Focus On: Student Access and Success, Diversity, and Collaborations
The National College Access Network announces the beginning of its 2010-2013 strategic plan to increase college access and success among the nation’s underrepresented youth. This strategic plan expands on the organization’s original mission, bringing together its goals to serve youth, manifest diversity and equity, and act as a coordinating body for college access and success nationwide.
“This plan defines the National College Access Network at a time when access to and success in higher education is an imperative for not only our nation’s economic recovery but for the health and preservation of our democracy,” says
NCAN Board President Kim Mazzuca. She continues, “This new strategic plan calls for NCAN’s leadership to ensure that college access and success remains front-and -center on our nation’s agenda, and that all students, regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomics are given equal opportunity to achieve their educational dreams. This plan is also a call-to-action for our member organizations and educational partners to infuse social equity in all that they do and who they are.”
The strategic plan clarified NCAN’s mission: to build, strengthen, and empower communities committed to college access and success so that all students, especially those under-represented in postsecondary education, can achieve their educational dreams. This mission is the foundation for the core values, guiding principles and long-term goals established in the plan.
The strategic plan includes stating the core values and guiding principles of the NCAN organization for the first time. The core values center on education as the foundation of an equitable society and the power of communities. The guiding principles highlight the operational nature of the organization including diversity, inclusivity, entrepreneurship, customer service, and work-life balance for staff. A complete list of the core values and guiding principles is included
online.
The 2010-2013 strategic plan sets five year goals for the organization. These goals include: (1) build the capacity of NCAN members to increase the number of underrepresented students who successfully complete postsecondary education; (2) develop three or more large scale projects that (a) help to build the capacity of NCAN members in order to increase the number of underrepresented students who successfully complete postsecondary education, and (b) generate best practices that inform our work; (3) diversity and equity are manifested in everything we do – in NCAN’s organization (including Board and staff), services, and advocacy; (4) there is a coordinated federal strategy for programs supporting college attainment and support services for under-represented students; and (5) we have created a sound foundation of financial sustainability that allows us to fund our goals and remain flexible and adaptable to the changing environments
The Board of Directors of the National College Access Network approved this plan at their September 2009 meeting after presenting the plan to the membership for feedback at the 2009 Annual Member Meeting. A capacity building grant from Lumina Foundation for Education provided the funding to work with Management Assistance Group to develop this strategic plan.
To review a full version of the strategic plan, please visit:
http://www.collegeaccess.org/strategic_plan.aspx ###
Incorporated in 1995 and headquartered in Washington, DC, the mission of the National College Access Network (NCAN) is to improve access to and success in postsecondary education for disadvantaged, underrepresented, and first-generation students. NCAN does this by supporting a network of state and local college access programs that provide counseling, advice, and financial assistance; sharing best practices among the network; providing leadership and technical assistance; and helping establish new college access programs.