American Baptist College

Strategic Planning Process

Updated July 2014

Report to the Board of Trustees

October, 2014

In the month of July 2014, the faculty and staff met weekly for a strategic planning retreat concluding with a day-long joint meeting with the Board of Trustees. The purpose of these meetings was to assess and recommend proposed improvements for performance toward to the achievement of the educational mission of American Baptist College (ABC).

As a follow up to the strategic planning process, the ABC Strategic Planning Process was initiated by the Board of Trustees in 2011 and led by President Forrest E. Harris. Oversight of the process was under the leadership of the President and a Core Team of trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. In the initial phase of the process, Dr. Joanne Flowers, educational consultant and former Academic Assessment Department supervisor, East Tennessee University, Johnson City, Tennessee served as the project consultant. This process has led to a recommended five year Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2013 through 2018. Additionally, a two-day board of trustees retreat held July 2013 in St. Petersburg, Florida facilitated by Mr. Lewis Levine, CEO of Nashville’s Non-Profit Management Corporation established institutional priorities for the strategic planning process. The strategic process seeks to initiate an on-going, normative pattern of institutional planning and assessment.

The Core Team, appointed by the President, met for an initial meeting in September, 2011. It has met periodically throughout the year developing goals, strategies, actions, timetables, assignments for measureable outcomes. From these meetings, a rigorous review of relevant data about ABC and the wider context of peer institutions of higher

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education as well as the response and insights of our major stakeholders has been included in the revision of the college’s strategic plan.

The Strategic Plan builds on the work of Community-wide Engagement (CWE) and incorporates the program of online learning that grew out of the process. As a college with a history of limited resources and need for institutional support, the Strategic Planning Process is attentive to fiscal health and sustainability. To each strategy are attached action items, timelines, staffing assignments, and metrics to enable regular monitoring of implementation and to insure that strategies not only contribute to the College’s programmatic life but to its financial health as well. A business plan accompanies the Plan along with a budget for fiscal year 2014 and five year financial projections.

Proposed strategies are grouped under five goals related to excellence and innovation in our academic programs, increase access to an ABC education, expanded partnerships, and the development of financial and human resources to sustain the College into the future.

While the work of the Strategic Planning seeks to encourage innovation, there is also a need to honor valued traditions and denominational affiliated commitments. Just as the renovation of the college’s oldest building, Griggs Hall and the 2005 construction of the John Lewis and Julius Scruggs Leadership Development Center preserves artifacts of our past as a sign of the legacy, the Strategic Plan seeks to imagine a new future that remains rooted in the Vision, Mission, and Commitment Statements of American Baptist College.

Members of the Core Team

President Forrest E. Harris, Chair, Trustees Dr. Albert Berry, Vice President Academic Affairs, Dr. Renita Weems, Executive Vice President, Atty. Richard Jackson, Professors Dr. Jewell Brazelton and Joseph Tribble, Librarian, Nicole White, Director Student Leaning and Title III Programs, LaShante Walker, Budget Director, Brooke Bell, Director of Advancement, Regina Prude, Student Government President, Jeremiah Parks.

Preamble

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American Baptist College was founded nearly a 100 years ago by Black and White pastors and church leaders of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. and Southern Baptist Convention who recognized that in order for Black rural clergy to be effective leaders in the Southern region of America, it was necessary to establish a school to response to their needs. In 1924, the founders of American Baptist College were unaware that this unprecedented decision and alliance would prepare the ground for an educational environment that would be a catalyst of social change in America. Consistently, since 1924, ABC has contributed to the re-articulation of Christianity in America, critical and social justice interventions that changed the social landscape of the nation. Thus, the history of American Baptist College looms large in the 1960’s Nashville Student Sit-Ins Movement and the national Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This legacy includes, to name only a few: the Reverend Dr. C.T. Vivian, U.S. Congressman John Lewis both of whom are recipients of the President Medal of Freedom, Dr. Bernard Lafayette, the Reverend Dr. Julius Scruggs, the late James Bevel and William Barbee.

