SCC Planning Handbook

Providing information on the structure, process and connections of the various parts of the SCC planning system, including instructions, checklists, steps and FAQs.

SCC PRIE Office, 2014

For assistance with planning processes, call or email the PRIE Office.

Reference Documents:

Material for this handbook has been drawn from several key documents including the Strategic Master Plan, the Financial Resource Plan, the Facilities Resource Plan, the Faculty Resource Plan, the Classified Staff Resource Plan, the IT Resource Plan, The Educational Master Plan, the SSSP Plan, and the Resource Management & Capital Outlay Plan.

Table ofContents

  1. Overview of the SCC planning system … p3
  1. District Planning and Resource Allocation…p5
  1. College Strategic Plan … p8
  2. College planning timeline
  3. Strategic Master Plan – the key document
  4. College Goals, strategies, outcomes and targets
  5. Participatory decision-making connections
  6. Data connections
  7. Connections to resource allocation
  1. Institutional Plans … p12
  2. Overview
  3. Participatory decision-making connections
  4. Data connections
  5. Connections to resource allocation
  1. Resource Plans … p15
  2. Overview
  3. Participatory decision-making connections
  4. Data connections
  5. Connections to resource allocation
  1. Program Plans … p17
  2. Overview
  3. Participatory decision-making connections
  4. Data connections
  5. Connections to resource allocation
  1. Unit Plans … p21
  2. Overview
  3. Participatory decision-making connections
  4. Data connections
  5. Connections to resource allocation
  6. FAQs
  7. Online Unit Planning system instructions
  1. Program Review … p30
  2. Overview
  3. Student Services
  4. Instructional Services
  5. Administrative Services
  6. President’s CSA
  1. Appendix: List of acronyms

Section 1:Overview of the SCC planning system

Planning Levels

District Planning and Resource Allocation

-The District Strategic Plans sets overall goals and directions for the Los Rios Colleges.

-College resources are allocated from the District Office (DO).

-SCC provides information regarding college desired outcomes and achievements to DO.

College Strategic Planning

-Involves dialogue about and review of college Mission, Vision, Values, Goals and Strategies.

-Includes a focus on priorities and/or targets related to the college goals.

-Facilitated by the work of the College Strategic Planning Committee (CSPC).

-The product is the entire family of plans as encompassed by the College Strategic Master Plan

Planning work that crosses divisions

-Involves dialogue, task accomplishment, problem-solving, etc.

-Results in Institutional Plans, Resource Plans, and Program Plans.

-Committees and other college groups can work at this level by providing input to plans.

-Constituency leadership groups work at this level by providing input to plans.

-Departmental dialogue can cross divisions – e.g. discussions of prerequisites.

Divisional strategies and Departmental plans

-Involves discussions, coordination, problem-solving andgoal setting across a division.

-Led by division deans working with department chairs, coordinators, and supervisors.

-Involves coordination of the efforts within departments, conversations, etc.

-Results in Unit Plans (annual plan) and Program Reviews (6-year retrospective analysis).

-Actions can involve curriculum, resource requests, modified procedures/policies, etc.

SCC Family of Plans

Strategic Master Plan / The Strategic Master Plan provides the college framework for data evaluation, planning development, resource allocation, implementation, and evaluation.
Institutional Plans / Educational Master Plan / Resource Management &
Capital Outlay Plan / Student Support Services Master Plan
Program Plans / Plans for programs that support college-wide activities and initiatives. These plans link directly to resource allocation through “Above the line” funding. Examples include: Distance Education, Tutoring, Information Technology, Staff Development, etc.
Unit Plans / Department-level action plans that guide the daily work of college units. These plans link directly to resource allocation through unit base budgets and Budget Committee funding.
Resource Plans / Financial / Facilities / Faculty / Classified Staff / Information Technology
Program Reviews / Program Reviews review 3 to 6 years of data and planning work and project the future resource needs of Instructional, Administrative Services, Student Services, and President’s College Service Areas.

Various feedback loops connect district and college planning processes.

When working on Unit Plan objectives that (1) have Facilities or IT resource requests or (2) align with a Program Plan the Unit Plan writer should to contact the appropriate person to ask:

Is my unit objective feasible?

Is it already covered in the planned work of IT or Facilities? or Is it already covered in the Program Plan?

Should it be included as a Unit Plan objective?

(If you don’t know who to contact, ask the PRIE Office.)

