Timeline & Background

Phase I: Getting Organized

In December 2018, the campus community began the organizational process of developing the seventh strategic planning cycle at the college. Adopted from Patrick Sanaghan’s Collaborative Strategic Planning[1]. The process began with getting organized and then moves through four additional stages:

Phase II: Data Gathering & Engagement

A 21-person Strategic Planning Task Force consisting of two chairs and interdepartmental employees held its inaugural meeting in February 2019. The Task Force undertook its initial data-gathering activity during Spring Convocation on February 26, 2019, when more than 100 Massasoit employees assembled into four focus groups to brainstorm strategic themes.
Four subcommittees were created, and additional Phase II tasks were assigned during a subsequent Task Force meeting. The subcommittees met regularly and provided progress reports to the Communications Subcommittee for dissemination to the entire college community. The four standing subcommittees were:

• Student Focus Groups/Surveys – obtains student feedback;
• Community Focus Groups/Surveys – obtains community feedback;
• Data Analysis – processes & analyzes resultant data;
• Communications – apprises Task Force and community of strategic planning progress.

Phase III: Making Sense of the Issue

Data gathered from Phase II, in addition to relevant surveys and available institutional data, were summarized, and top trends were identified and shared with Massasoit’s Board of Trustees. With the Task Force’s assistance, the two Strategic Planning Task Force co-chairs began to construct the framework for each theme’s concept paper, which was used as a focus for discussions and strategy development.

Phase IV: Vision Conferences
During 2019-2020, the concept papers were used in vision conferences to help shape the goals of the next strategic plan.

Phase V: Goal Development

Phase five of the process began in March 2020 when the chairs of the strategic planning task force gathered and synthesized the feedback from the Vision Conference to begin identifying proposed goals for the college. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the college to shift focus, moving classes remotely and transitioning into a completely new way of teaching and learning for higher education. The college held a virtual Convocation in May 2020 to share information on the plan’s status and the Vision Conference’s outcomes. The disruptive nature of the COVID-19 event resulted in putting the strategic planning process on hold so that the new reality could be accurately reflected in the plan.

[1] Sanaghan, P. (2009). Collaborative strategic planning in higher education. Washington, DC: National Association of College and University Business Officers.

August 2021 – Ray DiPasquale becomes Massasoit Community College’s Seventh President

January 2022 – Massachusetts Department of Higher Education publishes “The New Undergraduate Experience: A Vision for Dismantling Barriers, Recognizing Students’ Cultural Wealth, and Achieving Racial Equity in Public Higher Education in Massachusetts”

Summer 2023 – Vision
President Ray DiPasquale relaunches the strategic planning process to build on the past findings, reflect on the current environmental realities, and develop a plan to meet five overarching themes:

• Enrollment and Access
• Equity Agenda
• Academic Innovation
• Organizational and Community Excellence through Partnerships
• Employee Excellence and Celebration

September 2023 – Planning Team
The President forms the representative Strategic Planning Committee (SPC), comprised of some members of the original strategic planning task force. The group is charged with developing a strategic plan that will provide a solid rationale for the budgeting priorities for the next three years (2024-2029) and identify clear responsibilities and assessment tools to ensure the plan is on track toward achieving our common vision. The plan should focus on the next three years with the opportunity to assess and recalibrate during the 2026 NECHE self-study.

Fall 2023 – Environmental Scan, S.W.O.T, Community Engagement
The SPC met every other week, with members meeting with their constituents between meetings to solicit feedback and discussion. The team reviewed the concept papers from Part I and analyzed environmental scan data to determine what may have changed as a result of the pandemic. Team members were asked to consider these data through three different lenses:

• Our Region
• Our Students
• Our Community

By November, they had begun to develop a more focused vision and appropriate goals and strategies to achieve that vision. The rough draft was shared with the President, his cabinet, and a small planning team from the Board of Trustees. A rough draft was shared with all campus constituents by the end of the Fall 2023 semester with an opportunity to share feedback.

February 2024 – Feedback from the community was incorporated into the next draft, which was presented to the Board of Trustees in January. The updated draft was circulated to the campus community and the Board of Trustees on January 29. Community members participated in workshop sessions during Professional Development Day, February 15, designed to tighten up action plans. The draft plan came to the Board of Trustees on February 21 for approval before it was sent to the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education for Touchpoint II.