Today, having weathered the 2007/2008 financial crisis that shock many larger and more stable institutions, ABC is grateful for becoming the newest officially designated Historically Black College and University and the inspiring opportunity this affords the school for institutional support and effective teaching and learning. As a Christian college, ABC is privileged to imagine a new future for undergraduate higher education. This future builds on our history of academic excellence for Christian vocations, curricular innovation, and the celebration of diversity, while adding technological capacity and online teaching expertise that enables us to be rooted in what is known as the Athens of the South, Nashville, Tennessee while serving students locally and globally. As a Christ-centered educational enterprise, open to diversity and respectful of world religions, we are grateful to God for the opportunities before us and committed to contributing to the increase of God’s justice and compassion among all peoples and nations, creation itself, including ABC trustees, staff, students, and supporters. In this regard, we embrace the Planning Focus, Goals and Actions Steps over the next five years as we remain on the imaginative edge of Christian witness, church, academy, and society in order to develop prepared and faithful leadership for social vocations and professional careers.

PLANNING FOCUS, GOALS – ACTION STEPS

As part of strategic planning, Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP), dated April 1, 2013, was developed and submitted to the U. S. Department of Education in

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accordance with their requirements for grant recipients under the Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program, funded under Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. Title III grant funds provide special assistance to strengthen the quality of ABC’s academic programs and support our desire and potential to make a substantial contribution to the nation’s higher education resources. October 1, 2013 began a cycle of Title III funds through 2015 totaling $1.5 million in support of the CDP. October 1, 2014, American Baptist College received an increase of Title lll funding totaling $3.2 million through 2017.

ABC’s Title III CDP further carries out the programmatic objectives of our 2013-2018 Strategic Plan by delineating goals, objectives, strengths/weaknesses, timelines, methods, processes, and procedures tied to strategic planning priorities. Through the CDP, the College is committed to achieving the highest levels of institutional effectiveness through evaluation and implementation of programs that safeguard the integrity of our mission.

Successful efforts are underway to grow and improve the brand, value and reputation of ABC. These efforts include new logo enhancement, retooling the curriculum with an eye toward integrating technology and online education, facility renovations, naming physical spaces in honor of prominent alumni, and invitations to community and church leaders to speak at high profile events on campus.

ABC’s institutional agenda for the future includes strengthening the public engagement of the college's education, faith and health, and community programs within local, national, and international communities, consonant with its stature as a distinguished HBCU honoring a faith-based global mission.

Goals and Strategies

1. Offering an educational opportunity for gifted students who may have limited resources and academic experiences but unlimited potential for leadership in the church and society.

American Baptist College is committed to encouraging excellence in learning, teaching, research, and innovation. The fulfillment of this commitment is based

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in the Office of Academic Affairs stated mission of providing educational access and strong academic support to gifted students with limited academic experiences but unlimited potential for leadership in society. A vigorous culture of academic achievement is integral to ABC’s mission and values. The College has a rich history of success in graduating quality students who are committed to Christian standards of social justice and the full humanity of all persons.

Objectives:

1.1

Provide a comprehensive interdisciplinary education that emphasizes academic

excellence and encourages growth for 100% of our students.

1.2

Recruit, enroll, educate and graduate promising students in degree areas that result in

an innovative, distinctive, and high-quality education that inspires enthusiasm for

professional, managerial, service and social justice leadership.

1.3

Create competence in the practice of active welcoming, student advocacy, cultivating a

culture of student customer service resulting transformative learning experience,

academic success for 100% of our students.

1.4

Use technology to further enhance the effectiveness of teaching, learning, scholarship

and data gathering.

Objective 1.5

Maximize the effectiveness of the Office of Academic Support, their primary functions

being to provide guidance and instruction to 100% of our students in pursuit of

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academic success and personal development.

