An overview of West Hills College Coalinga's Educational Master Plan
WHCC President’s Message
We Seek to Inspire Learners of All Ages
Student achievement and student learning are core to fulfillment of our relentless pursuit of student success at West Hills College Coalinga. We seek to inspire learners of all ages and maximize access to educational opportunity through technology delivered to Central Valley communities. Our core goals emphasize our commitment to student success, strengthening our transfer and workforce training programs, developing new and innovative collaborative relationships and partnerships, advancing a learning college culture on the West Side of the valley, and supporting our faculty and staff development. We look forward to serving our communities as the educational, economic, cultural, and social hubs for our local citizenry. Thank you for your continuing support of our college.
Brenda Thames
President, West Hills College Coalinga
Educational Master Plan Executive Summary
West Hills College Coalinga Educational Master Plan (EMP) 2018-2022 is a blueprint
for the future of West Hills College Coalinga (WHCC) and the North District Center
(Firebaugh Center). The EMP builds upon our institutional strengths and past accomplishments
to transition WHCC into the next era of our relentless pursuit of student success.
The EMP articulates the College’s vision for advancing student achievement and meeting
the needs of the 21st Century community college student. The Plan will guide institutional
and program development for the next five years. The EMP outlines the College’s goals
for 2018-2022 which are aligned with West Hills Community College District (WHCCD)
Strategic Plan, Facility Master Plan, Technology Plan, and the California Community
College (CCC) Vision for Success. The Plan focuses on qualitative improvement in teaching
and learning, the student experience, and the campus environment.
As an educational institution committed to continual institutional improvement the
WHCC EMP creates a framework for the alignment of accreditation standards, strategic
planning, resource allocation, and new and existing student success initiatives with
goals for growth and development over the next five years. The EMP contains specific
plan objectives that align with the WHCCD Strategic Plan’s key performance indicators.
Objectives are categorized under Allied Health; Arts & Letters; Career Technical Education;
Farm of the Future; Math, Science & Kinesiology (Physical Education & Health Education);
Social Sciences; Student Servicers; North District Center; Technology; Infrastructure
& Safety. This framework produces a unified, focused, college agenda that aligns structures
and resources to support an institutional emphasis on:
Curriculum & Instructional Programs
WHCCD: Goals 3 & 5 CCC: Goals 1, 2, 3 & 4
- Promoting excellence in teaching and learning through intentional, well-communicated pathways to completion, transfer, careers and continuing education that lead to economic advancement and in-demand jobs
- Expanding the scope, quality, accessibility and accountability of instructional programs
- Refining instructional design and delivery to meet the needs of the 21st Century community college student
- Streamlining curriculum through a Guided Pathways model to decrease the number of units accumulated by students and decrease total time to completion and/or transfer
- Expanding Career Technical Education programs that align with economic development needs of the Central Valley
Holistic Student Support
WHCCD: Goals 1 & 3 CCC: Goals 1, 2 & 3
- Enhancing student centered support programs and services that lead to completion
- Expanding support services to address holistic needs of students including health care, mental health services, transportation, child care, food insecurities, financial assistance, etc.
- Utilizing a Guided Pathways model to redesign the way we advise, counsel, mentor, and guide students to complete their educational goals
- Increasing student success through the revision of policies, procedures, and implementation of systems that remove barriers and to create efficiencies
Teaching and Learning
WHCCD: Goals 1 & 3 CCC: Goals 1, 2 & 3
- Promoting proficiency, relevance, and currency in discipline pedagogy
- Creating a student-centered learning environment by designing and planning engaging, inclusive curriculum.
- Utilizing a systematic approach to outcomes assessment and evaluating the results to inform and transform teaching and learning practices
Campus Facilities
WHCCD: Goal 2
- Reinvesting in college facilities through modernization and scheduled maintenance
- Developing and expanding facilities to accommodate growth
Equity in Student Outcomes
WHCCD: Goal 3 CCC: Goals 1, 2, 5 & 6
- Utilizing data to develop effective strategies to improve institutional practices and eliminate achievement gaps in student success and completion
- Demonstrating awareness of and willingness to address equity issues among institutional leaders and staff
Stewardship & Institutional Effectiveness
WHCCD: Goals 2 & 4
- Enhancing institutional effectiveness in planning and decision making processes through cooperative leadership, effective communication and participatory governance
- Fostering the use of data, inquiry, and evidence
- Recruiting, retaining, and supporting faculty, staff, and administration that are committed to excellence and professional growth
- Building and supporting strong leadership and organizational culture
- Practicing data informed resource planning
- Pursuing increased efficiency through strategic enrollment management
- Maintaining fiscal stability and the alignment of programs and services to the core Mission-Vision-Values of the college
Campus Culture and Student Engagement
CCC: Goals 5
- Providing a rich educational experience through a diverse community of learners
- Maintaining a deep commitment to diversity, inclusiveness, and belonging
- Utilizing behavioral analytics to develop a more sophisticated, coordinated approach to student engagement
Community Engagement
- Serving as a center for arts and culture in the community
- Expanding outreach and marketing efforts to incorporate continuous evaluation of community needs for comprehensive planning
Regional & Community Partnerships
WHCCD: Goal 5 CCC: Goals 1, 2 & 4
- Providing specialized, inter-disciplinary approaches to education and training that prepare students for careers across the job market spectrum and strengthen the regional economy.
- Collaborating with a broad range of community partners for collective impact to strengthen educational pipelines, Career Technical Education and workforce development
Information Technology & Communication
WHCCD: Goal 4
- Integrating communication, data, and technology platforms to better access and manage information and increase access to educational programs and services
Integrated planning actualizes the work of the college vision and mission. WHCC is a dedicated academic community of hard working faculty, staff, and administrators that have contributed time, effort, and collaboration to the development of the 2018-2022 Educational Master Plan. The EMP represents our best generative thinking on our shared vision for the future of WHCC. It provides the parameters and context under which the College will prepare and design for new growth. Finally, it reinforces a future for the College and the District that is calibrated to align with the regional workforce, industry, and educational needs of the communities that we serve.