Eastern Arizona College
Five Year Strategic Plan
2014-2018
Eastern Arizona College does not discriminate in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs and activities on the basis of race, creed, color or national origin, sex, disability, or age. Approved for veterans benefits.
College Vision, Mission, Purposes, and Values
Vision
Values
The College shall be the premier resource for higher education
in eastern Arizona.
• Continuous Improvement
• Diversity
• Institutional Quality
• Integrity
• Learning-Centered Education
• Partnership Development
• People
• Scholarship
Mission
The mission of Eastern Arizona College is to provide quality
higher education. The College is accountable to its stakeholders for
educational results, fiscal responsibility, and cultural development.
Purposes
The College shall provide:
• Associate degree programs and courses for university transfer.
• Programs that meet workforce needs of business, industry, and government.
• Opportunities for Adult Education.
• Support services to assist students in identifying and achieving personal,
educational, and career goals.
• Services which meet the community’s diverse cultural and economic needs.
• Activities and programs which promote general student welfare while
fostering an environment in which students can develop leadership,
citizenship, and character.
• Activities and programs that foster lifelong learning. The College will help
individuals acquire knowledge and skills that will enhance their abilities to
think, feel, act, and enjoy.
College Overview and History
E
stablished in 1888, Eastern Arizona College (EAC) is the oldest
community college in Arizona, and among the oldest in the United States.
Located in the town of Thatcher, approximately 160 miles east of Phoenix and
125 miles northeast of Tucson, EAC was founded by Mormon pioneers as the
St. Joseph Stake Academy. In 1917, the North Central Association of Colleges
and Schools first accredited the Academy’s courses. The school, known later
as the Gila Academy, began offering college courses in 1920 and established a
transfer relationship with The University of Arizona (U of A) in 1926.
In 1933, ownership of the College transferred to the citizens of Graham
County, and allocations from the Arizona Legislature began to contribute to
the operation of the institution. EAC became the first member of the new state
junior college system in 1960 and received substantial funding for expansion.
EAC now provides service to two neighboring counties, expanding EAC’s
service area to approximately 18,000 square miles.
Historically, financial pressures necessitated careful stewardship. In 1985, the
Arizona Legislature equalized revenues among state community colleges,
giving EAC adequate financial support to plan for the future and greatly
increase the scope of its programs. However, the habits of economy formed
during the lean years persist. Several recent construction projects—the $2.2
million McGrath High Technology Center in 2005, the $16.25 million Middle
Campus expansion in 2002 and in 2007, the Nursing Education Center—were
all completed debt-free.
EAC Profile 2014
Area
Population
Population: Age 18 or Older
Land Area in Square Miles
Population Density per
Square Mile: Age 18 or older
Principal Industries
High Schools
High School Seniors (May 2013)
Graham
Greenlee
37,926
26,072
4,629
8,742
6,040
1,847
ADC State
EAC Totals
Gila County
46,668
32,112
6,476
53,416
41,071
4,768
5.6
3.3
Agriculture
Mining
Ranching
Retail Trade
Services
Tourism
Agriculture
Mining
Ranching
Tourism
Rehabilitation
Agriculture
Mining
Ranching
Rehabilitation
Retail Trade
Services
Tourism
Agriculture
Government
Mining
Ranching
Recreation
Retail Trade
Tourism
8.6
6
293
3
46
n/a
n/a
9
339
10
454
4,592
80%
175
3%
943
17%
5,710
100%
2,529
n/a
2,415.6
78%
1.9 to 1
28.5
1%
6.1 to 1
662.9
21%
1.4 to 1
3,107.0
100%
1.8 to 1
703.4
n/a
3.6 to 1
77
116
10
0
0
0
5
1
0
82
117
10
12
8
13
Enrollment
Students
Distribution
Full-Time Student Equivalents (FTSE)
Distribution
Ratio: Students to FTSE
Personnel
Full-Time Faculty
Full-Time Professional Support Staff
Full-Time Administrative Staff
Total Full-Time Faculty and Staff
203
0
6
209
33
Total Estimated Part-Time Faculty
113
15
27
155
112
Total Estimated Part-Time Staff
181
2
0
183
59
Total Estimated Part-Time
Student Employees
384
0
0
384
0
38
25
62
0
0
0
0
0
14
38
25
76
0
0
0
Programs
University Parallel Curricula
Career Curricula
Certificate Curricula
Facilities
Community Areas Served
3
3
3
9
9
Building Owned and Leased
61
6
8
75
28
Acres Owned
Acres Owned by EAC Foundation
418
23
0
0
0
0
418
23
61
0
Classrooms (including labs)
130
18
18
166
98
Residence Hall Capacity
418
0
0
418
0
Budget
Budget
EAC Expenditure Overview
All Sources
Operational Cost Per Full-Time Student Equivalent
Expenditure Tax Capacity Limit Used
Graham County Tax Support Actual Assessed Valuation
Actual Tax Rate
Actual Tax Support
Tax Support as a Percent of Budget
Constitutional Tax Capacity Limit Used
$62,591,685
$7,553
98%
$192,240,653
$2.7401
$5,267,653
14%
98%
Service Area
Graham, Greenlee, and Gila Counties
Gila
Greenlee
Hayden
Graham
Campus Locations
Thatcher
Graham County
Greenlee County
Discovery Park
Gila Pueblo
Payson and Surrounding Areas
Opportunities
1. Completion, Transfer, and Student Success
2.Retention
3. Student Development
4. Leadership and Entrepreneurship
5. Lifelong Learning
6. Financial Stability
Opportunity 1: Completion, Transfer,
and Student Success
Assumptions
One of the functions of community colleges is to offer the first two years of a bachelor’s degree. Officials in the state of Arizona have recently
undertaken several studies concerning Higher Education in Arizona. Results of these studies indicate that Arizona is falling behind in the
number of bachelor’s degrees awarded, compared to the number of degrees that are needed in the state. In the spring of 2011, the Arizona
Community College Presidents’ Council adopted student completion and student transfer from the community college to the university as
one of their priorities. Eastern Arizona College also embraces student transfer as an important part of the College’s responsibility.
