Fresno City College and the State Center Community College District have begun the process of assessing and reforming the strategic plans of both bodies as well as addressing the recommendations contained in the accreditation report.
 Interim President, Tony Cantú said that while the previous Strategic Plan needed improvements, it did not have any true shortcomings. He said the plan covered the necessary components and described it as a rolling plan, meaning that it could be updated as time other factors required.
 “We were able to make adjustments to the plan. I think overall that it covered things in terms of the goals and objectives that were appropriate,” Cantú said.
  Pertaining to the district’s plan, Dean of Fine and Performing Arts, Dr. Jothany Blackwood said that the issues currently being addressed are those of coordination and integration through the vastly growing district.  She also said that the previous strategic planning efforts were recognized as good work according to the accreditation report.
 “As the district is committed to the improvement of institutional effectiveness in an ongoing and systematic cycle of evaluation, we identified several elements that will be incorporated to strengthen the new plan,” Dean Blackwood said.
Since the district plan is currently in the process of being changed and will set the model for the  colleges and centers in the district, it is important that it aligns itself with the recommendations set forth by the accreditation report. Dr. Blackwood said she is confident in the district’s efforts to make the necessary changes.
“It’s important to recognize that the district has been engaged in planning for 18 months, so the work that will resolve the recommendation has been underway for some time,”  said Dr. Blackwood. “The district has already established a calendar that aligns the colleges and centers’ strategic plans with the district wide strategic plan. The district’s next plan will span from 2012-2016 followed by the colleges and centers strategic plans from 2013-2017.”
A part of the process of developing a new strategic plan for the district involved holding a charette — a session in which different constituencies were encouraged to contribute their ideas. This event, held on March 1 in the OAB brought together various administrators and faculty from campuses throughout the district. The ideas generated from that event would be evaluated and used in the development of the next strategic plan.
 At the charette, many who spoke, expressed concerns about a lack of clarity in the language used in the district’s strategic planning document.  Blackwood addressed criticism that the document contains too much administrative terminologies that could create other difficulties.
“The feedback reminds us to be cognizant of the terminology used in public documents, and we may consider including a glossary of terms with the strategic plan,” Dr. Blackwood said.
The district leaders place a high priority on taking all of the necessary changes into consideration and already have committees and programs in place to make sure that goals are being achieved. The District Strategic Planning Committee (DSPC) is in charge of the strategic plan.
“The District Strategic Planning Committee (DSPC) is the district’s planning body.  Its purpose is to recommend district goals and objectives that align with the districts’ Strategic Plan,” Dr. Blackwood explained. “[DSPC] recommends guidelines and measurements by which to monitor progress towards the completion of these goals and objectives; coordinates planning between the district and colleges/centers; and ensures that the colleges’/centers’ strategic plans align with the district’s Strategic Plan.”
Student Trustee Christopher Coronado served as a student representative for the District Strategic Planning Workgroup, the precursor to DSPC. Coronado said he has reservations about the language of the public documents. He said that there should be a difference between the language regarding district goals and that addressing the needs of the community.
“I like the idea that the various parts of the plan could be written with particular audiences in mind,” said Coronado. “For example, it doesn’t follow that we should use the same language regarding district benchmarks with sections regarding community needs.”
 The district plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees in June 2012 and pending board approval, will be posted on the district’s website, said Dr. Blackwood. She anticipates that hard copies will be delivered to the college centers by the beginning of the fall semester.
 According Cantú, FCC will not begin its own strategic planning process until the spring semester of 2013.
“We will be finalizing and updating our progress towards all of the goals that we have on there,” he said. “We will be presenting a report, and then during the fall semester, we will start identifying the process that we will use. Then, we will start developing a plan in January.”