Three students at Barton Community College were invited recently to attend a strategic planning meeting with staff and administrators. One of those students, Devon Nelson, attended Tuesday’s BCC Board of Trustees meeting to report on the experience.
“It was really eye-opening as a student to peek behind the curtain and see how the college is planned out two years in advance,” he said. “I learned a lot. It was eye opening to see that how I perform affects the college directly.”
Nelson is correct, said Charles Perkins, dean of institutional effectiveness. The percentage of students who go on to complete a degree after starting their freshman year at Barton is one indicator the Kansas Legislature uses to measure effectiveness. And student success, community engagement and employee experience are all measured to emphasize the institution’s effectiveness.
In Nelson’s case, watching the process that goes into strategic planning could be helpful in his future. Nelson plans to graduate with an associate degree in business, management and leadership in the spring of 2018. He runs his own device repair business, Nelson Tech Repair, and is one of the founding members of SPARK, Barton’s entrepreneur mentorship group.