At the same time, we must also keep in mind that there are many other reasons for student attendance. Success at the community-college
level can be simply defined as accomplishing the educational goals an individual sets for himself or herself. We realize that at the communitycollege level, student completion has various meanings. For many, completion means earning an associate degree then transferring
successfully to a university. Some choose to transfer after successfully completing the General Education component. Others may have
no desire to eventually attend a university but are attending a community college in order to upgrade skills for employability or to earn a
certificate or Applied Science degree leading to immediate employment. Some come to EAC simply for the joy of lifelong learning. EAC
stands willing and able to facilitate education for students in any and all of these categories.
Objectives
EAC continues to work with the statewide articulation programs to facilitate seamless transfer of courses to the universities.
Advising is a major factor in student success, and EAC is committed to the highest levels of advising to assist students in identifying their
educational goals and striving to accomplish them.
Students are not limited to advising from the counseling office but are encouraged to develop a rapport and receive advising from instructors
in their chosen field.
The EAC catalog and other printed materials are presented in a straightforward, easy-to-understand way, so students can have a clear picture
of what is required for any degree or certificate.
EAC will strive to maintain levels of student success at or above the 85th percentile when compared to peers, which is considered a best
practice indicator.
We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery,
guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate.
The world is all gates, all opportunities.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Opportunity 2: Retention
Assumptions
Current retention rates for first-time, full-time students are in line with retention rates of our sister institutions; even so, we feel we owe it to
our students to work harder and do better. Retention is important for several reasons including potential for increased earnings for graduates
and additional opportunities to learn and apply life skills. Eastern Arizona College recognizes the increasing cost of higher education, and we
pledge to keep costs as affordable as possible to enable students to continue their education.
Objectives
Because involvement plays such a critical role in retention, we continue to make every effort to promote student clubs and other inclusive
activities on campus. Currently, EAC has 32 different student clubs. These clubs are not restricted to traditional-aged students. More clubs are
added as students request them and are willing to lead them.
Opportunities for classroom interaction and inclusiveness abound at EAC with caring instructors and a student body who take learning
seriously. EAC will strive to maintain levels of retention and persistence at or above the 85th percentile when compared to peers, which is
considered a best practice indicator.
EAC has recently implemented additional measures to improve retention, such as:
1. The appointment of a full-time retention specialist to contact students at risk and work with them to stay in school.
2. Mandatory attendance-taking in the classroom with a reporting chain to the newly-hired retention specialist.
3. Enhanced advising wherein more students have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a qualified faculty member or counseling office
advisor. All students are encouraged to seek advising.
We must be intentional, proactive,
and intrusive. We cannot leave the
education of our students to chance.
Vincent Tinto
Opportunity 3: Student Development
Assumptions
Learning at college is not limited to the classroom setting. College is a time to meet new people and explore new options. It is a time of
challenge and a time of growth in a myriad of ways. Students learn to interact with instructors and college staff, but they also learn to interact
with each other, to embrace diversity, to welcome challenges, and expect to grow from those challenges into better and more productive
human beings.
Objectives
Student development is the process of enabling students to become confident and proactive community members, empowering students to
become their best selves. Eastern Arizona College will continue to provide an enriching environment where students will develop the tools
and resources necessary to become producing, positive community members with well-developed leadership skills. These skills will prepare
them to have a constructive influence on their surroundings throughout their lives.
EAC encourages students to take part in the many activities that promote service, campus and community involvement, and leadership.
EAC continues to allow students opportunities in athletics, leadership, campus clubs, cultural functions, and community service.
We have the oldest and one of the largest alumni associations for community colleges in the country. All former students from EAC are
invited to be active participants in the association.
In order to succeed, your desire for success
should be greater than your fear of failure.
Bill Cosby
Opportunity 4: Leadership and Entrepreneurship
Assumptions
Leadership begins in the home and extends to our business, our community, and ultimately the world that we live in. As leaders, we must
strive to answer life’s problems and challenges.
