MCC Strategic Plan

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

Mesa Community College’s (MCC’s) 2020-2025 Strategic Plan has concluded. The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is currently working to reimagine MCCCD’s strategic planning framework to increase consistency and alignment as a single multi-college system. This one-year “bridge plan” fills the gap between the end of the 2020-2025 strategic plan, the release of MCCCD's new planning framework, and MCC’s next plan aligned with that framework. The 2025-26 Strategic Plan will guide college strategic priorities and share the same four strategies as MCCCD’s current 2023-2026 Strategic Plan and include a set of baseline institutional effectiveness metrics.

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 Goal

  1. Identify and develop implementation strategies for increasing student retention and success.

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. 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.
  3. Identify and strengthen external revenue streams (e.g., philanthropy and grants) and their alignment with institutional priorities.

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.

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.

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 for the key institutional success indicators listed below. Until then, links to current data dashboards are provided (employee access only).