Educational Strategic Plan

Pleasant Hill Campus - Grass and Trees

College Goal: Advance equity in student goal completion by increasing holistic support and eliminating barriers to success.

The Diablo Valley College Educational Strategic Plan 2026–2031 (ESP) is a comprehensive academic, student services, and administrative services plan that guides the college in responding to the evolving needs of our students and community over the next five years.

The ESP affirms our mission, vision, and values and describes our college goal, six strategic priorities, and supporting objectives and action steps. The plan provides an overarching framework for institutional decision-making, integrated planning, and resource allocation. This integration helps ensure that the college’s efforts remain focused on increasing equitable access, strengthening student success, and deepening community engagement.

Aligned with district priorities and statewide initiatives, the ESP also serves as a roadmap for enhancing programs and services, supporting innovation, and advancing educational excellence.

Read the Educational Strategic Plan

Strategic Priorities

Through the Diablo Valley College Educational Strategic Plan development process, the college identified one college goal and six strategic priorities with accompanying objectives and action steps.

Together, these components represent the work of all college divisions – instruction, student services, and administrative services – and provide a framework for advancing the college’s mission and improving student success.

The college goal and strategic priorities articulate collegewide aspirations while the objectives outline the approaches to achieve them. Then, the actions steps identify specific activities to implement the objectives.

  • Objective 1.1: Expand equitable access to programs, services, and learning opportunities.

    Action Steps
    1. Increase outreach to underserved communities and schools.
    2. Expand targeted recruitment and retention strategies for dual enrollment and working adults.
    3. Expand access for working adults and nontraditional students through flexible scheduling and targeted programming.
    KPIs
    • Increase recruitment contacts by 2% annually from baseline
    • Select 2-3 priority enrollment process analysis improvement recommendations and see them through to completion
    • Increase high school outreach contacts with historically underserved students by 2% annually from baseline

    Objective 1.2: Implement a comprehensive strategic enrollment management approach.

    Action Steps
    1. Align strategic enrollment management practices with the Student Centered Funding Formula.
    2. Establish a comprehensive retention plan.
    3. Continue balancing access, retention, and fiscal sustainability
    4. Gain understanding of the reasons students apply but do not enroll.
    KPIs
    • Increase student enrollment / FTES by 2.5% annually from baseline
    • Increase enrollment of adult learners and student groups prioritized by the SCFF and the SEP by 2% annually from baseline
    • Increase special admit FTES (dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment) by 5% annually from baseline
    • Increase course completion rate 2% annually from baseline

    Objective 1.3: Develop student-centered schedules that support access and completion.

    Action Steps
    1. Improve coordination of schedules across campuses, modalities, and disciplines.
    2. Align course schedule with program pathways.
    3. Create flexible schedules based on data-driven student need.
    4. Improve course schedule efficiency.
    KPIs
    • Achieve a minimum 80% course fill rate and seat utilization at census across all disciplines
    • 100% of courses aligned with program pathways
    • Decrease average units attempted before completion by 10%

  • Objective 2.1: Increase access to holistic student support services that address academic, financial, mental health, and basic needs barriers.

    Action Steps
    1. Expand the awareness and access to available support services.
    2. Increase proactive outreach to students experiencing academic or financial challenges.
    3. Expand mental health and basic needs support.
    4. Strengthen targeted support for disproportionately impacted students.
    KPIs
    • Increase utilization of academic & support services by 2% annually from baseline
    • Increase first primary to secondary term persistence by 2% annually from baseline
    • Eliminate substantive DI in persistence and service utilization for DI populations

    Objective 2.2: Foster a campus culture of belonging and engagement.

    Action Steps
    1. Increase opportunities for students to build community, including club participation and career related activities.
    2. Provide culturally responsive student engagement events.
    3. Improve marketing and communication to support activity and event attendance.
    KPIs
    • Conduct a biennial student survey to establish baseline and tracking, and increase culture of belonging and engagement metrics by 2% annually from baseline
    • Utilization of DVCSync to track student club, student government, and college event engagements

    Objective 2.3: Improve coordination of student services.

