2. Environmental Trends And Events
Among the many trends that combine to shape the realities of the region, the following are viewed as particularly important and have been considered by those who have helped to forge the programs, activities, and vision that comprise this educational master plan.
Changes in technology…
Assumption 1: Technology, and especially information technology, is profoundly changing the way we live, learn, work and interact.
Assumption 2: Information technology will influence the way people make decisions, the skill sets that will be required of tomorrow's workers, and the way in which businesses do work.
Assumption 3: Technology, and the rapid availability of information, will change how individuals are informed, educated, and trained. This, in turn, will impact the process of education and teacher - student relationships and interaction.
Assumption 4: Victor Valley College will be challenged to upgrade the quality and use of technology in all facets of campus life, from administrative affairs, recordkeeping, faculty-student-administration communication, to the use of technology in instruction, academic support services, student activities, and other aspects of campus operations.
Changes in the economy …
Assumption 5: Nationally, more of the economy is becoming service related and there will be corresponding pressure to have employees who have good communication and interactive skills.
Assumption 6: Increasingly, local based companies will be competing in the global marketplace and will face competitive pressures from companies beyond the High Desert service area.
Assumption 7: More and more, businesses and communities in the High Desert will look to Victor Valley College for assistance in producing a competitive and trained workforce, in anticipating future occupational needs, and in providing the technical assistance needed to nurture and sustain the region's economy. This will influence the types of courses offered and the mix of offerings between academic programs, workforce training programs, degrees offered, and certificate courses.
Changes in the demography…
Assumption 8: The High Desert is undergoing dramatic change in the demographics of its residents. Communities are becoming more ethnically diverse, inexpensive housing is attracting more families and younger residents, and the changing economy is attracting a wider array of skilled and educated individuals.
Assumption 9: Victor Valley College will see an increasingly age, economic, and ethnic diverse current and potential student body. This diverse student body will challenge the college and the nature of its services, programs, courses, and operating protocols.
Changes in community needs…
Assumption 10: A growing population base, coupled with an increasingly diverse population, will result in more residents turning to the College for programs and services beyond traditional academics. Residents will challenge the institution to provide more cultural, social, and leisure opportunities and venues.
Assumption 11: A growing population base, coupled with a changing economy, will challenge the College to offer programs, majors, courses, and services it has not envisioned or may not yet be prepared to provide (i.e., training in new and emerging occupations, the provision of specialized remedial programs, the offering of specific student support services, etc.).
Changes in teaching and instruction…
Assumption 12: Innovation in instruction is a trend that will continue into the new millennium and will challenge the College to explore alternative teaching strategies. National and regional focus on such instructional approaches as mentor-protégé relationships, team teaching, short term/fewer unit courses, technology-assisted instruction, and other methods will filter their way to the High Desert and the College must be prepared to use those strategies to its advantage.
Assumption 13: Given the geographic spread of the service area, coupled with technological advances and a community turning to the campus for more of its needs, the College will be challenged to provide more distance learning, in-community sites, on-demand educational modules, and related academic services.
Changes in funding and support…
Assumption 14: Increasingly, community colleges are becoming state-assisted instead of state-funded. Victor Valley College (as nearly all other community colleges) receives state funding for barely 2/3rds of its true operational needs. As the College continues to grow to meet student and community demand, such growth will require additional funding to sustain or implement new courses, majors, programs, facilities, services, and technology. This will require new relationships and outreach efforts by the College with area industry and government.
Assumption 15: Particularly in Southern California, the trend among voters on ballot measures relating to bonds or special funding for education financing has been primarily negative. This reality will challenge educational institutions to: (1) do more with existing resources, (2) look for ways to self-fund larger capital outlay projects, and/or (3) ensure that programs and services are offered that connect well with community needs so that community support and endorsement is the result.