Garrett College is seeking community input as it begins developing its Fiscal Year 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.
“We’ve conducted surveys and focus groups with our faculty, staff, and students,” said Dr. Richard Midcap, Garrett College’s president. “Just as important, we need to obtain community input. Garrett College is this community’s college, and we need to make sure that our planning takes into account the needs of our community.”
Individuals who would like to provide input into the College’s next strategic plan may do so by completing a survey via the following link.
Midcap said an 11-member Strategic Plan Steering Committee will lead the strategic development process.
Dr. Kelli Sisler – the College’s director of analytics, institutional research, and assessment – is chairing the steering committee, which includes the College’s four deans as well as Garrett County Commissioners Chair Paul Edwards, Garrett County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Brenda McCartney, Garrett County Chamber of Commerce President Andrew Fike, Garrett County Community Action Executive Director Chris Mullett, and Garrett County Director of Planning and Community Development Steve Kelley.
Jason Rush, chair of the Garrett College Board of Trustees, will represent the trustees on the steering committee.
Beyond the steering committee, the College has put together three working groups around three strategic goals: institutional capacity and sustainability; enrollment; and academic and student success.
“Those are really the three key components of our long-term planning – fiscal sustainability, growing enrollment, and ensuring academic and student success,” said Professor Christa Bowser, Garrett College’s chief academic officer and dean of academic affairs.
Midcap said the College’s goal is to create a new strategic plan that can help Garrett College reach as many key objectives as have been achieved already via the 2021-25 Strategic Plan, which has included:
- A wide array of new academic programs, including sports management, health sciences, a radiologic sciences program that launches next fall, and workforce training programs in professional/technical studies, marine technology, and kitchen cook.
- A greatly expanded intercollegiate athletic program, including a second-year women’s soccer program and a new men’s soccer program that will launch next fall.
- A comprehensive facilities renovation plan, including construction of the Performing Arts Center at Garrett College, renovation of the Student Center, and infrastructure projects that replaced the roofs, HVAC systems, windows, doors, and floors in four additional College buildings.
- Two compensation plans, jointly bringing faculty and staff salaries into regional competitiveness, specifically tying faculty salaries to teacher salaries under the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and staff salaries tied to the state’s rapidly increasing minimum wage.
- Enrollment Management Plan objectives that led to six consecutive semesters of enrollment growth through summer 2024.
“Garrett College’s Board of Trustees, along with GC’s faculty, staff, and administration, have worked diligently to fully implement our FY2021-25 Strategic Plan with the full support of Garrett County Government,” said Midcap. “Our goal for the next plan is to continue working collaboratively to ensure the College is meeting community needs while effectively educating our workforce.”
