sait.ca THINK BIG THINK APPLIED EDUCATION 2015-2020 strategic plan
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To the more than 1,000 people who contributed their thoughts, ideas, hopes and time to the creation of our plan, thank you. Our faculty, employees, students, alumni, donors and industry and community partners participated in focus groups, provided written submissions, responded to questionnaires, engaged in retreats and even gave input in coffee lines. You encouraged us to focus on what we do best: serve students and industry with excellence in applied education. We heard you. We are more than the sum of our parts because of you. Together, we will make our future. 2 3
Giving students and industry the edge 4 5
I m proud of SAIT s accomplishments throughout its almost 100 year history. I ve seen firsthand what the SAIT community can accomplish. And I know we re about to achieve more. Alberta s employers require skilled workers to grow their businesses. The labour shortage, shifting demographics and need for economic diversification in our province are real and projected to continue. Post-secondary education s role in fostering prosperity is intensifying as governments place more importance on skills that help people provide for their families and contribute to their communities. This is the kind of education SAIT delivers. With this strategic plan, SAIT remains committed to ensuring students have access to applied education so they gain the skills needed for successful careers and employers have the talented employees they need for their businesses to thrive. SAIT and its dedicated staff and instructors will continue to lead in applied education. Through our teaching, learning and research we will give our students and industry partners the edge in a competitive landscape. On behalf of the Board of Governors, I welcome you to SAIT s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan. We hope you re as excited about the future as we are. Joseph Lougheed Chair, SAIT Board of Governors 6 7
A shared vision for success 8 9
We know that in a globalized world, the future will be built by those with the skills needed to deliver value in an increasingly competitive environment. At SAIT's core is a shared commitment to providing applied education and applied research opportunities that contribute to the success of our students and industry partners. We have seen increases in the demand for our programs and services because of this reality. As demographics continue to shift, our future success depends on our ability to attract leading talent, be innovative, deepen our relationships with industry and secure the necessary resources to support our students and partners. As one of Alberta s top post-secondary institutions, we are recognized nationally as a leader in high quality, innovative applied education and outcomes-based applied research and are well received internationally for applied and energy education. This reputation is most importantly built on producing graduates who create meaningful careers and opportunities in Alberta and beyond. At SAIT, applied education means the development of the hand and the mind through innovation, leading programs and best-practice pedagogy. It further leverages technology, applied research and experiential learning as critical to the success of our students and partners. I m delighted to share with you our vision and concise strategic plan that is true to the commitments we have made to our students and partners, recognizes our opportunities and challenges, inspires our community to achieve and focuses us on our next level of accomplishment. We are ready to build the next stage in SAIT s history. It is time to reimagine the possibilities applied education can create for our students and industry partners. We hope you are ready to join us and take up the challenge to think big, think applied education. David Ross, PhD President and CEO 10 11
Preparing students for successful careers and lives 12 13
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SAIT s vision is to be a Global leader in applied education 16 17
We believe in excellence as demonstrated by fresh thinking, best practices, entrepreneurial initiatives, bold solutions to new opportunities and fiscal responsibility. 18 19
We believe in Collaboration and we work together as a learning community to serve our students and partners. 20 21
We believe in Fairness modelled by honest and ethical dealings in our relationships with students, employees and partners. 22 23
Priorities We promise to give our students and industry partners our very best. We will be realistic as we reach for our goals and seize emerging opportunities. To realize our vision and honour our beliefs, we will focus on five strategic priorities: sustainable growth, student success, employee success, applied education innovation and partnerships. 24 25
Sustainable growth We know the transformative power of postsecondary education. We also know funding models will shift and demand for our programs will continue to evolve. We will both anticipate and respond to the demand, developing more opportunities for our students across a wider array of programs and courses. This is our challenge and we re up for it. To deliver this we will: serve more learners in the spaces created by our recent capital expansion envision and implement a capital development plan to lay the groundwork for renovations to existing facilities and the expansion of learning capacity, residence and services grow international activities that support Albertans including: increasing study abroad opportunities continuing to diversify international student enrolments expanding international training opportunities. 26 27
Student success We know skills developed in an applied education environment give students an advantage in a competitive global labour market. SAIT prepares students for successful careers and lives of influence in Alberta and beyond. We do this by providing outstanding learning experiences and close connections to industry. We excel at applied education and will do more to help our students be successful in work and life. To achieve this we will: renew our student engagement by: launching a new campus life program continuing to improve, streamline and integrate student support and services areas establish an ongoing program and service review process that supports quality improvement increase opportunities for students from under-represented groups to excel at SAIT extend SAIT s program reach in line with growth objectives and industry needs through: new program development increased use of education technology flexible learning options leveraging of online opportunities increase student pathways by: ensuring all SAIT students have and are aware of degree or advanced education completion options at SAIT, through Campus Alberta or with other partner institutions. 28 29
Employee success Our people make SAIT great. They are passionate about student success and applied education. Our people deliver our programs and help build our institution. We will create more opportunities for them to build satisfying and successful careers at SAIT. To accomplish this we will: develop a recruitment plan to showcase SAIT as a destination employer, attracting the best talent who will be role models for students and central to the growth of our institution revitalize our engagement and recognition programs to improve retention and career options continue to cultivate best practices to improve productivity through better processes explore and design alternative models of employment to take advantage of available talent. 30 31
Applied education innovation Applied education is our strength. Innovation in applied education will be our leadership advantage. Bold thinking and innovative methodologies tested and proven in our labs and classrooms will demonstrate our thought leadership. Our students and industry partners count on us to lead in our programs, courses and applied research, so they have a competitive edge in local and global markets. We are ready to exceed their expectations. To do this we will: invest in initiatives that demonstrate thought leadership in applied education including: renewing our Centres of Excellence expanding our living classroom and lab initiatives establishing more research chairs in applied education and student success developing and implementing leadingedge applied education technology for the classroom and beyond build on existing successes to grow as a leader in applied education including: creating a Global Institute for Energy Education advancing green technology and waste reduction strategies capitalizing on SAIT s entrepreneurial culture to help students build their competitive edge and develop skills needed for the labour market of the future grow applied research by developing new research areas including education technology for applied education environments demonstrate the value applied education delivers for our students and industry partners by: celebrating our 100th anniversary with our community and partners modernizing SAIT s brand to reflect our new vision as we enter our second century. 32 33
Partnerships We know future prosperity depends on skilled workers. We will anticipate future labour needs and add value to industry by working closely with those who count on us. We also know we can t do it alone. We will focus on partnerships with industry looking for skilled graduates, with companies in need of applied research solutions and with governments eager to be part of fuelling local and global economies. Our students will benefit from exceptional applied education because of these partnerships. To achieve this we will: create a best-practice service model to make it easier for industry to connect with SAIT leverage our applied research capacity to: bring industry and students together to solve problems establish international partnerships with industry and other postsecondary institutions create more dual credit programs and partnerships establish an Innovation Fund to support on-campus collaborative solutions. 34 35
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