Guiding Principles
The Strategic Plan development process was guided by principles that prioritised meaningful engagements, a transparent practice, and continuous communications and updates with college community members, including the Board of Governors, Education Council, students, employees, local Indigenous communities, community and industry partners, and alumni. The new Strategic Plan builds on the foundation of the past plan and includes a strengthened commitment to important college priorities such as Indigenization, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and responding to the climate emergency.
At the heart of Camosun’s integrated Strategic Plan are the four R’s of Indigenous Education: Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, and Responsibility, which speaks to our individual responsibility and collective accountability to achieve our shared aspirations as a community college.
Process of Development
The process ensured an abundance of time and space for college community members to gather and share their thoughts, ideas and aspirations for a desired future at Camosun College. The strategic planning team invited the Board of Governors, Education Council, students, employees, the local Indigenous communities, community and industry partners, and alumni to take part and share their voices in the process both online and in-person through a variety of engagement opportunities. The resulting priorities and goals were generated from the data collected during college engagements, educational trends across the post-secondary education sector, provincial labour market outlooks, and government priorities.
Camosun plays an active and important role in the achievement of community, regional, and provincial aspirations. The college is part of a larger ecosystem working to strengthen a thriving community and the results of these interconnections and relationships are represented throughout the Strategic Plan.
With Camosun’s new integrated Strategic Plan, the college is engaging in a culture of planning that enables the college to be adaptive and responsive to changing local and global realities and meet the needs of current and future students.
Measuring Progress
To gauge progress, the plan utilizes a results-based methodology that measures not only the performance of the college but also looks at Camosun’s contribution to student populations and the community as a whole. The measures are intended to improve cross-college communication and collaboration, using data, information, and learned experiences from across the college.
Indigenizing the Strategic Plan
Local Indigenous ways of being, doing, and relating were foundational to the development of Camosun’s new Strategic Plan. Camosun is a committed partner in Indigenous resurgence and the principles of Truth and Reconciliation. This commitment formed the foundation on which this Strategic Plan was created.
Much like paddling together, the Strategic Plan is interconnected, integrated, and structured to demonstrate respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility. Moreover, local Indigenous semiotics, iconography, artwork, and language are also integrated into the Strategic Plan to acknowledge and honour the local Indigenous lands and territories on which Camosun is situated.