Algonquin College’s 2022–2025 Strategic Plan has been approved by the Board of Governors after a virtual meeting held on Monday, June 7. The new plan outlines the initiatives the college aims to strengthen over the next three years.
“Becoming Again” is the overall theme of the new plan, drawing on the imagery of a long winter coming to an end. The message is that there is hope in the opportunities that have arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the challenges that come with the changing landscape of how we connect and engage with each other.
Governor Jay McLaren expressed his excitement for the upcoming plan stating, “This is a milestone for our college.”
Instead of a complete overhaul, the advisory team presented the 2022 – 2025 plan as a “refresh” of the projects and goals set by the 2017–2022 Strategic Plan.
An element of the plan is to formally shift the college’s focus towards learner-driven education and services that cater to the individual needs of students.
“It is a carry-over from our previous plan and it is a differentiator for Algonquin College,” said Claude Brulé, president and CEO of Algonquin College. Brulé expressed how important it is for Algonquin College to ensure that students and staff are viewed as individuals, not as numbers. “We are a large college yet people feel at home. What we are recommending is that we keep moving in this direction. It’s how we make decisions day-in and day-out that puts the learner at the centre.”
For the college to achieve its vision of becoming a global leader in personalized learning, faculty need to feel empowered and inspired. “We want students and staff to be lifelong learners with Algonquin College,” said Keltie Jones, the chair and college project lead of the advisory team. “The key to turning hopes and dreams into lifelong success begins with committing to the needs of the learner.”
The new plan’s three-year duration is a notable contrast to the current 10-year plan. This adjustment is mostly due to the 2022–2025 Strategic Plan’s purpose of building on the previous plan’s initiatives but is also the college’s way of adapting to the uncertainty of outside factors.
The advisory team began the drafting process of the new plan on Nov. 3, 2020, using input from individuals and focus-group participants, as well as community surveys to gauge where the college will need to focus its efforts for the next three years.
The college will be transitioning from its current plan to the 2022– 2025 Strategic Plan on April 1 of next year.