Planning & Objectives

Linn-Benton Community College was established in 1966 as a two-year public college to serve the educational needs of residents in Linn and Benton counties. The college now offers more than 60 transfer and career/technical programs. LBCC students benefit from smaller classes where they have greater opportunity to interact with faculty and other students, and from faculty who focus on teaching and providing the kind of personal attention that guides and supports students on to success. More than 15,000 students take at least one class at LBCC each year, with almost 4,000 attending full time, and about 600 graduating each year.

Like most community colleges, Linn-Benton Community College was founded with the community in mind and remains community-focused to this day, more than 50 years later. For LBCC this “community focus” is explicitly stated in our Mission and objectively measured in our Core Themes and Strategic Goals.

Mission

To engage in an education that enables all of us to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from the cultural richness and economic vitality of our communities

Core Themes

• Educational Attainment
• Cultural Richness
• Economic Vitality

Strategic Goals

• Productivity – Effectively supporting and guiding students from access to completion and transfer.
• Equity – Achieving student completion that is demographically representative of the LBCC District.
• Quality – Ensuring that student completion demonstrably improves our students’ capacity to better their lives and contribute back to our community

Our three Strategic Goals have been designed to form a kind of “triad of creative tension” that helps to keep us focused on true student success. Whereas Productivity alone might leave us open to increasing our numbers by reducing rigor and/or focusing our efforts only on students most likely to succeed even without our help, the Goals of Equity and Quality counteract any such drift from our Mission and Core Themes by ensuring that we remain steadfastly focused on three of our Mission's most important words – “all of us.”community.

Moreover, at Linn-Benton Community College, we have articulated a set of Values that we strive to embody and employ, serving as the principles by which we inform our planning and guide our actions in pursuit of our Goals for ourselves, our students, and our community.  As responsible stewards, we at LBCC are committed to these Values: 

• Opportunity: We support the fulfillment of potential in each other and
  ourselves.
• Excellence: We aspire to the highest ideal with honesty and integrity.
• Inclusiveness: We honor and embrace the uniqueness of every individual, and
  promote the free and civil expression of ideas, perspectives, and cultures.
• Learning:We commit to the lifelong pursuit of knowledge, skills, and abilities to improve our lives and our communities.
• Engagement: We openly and actively connect as students, faculty, staff and community.

Together with our Mission, Core Themes, and Strategic Goals, these Values serve as the foundation by which we guide our actions, unite us as people, and define the character of the community that we seek to build and to serve. In the Values by which we guide all of our efforts, in the Core Themes by which we define Mission attainment, in our Strategic Goals by which we establish our mileposts, and in the details of this Strategic Plan by which we set our course, we at LBCC are singularly focused on being able to provide a robust “Yes” to these two questions:

• Are our communities better because of what we do?
• Are our graduates better able to contribute to and benefit from the communities of which they are a part?

The graphic below helps to illustrate the “nested” relationship between all of our planning documents and efforts. Considered together – as they must be – these various documents create an integrated “Plan” for LBCC that is both aspirational enough to be durable and detailed enough for us to take action and measure our progress.

Annual Continuous Improvement Planning Cycle

Planning at LBCC is an ongoing activity best described as a “persistent pursuit of our purpose” and, as such, requires continuous reference to and guidance from our LBCC Mission, Core Themes, and Strategic Goals. “An education that enables all of us to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from the cultural richness and economic vitality of our communities” is our high calling, and our three Strategic Goals of Productivity, Equity, and Quality establish the essential “guideposts” that keep us headed down the right path. Nonetheless, the actual steps we take and the strategic decisions we make along the way require an active planning process that is ongoing and integrated into the life cycle of the college. This is our Annual Continuous Improvement Planning Cycle, producing the next iterations of both our 5-year Strategic Plan and our annual set of Strategic Objectives.

Recommendations

This phase in our Planning Cycle consists of a series of Retreats and Reports from our various councils and teams tasked with providing guidance for key functional areas of the college. Chief among these is our Mission, Effectiveness, Resources, and Improvement Team (MERIT) whose role it is to keep the work of the college in alignment with Accreditation standards and outcomes, and to lead us in ensuring that all of our efforts are directed toward the service of our Mission and Strategic Goals. Each year, MERIT provides us with a Report and Recommendations for how we at LBCC can better direct our resources toward Mission Fulfillment.

