DeKalb Technical College
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Strategic Plan 2004 - 2008

Planning Process & Design

Development of the DeKalb Technical College (DTC) strategic plan has been a comprehensive and broad-based process that involved:

  • extensive research and environmental scanning techniques including data analysis, and reviews of the literature conducted by The Institutional Effectiveness Committee, Internet research, and analyses of recently completed internal and external surveys, and input from faculty related to trends for the future in their particular field of expertise,
  • situational analyses including SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses/challenges, Opportunities, Threats), values development, trend, and market analyses conducted by over two hundred thirty DeKalb Tech personnel;

Theme teams as established by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee:

  • About Our DTC People: Faculty, Staff, Leadership, and Management
  • About Our Facilities: Location, Finance, and Budget
  • About Our Students: Programs and Services
  • About Our Technological Infrastructure: Equipment and Technology
  • About Our Relationships: Engaging External Stakeholders
  • About Our Human Infrastructure: Communication, Systems, and Processes

DTAE Strategic Plan Overview
The Department of Technical and Adult Education's (DTAE's) strategic plan was designed to provide overall guidance for all technical colleges in Georgia, including DTC. The DTAE strategic goals, desired outcomes, and objectives were written with the intent that the technical colleges use the plan's goals, desired outcomes, and objectives as their own. Each college is expected to contribute to the achievement of the statewide objectives by developing and implementing its own unique mission, vision, market position, and strategies. When formulating the DTC strategic plan, the College has the opportunity to select and/or adapt appropriate statewide objectives to meet local needs, to add its own quantitative standards to the desired long-term outcomes, and to add details such as timelines and quantitative standards to the goals, desired outcomes, and objectives, if needed. The DTAE plan does not include any strategies; therefore, all strategies that will be developed in this plan will be unique to DTC and address service delivery area needs, capabilities, and interests.

Planning Participants
DTC used a highly participatory planning process to complete this strategic plan.

  • The DTC management team and other representatives, including former students and Board members, formed the "Strategic Planning Steering Committee" which guided the planning process, integrated feedback from the community and staff into the plan, and reviewed and edited successive drafts of parts of the plan (still in draft format).
  • Every full-time employee of DTC was invited to participate in a focus group in which they completed a SWOT analysis. Two hundred and thirty four of the College's full-time employees attended these sessions.
  • All full-time DTC employees will be invited to participate in a strategic planning conference within their own department or functional unit.
  • Adjunct instructors (some 229 people) will attend a meeting in which they will share in the planning process by giving input to evening administrators.
  • The strategic planning steering committee members will oversee the progress made in creating the Strategic Plan and an overall consensus will be reached concerning the draft mission, vision, market position, desired outcomes, and major strategic projects.

The Board of Directors will review the final draft of the plan.

Situational Analysis
Several analyses were conducted as part of the strategic planning process. The results of the situational analyses were used as a basis for development of strategies for long-range improvement and growth.

Trends Analysis
Salient trends were identified by reviewing and analyzing existing statistical data, and by conducting trends identification sessions with The Institutional Effectiveness Committee. Major trends that were identified are summarized as follows:

Demographic Trends
Some of the more notable demographic trends for the DTC service delivery area are the increasing size of the population, the growing diversity of the population, and the increasing average age of the population. Additionally, there is a trend toward growth in the population of municipalities and growth in the population of unincorporated areas. The DTC service delivery area population is predominantly white in Covington, Newton and Rockdale, the percentage of blacks is higher than the state average in DeKalb, and the percentage of Hispanics and other ethnic groups is growing in DeKalb. The refugee population is growing in DeKalb County. The aging of the population appears to be occurring because the "baby boomers" have reached their 50's and because younger adults are having fewer children than before.

Economic and Workforce Trends
Economically, the nation, state, and region are experiencing a slowing of the economy that has been officially declared a recession. Some of the older and less competitive companies in the region have closed or will be closing. At present, downsizing is a growing concern nationwide. The unemployment rate is growing and the employment of part-time workers and temporary workers who are not provided with health or retirement benefits is a growing trend. Salaries for the average worker are not increasing as rapidly as the cost of living and there are a growing number of "working poor."

Educational Trends
The image of postsecondary technical education in Georgia and in the DTC service delivery area is improving, in part, because of an increasing nationwide awareness of the value of training for technical jobs. The image of DTC is also improving because of the changed name, new facilities in Rockdale and Newton, improved marketing, and other factors. Currently and in the foreseeable future, 70% to 80% of all jobs will require some training beyond the high school level, but will not require a four-year college degree. There is a growing demand for technical college instruction; however, two opposing educational trends are influencing DTC. On one hand, there is an increasing need for individuals to obtain postsecondary training and yet, on the other hand, there is a significant problem of students being under-prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary level programs. The SAT scores of students in the service delivery area are generally lower than the state average on both the verbal and math tests, with scores in DeKalb County approximating the state average. Similarly, students in the service delivery area score below the state average on the eighth grade ITBS tests and on the eleventh grade tests. Additionally, the high school dropout rate for the service delivery area is slightly higher than the state average. These educational trends indicate that DTC will need to continue to expand adult literacy, GED, and developmental studies services. Two positive educational trends are the increase in technical college and high school collaborations to provide dual enrollment for secondary students and the rapid increase in technical college enrollments throughout the state and at DTC.

Social and Cultural Trends
Major societal and cultural trends that will influence DTC include the rapid increase in diversity of cultures in the nation, state, and region and, specifically, the increase in the number of non-English speakers who must be assimilated into the overall culture of the area. Another cultural trend that may or may not have long-term significance is a heightened sense of patriotism, an intensified awareness of traditional values, and a more acute concern for safety and security brought on by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the War in Iraq.
More broadly, the society has very high expectations for comfort and convenience. Time is becoming a commodity and people want rapid results. Additionally, Conyers, Covington, Monroe, and the surrounding areas have been shifting rather rapidly from an agrarian culture to an urban culture. Most families in the DTC service delivery area no longer consist of the traditional father, mother, and children. More families than ever are headed by a single parent, a grandparent, or a stepparent. Teenage pregnancy in DeKalb County remains above the state average and the percentage of live births to unwed mothers is above the state average in each county.

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