Plan 2030 is the collective vision for the College of Marin for the next five years. Stemming from COM’s mission, it is the principal document guiding all other institutional planning and decision making, including strategic planning, resource allocation, evaluation, and outcomes assessment.
By design, Plan 2030 looks different from previous plans. Its broader, more inclusive goals—paired with annually updated implementation strategies developed by faculty and staff coordination teams—create a more flexible and innovative planning structure that supports collaboration across the College.
Plan 2030 was developed through a thoughtful, inclusive and data-informed process. We began gathering input at our semiannual Convocation convening in January 2024 and throughout the spring, which resulted in our three strategic priorities: Be the Best Place to Study and Learn, a Great Place to Work and Grow, and a Catalyst for Positive Community Change.
Over the course of the academic year 2024-2025, the College’s Educational Planning Committee worked diligently to develop 5-year goals and implementation strategies for each of the strategic priorities. This work was grounded in data—specifically student achievement and outcomes data, student and employee climate surveys, and campus operational data. We sought broad engagement from all campus constituents throughout the process, including collegewide forums, leadership convenings, and participatory governance committees.
Plan 2030 reflects the College’s continued commitment to equity, institutionalizing and building on the work accomplished in the College’s 2019-2025 Educational Master Plan.
Plan 2030 5-Year Goals and Year 1 Implementation Strategies
Be the Best Place to Study and Learn
Build a faculty learning community that supports all faculty in expanding innovative, equity-minded teaching practices designed to promote student success.
Implementation Strategies
Facilitate engagement and collaboration:
- Leverage new Professional Learning and Development Center (PLDC) to increase engagement and participation
- Develop opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across departments
- Incentivize part-time faculty engagement
Prioritize assessment and continuous improvement:
- Integrate professional learning into Program Review
Promote innovation:
- Explore AI and large language models to enhance teaching
- Provide professional learning opportunities that prioritize open, equitable, universal design, and anti-racist pedagogy
- Incentivize and support faculty/student research opportunities
Enhance the student experience by expanding access to and utilization of support services and improving the campus environment.
Implementation Strategies
Enhance data-informed referral and matriculation support:
- Optimize use of ConexEd to track student utilization and engagement
- Utilize ConexEd to facilitate an integrated approach to referral and support
- Pilot mandated SEPs and meta-major selection prior to second semester for all students with completion goals
- Collect and track educational goal for ESL students to assess progress on student journey
- Expand counselor availability at all matriculation events to increase SEP participation
- Modernize COM ID card system to facilitate participation and tracking
- Assess and revamp COM website for student functionality and accessibility
Improve student engagement and the campus environment:
- Fully implement Caring Campus activities
- Promote student engagement and interaction within the course management system (CMS) and integrated learning technologies
- Explore ways to incentivize Summer Bridge participation for working students
- Implement physical campus navigability improvements and support (signage and wayfinding)
Increase student enrollment for underrepresented populations and expand existing areas of strategic growth via smooth entry, supported momentum, and equitable success across transfer and career pathways.
Implementation Strategies
Optimize data-informed scheduling and enrollment:
- Increase hybrid/hyflex/DE offerings according to demand while maintaining quality
- Assess demand and right size evening, weekend, intersession, 8-week course offerings
- Strategic scheduling of hybrid/hyflex/DE courses to prioritize timely program completion
- Eliminate fraudulent enrollment
Expand dual enrollment:
- Develop dual enrollment pathway to allow transfer after 1 year at COM post high school graduation
- Expand Career Academies program offerings and participation
- Expand outreach and messaging to parents
- Initiate data sharing agreements with K-12 systems and partners to track student progress
Expand career and transfer pathways:
- Establish new partnerships and agreements with regional 4-year institutions for guaranteed transfer, training, joint baccalaureate programs
- Expand concurrent noncredit career training opportunities and streamline noncredit-to-credit pathways available to ESL students
Be a Great Place to Work and Grow
Cultivate a culture of engagement, collaboration, and accountability.