Key timeline points for Deans and Department Chairs

Mid-September / Unit Plan available online; Program Plan templates available
October 1 / Course SLO reports from Spring/Summer courses due
October / Departments contact Facilities and IT re feasibility of Unit Plan objectives
Early November / Department Unit Plan initial draft completed
Mid November / Program plans due to PRIE Office
Late Nov. / Program plan presentations at President’s Cabinet
Early December / Last day for Departments to revise Unit Plan online
Mid December / Last day for Divisions to enter divisional priorities online
Mid December / Faculty hiring requests for the next fiscal year completed
End of January / Last day for Divisions to indicate whichUnit Plan items will be presented to Budget Committee
Early February / Unit Plan Achievement Report open for data entry
Mid February / Editing period for information for Budget Committee
Late February / Program Review Reports due to the Instruction Office
Late February / Budget Committee hearings begin
March 1 / Course SLO reports from Fall course assessments due
Early March / Budget Committee hearings continue
Late April / Requests for new classified staff positions finalized
Early May / Budget Recommendations made to President
Mid May / Last day to enter Unit Plan Achievement Report information

Section 2: District Planning and Resource Allocation

The Los Rios Community College District (LRCCD) conducts strategic planning and sets the overall strategic directions for the LRCCD Colleges. SCC planning work aligns with these strategic directions. The five LRCCD strategic directions are:

-Student Success

-Teaching and Learning Effectiveness

-Access and Growth

-Community, Economic and Workforce Development

-Organizational Effectiveness

The district strategic planning document can be found at the following website:

LRCCD maintains a “Los Rios Community College District Function Map” which illustrates how the colleges and the district manage the distribution of responsibility by function as it pertains to the WASC/ACCJC accreditation standards. The Function Map includes indicators that depict the level and type of responsibility as follows:

-P = Primary Responsibility: Primary responsibility indicates leadership and oversight of a given function. This primary leadership may include design, development, implementation, assessment and planning for improvement.

-S = Secondary Responsibility: Secondary responsibility indicates support of a given function. This support may include some levels of coordination, input, feedback, or communication to assist the primary responsibility holders with successful execution of their responsibility.

-SH = Shared Responsibility: Shared responsibility indicates that the District and the College are mutually responsible for the leadership and oversight of a given function, or that they engage in logically equivalent versions of a function (for instance, there are mission statements at the colleges and at the District). This leadership may include design, development, implementation, assessment and communication processes.

An excerpt from that map is shown below:

Standard IB. Improving Institutional Effectiveness
The institution demonstrates a conscious effort to produce and support student learning, measures that learning, assesses how well learning is occurring, and makes changes to improve student learning. The institution also organizes its key processes and allocates its resources to effectively support student learning. The institution demonstrates its effectiveness by providing 1) evidence of the achievement of student learning outcomes and 2) evidence of institution and program performance. The institution uses ongoing and systematic evaluation and planning to refine its key processes and improve student learning.
College / District
1. The institution maintains an ongoing, collegial, self-reflective dialogue about the continuous improvement of student learning and institutional processes. / P / S
2. The institution sets goals to improve its effectiveness consistent with its stated purposes. The institution articulates its goals and states the objectives derived from them in measurable terms so that the degree to which they are achieved can be determined and widely discussed. The institutional members understand these goals and work collaboratively toward their achievement. / SH / SH
  1. The institution assesses progress toward achieving its stated goals and makes decisions regarding the improvement of institutional effectiveness in an ongoing and systematic cycle of evaluation, integrated planning, resource allocation, implementation, and re-evaluation. Evaluation is based on analyses of both quantitative and qualitative data.
/ SH / SH
  1. The institution provides evidence that the planning process is broad-based, offers opportunities for input by appropriate constituencies, allocates necessary resources, and leads to improvement of institutional effectiveness.
/ P / S
5.The institution uses documented assessment results to communicate matters of quality assurance to appropriate constituencies. / P / S
6. The institution assures the effectiveness of its ongoing planning
and resource allocation processes by systematically reviewing and
modifying, as appropriate, all parts of the cycle, including institutional
and other research efforts. / P / S
7. The institution assesses its evaluation mechanisms through a systematic review of their effectiveness in improving instructional programs, student support services, and library and other learning support services. / P / S

The district is the lead on several critical functions related to planning and resource allocation. For example, human resources, overall strategic directions for the district, and contract negotiations with employee unions are conducted at the District level. The overall college budget comes from the district. The district specifies overall manager, faculty, and classified FTE for the college.

Categorical funds and broadly applicable grant funds are normally integrated into the planning process through the Program Plans. Program plan resource requests may be met by categorical funding. In the case of grants or other funds applicable only to one department, Unit Plan objectives may be directly funded by the grant.

Several district committees coordinate planning and resource allocation across the district: District Budget Committee, District Educational Technology Committee, District Curriculum Coordinating Committee, District Grants Coordinating Committee, District Matriculation/SSSP Committee, etc.

Section 3: College Strategic Planning

SCC’s strategic planning process occurs through an annual cycle of evaluating data, setting goals, identifying objectives, allocating resources, implementing the plan, and evaluating results. This cycle begins early in the fall semester each year and is completed by the end of the spring semester.

