NMC completes 5-year strategic plan

The cash-strapped Northern Marianas College had to be a bit creative in fashioning out its New Strategic Plan for 2006-2010, which was unveiled recently by its president Tony V. Deleon Guerrero.

In a joint message with NMC Board of Regent chair Kimberly King-Hinds, Deleon Guerrero said the plan would incorporate the needs and expectations of both the college’s external and internal constituents, which are reflected in the strategic goals and initiatives.

Deleon Guerrero added that these goals and initiatives are intended to guide the college in pursuing its future strategic direction as a learning institution, and in “Expanding Opportunities by Focusing on Learning” to benefit the long-term economic development of the CNMI and the Asia-Pacific region.

The new “Strategic Plan for Northern Marianas College” hopefully will help guide the institution’s direction for the next five years.

“The review of our constitutionally mandated mission, and the development of our new shared strategic vision, goals, and priority initiatives, involved many hours of consultative discussions and inclusive planning sessions with community stakeholders, Board of Regents members, College administrators, faculty, staff, and students,” said the president.

Completing the extensive and collaborative strategic planning process, both the BOR chair and the college president expressed confidence that NMC could be transformed into an even more effective institution of higher education.

Both added that from experience, the college could achieve its objectives with a shared vision, a realistic plan, adequate resources, effective assessment, and an organization-wide commitment to excellence and to continuous improvement.

Deleon Guerrero said, “We strongly believe that this Strategic Plan will help our community college accommodate the CNMI’s continuing growth, increasing cultural diversity, and evolving use of technology, all the while complying with new demands for educational accountability.”

NMC’s Strategic Plan for 2006-2010 will recognize and honor the distinctive community college’s heritage, at the same time, will embrace creativity and innovation to enable the College to be a more student-focused and community-centered learning organization according to the president.

The college is also looking at stronger collaborative partnerships with all its institutional stakeholders aiming to advance NMC’s programs that would provide its students with learning experiences of the highest possible quality.