Implementation Strategies
Strengthen participatory governance:
- Increase PGS participation across constituencies (convocation recruitment, coordinated scheduling, incentivization)
- Assess PGS effectiveness at the system and committee level
- Ensure institutional support and accountability for implementation of committee recommendations
Clarify and communicate institutional priorities:
- Ensure operational plans are aligned with Plan 2030 priorities
- Link employee roles and responsibilities to COM mission, values and Plan 2030
- Formally recognize employee contributions to achieving institutional goals
Build culture:
- Ensure all voices are heard, including those from historically marginalized groups
- Foster an environment where employees feel safe to speak up, disagree, and innovate
- Ensure transparency in decision-making at all levels
Strengthen data-informed assessment and decision-making:
- Establish AI Community of Practice to ensure responsible and innovative use of AI across the college
- Provide consistent data and strengthen noninstructional program review process to support continuous improvement in all areas
- Establish data governance team to integrate tracking, data collection, and data systems
- Strengthen link between Program Review and resource allocation
Expand systemic support for employee effectiveness via operational efficiencies designed to minimize transactional and maximize relational work.
Implementation Strategies
Optimize technology and operational processes:
- Audit and prioritize fiscal and administrative processes for automation and/or streamlining workflow
- Optimize Banner, ConexEd and other platforms already in place to automate processes
Strengthen onboarding and training support:
- Improve consistency and effectiveness of onboarding processes for new employees
- Strengthen institutional support and processes for consistent, current employee training
- Develop a centralized inventory/clearinghouse of administrative processes
- Develop easily accessible organizational charts to clarify employee roles for questions and referrals
Improve communication channels and support collaboration:
- Consolidate and improve information dissemination via established channels—administration, academic deans/chairs, PGS committees
- Develop shadowing, training and networking opportunities for departments to share and collaborate on processes
- Designate time in schedules for collaborative work on shared initiatives
Provide employee-informed professional growth opportunities for employees to excel in their work and prepare for advancement opportunities.
Implementation Strategies
Encourage and resource participation:
- Fund group participation in external PD opportunities, conferences
- Review professional learning budgets at the department level for consistency
- Structure mentorship and shadowing opportunities for classified staff
- Formally recognize employees who complete training/competency milestones
- Incorporate PD participation in employee evaluation
Optimize access and tracking:
- Fully utilize ProLearning to centralize access for employees; identify, share and track participation in external opportunities; track participation and assess effectiveness of internal offerings
- Revamp PLC website, make accessible and more visible to employees
Enable manager/supervisor support:
- Establish consistent guidelines for managers to encourage and support employee PD
- Provide managers with consistent and easily accessible data on employee PD participation
Nurture well-being via employee-informed programs, activities, and benefits.
Implementation Strategies
Conduct needs assessment:
- Conduct employee focus groups to assess needs, barriers to campus participation, and ways to support work/life balance
Encourage participation:
- Increase participation in existing benefit opportunities: EAP, IVC and KTD gyms, wellness programs, etc.
Support employee relationship building:
- Establish employee social clubs/extracurricular activities, including after work, Fridays
- Fully implement Caring Campus activities
Be a Catalyst for Positive Community Change
Develop a cohesive curricular approach to incorporating environmental action across disciplines.
Implementation Strategies
Support professional learning and research:
- Leverage PLDC to provide support for faculty to incorporate concepts of cultural biodiversity, One Health, and environmental action material into curriculum
- Develop opportunities for interdisciplinary work on environmental curriculum
- Incentivize faculty research projects that focus on environmental action and create opportunities for student participation
- Leverage use of Bolinas field station, IVC farm for training and research opportunities
Expand career pathways:
- Assess opportunities for new career pathways tied to electric vehicle technology, solar/agrivoltaics technology, and green/blue jobs
Maximize social service impact for underserved community members via collaborative coordination, promotion, and integration with community partners and agencies.
Implementation Strategies
Augment resources:
- Develop opportunities for external partners to provide onsite support
- Find ways to supplement funding for COM Cares emergency assistance
Facilitate collaboration:
- Facilitate cross-training programs so service providers understand and can refer clients to complementary resources
- Explore data sharing strategies across agencies
Reduce environmental impact institutionally and locally via collaborative efforts to address transportation, housing, waste, and energy generation/consumption issues which disproportionately impact underserved communities in Marin.
Implementation Strategies
Conduct assessment:
- Develop annual COM Environmental Report Card to message progress on collegewide sustainability efforts
- Conduct building-specific energy audits
- Develop and resource ways to audit lab operations and materials to reduce environmental impact
- Conduct transportation survey to assess current environmental impact
Implement campus initiatives:
- Implement campus waste reduction and energy reduction initiatives in sustainability plan
- Incentivize public transportation/carbon neutral commuting for students and employees
- Explore options for providing transportation between KTD, IVC and Bolinas
Support learning and behavioral change:
- Engage students and employees collegewide in environmental and climate action learning and activities
- Develop and incentivize waste reduction training for students and employees