As good stewards, entrepreneurship allows us to identify opportunities, meet needs, lead, and turn ideas into action; through our action, we
can allocate resources and create solutions to meet the needs of others.
Faculty, staff, and administration feel strongly that leadership and entrepreneurship are interdisciplinary skills that cross all academic
disciplines. We maintain an ongoing commitment to equipping and empowering people at home, in business, in community, and in the
world – to identify opportunities to solve problems and meet needs.
Objectives
Eastern Arizona College will provide tools, knowledge, and opportunities to equip people to overcome life’s challenges, identify challenges
as opportunities, create something of value, substance, and beauty that has not existed before, and lead others at home, in business, in
community, and throughout the world by:
1. Identifying existing components of leadership and entrepreneurship in courses and curricula and encouraging the inclusion of specific
activities or projects to develop decision-making, problem-solving, and innovation within curricula.
2. Evaluating opportunities to provide institutional leadership, prioritization, and resources to accomplish the mission and vision of the
institution.
3. Identifying opportunities to teach, communicate, and transfer academic and institutional knowledge and expertise to students, community,
and alumni.
4. Continuing to support affiliated enterprises such as the Small Business Development Center in community outreach, education, and
training.
To lead people, walk beside them…As for the best leaders, the people do
not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise.
The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate…When the best
leader’s work is done the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!’
Lao-Tsu
Opportunity 5: Lifelong Learning
Assumptions
Faculty, staff, and administration at Eastern Arizona College feel strongly that lifelong learning is a key component to success, happiness, and
personal fulfillment. With that in mind, the College has made opportunities for lifelong learning a high priority.
We realize that to compete in the world marketplace, the U.S. must develop a citizenry with ever-increasing knowledge and skill levels—in
technical knowledge, situational awareness, the ability to communicate in all its intricacies, and many other areas. An educated citizenry
will continue to propel America forward in the world marketplace. EAC is dedicated to the principle and practice of lifelong learning (LLL).
Important principles associated with LLL are accessibility, affordability, meeting the needs of the population served, meeting the needs of
employers for a workforce with current and sharp skills, and expending the fiscal resources required for a robust emphasis on LLL.
Objectives
With locations in Graham, Greenlee, and Gila counties, as well as an array of on-line courses, EAC will continue to take the classes to the people who need them with a variety of course designs and delivery methods to meet the needs of LLL.
The ongoing Northern Arizona University outreach and the new and exciting Arizona State University partnership at EAC will further enhance EAC’s ability to meet LLL’s needs.
EAC will offer individuals meaningful, content-rich, learner-centered education supporting the person’s needs at diverse stages of life.
At EAC, LLL promotes professional advancement and enhances personal wealth, both in monetary and personal satisfaction modes.
EAC is ideally equipped to collaborate with the community to meet its needs by providing trained teachers, police personnel, nurses, corrections officers, and wildfire fighters to name a few.
The College is committed to dedicating the necessary resources to facilitate appropriate learning opportunities for all residents of our service
area.
For the mind does not require filling like a bottle, but rather,
like wood, it only requires kindling to create in it an impulse
to think independently and an ardent desire for the truth.
Plutarch
Opportunity 6: Financial Stability
Assumptions
Eastern Arizona College recognizes that the best investment is an investment in the human mind. In order to give as many students as
possible an opportunity for higher education, EAC diligently strives to keep tuition affordable while being wise stewards of our fiscal
resources.
Like other community colleges in the state of Arizona, EAC is highly dependent on state funding. Funding sources for EAC come primarily
from three sources: local taxes, tuition, and state funding. EAC recognizes the need to identify and cultivate additional revenue possibilities
to diminish the reliance we have on state funding. In order to reduce our reliance on equalization, additional revenue possibilities must be
investigated. Other revenue possibilities might include grants and partnerships or joint ventures with businesses or other entities. Currently,
EAC has no debt, and we are committed to continue operating the College in such a way to stay debt-free.
Objectives
It is a foregone conclusion that even the most inspired academic program cannot be built or sustained without a solid financial foundation.
Some could assert that EAC is already at the pinnacle of financial stability. However, since financial stability can be ephemeral, we cannot
assume that this favored position will continue without diligent effort.
The centerpiece of our strategic plan for financial integrity must be to cultivate continued legislative support.
EAC’s plan is to continue to spend less than we expect to take in.
Partnerships with outside entities, as well as grants and donations, will continue to be cultivated to improve our financial position.
Opportunities to enter into mutually advantageous partnerships with governmental or private entities should be identified and pursued.
Grants, donations and bequests should also be solicited from all available sources, including government, alumni, and other potentially large
donors.
Rule No. 1: Never lose money.
Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1.
Warren Buffett
College President
Mark Bryce, J.D.
District Governing Board Members
Lois Ann Moody, Chairman
Richard W. Mattice, Secretary
Marrianne Rowley, Member
Tina C. McMaster, Member
Lance F. Layton, Member
615 North Stadium Avenue • Thatcher, Arizona 85552 • www.eac.edu