NORFOLK – The Board of Governors at Northeast Community College approved a document Thursday that sets the future direction of the institution over the next five years.

Northeast’s new strategic plan, Vision 2020, has been created through a comprehensive planning effort built on the foundation of past successes and is designed to chart a new direction to meet the needs of 21st century students and the region, according to Dr. Michael Chipps, president.

“The Board of Governors established the overall direction for Vision 2020 by recently adopting a new mission statement that dedicates us to the success of students and the region we serve, and college goals that focus on student success, student access, a globally competitive workforce, and maximizing resources.”

Chipps said Vision 2020 incorporates the principles outlined in the American Association of Community Colleges’ implementation guide for Empowering Community Colleges to Build the Nation’s Future to redesign students’ educational experiences, reinvent institutional roles and reset the system so it better promotes student success.

“America is in dire straits when it comes to increasing the number of people with specialized skillsets. Over the next five years Northeast will continue to experience pressing demands to deliver even more skilled technicians to business and industry that are desperately short of these professionals. Although the College does an outstanding job of producing a highly skilled workforce, there is much more work to be done.”

For each of the four strategic goals, objectives have been developed that include performance measures identifying the expected outcomes to be achieved. These objectives are supported by action projects, which prescribe the methods and tasks to successfully complete the objectives.

Chipps said to provide accountability and transparency for Vision 2020, annual communication and reporting strategies will indicate the successes and challenges in achieving key performance measures and completing the action projects.

“Through Vision 2020, Northeast Community College will set the course to continue to empower our work to better address the increasing workforce demand. The implementation of student success initiatives, workforce development strategies, developing a globally competitive workforce, the establishment of new operations across the service area, the development of a 21^st century farm and ranch, and creating a connection to technology that Northeast Nebraska has never experienced are just some of the new and exciting projects and services that await our students and constituents. With Vision 2020, this College will continue to advance its efforts by delivering programs and services that will drive the success of our graduates and the economy of our region.”

Chipps commended Mary Honke, executive vice president, and the Northeast Community College family for providing essential input for the creation of Vision 2020.

“This is an amazing plan and I certainly appreciate the work that went into putting this process together. Mary has done an excellent job in coordinating the work among board members, faculty, staff, students and others. It is a dynamic road map that the Board and the President will use to move Northeast to meet the growing demands of the region.  This one of the best strategic plans I have ever seen!”

Vision 2020 will go into effect July 1. Information on the plan will be accessible on the College website,www.northeast.edu, at that time.