Planning and Analysis

The Division of Planning & Analysis at SOWELA Technical Community College provides the full range of Internal Organizational Strategic Effectiveness and Regulatory Compliance Activities, including Strategic and Annual Planning, Data Collection and Analysis, Research and Policy Analysis, Assessment and Evaluation, Survey Research and Studies, and Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation, to meet institutional data collection, analysis, and reporting services to internal and external constituents.

The Office is an operational division within SOWELA’s Governance Framework, with administrative leadership provided by the Executive Director of Planning & Analysis who is a member of the College’s Executive Leadership Team. The Office is dedicated to providing services in support of the achievement of the College’s mission by carrying out the following integrated responsibilities:

• Coordination of the planning and institutional analysis process for the College
• Coordination of the assessment and evaluation process for the College
• Coordination of the institutional effectiveness and accreditation process for the College
• Coordination of the process of assessing the extent of meeting institutional effectiveness benchmarks for the College
• Provision of college-wide survey, institutional research, and studies support
• Provision of internal ad-hoc and external compliance data collection, analysis, and reporting

To accomplish these responsibilities, the Office will seek the following internal goals:

• Establish effective procedures for conducting planning, assessment, and institutional research
• Establish a Data Steering Committee to oversee concerns about conflicting definitions of data and the availability of needed data at the College
• Report official data based upon each established procedure in a timely and accurate manner

Therefore, a fundamental value shared by the Office and the College Chancellor is that a high degree of integration among planning, budgeting, assessment, and institutional research is essential for the College to maintain excellence in teaching, workforce development, and public service.