Strategic Plan Navigating Degrees of Change
NWTC’s 2024-2027 strategic plan, Navigating Degrees of Change, builds on the College's strong foundation and challenges us to navigate change by clarifying our focus and adjusting how we approach our work. It weaves together three dynamic, interconnected central ideas:
- Student Success
- College Excellence
- Community Vibrancy
Woven throughout our plan are key mechanisms that will ensure our success—communication, technology, and equity. Our strategic plan strengthens our core values. It bridges our past and our future. It expands our definition of student success. And above all else, it demonstrates that NWTC will remain a college of opportunity, innovation, and growth for our region.
NWTC Goals
STUDENT SUCCESS
Expand access and enhance pathways to post-graduation success.
Intended Impacts:
- Barrier free pathways to post graduate success
- Increased number of high-quality grads into Northeast Wisconsin’s workforce and economy
- Increased value and relevancy of higher education
Learn more about the objectives and strategies to achieve this goal below.
Student Success Objectives & Strategies
Objective: Ensure barrier-free access to NWTC for all students and residents in Northeast Wisconsin.
Strategies:
- Align K-12 offerings with high demand career fields and transfer opportunities.
- Modify K-12 recruitment and support strategies to ensure equitable access to Early College.
- Adopt strategic pipelines for non-traditional and historically underserved adults.
Objective: Prioritize timely progress toward completing academic and transfer pathways.
Strategies:
- Advance innovate teaching and learning excellence across all programs and degrees.
- Align student advising and support systems with post-graduation success goals.
- Leverage existing operational practices (program review, ARISE, transfer agreements, scheduling, assessment data) to close gaps in post-graduation success.
Objective: Develop post-graduation goals and metrics with K12, universities, and employers.
Strategies:
- Examine data on post-completion outcomes, including inequities in transfer and employment.
- Work with four-year universities to improve transfer and bachelor attainment.
- Engage employers in defining goals for talent development.
- Partner with K-12 to improve K-12 students’ transition to NWTC.
COLLEGE EXCELLENCE
Achieve operational excellence and sustainability to drive student success.
Intended Impacts:
- Operational Excellence (Policy, Implementation, Communication)
- Strong Leadership and Thriving Employees
- Fiscally Innovative and Sustainable
Learn more about the objectives and strategies to achieve this goal below.
College Excellence Objectives & Strategies
Objective: Cultivate an engaged, high-performing workforce.
Strategies:
- Align college-wide professional development with employee recruitment, retention, and advancement.
- Redesign employee onboarding, evaluation, and development processes.
- Ensure NWTC remains an industry leader in Northeast Wisconsin.
Objective: Optimize college capacity to strengthen institutional effectiveness.
Strategies:
- Deepen senior leadership’s role in achieving organizational excellence.
- Strengthen communication strategies to improve internal clarity and advance external marketing of institutional value.
- Establish an internal framework for strategic data use to improve practice and close equity gaps.
- Implement a comprehensive policy and procedure management system.
Objective: Assure long-term financial sustainability and resource allocation.
Strategies:
- Implement a multi-year budget plan that ensures continued fiscal health.
- Redesign the fundraising and resource development model to increase support for student success and strategic priorities.
- Develop divisional operation plans that prioritize innovation and extraordinary impact.
COMMUNITY VIBRANCY
Foster economic and social mobility towards a thriving Northeast Wisconsin.
Intended Impacts:
- Upward mobility for individuals and their families
- Collective impact to remove systemic barriers
- Resilient and thriving rural communities
Learn more about the objectives and strategies to achieve this goal below.
Community Vibrancy Objectives & Strategies
Objective: Leverage collaborative community partnerships to enhance access and student support.
Strategies:
- Establish a framework for strategic partnerships to increase equitable access and support for students.
- Maximize the premier partnership with Brown County United Way to “bridge” adult students to NWTC.
Objective: Foster Economic Development through Strategic Partnerships and Workforce Alignment.
Strategies:
- Collaborate with local businesses and industry leaders to align academic programs with current and future workforce needs.
- Expand workforce training and certification programs that address skill gaps in the local economy.
- Partner with community organizations to provide tailored support services, such as career counseling and job placement assistance.
Objective: Advance a comprehensive strategy of access and support for rural communities.
Strategies:
- Design flexible K12 learning opportunities that extend access to small districts.
- Explore unique programs and community trainings that align with NWTC’s mission.