Fall 2025 Kick-Off! August 29, 2025

The SPARC committee officially launched its 2025–26 work at our August 29th meeting, setting the stage for a year of important collaboration. We began by reviewing subcommittee membership and giving members the opportunity to request changes to their assignments. Updates were shared on key initiatives impacting our work, including district-wide alignment on mission, vision, and values, as well as the Title V grant proposal and other strategic priorities.

Fall semester plans were summarized for each subcommittee: Program Review is beginning a cycle, Strategic Planning is identifying implementation teams and monitoring progress, Annual Planning is refining and supporting the resource request process, and CBAC is preparing for budget prioritization and reduction planning. The group also engaged in an activity to identify and share interests—reminding ourselves to focus first on underlying needs and values before jumping to solutions.

The year ahead will move us “beyond the pilot, into the practice,” as we strengthen alignment, build consensus, and make progress on behalf of the college community.

March 17 2025 Updates

The new pilot resource request process closed on 2/19. The requests that were submitted were first prioritized by executive leaders and then reviewed and priotized by SPARC on 2/28. Communication to those that are prioritized for immediate funding will be sent the week of 3/17. As additional funding becomes available, more requests can be prioritized for funding. 

Next Steps: 

• The committee will review the pilot process and begin preparing for a cycle of resource requests and goal setting that will be established for academic year 2026.

February 4th 2025 Updates

Between December 2024 and January 2025, the annual planning subcommittee held multiple meetings to develop a new annual planning process, streamlining the information collection on an annual basis, improving the efficiency of resource requests, and relying on the redesigned program review process to collect in-depth analysis. 

Early discussions focused on developing a standardized form and improving communication about the new process. Subsequent meetings reviewed the clarity and effectiveness of the annual planning form and prioritization rubric. The group also worked on structuring different types of funding requests, addressing concerns about collecting the right information for the right purpose and aligning scoring. 

In the final meeting, they explored creating a centralized Google site to streamline resource requests and goal setting, refining submission timelines, and clarifying resources available for allocation. 

The annual planning process was released on February 3rd. 

Next Steps: 

• Forms are due on February 19th from unit leaders

• Requests will be prioritized by executive leaders by February 25th and forwarded to SPARC

• SPARC will finalized their recommendations for allocation by February 28th

March 17 2025 Updates

The Strategic Planning Committee has been reviewing and prioritizing initiatives and goals for the new strategic plan in preparation for the Campus Conversation on March 21st. A full list of ideas collected up to this point was reviewed at the last meeting, with all members of the committee selecting the iniatives that should move forward. These will be reviewed by President Leshinskie in preparation for the full campus review at the Campus Conversation. 

Next Steps:

• Campus Conversation around the Strategic Plan on March 21st

• Additional event planning needed to finalize the plan

February 4th 2025 Updates

Between December 5, 2024, and February 4, 2025, the team held a series of meetings focused on the development and refinement of Scottsdale Community College’s strategic plan, known as Scottsdale ASPIRE.

Initial discussions involved refining the college’s mission statement, preparing for a college solution design session, and integrating strategy into budget planning. As the process advanced, the team reviewed community input, considered potential updates to the mission statement, and prioritized key aspirations for the college’s future direction.

The final meeting focused on reviewing outcomes from the solution design session, emphasizing specificity that is needed in the objectives of the new strategic plan, and prioritizing ideas while accounting for budget constraints. Throughout the process, ensuring alignment with institutional goals and fostering broad stakeholder involvement remained central priorities.

The Committee is finalizing themes and prioritizing ideas from initial ideation, which will be shared with the campus through events to capture detailed feedback to guide the next steps of the plan development.

Next Steps:

• Preparing for upcoming events for campus engagement with initial themes and ideas

• Campus Conversation around the Strategic Plan on March 21st

March 17 2025 Updates

Here is a summary of the budget reduction proposals that have been approved for implementation:

• $150,000-$200,000 Recalculation of General Supply Budgets – last year, over $200,000 of general supply budgets went unused by the end of the fiscal year. CBAC has recalculated general supplies budgets across the college to more closely reflect actual spending and transfer activity. Budget managers will have an opportunity to get support in making adjustments to the proposed budget amounts before they are final. More information about the specific reduction amounts will be sent to budget managers.

