Office of Opportunity & Leadership Development Strategic Plan

1. Provide services and programs for at-risk students, develop students into
socially engaged leaders in the community, & increase opportunities for
access to higher education
a. Implement a more proactive model of advisement for the TRiO
participants and Community Scholars in order to ensure greater
involvement with the office
b. Increase retention efforts through outreach initiatives, program
development, and the enactment of learning outcomes
c. Increase community outreach to increase financial development of the
Community Scholars Program fund through programs and events
2. Implementation of leadership development and mentorship programs
a. Develop leadership training component to the community scholars program
b. Implement first-year mentorship program for TRiO participants to
increase engagement and retention
c. Increase collaboration with Service-Learning to create further
opportunities for community engagement and leadership growth potential
in each student serviced by the office and its various programs.
3. Partner with community high schools to create pipeline programs for
admission & to allow students to mentor youth in the community
a. Expand the Students of Color Empowerment and Leadership Program to
be a multi-year platform to engage Mandela University student leaders
with youth across their middle school and high school experiences.
b. Expand funding opportunities to allow a greater amount of students to
participate in Students of Color Empowerment and Leadership Program
and to be ambassadors for Mandela University in the community.
c. Create after-school programs with a presence at many area high schools to
encourage students to matriculate into an institution of higher education to
create a more just community.
Timeline and Assessment for Accomplishing Strategic Plan

5/31/2016- Submit Annual Performance Review to the Department of

Education
8/15/2016-Launch refined proactive advisement model on the first day of
the Trio & Community Scholars Summer Bridge Program.
8/22/2016-Meet with Service-Learning to gain connections to further
community partners for service opportunities.
9/12/2016-Meet with Institutional Advancement to explore grant and
fundraising opportunities to expand program funding

9/23/2016-Meet with area high school principals to discuss the creation of

a comprehensive mentorship and after-school program for local public
school students
10/17/2016-Conduct mid-semester review of the meaningful contacts
attempted and achieved with the TRiO participants and the Community
Scholars through the number of meetings and conversations logged on
StudentAccess
1/12/2017-Start planning 1st year TRiO mentoring program for spring
budget approval
2/13/2017-Work with staff to begin grant writing process to expand the
Students of Color Empowerment and Leadership Program into a multiyear program
3/2/2017-Launch first annual spring fundraising drive with Institutional
Advancement to increase the presence of the office on campus and in the
community
5/12/2017-Evaluate the end of the year data concerning retention
5/30/2017-Submit grant proposal to the Department of Education to
integrate the Students of Color Empowerment and Leadership Program
into a Federal Talent Search program through Mandela University
June 2017-Submit Annual Performance Review to the Department of
Education
September 2017-Launch TRiO First Year Peer Mentoring Program
October 2017-Recruit 15 new community scholars, bringing the total
number of participants to 40.
March 2018-Launch second annual spring fundraising drive and with goal
of increasing budget by 5%
April 2018-Increase Students of Color Empowerment and Leadership
Program student leaders to 35 in preparation for the Talent Search
Program approval
May 2018-Begin search for full-time Talent Search Coordinator and
implementation process of the Talent Search Program
May 2018- Submit Annual Performance Review showing 10% growth in
retention rates for the TRiO Program over 2 years
September 2018-Launch the Talent Search Program and Students of
Color Empowerment and Leadership Program at 4 area middle schools
and high schools.
January 2019- Conduct third year assessment to track progress towards
completion of strategic plan
February 2019-Assess the years retention data

March 2019-Launch third annual fundraising drive with goal of

increasing department budget 8%
April 2019- Track student engagement with the office through
StudentAccess reporting models
May 2019-Submit Annual Performance Review to the Department of
Education showing 75% retention of students in TRiO program
July 2019-Submit Annual Performance Review to the Department of
Education for Talent Search showing 70% of mentees graduated high
school and went to college
December 2019-Launch winter clothing drive initiative through the
Community Scholars Program
March 2020-Launch the fourth annual fundraising drive aiming for
increase of 8% of the offices budget
May 2020-Submit Annual Performance Review for the TRiO Student
Support Services Office showing 80% retention of student participants
June 2020- Submit Annual Performance Review of the Talent Search
Program showing 78% of mentees graduated high school and matriculated
into college
August 2020-Begin writing grant proposal for the continuation of the
$750,000 grant for fiscal years 2021-2026 for the TRiO Student Support
Services
December 2020-Disseminate five years of student engagement data
through StudentAccess for the grant proposal
December 2020-Launch winter clothing drive through the Community
Scholars Program
March 2021-Launch fifth annual spring fundraiser aiming to increase the
offices budget by 10%
April 2021-Complete five year assessment of progress towards
completing the strategic plan
May 2021-Submit grant proposal for the continuation of the TRiO SSS
grant. Over five years retention has targeted for 15% growth to 80%.
June 2021-Submit Annual Performance Review of the Talent Search
Program showing 77% of mentees graduated high school and matriculated
into college