The North Idaho College Strategic Planning Steering Committee

In creating a five-year strategic plan for NIC, the responsibilities of the SPSC include:

• Serve as a resource to the College President in development of the college’s strategic plan
• Provide input and feedback throughout the process of strategic plan development
• Attend and engage fully in SPSC meetings; actively provide leadership and actively communicate progress with constituents
• Ensure alignment of the strategic plan with the college’s mission, vision, and values
• Ensure alignment of the strategic plan with NWCCU and program specific standards for accreditation
• Keep students, student success, and service to the NIC region at the center of discussion during plan development
• Focus efforts on a model of integrated, ongoing and, dynamic strategic planning
• Encourage employee participation and strive for organizational effectiveness during plan development

The SPSC has adopted the following Guiding Principles in carrying out its work:

• Relentlessly focused on the student experience
• Inclusive of the big picture of the institution and the community NIC serves
• Reflective / Representative of the voice of the campus and community as heard through the planning process
• Relevant; providing value to the student and community
• Valuing both Transfer and Career Technical Education (CTE) in plan development
• Aligned with standards of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and program specific accreditation standards
• Focused in a direction that is clear, intentional and actionable
• Bold and aspirational with our ideas for the future
• Committed to Act as if there are no barriers to attaining the goals
• Measuring the progress of our plans to ensure execution and to identify needs
• Fostering a culture within the institution in support of these efforts

1. November 2023: A Strategic Planning kick-off meeting was held with the Strategic Planning Steering Committee and Collaborative Brain Trust to orient people to the process, principles, and approach of the strategic planning process.
   
   
2. December 2023: From November 29 – December 1st, the Collaborative Brain Trust travelled to the NIC campus. The consultants engaged in visioning sessions with the trustees and held listening sessions with internal and external stakeholders. They started a comprehensive review of internal and external data.
   
   
3. January 2024: The Collaborative Brain Trust consultants finished meeting with internal and external stakeholders as they complete Phase I Discovery: Data Collection, Analysis, and Synthesis. The Strategic Planning Steering Committee met on January 31st. The SPSC reviewed some preliminary findings as well as national, state, and local trends. The SPSC then engaged in an interactive envisioning exercise. 
    
4. February 2024: The consultants continued compiling the environmental scan data that includes national, state, and college trends. They developed listening session themes as a result of written comments, campus tours, listening sessions with internal and external stakeholders, and the Strategic Planning Steering Committee visioning exercise. 
   
   
5. March 2024: The Strategic Planning Steering committee met with the consultants on March 12th to review the listening session themes. The themes identified were:
   - Students
   - Community and External Partners
   - Marketing, Enrollment and the Student Journey
   - Institutional Planning and Effectiveness; Systems, Processes, and Culture
   - Programs, Pathways, and Educational Partnerships
   - Center Operations: Workforce Training Center, Parker Center, and Sandpoint Center  
   
   
6. April 2024: The Strategic Planning Steering committee met with the consultants for two days and engaged in strategic planning goal setting. At the conclusion of these meetings five goals were developed.
   
   
7. May 2025: On May 29, 2024 the Board of Trustees adopted the five strategic planning goals:
   - Enhance student access and support services to strengthen student success
   - Provide streamlined, flexible pathways to success that empower students to reach their educational goals
   - Expand and strengthen relationships with business, industry, educational and community partners
   - Create a unified educational system among the College and its centers
   - Achieve organizational efficiency and effectiveness by fostering a dynamic college environment that invests in employees, facilities and technologies to support student success 
   
   
8. June through August: The consultants continued developing the draft strategic plan document.
   
   
9. September: The Strategic Planning Steering Committee met with the consultants on September 10 to develop the implementation plan. The committee spent time drafting and revising the objectives for the five Strategic Plan Goals, identifying accountable managers for each objective, determining the timeline for each objective, and providing edits to the draft strategic plan.
   
   
10. On Oct. 8th the Steering Committee met with objective leads and the consultants for an all day planning session. The committee confirmed the goal and objective leads, set metrics for each of the objectives, revised and refined the objective timelines, and identified action plans for each objective.