College Planning Timeline(Note: more specific dates are provided annually):

When / What / Who
Early Sept / Deadline to launch curriculum proposals as part of Program Review / Department faculty
Mid-September / Institutional Effectiveness Reports available / PRIE
September / Faculty hiring request process for planning year begins / VPI, Deans, Department Chairs
September / CSPC reviews data, College Mission, Goals, and Strategies and planning forms/processes. / CSPC members
Mid-September / Unit Plan available online; Program Plan templates available / PRIE
September / Unit planning updates at meetings of various groups / PRIE
Sept-October / Facilities and IT develop replacement cycle information / IT, Facilities
October 1 / Course SLO reports from Spring/Summer courses due / SLO reporters
October / Departments contact Facilities and IT re feasibility / Dept. Chairs, Supervisors, Deans
October / Workshops and other help with Unit Planning / PRIE
Early November / Department Unit Plan initial draft completed / Dept. Chairs, Supervisors, Deans
Mid November / Program plans due to PRIE Office / Leads of cross-division programs
Late Nov. / Program plan presentations at President’s Cabinet / Leads of cross-division programs
Early December / Last day for Departments to revise Unit Plan online / Department Chairs, Supervisors
Early December / Divisional Unit Plan priorities finalized / Dept. Chairs, Supervisors, Deans
Mid December / Last day for Divisions to enter divisional priorities online / Deans
Mid December / Faculty hiring requests completed / Deans, Department Chairs
Mid December / President's memo on planning and budget priorities sent out / President
Late January / Last day for CSAs to enter CSA Unit Plan priorities online / VPI, VPSS, VPA, President
End of January / Last day for Divisions to enter Unit Plan items that will be presented to the Budget Committee / Deans
Early February / Unit Plan Achievement Report open for data entry / PRIE
Mid February / Editing period for information for Budget Committee / Dept. Chairs, Supervisors, Deans
Mid February / Last day for IT and Facilities Departments to enter Facilities and IT costing information / IT, Facilities
Late February / Program Review Reports due to the Instruction Office / Department Chairs
Late February / Budget Committee hearings begin / Budget Committee, Deans
March 1 / Course SLO reports from Fall course assessments due / SLO reporters
Early March / Budget Committee hearings continue / Budget Committee, Deans
Late March / Last day for IT & Campus Development Committee to enter priorities for Unit Plan objectives / IT Committee, CD Committee
Early April / Budget Committee deliberations begin / Budget Committee
Mid to late April / CSPC meets to review planning process, data, etc. / CSPC
Late April / Requests for new classified staff positions finalized / VPA, Deans, Dept. Chairs, Supervisors
Early May / Budget Recommendations made to President / Budget Committee
Early May / CSPC meets to plan for fall processes / CSPC
Mid May / Last day to enter Unit Plan Achievement Report information / Department Chairs
Mid May / President approves final financial allocation recommendation / President

Strategic Master Plan – the key document

The purpose of the Strategic Master Plan is to provide the college framework for data evaluation, planning development, resource allocation, implementation, and evaluation. This planning framework is aligned with the district strategic plan. SCC’s Strategic Master Plan articulates the mission, vision, values, strategic directions, goals, and outcome measures that set the parameters and directions of the college; it specifies the processes used to develop each component of planning including the roles and responsibilities of all participants; it links all the college plans in a “family of plans”; it provides a definition of the common planning terms as they are used at SCC; and it specifies the cyclical timeline for planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Plan Name / OPR
(lead) / Shared Governance Group / Description
Strategic Master Plan / PRIE / College Strategic Planning Committee /
  • Synthesis of internal and external data and strategic directions from District.
  • Includes core values, vision, mission, strategic directions and College goals.
  • Reviewed annually to initiate the College Planning Process. Findings and recommendations approved by the College President and Executive Council.

College Goals, Strategies, Outcomes, and Targets

‘College Goals’ define the broad accomplishments that the college seeks to achieve over a given period of time. They are data driven and linked to unit and Program Plan objectives.

‘Strategies’ associated with each goal delineate Broad implementation actions undertaken as shared functions across units or programs that lead to the accomplishment of the College Goals.

In general the term ‘outcome’ refers to specific results that will be achieved through the described actions. Results may be of two kinds: 1) the degree to which an action has been completed or 2) the achievement of a target outcome measure or task. Each Program Plan and Unit Plan state the specific outcomes associated with an objective.

The CSPC or College President may recommend specific college outcomes as priority ‘targets’ for college action in the next planning year. These may be expressed as specific actions to be completed, such as “complete the SSSP plan”, or as numerical targets such as “a 3% increase in overall enrollment”.

Sacramento City College 2014-15 Goals & Strategies

SCC Goal A: Deliver student-centered programs and services that demonstrate a commitment to teaching and learning effectiveness and support student success in the achievement of basic skills, certificates, degrees, transfer, jobs and other student educational goals.

Strategies:

A1. Promote the engagement and success of all students, with a special emphasis on first-year students who are newto college.

A2. Review courses, programs and services and modify as needed to enhance student achievement.

A3. Provide students with the tools and resources that they need to plan and carry out their education, complete degrees and certificates, and/or transfer.

A4. Improve basic skills competencies in reading, writing, math, and information and technological competency across the curriculum in order to improve student preparedness for degree and certificate courses and for employment.