Strategic Plan

Initiative One: We will educate our students to change their world.

Initiative One: We will educate our students to change their world.

Objectives

1. Create a residence life environment that supports a healthy educational process, enhancing study areas and conducive study environments.
2. Design experiences that integrate opportunities of service, missions and ministry with academic programs, as well as design academic programs that promote civic engagement to undergird service initiatives, in helping students better connect their academic preparation for service to God.
3. Enhance connections between the Student Development Committee of the faculty and the Student Union Board to include intellectually stimulating events, such as movie dialogues and discussions of important ideas or current events.
4. Enhance connections between the Athletics Committee of the faculty and the Athletics Director to ensure a quality academic experience for student athletes and to further foster a campus environment whereby faculty and coaches provide mutual support to student athletes.
5. Continue efforts to recruit more students on the basis of academic ability and interest through the increase of merit-based scholarships.
6. Enhance student responsibility through the development and implementation of an academic honor code. back to top

Objectives

1. Increase international study/travel opportunities for students and faculty.
2. Add a global awareness component and/or foreign language requirement to the general education curriculum.
3. Increase the number of international students on campus.
4. Establish a Visiting Scholars program to bring international faculty to campus.
5. Add a full-time faculty member in foreign language. back to top

Goal Three: Expand and strengthen academic offerings.

Objectives

1. Develop and implement one or more new, relevant programs per year for the next five years.
2. Redesign the general education program so that it becomes a distinctive feature of the college and better prepares students to impact the world.
3. Strengthen the Honors Program.
4. Identify and promote distinguished academic programs.
5. Pursue permission from SACS to offer the master’s degree. back to top

Objectives

1. Increase the number of AmeriCorps/Bonner Leader slots at a rate of three per year.
2. Foster strategies that will help the campus community understand civic engagement and service learning by creating discipline related projects.
3. Position the Dan MacMillan Center as the focal point of coordination for all college mission and service opportunities.
4. Increase the resources for the Dan MacMillan Center.
5. Form an advisory council of college and community partners to plan, execute, and evaluate mission needs and opportunities on an annual basis. back to top

Initiative Two: We will enable our students to hear and respond to their call.

Objectives

1. Establish a Center for Calling and Career Exploration.
2. Equip faculty and staff to work with students in responding to their vocation and call.
3. Integrate the best practices in career guidance and counseling with an understanding of calling as a significant part of the Bluefield College educational experience.
4. Emphasize hearing and responding to the call as a significant part of campus ministries. back to top

Objectives

1. Create an Academic Student Support Center.
2. Implement a mentor/tutor program for degree completion students.
3. Improve the Freshman Year Experience.
4. Focus on the development of students’ basic skills, including character development. back to top

Objectives

1. Increase participation of the campus community in convocation experiences.
2. Increase institutional support to raise the profile and diversity of speakers, performers and programs.
3. Establish endowed funds to support the fall and spring lectureships. back to top

1. Develop a peer to peer mentoring program.
2. Enhance and establish relationships with other colleges to provide expanded opportunities for students to serve the local and global community.
3. Develop an intentional leadership training program to help students enhance their skills.
4. Create ways for upperclassmen to connect with freshmen within degree programs and academic pursuits. back to top

Objectives

1. Create a comprehensive plan in conjunction with the academic community so that the co-curricular experience supports the educational mission.
2. Implement a plan to enhance character development and a sense of community among our students.
3. Target specific activities that will bring the whole community together, resident and commuter.
4. Create a residential community where we maintain an occupancy rate of 90% of capacity through the addition of a new residential facility, the repair and renovation of current residence facilities, the creation of living and learning options, and the involvement of our faculty and staff.
5. Grow the intramural and activities programs to support the well-being of all our students by providing quality physical activity options through enhanced facilities and increased personnel. back to top

Initiative Three: We will enhance our resources to accomplish our mission and vision.

Objectives

1. Grow the endowment by $5 million in gifts over the next five years.
2. Grow the annual fund to $425,000 in annual gift support in five years.
3. Increase alumni participation rate to 20% over the next five years.
4. Increase enrollment through recruitment and retention to 1,100 over the next five years.
5. Provide each faculty and staff member with at least one professional development opportunity every other year.
6. Continue the development of an enhanced and nurturing environment through the improvement and repair of the current facilities and the creation of new structures to support the living and learning community. back to top

Objectives

1. Integrate the total Bluefield College culture into a comprehensive marketing strategy by engaging outside counsel to assess the current situation and recommend improvements.
2. Promote the quality of the college’s academic and co-curricular programs in a more aggressive manner especially in Mercer and Tazewell counties.         

Objectives

1. Increase the number and percentage of terminally-degreed faculty.
2. Compensate faculty at the 50^th percentile level of our aspirational group.
3. Develop and execute a plan designed to compensate staff at the average of comparable positions as defined by the most relevant local job market data, such as that published by the Virginia Department of Labor or the local chamber of commerce.
4. Continue to provide enhanced health and dental insurance benefits comparable to similar institutions, as defined by CUPA-HR.
5. Enhance the retirement plan, seeking to ensure that the retirement plan is competitive compared to the plans of similar colleges as reported by CUPA-HR.
6. Achieve 12 semester hour loads for all full-time faculty.
7. Increase encouragement of and financial support for faculty professional development and achievement.
8. Insure that office spaces allocated to faculty and staff are professional in function and appearance. back to top

Initiative Four: We will engage our communities to foster mutually beneficial partnerships.

Objectives

1. Create lifelong opportunities for alumni to interact with current students and other alumni by participating in campus service, student and athletic activities, enrollment recruitment, fundraising, and guest speaking.
2. Reinvigorate the alumni relations program to create an excitement that will strengthen and renew alumni connections. back to top

Objectives

1. Foster a better understanding of access to multiple programs and services offered by Bluefield College.
2. Engage our partners in education, health services and professional institutions to create and offer innovative educational and lifelong learning opportunities. back to top

Objectives

1. Create an External Relations and Economic Development role that works with community, governmental and non-profit organizations in advancing the mission of the College.
2. Engage our partners in business, industry, and regional communities to develop, deliver and assess technical, career and professional programs.
3. Form and maintain collaborative relationships with local, state, and national government leaders to meet the needs of the communities we serve.
4. Establish the Center for Leadership and Community Development to strategically work with private, public and non-profit agencies to develop new approaches to building and sustaining high levels of employee leadership and strengthening communities. back to top

Objectives

1. Hire a Director of Church Relations to enhance campus relations and programming.
2. Strengthen the existing programs which are already reaching churches, such as Impact Teams and the music and drama groups.
3. Develop an annual or bi-annual Youth Ministers retreat on the College campus.
4. Invite the leadership of BGAV churches to campus to speak at convocation or other forums in order to interact with the college community.
5. Establish a “Bluefield in the Churches” Day on which students, faculty, and staff are preaching in churches. back to top