1.6

Increase scholarship opportunities for students including international students to study

at ABC.

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Focus of Responsibility

● Enhance the resources of the Office of Academic Support, valuing activities which engage and educate individual students as they define and achieve their academic, vocational and lifetime goals and progress toward their potential.

● Sustain high academic expectations for students

● Establish and maintain institutional structures and processes that promote and support academic excellence.

● Support both faculty and students as they expand the concept of what it means as teacher and student "to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with one's God."

● Promote deep and enriching teaching-learning experiences by providing educational entrée and compelling academic support to new and continuing students.

● Commit adequate attention to creating a highly supportive teaching and learning environment.

● Help students explore, understand and focus appropriately on careers.

● Implement tools to enhance college completion and develop support of other factors leading to student success.

● Continue to utilize enrollment management and student services assessment plans as tools.

● Strengthen the T. L. Holcomb/Susie McClure Library holdings; enhance the college library’s physical space, flexibility and attractiveness while creating more collaborative spaces for students, faculty and staff.

● Further implement the new plan developed for the T. L. Holcomb/Susie McClure Library to improve the depth, breadth and accessibility of information resources

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and library collections required to support instruction and scholarly activities. Consider next generation academic priorities as a part of curricular planning.

● Make academic data easily accessible and available to administration, faculty, students, parents, alumni and other stakeholders, as needed.

Timetable–July, 2018, and on-going

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2. Resourcing the College’s inter-disciplinary educational mission by building student capacity for addressing important social problems facing society and making an ABC education accessible and affordable.

American Baptist College must build an adequate campus physical plant for living and learning that provides more value to students by helping them successfully reach their educational and career goals. Through facility innovative curriculum approaches and course offerings our academic programs must build student capacity for learning, leadership and service.

Additionally, ABC will seek to overcome barriers for those who would benefit from an ABC education but do not have opportunity to do so because of limited financial resources, the digital divide, or because they have simply not heard of us. We will provide additional scholarship resources, launch our Vision 100 Recruitment and Retention Program, online learning program and increase our visibility nationally and globally.

Objectives:

2.1

Access the Vision 100 Scholarship awards program annually to review target

goals for incoming students who are first generation college attendees or who

have an interest in social justice entrepreneurship.

2.2

Expand the school’s geographic outreach to students in areas where the college’s educational opportunity is attractive, including internationally.

2.3

Strengthen academic quality and improve support for students, requiring

students to complete a community service project, resulting in effective living,

learning, service and academic success

2.4

Continue the ongoing assessment of student technology needs as it relates to

student living and learning, expansion of library facility and equipment, space

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utilization, and other efforts to increase the College’s ability to offer a conducive

living and learning environment with adequate space for students to study,

reside, eat and play.

2.5

Continue studying the physical appearance of the campus and buildings and to

plan for its operation, maintenance, growth and beautification.

2.6

Implement the campus-wide Master Plan, which maximizes building usage, land usage, and construction of an interactive Civil Rights/Freedom Park, a series of Cumberland River Walkways, a Retreat Center and a Conference Center.

2.7

Continue to develop environmentally friendly yet aesthetically pleasing plans for

developing and maintaining the College’s physical facilities, landscape and

surroundings.

Focus of Responsibility:

Continue utilizing metrics and quantitative indicators to track academic progress.

Provide ongoing enhancement for recruitment, retentions and student advising.

Further develop and extend academic successful programs, particularly in the area of course delivery through technology.

Expand student services and improve living and learning spaces on campus.

Establish a health and wellness program to benefit the holistic development of students.

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● Conduct space assessments to evaluate campus buildings, roads, walkways, landscapes and parking.

● Continue dialogue with Nashville-Davidson County government officials concerning plans for the development of the north river bank of the Cumberland River.

● Leverage our official historic site recognition and designation.

● Complete anticipated facility upgrades and resolve regular maintenance issues.

● Gather data to procure external services to provide needed upgrades

● Identify new facility requirements or alternatives.

