Key Imperatives & College Goals

Learning is fundamental to everything the college does and to everyone the college serves. Under Teaching and Learning Excellence, we develop goals to ensure that everyone has a role to play in advancing student-centered work. Goals under this imperative ensure that students not only learn but excel; faculty not only teach but innovate; and administrators and staff not only support but enact vital decisions and actions.

The specific college goals are:

• Goal 1. Completion
  Increase the average number of credits earned per student during the first year from 12.03 to 12.36 with a stretch goal of 12.47 by June 30, 2026.
• Goal 2. Mastery of Learning
  Attain 80% average achievement among students of color in all general educational learning outcomes with a stretch goal of 90% by June 1, 2026.

Lifelong Connections encompasses the various ways that ECC interacts with students - from initial contact with the college; through orientation and admission; enrollment in programs and courses; and onto graduation and beyond. Regardless of where students are in life, whether they enroll for an entire program or only take a course or two, we want to build relationships that meet their current learning needs. At the same time, we want to be a trusted lifelong resource for their future needs as students or as community partners.

The specific college goals are:

• Goal 3. Enrollment
  Increase total annual unduplicated enrollment of 16,895 students to 17,067 with a stretch goal of 17,121 students by April 6, 2026.
• Goal 4. Credit Accumulation
  Increase the total annual credit hour count from 180,036 to 180,565 with a stretch goal of 180,731 by June 30, 2026.

We want ECC to be an engaging and welcoming place. The ECC Experience captures this quality and gives life to our institutional identity or "persona." The ECC Experience represents for:

• Students – a college that remains open and accessible to all, supports their academic success, and advances personal and professional growth.
• Employees – a college that rewards excellent service; cares about their professional development; and values their talents through hiring, retention, and succession planning.
• Community – a college that designs programs responsive to their needs and delivered with a spirit of service.

The specific college goals are:

• Goal 5. Student Experience
  Increase the number of unique students who participate in at least one of 16 targeted engagement activities from 5,442 to 5,586 with a stretch goal of 5,632 by May 15, 2026.
• Goal 6. Employee Experience
  To achieve completed data literacy persona assessments from 791 employees (75%) with a stretch goal of 897 (85%) by March 30, 2026, to use as baseline data in FY27 goal.
• Goal 7. Community Experience
  Ensure that the median 5-year earnings of the most recently available cohort of all ECC graduates is $40,498 (75% of the living wage) with a stretch goal of $53,997 (100%) by June 30, 2026.

Fortify Our Future is a three-pronged imperative. First, from a student perspective, this imperative ensures that we keep ECC affordable and that we support students' goals while setting them on a path toward financial success. Second, from an institutional perspective, Fortify Our Future ensures the financial health of the college and a future in which we manage budgets well, reduce costs, decrease overhead, and increase revenues. Third, from an operational efficiency standpoint, this imperative ensures our efforts pay off; funds and outcomes meet intended targets; and we consider internal and external opportunities to streamline and synergize for optimum efficiency.

The specific college goals are:

• Goal 8. Student Affordability
  Decrease the number of students with unmet need from 6,263 to 6,169 with a stretch goal of 6,139 by June 30, 2026.
• Goal 9. Financial Health
  Attain approval for proposed standardized student fee parameters by June 30, 2026, to be introduced for fall 2027 fees, with a stretch goal of introducing the parameters for fall 2026 fees.
• Goal 10. Operational Efficiency
  To achieve completed data literacy persona assessments from 791 employees (75%) with a stretch goal of 897 (85%) by March 30, 2027, to use as baseline data in FY27 goal.