Strategic Plan 2004 - 2008

Expanded Vision of the Future

Seeing Around the Corner
DeKalb Technical College (DTC) will continue to lead the State of Georgia by providing technical and adult education designed to meet the workforce needs of the future and by focusing on preparation for emerging and transforming careers. DTC will infuse innovative technologies and business practices into all programs and services, enabling DTC to stay consistently "ahead of the curve." Because new technologies, processes, and jobs emerge almost daily and employment requirements constantly evolve, curriculum in all career fields will be rooted in fast moving and ever evolving technological and business innovations. DTC's challenging, personalized, and web-enabled learning environment will facilitate sound occupational training that will be complimented with development of outstanding academic, professional, and technological skills, useful in current and future employment. Graduates will be able to apply their learning to present and emerging workplace demands. Development of these advanced skills and abilities will produce graduates who are valued employees in the current as well as future workplace.

Four-County Learning Community
DTC, with its large service delivery area and multiple sites, will use high-tech communications among campuses, and maintain active involvement in all communities throughout the service delivery area to produce Georgia's foremost technical education community. The DTC service delivery area will continue to be recognized as Georgia's model multi-campus learning community in which each community will benefit individually and jointly as part of the larger learning community. Technical education will be offered at each DTC site, and Tech Prep programs will be offered in targeted service delivery area high schools. DTC's economic development programs will extend throughout the service delivery area, addressing the unique needs of each business community while helping companies to benefit from the combined strengths of the entire area. Continuing education programs will be designed to meet local community demands while sharing learning resources among all communities. Adult literacy, GED, and English literacy services will assist citizens in all DTC service delivery counties. An improved and upgraded multi-campus IT network will provide technological parity, high-level e-content, and speedy communications allowing all DTC instructional sites to function as a one technologically-connected learning community. Web-enabled learning networks and e-tools, along with traditional collaborations, will bring together instructional professionals from all sites to create a dynamic learning environment in which faculty and staff will work collaboratively, and students will benefit from an esprit de corps. Students from the four counties and throughout Georgia will share insights while working together to achieve learning goals. DTC's community outreach and local civic and cultural involvement will encompass the entire service delivery area.
DTC will sponsor and/or become involved in special events, educational activities, and community efforts in each community, and all service delivery area communities will be able to come together for events and activities that will enhance and enrich the larger community.

Comprehensive, Innovative, Advanced Programs
DTC will offer a wide range of high-quality, high-demand standardized certificate, diploma, and associate degree programs in career fields including health and human services, business, industrial and automotive technology, computer information technology, and electronics and engineering technology. DTC plans to open new and specialized technical programs in radiology technology, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, and pharmacy technology. A wide variety of standard entry-level certificate, diploma, and associate degree programs and post-degree program offerings will be shared among multiple sites via traditional delivery or the Internet, creating the most comprehensive, innovative, and advanced technical college curriculum in Georgia. These extensive program offerings will be possible through use of web courses, web-enhanced classroom instruction, shared teaching, and other innovative collaborative approaches.

Higher-Level Learning
DTC will provide Technical Certificate of Credit (TCC), diploma, and associate degree instruction that stimulates high levels of understanding and performance and that offers content at advanced levels of technical expertise. DTC students will master academic and technical skills and fundamental thinking processes required to act as team members, managers, and leaders as well as expert technical professionals. DTC students will learn to understand interconnections within a business or field; to seek ways to use technological advances; to cope with complexity; to visualize overall systems, organizations, and/or processes; and to synthesize information from diverse sources. DTC students will learn to make sense of existing information and to develop new information. Faculty will be highly qualified and will be world-class professionals who will bridge the gap between classroom instruction and work by using applied-learning approaches such as projects, stimulations, and collaborative assignments. Courses taught in a student-centered, collegiate atmosphere, will integrate theory and hands-on practice thereby reinforcing the principles and technical proficiency. DTC faculty will share their expertise, using leading-edge technology and techniques that focus on preparing students for current and emerging employment demands. Students will develop a positive work ethic, work relationships, and professional credibility through work-based learning. Graduates with critical thinking and technical skills at a higher-level of learning will have options for career-entry, advancement, and self-determination that they need in order to take control of their professional careers in an ever-changing global marketplace.

DTC Partnerships Development in Creating the Future
DTC will continue to improve responsiveness to existing businesses by providing extensive training services for area companies. DTC will help create a better future for the service delivery area by building partnerships with businesses, industries, and economic developers to help shape, transform, and expand the area's workforce and job availability. DTC will contribute to the creation of jobs for the service delivery area by being flexible, adaptable, and innovative in its provision of noncredit and short-term credit training and other services for small, mid-sized, and large companies. DTC will help to transform and shape existing jobs by becoming the area's primary source for applied research and transfer of advanced technologies and high-performance practices for local companies. DTC's learning community will share knowledge and experience among companies and employees to create a professional network that will foster a competitive advantage and accelerate economic growth in the service delivery area.

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