Strategic Plan 2004 - 2008

Weaknesses/Challenges/Opportunities Analysis

The most frequently cited weaknesses, challenges and opportunities for DTC are listed below and grouped by themes that emerged in the Focus Groups.

The Challenges and Opportunities Themes
Challenges are those areas that we must consider in moving to our future.
Opportunities describe positive areas for potential action.

Communication
Current situation: With more communication, employees can be proactive in meeting customers’ needs and resolving problems. The problem is especially acute at satellite centers where staff may not have access to DTC intranet. Colleague meetings fill a valuable purpose; however, not everyone can attend and the college-wide meetings are not held in an environment that is structured for candid discussions due to the large number of people who attend. We need to know what is happening operationally across all areas of the College in order to deliver excellence in information and services to our students and to increase colleague commitment and morale. Generally, colleagues expressed a desire to have more regular contact with the President in a smaller and more conversational environment, perhaps department meetings. There was a general attitude that lack of communication was a major barrier to improving the College internally. There is a general need to “hyper-communicate” across the College.

Planning and Action
Current situation: We plan fairly well, but we don’t always act. There is frustration with being asked, suggestions offered, and action not taken. We are sensing a greater openness in the last year. We need leadership from the top to affirm input from employees on all levels of the College. We need leadership that is visible on campus, visionary and energized to move the College forward. We need managers who are active, who walk around and know what is happening throughout the campuses they manage. Throughout the College we need to plan activities and seminars for professional improvement, improved student outcomes, and improved program outcomes.

Relationships with Key Stakeholder Groups
Current situation: Our contact with business and industry is a key element in the development of partnerships in the business community. We believe that the College will benefit from increased outreach to businesses in all four counties of our service delivery area. DeKalb Technical College has much to offer the community and business and industry and we need to market of our programs and services better. In particular, strong relations with business and industry are critical to our students’ employability and our reputation. While some departments have strong advisory committees, others have little advisory committee input into the curriculum or active advisory committee support in program development and marketing efforts. We are under-utilizing these representatives from business and industry for their expertise, their possibilities of providing student internships, their job opportunities for our graduates, and their financial support for our Foundation. At the Covington-Newton Campus, we are witnessing new growth in industry and have a great opportunity to interface with many high end and high tech companies. We have not yet nurtured the political and business connections that can influence funding from government and private businesses. The needs of business and industry in our four county service delivery area require a higher and more effective level of responsiveness from the Economic Development unit. More CEU classes need to be offered and marketed at the ATC, on the Clarkston Campus, and the Covington-Newton Campus to improve connectivity with our business partners and income sources to the College.
There is a real need to attract a more connected, powerful, and diverse Board of Trustees immediately. This group can be used as leverage in attracting other business and political support and partnerships, which would better support the Mission of the College and support the development of sound financial resources from which the College would expand and improve.

Equipment and Technology
Current situation: Our current computer system is unreliable and frustrating. Employees report that they cannot efficiently do their jobs. The College desperately needs a computer system and infrastructure that works smoothly and consistently. We need to be the technological leader in our community in the delivery of instructional and support services. Our offices and classrooms do not consistently have current technology or software. 

Facilities and Location
Current situation: On the Clarkston Campus, faculty and staff are working at the maximum - or beyond - capacity. The Clarkston Campus was originally built in the same architectural style as a high school in the 1960s. It does not have the design, function, or look of a college nor can it support current technology needs. In addition, our GED/ESL programs continue to grow and lack expansion space. The College will need to determine ways in which growth can occur without continuing the use of leased space, which drains financial resources. Partnering with agencies that may have space available for training will need to be investigated to increase our potential to serve our growing enrollment.

Faculty and Staff
Current situation: We appreciate the hard work and expertise of our faculty and staff. We believe that they need to continue to grow and learn. Budget cuts have made it difficult for DTC to support professional development. Faculty and staff feel stretched thin with jobs that keep growing. We need to integrate our new employees into the DTC system more effectively. A new and improved Colleague Orientation needs to be developed and offered quarterly. We believe that there are many good relationships among our colleagues, and we need to continue to build those. We recognize that we need to plan for leadership succession in a pro-active, rather than re-active manner. This will quickly become a critical need within the next two years.

Finance and Budget
Current situation: Budget cuts face us at every turn. In this economy, need is increasing, but we have less resources to provide to students. Our creativity in developing newly identified sources of income will be key to our success. Private/public partnerships and grant funding should be actively explored. The position for a grant writer should be created and an experienced individual with a successful track record should be employed.

Marketing
Current situation: We are encouraged by increased marketing and recognize the need for consistent and strategic marketing throughout our service delivery area. We know that funds are limited, and we know that competitors in our marketplace continue to grow. Some instructors market their own programs, but we could do much more if we worked as a team to communicate the message of DTC. The engagement of the technical expertise of our Printing and Graphics Academy, coordinated by our Director of Marketing could produce valuable and affordable Program and Service Guides for all units of DeKalb Technical College. We continue to address the stigma associated with technical colleges as vocational education schools. We need to develop a “team approach” of live marketing agents for the College. This group would volunteer to speak at community and civic or service group meetings to spread the “good word” about DeKalb Technical College.

Programs and Services for Students
Current situation: We have been successful and welcoming, but improving our customer service needs to be the top focus. Training for all colleagues in this area will help standardize the quality of our services. Students of many nationalities come to our campus. Technical education has high appeal among international and Hispanic students in our service delivery area. In DeKalb County, we are at maximum capacity, yet opportunities to serve more students exist. For some of our “pre” programs (GED), we wonder if the length of the classes is sufficient for students to be successful or employable. We turn students away – and we know that some of them will not come back. How can we meet growing demand for our services? 

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