About

President’s Visions & Goals

TO THE BOARD OF REGENTS From KCTCS PRESIDENT DR. RYAN QUARLES JUNE 2024

BOARD OF REGENTS,

Last summer, Gallup reported that Americans’ confidence in higher education had fallen to 36 percent, significantly lower than the previous two readings (48 percent in 2018 and 57 percent in 2015). Cost and politics within postsecondary education were key factors, and several reports like this one informed us that the value our country places on higher education is at a new low point. This is not what I’ve seen represented by the students, faculty, and staff of our 16 colleges within the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. What I have seen six months into my presidency is a student population that is resilient, determined, hopeful, and

inspired to change their lives by earning a higher education credential.

We know education is the great equalizer. No matter where our students come from, obtaining a level of higher education affords them a social mobility that changes their lives, opening doors that weren’t available to them before. Our students are our priority. Providing them with the affordable, attainable, accessible opportunity to leave KCTCS with a diploma, certificate, or two-year degree to start their career or kick off their higher education journey is why all of us are here.

With that in mind, I’ve outlined the visions and goals I have over this next year that will build on the first 25 years of this college system and set it up for a successful and impactful future. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make transformational changes.

This document outlines five visions and 20 goals to achieve over the next 12 months. But this is just the beginning. The visions set forth this first year lay the foundation for building a future for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System that best serves the students, communities, and industries of Kentucky.

I look forward

Sincerely,

RQ Signature Dr. Ryan Quarles, KCTCS President

transformational change

I. LEARNER SUCCESS

Vision

Put students first.

During my first several months as president of KCTCS, we’ve talked a lot about change and new ways of doing things. From day one, I’ve repeated: just because something has always been done this way doesn’t mean that it needs to continue to be done this way. I’ve tasked our faculty and staff with thinking about everything from business practices to course offerings and rethinking how we do things. But at the heart of this work, it isn’t the “how” we do things that is important. It is the “why” we do it. Students are our why.

Goals

Increase partnerships with four-year colleges and universities to improve transfer education pathways for KCTCS students in order to help KCTCS support academic and career success of students across the state.
Build community relationships with potential donors to provide more robust financial solutions for students.
Re-envision what advancement and fundraising means for KCTCS, and outline a plan to restructure in order to increase resources to help students.
Travel to the campuses of all 16 colleges and meet with all college presidents to get a better understanding of programs offered, what is available on campuses, and to meet students.
Counter federal delays with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) with a quick and significant response to provide students with communications, financial estimations, and application and enrollment assistance.

the workforce partner kentucky needs

II. EMPLOYMENT SUCCESS

Vision

Grow and facilitate community partnerships.

KCTCS is the No. 1 provider of workforce training and education in Kentucky. As the state’s economy continues to grow, we know we are a crucial tool in supporting the students and businesses that feed that growth. A core part of the KCTCS mission is to build stronger communities through comprehensive workforce solutions. To better serve our students, we must step up and be the workforce partner that Kentucky needs. That means building relationships and long-term goals to align education pathways with in-demand careers. KCTCS students won’t be graduating unemployable; KCTCS students will graduate in career-ready fields into in-demand jobs that help advance their families and their communities.

Goals

Build relationships with workforce and municipality partners including the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet to identify employment pathways for KCTCS students.
Develop a statewide workforce plan.

once in a generation opportunity

III. ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS

Vision

Build responsible organizational and business practices.

In order to prioritize our students, it is crucial that we develop an organizational structure for this college system that addresses its operational needs in a way that reduces redundancies and improves efficiencies. KCTCS must achieve systemwide financial solvency and security for the stability and success of the organization and structure its administrative departments to best represent the future needs of the system.

Goals

Complete current audits including the KCTCS internal audit, forensic audit, and the audit of the Kentucky Fire Commission.
Cure all audit findings for KCTCS.
Cure all audit findings for the Kentucky Fire Commission and clarify the roles between our partner organizations.
Complete an organization-wide restructuring across KCTCS to reduce redundancies and improve efficiencies.
Build out System Office Cabinet in order to provide more experts and voices at the table for organization-wide strategic decision-making.

Vision

Focus on the future: SJR 179

Change is intimidating, but done well with purpose and intentionality, it can be transformative. SJR 179 directs us to determine and report findings and actions to improve and advance our college system. It is a daunting task on a very aggressive timeline. But it is also a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a roadmap — on our terms — for the future of a successful community and technical college system. I want to involve the presidents from all of our colleges as well as faculty and staff from all colleges and our System Office to ensure that we have balanced viewpoints and perspectives as we build the foundation for our future.

Goals

Establish a collaborative process for addressing the components of SJR 179 that includes college presidents, faculty and staff representatives from the colleges and System Office, and KCTCS stakeholders.
Develop a researched and informed response to SJR 179 that creates a roadmap for a visionary and student-focused future for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
Outline a strategy to address the enrollment cliff and begin plans to address the impacts of this event.

Vision

Promote aggressive advocacy.

KCTCS is No. 7 in the nation in credentials awarded by a public, two-year institution and No. 1 in the nation awarded per capita by a public, two-year institution. We enroll more students than any other higher education in the state and since its creation, KCTCS has bettered the lives of over 1.2 million Kentuckians. But do the right people know this? Our college system does not benefit from being the state’s best kept secret. We need a robust and aggressive external relations plan that promotes advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels.

Goals

Develop and implement an official Advocacy Policy for KCTCS employees.
Build relationships with key legislators who will advocate for KCTCS in the Kentucky Legislature and with Kentucky’s representatives in Congress for their support at the federal level.
Establish Advocacy Days during the annual session of the Kentucky Legislature where KCTCS leadership, faculty, and students can meet with state legislators about the important work of KCTCS.
Develop a legislative agenda for the 2025 session of the Kentucky General Assembly that addresses the evolving needs of KCTCS and the required resources to support the SJR 179 action plan.
Identify opportunities for collaboration with the Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary Education.