MCC Strategic Plan

MCC 2025-26 Strategic Plan - One-year Bridge Plan

Fall 2025 Update

Updated: December 10, 2025

This mid-year update to MCC's 2025-26 Strategic Plan includes: 

  1. A progress update on accomplishments and efforts supporting the goals of this plan. 

  2. Alignment of the bridge plan's goals with the new Chancellor Vision Statements (see introduction below for additional details). 

Introduction

Mesa Community College’s (MCC’s) 2020–2025 Strategic Plan has concluded, and the College is currently operating under a one-year bridge plan for 2025-2026. This bridge plan was developed in alignment with the prior Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) 2023–2026 Strategic Plan (Excellence 2026), while the District works to reimagine its strategic planning framework to strengthen consistency and integration across the multi-college system.

On October 28, 2025, the MCCCD Governing Board approved the Chancellor’s recommendation to retire the four Year 3 Strategic Priorities outlined in Excellence 2026 and adopt the four Chancellor Vision Statements in their place. These Vision Statements now serve as the Strategic Priorities for Year 3, with existing goals and activities realigned under this revised framework. These Visions include:

  1. Maricopa Colleges will establish a College-Going Behavior for all K-12 students in Maricopa County.
  2. Maricopa Colleges will be the Leader in Workforce Development for Maricopa County.
  3. Maricopa will be a Future Ready Institutional Leader in Technology for Community Colleges across the U.S.
  4. Maricopa Colleges will drive positive Community Impact by addressing critical economic and social needs in the regions we serve.

MCC will continue implementing its bridge plan while beginning to align its next strategic plan with the new Chancellor Vision Statements and the MCCCD Strategic Plan. Alignment of current goals with each Chancellor's Vision Statements is indicated in parentheses after each goal statement in the plan below. 

Quick Links

Strategy 1: Student Outreach and Success

MCC’s mission of creating an inclusive and vibrant learning community where everyone is supported to achieve success requires us to cultivate an exceptional student experience that ensures all students are welcomed into the Thunderbird family and supported on their pathway. As such, MCC endeavors to support students in their success and persistence until they meet their educational goals. Increasing student retention implies an increase in course success rates and student satisfaction.

Strategy 1 Goals

  1. Identify and develop implementation strategies for increasing student retention and success. (1. College-Going Behavior, 2. Workforce Development, 4. Community Impact)
  2. Strengthen partnerships with local educational partners to create and implement strategies that encourage college-going behaviors in K-12 students. (1. College-Going Behavior)

Example supporting strategies

  • Continue the implementation of the MCC Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) plan.
  • Continue to scale the use of Dropout Detective to identify and support students at risk of failure.
  • Sustain program-level student outcomes assessment efforts
  • Create and launch a new Thunderbird Experience that includes:
    • Enhance onboarding and advising processes
    • Enhanced student communication and outreach

Strategy 2: Economic Resources and Sustainability

MCC faces a declining budget under MCCCD’s new funding model. As such, the college must strive to strengthen external revenue streams and evaluate program and course offerings to increase efficiency and support students.

Strategy 2 Goals

  1. Complete an academic portfolio review to align offerings with student interest, transfer partners, industry needs, employability, and institutional resources. (2. Workforce Development, 4. Community Impact)
  2. Develop a data-informed, efficient, and sustainable course schedule that aligns with student needs and college resources by leveraging Ad Astra and strategic scheduling practices. (2. Workforce Development, 3. Technology)
  3. Identify and strengthen external revenue streams (e.g., philanthropy and grants) and their alignment with institutional priorities. (4. Community Impact)

Example supporting strategies

  • Use program review and other data to review MCC’s academic portfolio and suggest opportunities for improvement.
  • Sustain the implementation of Ad Astra to enhance strategic scheduling efforts.
  • Optimize facility and resource utilization by evaluating current facility usage and identifying opportunities for revenue generation.
  • Expand and strengthen industry and community partnerships to enhance workforce development opportunities and generate new external funding.

Strategy 3: A Cohesive Identity

Meeting the needs of our community and supporting all students to achieve success also means recognizing the intertwined nature of the MCCCD system and the value of collaboration with MCC’s sister institutions. In order to best serve students and operate efficiently, MCC will evaluate opportunities to collaborate with other MCCCD colleges and align college planning frameworks with those of MCCCD.

Strategy 3 Goal

  1. Align MCC strategic and operational planning efforts with MCCCD’s new strategic planning and operational planning frameworks. (4. Community Impact)

Example supporting strategies

  • Align MCC strategic planning process with MCCCD’s forthcoming new planning framework and create new plans as necessitated by the MCCCD framework.
  • Implement a revised operational planning process that aligns with MCCCD expectations and creates meaningful opportunities for department- and program-level continuous improvement.

Strategy 4: Organizational Talent

MCC strives to be a great place to work by providing employees with the tools, resources, and support they need to be successful.

Strategy 4 Goal

  1. Create and implement an employee engagement and satisfaction survey to better understand employee needs and perceptions. (4. Community Impact)

Example supporting strategies

  • Use survey results to identify tools, resources, and professional development needs for MCC employees and create plans to address these needs.

Institutional Effectiveness Metrics

As part of MCC’s mission to create a vibrant and inclusive learning community where everyone is supported to achieve success, the college systematically monitors a foundational set of institutional metrics. These baseline indicators, including student success rates, retention, enrollment trends, satisfaction, and completion data, are essential for assessing institutional performance over time. Regular review of these measures ensures the college remains accountable to its mission and provides a data-informed foundation for strategic and operational decision-making.

The MCC Office of Institutional Effectiveness is working to create a single dashboard and report to release in Spring 2026 for the key institutional success indicators listed below. Until then, links to current data dashboards are provided (employee access only).