    Action Steps
    1. Align onboarding, advising, and student retention programs.
    2. Develop cross-department referral systems, including warm handoffs between services.
    3. Encourage collaboration between instructional faculty and counselors.
    KPIs
    • Universal adoption of TargetX to track student engagement + student service touchpoints
    • Increase first primary to secondary term persistence by 2% annually from baseline
    • 100% comprehensive student educational plan completion rates

  • Objective 3.1: Clarify academic and career pathways.

    Action Steps
    1. Develop and maintain clear program maps for all degrees and certificates.
    2. Align pathways with transfer and workforce outcomes.
    3. Streamline degree and certificates to simplify student pathway navigation.
    4. Align course sequencing across programs to support timely completion.
    KPIs
    • Establish and maintain updated program maps for 100% of programs
    • Decrease average units attempted before completion by 10%

    Objective 3.2: Strengthen coordinated onboarding, advising, and student planning processes.

    Action Steps
    1. Create a more robust student orientation experience.
    2. Connect orientation, counseling, and case management to interest areas.
    3. Expand proactive advising and counseling support.
    4. Improve collaboration between student services and instruction.
    KPIs
    • 100% of students have a comprehensive student education plan
    • Decrease average units attempted before completion by 10%
    • Increase course completion rate 2% annually from baseline

    Objective 3.3: Increase student engagement with career exploration and academic planning resources.

    Action Steps
    1. Expand career counseling, exploration, and job readiness workshops.
    2. Expand internship, experiential learning, and job shadowing opportunities related to chosen field of study or area of career interest.
    3. Partner with employers and community organizations for career events and networking opportunities.
    KPIs
    • Establish process for inventorying career exploration and internship opportunities and increasing 2% annually from baseline
    • Universal adoption of TargetX to track student engagement + student service touchpoints

  • Objective 4.1: Strengthen inclusive teaching and learning.

    Action Steps
    1. Embed equity-minded and inclusive practices by incorporating DEIA, UDL, and RSI principles into teaching pedagogy and course development and revision processes.
    2. Foster a college culture that encourages innovative teaching practices.
    3. Provide professional learning on equity, accessibility, online teaching, and inclusive pedagogy.
    KPIs
    • Increase course success rates (overall, disaggregated, discipline, instructor levels) to 79%
    • Conduct biennial employee survey to establish baseline and tracking, and increase professional learning metrics by 2% annually from baseline
    • 95% of Course Outline of Records will embed DEIA, UDL, and RSI principles
    • 85% of all online courses will meet ACCJC RSI requirements

    Objective 4.2: Remove institutional barriers that limit access and completion.

    Action Steps
    1. Ensure website information is clear, easy to navigate, and up-to-date.
    2. Improve accessibility of online materials and digital platforms.
    3. Improve the student application and registration processes.
    4. Simplify graduation petition and waitlist processes.
    KPIs
    • Select 3-5 priority process analysis improvement recommendations (e.g., SIG) and see them through to completion
    • Increase enrollment of adult learners and student groups prioritized by the SCFF and the SEP by 2% annually from baseline
    • Increase dual enrollment participation by 5% annually from baseline

    Objective 4.3: Increase degree, certificate, and transfer completion while closing equity gaps in student success outcomes.

    Action Steps
    1. Implement strategies to reduce equity gaps in retention and completion.
    2. Embed equity and inclusion into daily practices.
    3. Increase proactive awarding opportunities.
    KPIs
    • Increase total degrees and certificates awarded annually by 30%
    • Increase total transfers annually by 30%
    • Increase successful completion of both transfer level math and English within the first year by 2% annually from baseline
      •Increase course completion rate 2% annually from baseline
      •Eliminate substantive disproportionate impact in above metrics for DI populations

  • Objective 5.1: Develop and continuously improve academic and workforce-aligned programs that lead to transfer, career, and employment outcomes.

