Mission & Strategic Plan | Westmoreland County Community College, Youngwood, Pennsylvania

Mission, Strategic Plan & Institutional Effectiveness

Mission

Driving student success, developing a skilled workforce and strengthening communities through education.

Vision

We envision a future where our students lead and uplift the communities of Southwestern Pennsylvania - driving regional growth, resilience, and opportunity through education. 

Values

Academic and Professional Excellence: We strive to offer high-quality purposeful education; rigorous programs; and promote critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and lifelong learning. 

Community Engagement: We are committed to providing opportunities for all individuals and organizations in our communities to participate in educational, social and civic initiatives. 

Innovation and Adaptability: We foster an environment where innovation, creativity and a willingness to adapt to changing needs and technologies are embraced.

Student Success and Support:  We are dedicated to providing resources, guidance and support to help all students with their academic, personal and professional growth. 

Integrity and Accountability: We pursue the highest ethical standards in all our actions and hold ourselves accountable for our decisions and behaviors. 

 

Strategic Plan

Westmoreland's primary goals are detailed in the 2024-2027 Strategic Plan, which uses a balanced scorecard approach and concentrates on four overarching objectives:

  • Becoming more student focused
  • Improving systems and processes to achieve operational excellence
  • Aligning the college culture with Westmoreland’s values by empowering employees and providing the systems they need
  • Placing the institution on firm financial footing to deliver on the long-term promise of the mission

Students at Youngwood campusInstitutional Learning Outcomes

Communication

Students will demonstrate clear and precise use of written, oral, and/or nonverbal language to effectively express one’s own ideas, perspectives, and understandings as well as the ideas, perspectives, and understandings of others.

Quantitative Reasoning

Students will demonstrate the ability to read, write, compute, and solve quantitative problems presented in multiple ways.

Citizenship and Social Responsibility

Students will develop the knowledge, skills, values, and motivations to participate in both the political and non-political processes and institutions related to American citizenship and residence in the global community.

Critical Thinking

Students will process information, artifacts, and realities to make reasonable decisions and formulate applicable judgments.

Information Literacy

Students will responsibly identify, access, develop, implement, and evaluate relevant, credible information.

Technology

Students will understand and use multiple forms of current and emerging technologies.

Institutional Effectiveness

Westmoreland County Community College is committed to maintaining a college-wide Institutional Effectiveness Plan that will produce clear evidence that the institution is achieving its mission. 

The Institutional Effectiveness (IE) Committee educates, guides and directs institutional assessment efforts to ensure that Westmoreland is complying with the requirements of Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Ultimately, the purpose of institutional effectiveness is to ensure continual assessment for growth, relevancy, and improvement in academic and non-academic areas.

IE Committee Chair
Lindsay Herrod
Dean/Planning, Assessment & Institutional Effectiveness

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) Subcommittee Chair
Megan Seibel
Assistant Professor, Mathematics

Assessment Information

The Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) Subcommittee is a branch of the IE Committee (comprised of faculty and staff), established to more closely review assessment of institutional learning outcomes and ensure adherence to MSCHE and our strategic plan.

Learning indicators have been identified and outcomes are assessed using rubrics developed by the subcommittee.

Academic Divisions

Administrative Units

  • Update coming soon.