● Identify alternate recreational options for students and complete negotiations for memberships at the YMCA in close proximity to the campus, thus cost-effectively enhancing the living-learning environment for students.

● Address any deferred maintenance needs.

● Implement projects that focus on the needs of the wider community, such as a community garden and resolution of the “food desert” impacting a large number of elderly and homeless families in the immediate area surrounding the College.

Provide continuing tutoring, counseling, and student service programs designed to improve academic success.

3. To sustain and augment the recruitment, nurture, and retention of diverse faculty consisting of outstanding scholars and educators.

ABC must sustain an excellent faculty for teaching and students learning. ABC’s model of emerging undergraduate liberal arts with theological and biblical disciplines will require expertise in curriculum design and academic professionalism.

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Objectives:

3.1

Facilitate the recruitment, development, and retention of highly motivated

faculty who will teach and mentor students, preparing them for careers as

servant-leaders in a broken world.

3.2

Develop and implement a plan to recruit and retain faculty and improve faculty

support, which results in achieving the ideal of excellence in graduate and

undergraduate education.

3.3

Foster academic collaboration and communication among faculty members.

3.4

Increase the faculty’s understanding of the teaching and learning power of

technology, maximizing effectiveness and efficiency.

Focus Area of Responsibility

Continue to provide significant support to an excellent, culturally inclusive faculty.

Assess the professional development needs of faculty.

Approach faculty development in ways that enhance the quality of life within theABC community.

Document and recognize outstanding teaching and accomplishments.

Enhance faculty effectiveness in the classroom, thus improving the learning environment for students

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Continue the excellent orientation program that prepares and values all faculty members, clearly sharing expectations around student learning goals with both adjunct and full-time faculty members.

Timetable – Ongoing Fiscal Years (July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2018)

4. Implement and advance the College’s Fundraising and Capital Development Philosophy in order for ABC to sustain itself as a prominent, forward- thinking Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

American Baptist College must harness a fundraising and capital development philosophy that impacts institutional growth. American Baptist College is in a positive position to develop and launch a capital campaign inclusive of those dollars obtained through donations, event programming, project income, corporate or foundation grants, public or private contracts and grants, and other sources. Strategically, fundraising at ABC ties with institutional support and aligning fundraising goals with institutional strategic planning and long-term goals.

Financial management, in this section, refers to those processes and patterns that manage, allocate, and monitor resources vital to fulfilling the College's academic mission. It includes the required planning, organizing, directing and controlling of actions—such as procurement and fund utilization—across the entire institution. Our financial management practices and policies apply specific management tenets to the fiscal resources of the institution in order to achieve ABC’s primary academic goals and strategic initiatives.

Given ABC’s aspirations proposed throughout this plan, the adaptability and efficiency of our fiscal stewardship becomes increasingly crucial over the ensuing five-year planning period in order to generate and sustain the necessary financial resources.

Objectives:

4.1

Ensure a successful strategy that solidly develops ABC’s financial capacity, maintaining and enhancing the college’s commitment to excellence.

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4.2

Sustain positive financial audit outcomes by executing an effective business model that emphasizes both revenue generation and investment management to fulfill our mission

4.3

Continue to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and manage the resources of the College in a fiscally responsible and highly accountable manner.

4.4

Continue to pursue relationships with compatible and supportive financial institutions.

4.5

Define, launch and implement a comprehensive Advancement Model (development, marketing, external affairs, and branding) to increase philanthropic results, access to new students and ABC visibility.

4.6

Continue the prudent application of budgeting, internal controls and "checks and balances" to effectively balance financial commitments.

Timeline: Ongoing – Fiscal Years July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2018

Focus of Responsibility:

● Sustain clear general financial guidelines for organizational stewardship.

● Function in a manner that ensures, on an ongoing basis, that all fiscal operations align with and support ABC’s core academic mission. Consequently, principles of

good stewardship will continue to be clearly understood and followed at all levels.