• $462,309 Reduction of Unspent Funds in Part-Time Faculty Lines – several budget lines that fund part-time faculty pay have been historically over budgeted. CBAC has come to consensus on reducing these lines by a total of $462,309 to reflect actual levels of spending from these lines over the past two years. 

• $323,212 Reduction of Four Vacant Lines – CBAC, in collaboration with leadership and stakeholders in the impacted areas, has identified four vacant lines that will be a part of our reduction. These lines are not funding any person or activity at the campus currently:

  • Development Vacancy - Program Coordinator

  • SEL Vacancy - Administrative Specialist Sr.

  • CTL Vacancy - Training Development Consultant

  • President’s Office Vacancy - Administrative Specialist

• $500,000 Summer Faculty Pay Budget Line Adjustment – SCC remains fully committed to providing summer courses at the level that best meets the needs of our students. However, this proposal will shift $500,000 of this expense from our adopted budget, and, alternatively, a portion of this expense will be funded by one-time funds available within the academic year. This shift allows us to take advantage of the timing of the first part of our summer to pull from available funds that have to be spent down before the year ends.

• $80,000 Part-Time Wage Reductions - several part-time wage budgets that have not had any expenses in the last two years will be reviewed for potential reduction. 

On March 7, CBAC approved an additional proposal that will result in an additional $122,000 reduction that will be reviewed the week of 3/17 by SPARC. CBAC also approved the development of a contingency line for additional additional savings over and above our expected reduction that will be prioritized for units who reduced their general supplies budgets and need additional funding support.

Next Steps:

• Identify guiding principles for future year reduction planning

• Rank underfunded line items in order of importance for permanent funding reallocation

• Monitor and support the current year spend down

February 4th 2025 Updates

As of the end of January, two CBAC decisions had reached consensus through Cabinet 

• CBAC identified overfunded budget lines for reallocation or reduction in Fall 2024 = $382,479

• Zero-based budget pilot approved by CBAC for general supplies and part-time wages = $205,000 estimated

On January 31st, CBAC was presented with an initial list of potential budget reduction options for consideration that were developed from conversations with executive leadership and a review of historical spending patterns. For year one, all indications are that the options for consideration will not impact staff or faculty currently in OYO or permanent roles.

Next Steps:

• These options will be reviewed for consensus conversations on February 7th. If consensus is reached, the recommendations will be provided to SPARC for consideration.

• An estimated year 1 reduction has to be identified by mid-February

• The year 1 reduction has to be finalized by March

• After the year 1 reduction plan is finalized, CBAC will engage in developing a plan for years 2-5.

March 17 2025 Updates

The pilot program review is running in March and April for the following programs:

• Yoga

• Visual Communications

• Education

• Community Health Worker

• Cannabis

All piloting programs have had an initial pre-planning meeting to prepare for the process. Data Review sessions and Planning sessions will be held to complete the process.

Next Steps:

• Run the pilot Data Review and Planning sessions for pilot units

• Develop SWOT analyses for piloting units and long-term plans

• Summarize the outcomes for committee and Cabinet review

• Determine adjustments to the process and plan for academic year 2026 implementation

February 4th 2025 Updates

Between December 2, 2024, and January 31, 2025, the team held a series of meetings to develop and refine the program review process. Initial discussions focused on the initiation of concurrent classes for high school students, the formation of subcommittees, and the importance of defining program parameters to ensure effective evaluation. Emphasizing collaboration, the group recognized the need for input from various stakeholders.

As the process progressed, the team discussed the importance of clear communication, a supportive framework, and the integration of budget reviews and institutional goals like 4DX. They explored different approaches to program review, aiming to balance structure with flexibility while addressing challenges in shifting existing mindsets.

In the final meeting, the group focused on refining key elements of the program review, including defining terms such as "unit" and "program," determining relevant data points like withdrawal rates and student demographics, and planning a pre-planning session for the pilot phase. They also considered incorporating stakeholder feedback in future iterations to enhance the review’s effectiveness. Throughout these discussions, ensuring a meaningful and well-structured review process remained a top priority.

Next Steps:

• Academic Instructional Programs will be identified from a list of volunteers by mid-February

• Pilot program reviews will be run in March and April

• A final program review evaluation report will be presented to Cabinet by the end of the Spring semester