In addition to and under the guidance of MERIT, the college has developed four Innovation Councils that consider the implications of our Mission and Strategic Goals and bring to bear the most current thinking for their respective areas as they develop recommendations for improved institutional effectiveness. These Innovation Councils are:

• Progression Council

  • This council is tasked with assessing performance and making recommendations toward strategically organizing our college in support of student access, persistence, progression, and completion. (Core Theme of Educational Attainment and Strategic Goal of Productivity)

• Workforce Economic Vitality Council

  • This council is tasked with assessing our relationship with and success in
    meeting the needs of our Business and Economic community, and making
    recommendations for our efforts to expand and update our Workforce and
    Career-Technical Programs and Pathways. (Core Theme of Economic Vitality
    and Strategic Goal of Quality)

• Learning and Innovations Council

  • This Council has primary responsibility for assessing the effectiveness of our teaching and learning strategies, for introducing innovations in pedagogy, and for helping to develop and guide the professional development opportunities for faculty and staff with teaching responsibilities. (Core Theme of educational Attainment and Strategic Goals of Productivity and Quality)

While MERIT and the various Innovation Councils meet regularly throughout the year, the Reports that form the foundation for the annual Recommendations are typically produced and disseminated in the months of  June, July, and August.

Plan Development

With Assessment Results and Recommendations in hand, the development of the next iterations of both the Strategic Plan and annual Strategic Objectives becomes the focused work of a series of planning meetings and retreats scheduled in the months of August, and September.

• MERIT

  • The Mission, Effectiveness, Resources and Improvement Team plays a more comprehensive role in LBCC’s Strategic Planning than other teams, councils, and committees in that their charge is both to assess the college’s performance and progress in regards to Mission Fulfillment and to ensure that the Strategic Planning of the college reflects what we know about our performance and progress and is designed to improve it. As such, MERIT develops and provides the President’s Leadership Team with an annual report card that serves as a starting point for the further refinement and adoption of the next annual iteration of these planning documents.

• President’s Leadership Team

  • While this team meets monthly, providing continuity, mid-course correction, and continuous encouragement throughout the Continuous Improvement Planning Cycle, the team plays a critical role in finalizing Strategic Plan development. Taking into consideration the planning described above and the assessment of the work that has gone on before it, the President’s Leadership Team works to prioritize, clarify, consolidate, and fill-in gaps to develop the annual iteration of the Strategic Plan to be submitted to the Board for approval and adoption.

• All-College In-Service Day

  • Full-Campus presentation of Strategic Plan.

• LBCC September Board Meeting

  • Board review and possible revision of proposed annual iterations of the Strategic Plan leading to formal adoption.  

• Development of new Budget Development Model

  • With each new iteration of the rolling 5-year Strategic Plan, the LBCC Budget Team extends the Budget Development Model into an additional year, developing a resource allocation schedule for implementing the Plan.

Implementation

• Action Plans

  • Innovation Councils and Leadership Team Members develop detailed Action Plans and metrics by which the effectiveness of these actions can be assessed.

• “Doing It”

  • Action Plans are implemented.

Assessment and Evaluation

With the “end” of each Annual Continuous Improvement Planning Cycle comes a variety of appraisal processes designed to give the college a multi-dimensional assessment of the college’s performance and progress.

• MERIT Assessment of Performance and Progress on Core Themes and associated objectives

  • Each of the college’s Core Themes – Educational Attainment, Cultural Richness, and Economic Vitality – are further articulated by a set of Objectives that provide the college with a more functional understanding of the Themes as well as tangible metrics by which we can assess progress. This is the college’s most comprehensive assessment of performance and progress, focusing on the full spectrum of “Mission Attainment” and not only on the strategic efforts to do so.

• Institutional Research Data on Strategic Goals Metrics Attainment

  • The Office of Data and Decision Support provides an annual update on metrics used to define and measure progress on the college’s Strategic Goals.

Considered together, these annual assessments provide the college with the critical information necessary to develop recommendations for the establishment of “next steps.

With each successive year, we learn both from new experiences inside and new information from outside and, step by step, we move ever closer to achieving our Strategic Goals and better serving our Mission and Core Themes. As a direct result, students are better served, the contributions they and we make to our communities become even greater, and we know unequivocally that 

• Our communities are better because of what we do!

• Our graduates are better able to contribute to and benefit from the communities of which they are a part.

Strategic Goal Metrics

Based on the Big 4 data:

• Productivity

  • 50% combined degree/certificate Completion + successful Transfer

• Equity

  • Graduation demographics (gender, high school, race, income) match "under 19" demographic per the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimate. 