    Action Steps
    1. Use regional labor market data to inform program development and improvement.
    2. Develop new programs aligned with high-demand fields.
    3. Expand learning options, including credit for prior learning, noncredit, short-term certificates, and workforce training programs.
    4. Streamline process for curriculum updates and new degree and certificate development.
    5. Conduct regular program viability and improvement reviews.
    KPIs
    • Increase number of students completing 9+ CTE units within an academic year by 2% from baseline
    • Establish and utilize LMI alignment thresholds to determine viability of new and existing programs
    • Increase the percentage of students who earn a living wage for the region by 10%

    Objective 5.2: Expand industry partnerships to strengthen workforce pathways and provide students with career-connected learning opportunities.

    Action Steps
    1. Develop employer partnerships for internships and apprenticeships.
    2. Expand work-based learning opportunities.
    3. Host industry panels and employer engagement events.
    4. Strengthen employer participation in advisory committees and collaboration on curriculum development.
    KPIs
    • Process for inventorying pre-apprenticeship, apprenticeship, and internship partnerships has been implemented
    • Increase total career education degrees and certificates awarded annually by 30%
    • Process for tracking industry-relevant employer engagement and advisory committee participation has been implemented

    Objective 5.3: Strengthen partnerships with universities, K-12 districts, and community organizations.

    Action Steps
    1. Strengthen transfer articulation agreements with universities.
    2. Strengthen dual and concurrent enrollment pathways with K–12 districts.
    3. Expand community engagement and outreach initiatives.
    4. Develop collaborative programs with community organizations.
    KPIs
    • Increase special admit FTES (dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment) by 5% annually
    • Increase the number of CCAP sections
    • Increase high school outreach opportunities with historically underrepresented students by 2% annually from baseline
    • Increase the number of students engaging with community and college /university partners by 2% annually from baseline

  • Objective 6.1: Strengthen institutional data capacity and promote data-informed decision-making.

    Action Steps
    1. Develop institutional data collection and analytic tools to support data-informed decision-making.
    2. Expand access to disaggregated student outcomes data.
    3. Build collegewide data support capacity.
    KPIs
    • Dashboards to track key initiatives and planning models (e.g., ESP, SCFF) have been developed
    • Conduct biennial employee survey to establish baseline and tracking and increase data utilization metrics by 5% biennially from baseline
    • Track progress in meeting data utilization needs

    Objective 6.2: Align planning, budgeting, and resource allocation with strategic priorities.

    Action Steps
    1. Integrate college goal and strategic priorities into budgeting processes.
    2. Align planning and budget allocation with SCFF priorities.
    3. Strengthen alignment of program review with resource allocation decisions.
    4. Improve transparency of resource allocation decisions.
    KPIs
    • ESP goals and objectives are clearly connected with budgeting and resource allocation processes
    • Establish a college-level SCFF predictability calculator
    • Implementation of Nuventive to track resource allocation decisions

    Objective 6.3: Strengthen professional learning to support onboarding, leadership, and data-informed decision-making.

    Action Steps
    1. Create employee onboarding and orientation programs that support effective integration into the college community.
    2. Provide training in data literacy, including interpreting and applying disaggregated student success data and shared definitions.
    3. Expand leadership development opportunities for faculty, classified professionals, and managers.
    KPIs
    • Establish process for tracking new employee participation in a structured onboarding opportunity and increase by 2% annually from baseline
    • Increase number of unique Tableau users by 10%
    • Conduct biennial employee survey to establish baseline and tracking and increase data utilization metrics by 5% biennially from baseline
    • Track progress in meeting data utilization needs

    Objective 6.4: Foster a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

    Action Steps
    1. Engage in cross-department collaboration and knowledge sharing.
    2. Identify and share effective practices across departments and programs.
    3. Celebrate and share innovation and improvement efforts across the college.
    KPIs
    • Conduct biennial employee survey to establish baseline and tracking, and increase culture of collaboration and continuous improvement by 5% biennially from baseline
    • Annual review of ESP outcomes and disaggregated student success data
    • Implementation of Nuventive to track program review completion and progress toward goals