PCC launches “The Rising Tide of Change: 2025-2028 Strategic Plan”
Story by James Hill. Photos by Ric Getter.
Dr. Adrien Bennings, PCC president, gives a ‘shout out’ to viewing parties at other campuses.
Portland Community College has set the bar high for the next three years, and that’s how it wants it.
On April 24, PCC launched its highly anticipated 2025-2028 Strategic Plan, “The Rising Tide of Change,” during a celebratory event held at the Performing Arts Center Lobby on the Sylvania Campus. The launch was simulcast across PCC’s Rock Creek, Cascade, and Southeast campuses through viewing parties, allowing college-wide participation in this momentous occasion.
The event featured a one-hour presentation led by PCC President Dr. Adrien Bennings, who unveiled the strategic vision and direction that will guide the college over the next three years. She was joined by Cabinet members in a series of presentations, each highlighting one of the four central goals of the plan. The gathering concluded with networking opportunities, a celebration of PCC’s collaborative efforts—and, of course, cupcakes.
The plan aligns with the PCC mission and the president’s vision.
“PCC’s mission to support student success and educational access remains steadfast, regardless of external factors,” said Dr. Bennings. “We remain committed to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all students.”
The strategic goals for 2025–2028 include: 1) “New Student Onboarding,” (Theme: Holistic Student Support), 2) “Strategic Course Scheduling,” (Theme: Operational & Academic Excellence), 3) “Guided Pathways & Program Mapping” (Theme: Academic Excellence), and 4) “Increasing Student Scholarships & Wrap-Around Support,” (Theme: Holistic Student Support). A complete rundown of themes and aspirational statements as well as the goals can be found at the 2025-2028 Strategic Plan webpage.
Staff and faculty were able to mingle and enjoy refreshments and cupcakes following the event.
Bold Planning Takes Shape
Dr. Bennings detailed the robust planning process that underpinned the strategic plan’s creation. Over winter term in 2024, PCC hosted 24 deep-dive conversations and distributed a broad survey, resulting in responses from 769 staff and faculty members and 649 students.
From this extensive engagement emerged six strategic themes and aspirational statements, capturing the community’s vision for the college’s future. Students, employees, and board members played an active role in prioritizing goals and objectives, culminating in a community-driven, board-approved plan that reflects the values and needs of PCC’s diverse community.
Across the college, employees participated in identifying their department, division and college unit imperatives, which were developed into refined goals and objectives. Students, staff, faculty and PCC Board members prioritized the proposed goals and objectives, with 960 students, 365 employees, and five board members participating. The four goals with the highest priority rating across three groups—students, employees and board—were identified and approved by the board in January 2025.
The president said the strength of the new plan was a result of the 2020–2025 Strategic Plan, which laid the groundwork for meaningful, lasting change.
“We made powerful strides in removing barriers—physical, digital, and systemic—ensuring that more of our spaces, services, and programs are truly accessible to all,” she said. “We also deepened our presence in the community through our Opportunity Centers, which have become welcoming, trusted hubs for connection. They’ve opened new doors to economic mobility, empowerment, and personal transformation. These efforts—like so many others across the college—are a testament to our shared commitment to creating a more equitable and inclusive PCC.”
Associate Vice President of Enrollment Strategy and Management Ryan Clark discusses improving the new student experience.
Student Onboarding a Key Pillar
Members of the President’s Cabinet and strategic planning team presented on each area and underscored the importance of the strategic plan. Associate Vice President of Enrollment Strategy and Management Ryan Clark discussed the goal associated with new student onboarding. He said it was important that new students have a coordinated, streamlined process to get from the point of application submission through registering for their first term.
“Our data tells us an important story — we have great success in generating interest with prospective students, and getting them as far as submitting an application, he said. “Where our data tells us we need to focus on — and we hear it from our students directly — is what happens immediately after that admissions application is submitted, all the way through getting registered and starting that first term.”
Onboarding has become an issue as many community college students don’t have the time to complete the process, or experience obstacles.
“This is about how we work together to redesign how students get set up for success,” Clark said. “We know we need more direct support resources for students as well — adding in peer-to-peer support and mentoring, as well as adopting a coaching-based model for serving students will help us build some scalable systems to support students more intentionally.”
Academic and Career Pathway Dean of Health Professions Janeen Hull (left) and Academic Affairs VP Jennifer Ernst enjoy a moment post-launch.
Program Mapping Ramps Up
Vice President of Academic Affairs Jennifer Ernst highlighted PCC’s “Guided Pathways & Program Mapping” goal. The college is in the process of mapping its programs to help improve student retention and success. The pilot mapping project has been led by 100 staff, including deans, advisors and faculty.
“Over the next academic year we will complete the mapping work of 90-plus programs and design a format to make them visible and accessible to students,” Ernst said. “Additionally, we all know that curriculum is a living thing, so we will create a mechanism to evaluate how these maps serve students and how we can continually improve their functionality. The result will be a framework that encourages our college to continually improve how we support students.
In addition, the college will improve course scheduling in alignment with Achieving the Dream’s framework to better help students plan and integrate data into their class selections. And, through increased support and awareness of the PCC Foundation, bolster the college’s student scholarships and wrap-around support through partnerships, comprehensive campaigns and expanding model programs like Future Connect.
“Each of these initiatives reflects our commitment to improving the student experience and ensuring every learner has a clear, supported path to their goals,” added Dr. Bennings.
More details at pcc.edu/strategic-plan