Foreword by the President
Iokwe aolep!
The College of the Marshall Islands (CMI) first comprehensive four-year Strategic Plan, Bujen Kōllejar was published in 2019. Planning was a participatory endeavor, with all sections of the CMI community involved over a span of several months as part of an intense period of integrated planning that began with the CMI Mission. The Strategic Plan set the goals, outcomes and activities for continuous improvement in learning and teaching stated in the broader METO or Master Plan 2019 – 2029, and supported CMI’s commitment to student-centered learning and teaching for student achievement and success, that is articulated in the CMI Learning and Teaching Rebbelib.
Complementing these academic-focused plans, were five CMI Medium Term Plans, known as Wapepe, which targeted improvement in the non-teaching areas of the College, but which non-the-less directly impacted teaching quality and student success.
The Strategic Plan, like the College of the Marshall Islands itself, has adapted to change and challenges. This includes those presented by the uncertainties and concerns of the global events such as the Coronavirus Pandemic, which confirmed the wisdom of the Plan’s focus on online learning. The change of CMI leadership mid-2020, together with the review and restatement of the CMI Mission, and the March 2021 Accreditation Peer Review, clarified terms and sharpened the College’s focus on outstanding areas of strategic importance. This included the need to add a sixth Wapepe to address Finance. This Wapepe, in turn, required additional activities to be included in the Kōllejar. These were activities that would ensure the structural development of CMI for improved long-range financial planning and services, ensuring enhanced financial planning systems and processes, and building capacity across the campuses with respect to critical finance functions.
Anchoring the life of the CMI community in general, and specifically student learning, in an appreciation of the values and knowledge of the Marshallese people resulted in a fresh perspective on CMI values and programs. The newly articulated values are presented in this revised edition of the Bujen Kōllejar. Curriculum, designed to ensure resilience and purpose, has been likewise prioritized to more closely realize the CMI Mission. New Certificates and AS degrees have been developed in response to the needs of the nation: Certificates in Automotive Service Technology, and Construction Trades will commence in Fall 2022 and programs Agricultural Education for Health and Sustainable Livelihoods, Maritime Deck Technology and Maritime Engineering are planned for implementation before the end of the Plan.
The robust objectives and detailed activities of the original Strategic Plan has received periodic assessment and adjustment by those charged with implementation. Now, looking forward, a review of the Meto (CMI Master Plan) is scheduled for late 2022, followed by an identification of the ‘last mile activities’ to ensure we achieve the key goals set in 2019, by 2023. By Fall Semester 2023 we should be ready to finalize activities before the necessary reflection on our learning and evaluation of achievement of key performance indicators prior to the envisioning and development of the second Strategic Plan.
Opportunities, we hope, will continue to be available to the College of the Marshall Islands, as it continues to establish partnerships that collaborate and assist navigate its way forward as the national Community College of the Marshall Islands.
Kommol tata,
Irene J. Tafaaki (Ed.D)
President
