By Kris McBride
THATCHER, Ariz. — Eastern Arizona College is seeking the public’s input as it develops a 10-year strategic plan. Public feedback will center around initiatives arising from the three pillars EAC President Todd Haynie identified in his inaugural year to guide his administration, namely, fostering community engagement, promoting student success, and supporting responsible fiscal conservatorship.
“How EAC grows matters,” stated Haynie. “The College affects everyone in our community – from parents who send their children to receive an education to businesses that hire our talented graduates. We want all stakeholders to participate, knowing that their input will make a difference.”
To date, EAC’s strategic planning process has included a comprehensive internal and external evaluation to identify strengths, opportunities, and aspirations. The evaluation included reviews of institutional and external data and focus groups with key stakeholders. The reviews identified key choices concerning 17 initiatives, ranging from decreasing overall costs to expanding student services, and from creating relationships with statewide decision makers to fostering a culture of student engagement.
Based on the public input that is received, a steering committee will refine the 17 initiatives to a list of three to five. The resulting initiatives will then be reviewed by all EAC employees. In January 2020, EAC departments and divisions will work to align the goals with the new strategic plan. To foster innovative thinking, employees and students will be encouraged to submit innovation proposals that have a direct correlation with the strategic plan.
“We know that student success, community engagement, and fiscal responsibility are hallmarks that must be sustained,” continued Haynie. “But how we sustain them is up to all of us. We want to hear from students, parents, alumni, businesses, and community members. If we work together, we can achieve our goals and ideals – well into the future.”
The public is encouraged to visit http://www.eac.edu/strategy to review and rank the 17 initiatives that have been identified as part of EAC’s strategic planning process. This link will be active through Friday, June 14.