• Quality

  • 100% Successful Employment + Progress at a subsequent 4-yr. institution for Completers as defined in Strategic Goal #1

Annual Implementation Components and Resource Allocations

While the annual iterative nature of this Strategic Plan enhances its capacity to adapt to changes in the context within and assumptions on which the Plan is built, real progress depends on actually scheduling, funding, and engaging in the work on the basis of the best information available at the time.

In order to facilitate the real work of strategic progress, LBCC develops multi-year projections of revenue and expenses including the financial investments necessary for the college to make steady progress in implementing this Strategic Plan. While not all such investments are made from the General Operating Budget of the college, most are and are typically identified within the projection model as Performance Packages, Strategic Investments, and/or Capital Projects Operating Costs.

While this projection model represents our best information and planning to date, our Annual Continuous Improvement Planning Cycle will ensure that this Strategic Plan and its implementation will remain current and consistent with fiscal opportunities and limitations.

The following table is a summary of our most recent projection of revenue and expenses.

	2019-21 Biennium		2021-23 Biennium		2023-25 Biennium
	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
State Aid	$23,654,059	$23,897,696	$25,092,580	$25,092,580	$25,594,432	$25,594,432
Property Tax	$9,191,890	$9,651,485	$10,134,059	$10,640,762	$11,172,800	$11,731,440
Tuition	$21,118,210	$21,857,347	$22,672,651	$23,627,296	$24,622,294	$25,659,356
Other Revenue	$985,824	$1,072,337	$1,149,707	$1,191,707	$1,223,521	$1,242,830
Revenue	$54,949,983	$56,478,864	$59,048,997	$60,552,346	$62,613,047	$64,228,057
Personnel Costs	$46,550,163	$47,217,786	$50,113,955	$51,648,740	$53,745,253	$55,413,883
Materials/Services	$5,715,428	$5,829,737	$5,946,332	$6,065,258	$6,186,563	$6,310,295
Performance Packages	$310,833	$350,000	$350,000	$350,000	$350,000	$350,000
Capital Proj Oper Costs	$250,227	$101,897	-	-	-	-
Strategic Investments	$400,000	$500,000	$500,000	$500,000	$500,000	$500,000
Operational Efficiencies	($990,320)	($223,252)	-	-	-	-
Transfers Out	$1,813,318	$2,061,543	$2,061,543	$2,061,543	$2,061,543	$2,061,543
Expenses	$54,049,649	$55,837,711	$58,971,830	$60,625,541	$62,843,359	$64,635,721

In order to provide a fuller representation of planned Strategic Plan investments over the next five years, the following table incorporates funds from other sources and then disaggregates these investments by Strategic Initiative. Note that this table includes significant Capital Funds, reflecting ongoing facilities expansions and improvements that compliment and support this Strategic Plan and total over $55 million.

Strategic Initiative Spending	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
Strategic Plan	$626,529		$40,000	$30,000
One Time 2. Employer Needs 3. Equity & Inclusion Ongoing 1. Student Centered College 2. Employer Needs	$325,000 $25,000  $300,000 $301,529 $31,302 $270,227		$40,000 $40,000	$30,000 $30,000
Facilities Master Plan	$8,736,985	$4,970,789	$50,000	$50,000	$50,000	$50,000
One Time a. Sense of arrival f. Showcase college programs Ongoing 1. Student Centered College 2. Employer Needs	$8,507,454 $1,646,365 $6,861,089 $229,531 $199,531 $30,000	$4,970,789 $50,000 $4,920,789	$50,000 $50,000	$50,000 $50,000	$50,000 $50,000	$50,000 $50,000
Grand Total	$9,363,514	$4,970,789	$90,000	$80,000	$50,000	$50,000

 

Investment by Source	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Capital Fund -Bond Funds -Capital -Dedicated Reserves General Fund	$8,832,454 $8,757,454 $25,000 $50,000 $531,060	$4,920,789 $4,920,789 $50,000	$50,000 $40,000	$50,000  $30,000	$50,000
-Capital Proj Operating Costs -Performance Package	$250,227 $280,833
Grand Total	$9,363,514	$4,970,789	$90,000	$80,000	$50,000

1. Guided Pathways Implementation Plan

2. LBCC Facilities Master Plan

3. LBCC Emergency Preparedness Plan

4. LBCC Information Services Strategic Plan