Through a series of listening forums, 麻豆视频 (麻豆视频) called on the community in April 2024 to gather insight to guide the College's new four-year strategic plan.
The forums spanned five weeks with eleven events across two counties. Approximately 285 community members participated, sharing their input on how Sandhills is currently and can better serve the community. "The forums were a huge success," Lindsey Farmer, Dean of Planning and Research of 麻豆视频, said. "We are so fortunate to have a community that cares about the work of the College, and we saw that support in action through forum attendance and conversations," she added.
The forums took place at venues, including Bradshaw Performing Arts Center, local businesses, restaurants, churches, and more.
麻豆视频 compiled a comprehensive report of the community鈥檚 insights. The key findings include:
- Community Impact: The College significantly impacts the community, ranging from educational opportunities, economic development, and community engagement.
- Marketing & Outreach: While the community appreciates what the College does, there is a desire for better communication about its offerings.
- Community Engagement Through Extension Courses: Many community members want the College to offer more courses and training at local sites to increase community involvement.
- Innovative, Flexible, and Accessible Program & Training Offerings: There is a demand for courses that align with industry needs, as well as flexible scheduling options, including late afternoons, evenings, and weekends.
- Current Barriers to Future Opportunities: The community identified several barriers to higher education, including limited and affordable childcare, transportation issues, a lack of a workforce pipeline, and concerns about the impact of Artificial Intelligence.
During these forums, participants had the opportunity to share innovative ideas. Most of the ideas fall into five categories: community outreach and engagement, community and business partnerships, infrastructure and accessibility, program, extension, and course offerings, and support and resources.
Specific recommendations include increasing marketing efforts to share success stories and utilizing the community to share College initiatives. Sandhills should further explore our community partnerships with the Small Business Center. Additionally, consistent and affordable transportation between Moore and Hoke counties was discussed.
Various programs, courses, and campus extension ideas were shared, including the use of VR technology and specialized healthcare training in areas such as dementia care, mental health and brain injury care, and substance abuse counseling. Community members shared the need to support young and new mothers, including lactation, prenatal, Lamaze classes, and various childcare opportunities.
Farmer says, "We emerged from the forums energized and ready to tackle the development of our next strategic plan. Sandhills will incorporate many of the community鈥檚 ideas into our new strategic plan, which we are excited to share in October.鈥�
The College will continue developing the next College Strategic Plan of Operations, which will guide Sandhills throughout the next four years. In October 2024, the new plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees for review and final approval. With Board of Trustee approval, the College will begin implementing newly adopted initiatives, which will be reviewed annually to evaluate progress and monitor completion.
The full communities report can be found at: sandhills.edu/planning-research/strategic-plan.html.