Through extensive input from the community and the campus, the Strategic Planning Project Team identified critically important issues that affect the college and its district. In order to help ensure the college's future success, the Team developed institutional strategies and goals that respond those issues.
Critical Issue 1: Changing Needs of Adult Learners
Critical Issue 2: An Increasingly Diverse Population
Critical Issue 3: Rapid Technological Change
Critical Issue 4: The Central Role of Staff and Alignment of Internal Systems
Critical Issue 5: Optimizing Learning Opportunities within Available Resources
Critical Issue 6: Competition

Critical Issue 1: Changing Needs of Adult Learners 

Since its founding in 1964, Lane has offered college transfer, personal enrichment, and professional/technical classes and programs, primarily to people 18 and over. While remaining comprehensive, Lane has been responsive, adapting its offerings as demographics and the needs and expectations of the population have changed.

During the research phase of planning, the following major issues or trends emerged as challenges and opportunities for the college.

• The baby boomers, the largest age group in the U.S., are nearing retirement. Many sources predict that this group will be much more physically active, more interested in continuing to learn and to explore new things, and more involved in volunteer and avocational activities than past generations of retirees.
• The baby boomers' children, the "echo boom," are graduating from high school. This will create the largest increase in the traditional college age population in a number of years. In addition, statewide K-12 education reform is creating new expectations for how community colleges will serve high school age students.
• Work is changing. To be successful in the workplace, people need more knowledge and education than in the past. This includes specific technical skills and core liberal arts skills, such as communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
• Increasing numbers of young people and adults lack the basic skills to be successful in their daily lives and jobs or to begin college-level work.

Lane's constituents rely on the college to meet their learning needs and to offer these opportunities at times and in places they can access them.

Institutional Direction 1: Lane will meet the needs of adult learners over their lifetimes and provide support for their success. 

Goal 1-A: The college will evaluate its ability to meet the learning needs of people throughout their lifetimes and, where appropriate, develop or enhance offerings that meet these needs.

Goal 1-B: Lane will assess and address the learning needs of the growing number of older adults who are nearing retirement or are retired. 

Goal 1-C: Lane will assess and address the post-secondary learning needs of students in the 16-22 age group.

Goal 1-D: Lane will foster an effective learning environment and promote student success by: assessing student skill development; expansion of understanding and deepening of intellectual/artistic experience; evaluating/modifying instructional practices and support services; and developing a plan to address potential barriers to student success and retention.

Goal 1-E: Lane will offer and promote learning opportunities for students and the community that include arts and humanities, ethics and the law, the importance of an active citizenry, and other social issues of importance. 

Goal 1-F: Lane will identify the variety of circumstances over one's lifetime that require developmental education and develop and position developmental learning opportunities so that they are seen as a natural and positive part of the learning process. 

Goal 1-G: Lane will intensify efforts to assess and respond to the changing needs of the labor market so learners can develop or enhance marketable skills and be prepared to be effective participants in their workplaces.

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Critical Issue 2: An Increasingly Diverse Population

Whereas the college district has long been the home of diverse cultures, there has been steady growth in a number of minority populations. The college has also seen an increase in the number of international students and students in the English As a Second Language program who bring many different languages and cultures to the college. There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of residents who have Spanish as their first or only language. The college is finding it difficult to attract and retain students of color in its credit programs, and to recruit a diverse staff. 

Lane honors diversity, both to ensure a good learning environment for underrepresented groups and to enrich the education and broaden the cultural awareness of all students and staff. Accordingly, the college has adopted the following statement:

"Lane Community College is committed to valuing, promoting, and supporting diversity, including diversity related to age, gender, race, ethnicity, cultural origin, national origin, source and level of income, familial status, sexual orientation, religion or disability." 
 
 

Institutional Direction 2: Lane will increase its ability to serve diverse and under-represented populations. 

Goal 2-A: Lane will continue to fund and institutionalize the Diversity Plan.

Goal 2-B: Lane will continue to implement its Affirmative Action Plan.

Goal 2-C: Lane will develop and implement a comprehensive plan to recruit and retain diverse and under-represented staff and students. 

Goal 2-D: Lane will increase cross-cultural competence and bilingual capacity among staff. 

Goal 2-E: Lane will infuse multi-cultural content into its curricula. 

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Critical Issue 3: Rapid Technological Change

Technology represents both an opportunity and a challenge. It promises to expand and extend learning options and improve work processes and structures within the college. At the same time, technology can be expensive, difficult to coordinate, and time-intensive.
 
 

Institutional Direction 3: Lane will develop and maintain a coordinated system for meeting the college's current and future technological needs in order to enhance the opportunities technology represents while minimizing its pitfalls. Quality of learning must be our chief concern in this effort.
 