● Affirm ABC’s commitment to protecting and enhancing its positive image, brand and reputation, while clearly communicating an understanding of financial priorities, responsibilities, and a regard for collaborative decision-making.

● Maintain a commitment to open communication and transparency within the area of financial planning and fiscal priority setting.

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● Remain cognizant of the shared stewardship obligation to act responsively to the

pursuits, interests and needs of ABC.

Reach Phase II “Light the Flame for the Future” Capital Campaign Goal of $14,000

The Board of Trustees approved the launching of Phase II of the Light a Flame for the Future Campaign. The goal of Phase II is to reach out to in an unprecedented manner to alumni and friends, public and private grantors, as well as to corporate and foundation partners in support of American Baptist College’s strategic capital and program initiatives.

1. Build a Student Life Plaza (New Student Housing/Recreation and Sacred Music Cultural Center): $2 million

2. Griggs Hall Renovation: $3.2 million

3. Library Renovation and Expansion: $2 million

4. FUNDING ENDOWMENT GROWTH AND SCHOLARSHIPS● Student Scholarships: $1 Million● Endowment: $2 Million

5. UNRESTRICTED GIFTS - $5 MILLION ● Developing Progressive Academic Programs● Enhancing the Technology Infrastructure● Providing Faculty Support and Development Program● Building Community Partnerships and Commercial/Land Use

Opportunities● Communications and Technology Ministry Center FUNDING ENDOWMENT

GROWTH

5. Transforming education models at American Baptist College through education technologies, online programs, and digital resources for students and faculty, facility expansion for digital learning.

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American Baptist College must access new education technologies, which in turn, will allow us to be a leader among Christian colleges in best practices for online course offerings and education technologies. We must embrace those new education technologies that foster innovation in learning and teaching.

Objectives

5.1

Ensure that implemented technology supports ABC’s teaching, learning,

scholarship, community advocacy, outreach and social justice offerings.

5.2

Offer students flexible and innovative technologies which help them

develop as life-long learners.

5.5

Identify and provide technological tools to support data-driven academic

services, information sharing, and decision-making across all levels of the

College.

5.4

Enhance the information technology infrastructure and implement

improvements that meet the College’s evolving needs for up-to-date

hardware, software, applications, data and information security.

Timeline: Fiscal Years (July 1, 2013—June 30, 2018)

Focus of Responsibility:

● Assess, install and support campus-wide needs for information technology improvements and other technological advances

● Commit adequate technical resources to meet current and anticipated needs

● Provide ongoing acquisition recommendations, maintenance and support

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● Provide adequate staff to ensure that systems, software and equipment remain responsive to the College’s needs

● Maximize the use of the recently acquired student data tracking software (CAMS) to increase the consistency and efficiency of the data collection process.

● Further implementation of innovative IT tools to grow our commitment to introducing students to digital technology, expand and strengthen student skills, ensure their technical learning experience is a pleasant one, and increase each student’s level of comfort with technology.

Method of Evaluation

A model of a five-year interval cycle has been chosen to evaluate the results of the College’s strategic plan. Short-term evaluations will occur quarterly and annually to measure results against short-terms goals. This evaluation model is a part of (1) the Comprehensive Development Plan and (2) the grant applications submitted to the U. S. Department of Education. Included here are the Activity Objectives and Performance Indicators and the Implementation Strategies and Timetables funded under the U. S. Department of Education, Strengthening Historically Black Colleges & Universities Program and the US Department of Education Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibilities Act (SAFRA) Program include evaluation of the following thematic activities which are tied to the College’s strategic plan.

Activity #1—Improving Fiscal Management

Activity #2—Establishing an Institutional Advancement Program

Activity #3—Griggs Hall Renovation with Construction of a Living-Learning Space

The Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program Activities are as follows:

Activity #1—Project Management and Evaluation

Activity #2—Improving Student Success Services

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