting now begins to create four integrated college plans: the Academic Plan, Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, Operations Plan and a plan for the EDGE Innovation Center, a new venture that is still in the works.
Our prior strategic framework (2020-2024) highlighted the growing need for students to be able to engage more with their college experience. As a result, today’s students enjoy expanded student housing, new athletics programs, a refreshed brand, and, of course, a new mascot. We established the Legends mascot in 2021, and embraced an inspirational, aspirational, tagline: Be a Legend. Being a Legend means being bold. Being curious. Being a leader. It means challenging norms and constantly innovating. It means always moving forward and never settling for less than our best.
We know that being the best doesn’t happen by accident, that learners always come first, and that students and employees are responsible for the institution’s success. We also know that creating a connected, inclusive campus for our students, employees, and community is integral to our growth.
Rooted in our community and our history, Alexandria Technical & Community College anticipates a vibrant future as The Best is Yet to Come!
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