 

Goal 3-A: Lane will support the work of the Technology Advisory and Coordinating Plan, the Strategic Learning Initiative, Students First!, and other initiatives to 1) create an environment that supports the use of technology to enhance teaching, learning, and work processes, 2) use technology to increase effectiveness and efficiency for both staff and students, and 3) provide appropriate access for staff and students.

Goal 3-B: Lane will maximize access to technology for persons with disabilities and will comply with applicable federal and state laws.

Goal 3-C: Lane will develop a strategic plan for distance education to include an assessment of current activities, a definition of what "distance learning" means at Lane, the potential markets for distance learning, a cost/benefit analysis, and recommendations for the future of distance education at Lane. 

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Critical Issue 4: The Central Role of Staff and Alignment of Internal Systems

Lane's highly skilled and dedicated staff ñ managers, faculty and classified ñ play the pivotal role in Lane's ability to achieve its vision of a learning-centered environment. To support its staff, Lane must organize work processes and governance structures that: 1) encourage collective responsibility for the learning environment, 2) maximize staff participation and decision making, 3) support the design and implementation of new initiatives and innovations, and 4) align resources with priorities. 
 
 

Institutional Direction 4: Lane will maximize the ability of its staff to work towards its vision as a learning centered college.

Goal 4-A: Lane will support new and existing initiatives which are key to the achievement of its vision, such as The Strategic Learning Initiative; Work Roles and Relationships; Process Redesign; and Students First!.

Goal 4-B Lane will invest in the professional development and training of its faculty, classified staff, and managers to perform at their highest level in carrying out their jobs, participating in teams, contributing to the governance of the college, and enhancing cultural competence. 

Goal 4-C: Lane will strive for fairness and open communication, encourage innovation and creativity, welcome attempts to identify and resolve problems or issues within the college, and promote timely adaptation to the changing needs of the college by individuals and work groups.

Goal 4-D: Lane will align human resource systems, such as annual personnel evaluations with the vision, mission, and core values of the College.

Goal 4-E: Lane will improve its decision-making systems and culture to strengthen participation, timeliness, accountability, and implementation.

Goal 4-F: Lane will develop and implement on-going assessment of institutional performance to assure college-wide alignment with Lane's vision, mission, values, and goals.

Goal 4-G: Lane will address the issue of a primarily full-time faculty and classified staff and their importance to the learning environment. 

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Critical Issue 5: Optimizing Learning Opportunities within Available Resources

Lane's ambitious plans call for significant resources at a time when its funding has become increasingly unstable. The movement from a more stable, predictable funding system based primarily on property taxes to a more volatile system based on state income taxes has resulted in more attention to funding and increased anxiety about the future. The college must adapt to funding vagaries, respond quickly to opportunities to enhance revenues, and operate as efficiently as possible without compromising the quality of learning. 
 
 

Institutional Direction 5: Lane will develop and implement innovative ways to serve increasing numbers of students within its available resources. Improving the quality of learning must always be a primary consideration in making decisions about enrollment, classes, programs, and curricula. However, Lane recognizes that efforts to maximize enrollment are essential in order to continue growth in funding from state sources. 

Goal 5-A: Lane will develop a proactive plan to enroll and retain students.

Goal 5-B: Lane will modify its budgeting system to reflect and support institutional directions and goals while strengthening accountability. 

Goal 5-C: Lane will encourage collaboration to strengthen offerings collegewide; eliminate unnecessary duplication of programs, classes and services; and discourage internal competition for resources, markets, and FTE.

Goal 5-D: Lane will proactively explore possibilities for new and alternative funding sources. 

Goal 5-E: Lane will increase its knowledge of, and involvement in, state-level issues, directions, and priorities. Lane will be involved in the development of state initiatives and will create capacity to respond to opportunities that benefit the college.

Goal 5-F: Lane will streamline internal processes to achieve operating efficiencies while maintaining quality service.

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Critical Issue 6: Competition

In recent years there has been a proliferation of new educational opportunities for students. Traditional education organizations ñ two-year community colleges, four-year institutions, and proprietary schools - are utilizing technology to attract students regardless of geographic location while also opening centers in direct competition with existing schools. Businesses are increasingly marketing and creating educational activities for the public. As options have increased, convenience has become an increasingly important factor in the educational selection process .
 
 

Institutional Direction 6: Lane will proactively assess changes in the external environment that create competition and respond in a manner consistent with its mission, vision, and goals. 

Goal 6-A: Lane will succeed by providing students with a quality education that is accessible and affordable.

Goal 6-B: Lane will create strategic alliances with other private and public institutions and businesses that offer instruction of various types to move from a position of competition to one of collaboration in service to learners.

Goal 6-C: Lane will establish a system that continually scans for challenges and opportunities and provides mechanisms for discussion and adjustment to planning strategies.