Dear College Community,
We would like your input for some final decisions on our strategic plan. Strategic planning included all of you last May, all of you again through our visioning summits, the Board of Regents visioning exercise, and a strategic planning working group (a subcommittee of the Executive Committee). A detailed history summary is available in the Combined Midterm and Follow Up Report, March 2013.

At this time, we are asking for your input on our final Vision, Values, and Mission, so that we can present a completed Strategic Plan for 2013-2017 at our May 2013 Board of Regent's meeting. This survey will only be available through Friday, April 12th ending at 1830 hours. The survey should take only 15-30 minutes of your time (dependent also upon the level of critical reflection in which you engage).

Many thanks, in advance, for your important input.

Kind regards--Frankie Harriss, Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness & Quality Assurance

Question Title

* 1. You are to select the vision statement you feel best captures our desired future, lofty, but attainable goal for the college. This is one to two sentences that should match our six board approved strategic directions stated below. Please read these six strategic directions, and then consider the optional vision statements presented. Rank the statement you prefer most as 1, second choice as 2, and your last choice as 3. On a final note, in the statement with "best practices" this means best practices/ role model in all endeavours.

Six strategic directions (We attain our vision via these strategic directions).

1. Focus on student success
The College of Micronesia-FSM will pursue excellence in student success and will develop a balance between “access and success” with appropriate career pathways for FSM students.

2. Emphasize academic offerings in service to national needs
The College of Micronesia-FSM will increase the number of 4-year program opportunities while also strengthening the career and technical educational opportunities for non-college-bound students.

3. Be financially sound, fiscally responsible, and build resources in anticipation of future needs
The College of Micronesia-FSM will generate diversified revenue sources, create an allied foundation, and accumulate reserves and endowment assets.

4. Invest in and build a strong capacity in human capital
The College of Micronesia-FSM will support and strengthen faculty, staff, and administrators through establishment of aspirational goals for credentialing and funding professional development and building upon organizational and leadership capacity.

5. Become a learning organization through development of a learning culture guided by learning leaders
The College of Micronesia-FSM will operate under the assumptions that learning is a skill and is worthy of investment and mastery, and that the communication of information and participatory governance are pivotal to organizational success. There will be support of the time, energy, and resources necessary to foster critical reflection and experimentation towards institutional improvement through double-loop learning and systematic thinking.

6. Evoke an image of quality
The College of Micronesia-FSM will be viewed as a model institution for best practices exhibited through quality, excellence, and integrity of both employees and graduates. The college will maintain regional accreditation without sanction for the maximum six-year cycle allowed by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges: Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Vision statement options:
Option A:
College of Micronesia-FSM Aspires: Our goal over the next five years is to transform COM-FSM into a learning organization that is a financially sound, premier community college recognized for exceptional student experience, exceptional employees, and our contributions to national success.

Option B:
College of Micronesia-FSM will provide educational opportunities of the highest quality and will embrace the life-long pursuit of knowledge and the enrichment of the diverse Micronesian communities we serve.

Option C:
College of Micronesia-FSM will be a best practices higher learning community committed to the development of an educated citizenry.

Question Title

* 2. After reviewing the visioning summit reports, evaluating discussions and work from two working groups (mission and strategic planning), considering input from the Executive Committee and the Planning and Resources Committee, and including input from the March 2013 Board of Regents meeting, we have narrowed the mission statement to three options we would like you to rank in order of most to least preferable. Your preferred choice should be ranked as 1, your second choice as 2, and your third/least preferred as 3.

The top two choices will be presented to the Board of Regents during their May 2013 meeting.


Option A
College of Micronesia-FSM is a continuously improving, learner-centered institution of higher education delivering relevant programs and services that maximize national, student, and stakeholder opportunities.

Option B
Historically diverse and globally connected, the College of Micronesia-FSM is a continuously improving and learner-centered institution of higher education. The college is committed to assisting in the development of the Federated States of Micronesia by providing academic, career and technical educational opportunities for student learning.

Option C
The College of Micronesia-FSM is a continuously improving best practices learner-centered institution of higher education committed to the success of the Federated States of Micronesia by providing academic, career and technical educational programs.

Question Title

* 3. Core Values are:
A set of beliefs that influence the way people and groups behave.
They are deep rooted; the "soul" of the campus.
Principles that guide behavior through time.
Communicate what the campus really believes.
Provide continuity through change.
Help people make tough decisions.
Are integrated into all levels and functions of the organization.

Some values have been pulled as themes from the visioning summit reports, but we need more college-wide input specifically into our core values. I am asking you to list at least three and up to five values you believe COM-FSM has or should have. I need you to rank them, in other words listing what you value most first, what you value second, second, what you value third, third;what you value fourth, fourth; and what you value fifth, fifth.

For example you may value students, empowerment, communication, innovation, and participatory governance. But then you need to rank them in order of most to least important to you when recording your responses here. You are not limited to existing values. We are asking what is most important to you and our college culture as you believe.

Your responses should be one word responses, or a hyphenated word.

Please keep in mind, as a public institution, we cannot have a religious focus. However you can consider things such as culture and diversity.

T