Strategic planning provides Massasoit Community College with the opportunity to align the goals and priorities of our College with the goals and guiding principles of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE). It also gives the College the opportunity to “energize and galvanize internal and external campus stakeholders toward realizing campus goals…A campus strategic plan develops strategies to improve the institution and position it for success in the long run, while at the same time it develops strategies to meet the shared, statewide goals for public higher education in Massachusetts” (CSP Handbook Version 3).

Using the 2019 Strategic Planning Concept Papers and the Massasoit Community College: Economic Overview and Program Demand Gap Analysis developed by Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI) in 2019 as a starting point, the rebooted strategic planning team looked at updated data as part of an environmental scan for the future of the South Shore Region and the Massasoit Community College constituencies.

Massasoit has seen an increase in students of color over the last five years (Figure 1). The majority (66.4%) of Massasoit students are part-time students who are over 25 (47%), and the majority (64%) are first-generation students who attend classes in Brockton (57.1%). A significant change since 2019 is that now, 49.4% of students are taking at least one course online. These data skew higher than the demographic data included in the 2022 New Undergraduate Experience (NUE) report, which is why it is critically important for the Massasoit Community College strategic plan to adhere to the principles defined in that report.

The region is also seeing an increase in foreign-born communities, creating a significant demand for English Language Learner resources and support.  An analysis of two counties within Massasoit’s catchment area, Plymouth and Norfolk, indicates a significant population from Cape Verde, Haiti, Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam (Figures 2 and 3).

Overall, the greater South Shore region/Greater Boston Region is considered one of Massachusetts’s fastest-growing regions. This growth does suggest that Massasoit will need to respond to an aging population seeking workforce development.  By 2035, 24% of the population will be over 65, which will lead to an increased need for workforce development primarily in the areas of Medical Laboratory Technicians, Radiologic Technology, Health Technologists and technicians, Nursing, Psychiatric, and Home Health Aids, as well as other Healthcare Support Occupations. Using similar metrics defined by the 2019 EMSI study, the strategic planning team determined the current and future growth industries in the greater South Shore region (Figure 4). Figure 5 provides an analysis of the current three-year average program enrollment at Massasoit. The strategic plan should intentionally focus on bringing enrollment in line with regional needs.

Massasoit’s strategic plan needs to prioritize resources for skilled workforce development.  Concurrent with implementing the 2024-2029 strategic plan will be a major reconstruction initiative to support innovation, access, and strengthening programs, specifically in the allied health and STEM fields.

In April 2022, Gov. Charlie Baker announced that the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) will award Massasoit Community College $30M to support the renovation of two buildings on the Brockton Campus for Science, Nursing, and Allied Health.  This “Transformation through Renovation” project focuses on developing new Science and Nursing/Allied Health buildings.

The current building was built in 1972, and the original infrastructure is still in place.  At the time, it was designed for fixed, direct instruction and limited ability for collaborative work. This design limits the College’s ability to expand lab and prep space and adjust to changing enrollment needs. Massachusetts has the largest life science cluster in the world (3.6x more concentrated in MA than in the US). Data collected from 2020-2022 predicts that 20,000 more jobs are expected to be created in the life science sector. While many of these positions will require a bachelor’s degree or higher, Massasoit needs to be positioned to provide a strong foundation for students to enter these fields.

The largest industry cluster in the region is in health care and social assistance. In 2022, the industry was projected to add 5,000 new workers on the South Shore by 2025.  Close to 18,000 new healthcare positions were established in Southeastern Massachusetts from 2012 to 2022. A state-of-the-art facility will provide an opportunity to train the local workforce in current practice methods. This is also an opportunity for local healthcare providers to upskill their entry-level employees, supporting new certificate and training opportunities. Over the last five years, Massasoit has been focusing on providing educational opportunities that model a patient-focused approach to care. Consistent with trends in healthcare overall, students are trained to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams to support patient care. The current physical space does not adequately support interdisciplinary education and team building.

Finally, the last five years have seen a number of disruptions both internally and externally to the community, region, and our country.  Much has been written about the “Great Resignation,” which led to early retirements and departures, changes in how people approach their work, and changes in expectations about a work/life balance.  Since 2020, Massasoit Community College has seen changes in leadership at all levels. Accreditation and planning work begun by one administration has been taken up by another. Enrollment shifts to online and mixed programming have raised new questions about who the new community college student is and what is the best way for community colleges to meet those students’ needs.  In light of these disruptions, it is imperative for the College to take on a renewed interest in assessment, operational effectiveness, and sustainability with a focus on strengthening our community’s sense of belonging, connection, and shared purpose for facilitating student success as one College.