Planning

Education Master Plan

 

Education Master Plan 2025-2030

An education master plan is a comprehensive guiding document presenting the college’s 5-year plan for education program development. The education plan helps inform and drive other foundational plans for the college, including the enrollment management plan, technology plan, facilities plan, staffing plan, and budget priorities. The education plan deeply reflects the college’s mission and vision and is rooted in intensive study of local community and workforce needs as well as a careful assessment of the college’s own strengths and opportunities for growth.

The SMC Education Master Plan 2025-2030 will establish a framework for best serving Santa Monica College students over the next five years, taking into consideration the major demographic, economic, and educational issues facing the SMC community. The plan will be developed through:

  • Consultation with SMC’s leadership
  • Interviews and focus groups with SMC administrators, faculty members, classified staff, students, and trustees
  • Input from residents, businesses, community leaders, and educators
  • Extensive review of SMCCD documents, demographic data, and research
  • Internal analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)

SMC has convened a cross-functional Education Master Plan Workgroup, supported by the consultancy Kennedy & Co., to develop the Education Master Plan 2025-2030 during the 2023-24 academic year. To learn more about the education plan workgroup and how you can be involved in the planning process, please see the menu below.

Get Involved

Help shape the future of education at Santa Monica College!

Your voice matters in charting SMC's course for the next five years. Faculty, staff, administrators, and students are invited to participate in a broad survey that will help guide SMC's education planning process--specifically by informing the Education Master Plan Workgroup with your views, concerns, and aspirations for the college. Access the survey below to help the us identify key themes, strengths, and areas needing support as SMC embarks on its education program planning process.

Let SMC benefit from your insight! The survey is for staff, faculty, administrators, students, and community members. 

To share other questions or comments with the Education Master Plan Workgroup, please send your email to: SEP@smc.edu

Workgroup

  • Jason BeardsleyVice President, Academic Affairs
  • Teresita RodriguezVice President, Enrollment Development
  • Mike TuitasiVice President, Student Affairs
  • Judy KrugerPresident & CEO, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce
  • Sasha KingInterim Dean, Academic Affairs
  • Maria MunozInterim Dean, Equity, Pathways, and Inclusion
  • Terry KamibayashiAssistant Director, Facilities Maintenance
  • Jamar LondonPresident, Academic Senate and Faculty, Math Department
  • Elisa MeyerEnglish Department Chair & Chair of Academic Senate Department Chairs Committee
  • Shiela CordovaDesign Technology Department Chair, Past Curriculum Committee Chair
  • Cindy OrdazAdministrative Assistant II, Operations and CSEA President and Chief Negotiator
  • Rachel DemskiCurriculum Specialist, Academic Affairs
  • Judith MosherMath Lab Coordinator and CSEA Secretary
  • David DuncanDirector of Budget and Management, Associated Students

Timeline

SMC Strategic Education Plan 2024-2029 Plan Development timeline

Additional timeline milestones through June 2024 to be posted. Additional timeline milestones through June 2024 to be posted.

Documents

Throughout the 23-24 year, the consultancy Kennedy & Co. has delivered a series of analytical reports to shed light on education program development opportunities for SMC. Access to Kennedy & Co.'s reports is available to SMC faculty, staff, and administrators through the links below. A brief summary of each report is also provided.

Santa Monica Market Research

Presented to the Strategic Education Plan Workgroup on Nov. 3, 2023

Kennedy & Co.’s market research report offers a careful look at Los Angeles County demographics, job, and industry data, the better to frame SMC’s opportunities for growth in service to the educational needs of a diverse and evolving regional student population. Notably, the report highlights the demographic shift towards a more Hispanic/Latinx population, a sizable gap in higher education attainment among residents, and the growing demand for healthcare and technology-related occupations. The report emphasizes SMC’s need to offer accessible education while tailoring programs to suit the needs of underrepresented communities and the changing job market.

Discovery Insights & Program Demand

Presented to the Strategic Education Plan Workgroup on Dec. 1, 2023

Kennedy & Co.’s second report for SMC includes insights from interviews with over 50 stakeholders whose feedback emphasizes the need to balance the college's historic strength in transfer education with growing demand for career education and a continue push for high-quality wrap-around services. The report identifies five key themes, including the development of SMC's brand and infrastructure to support both transfer and career education in the face of changing demographics, the continued development of more comprehensive and culturally responsive services, the need for more intentional and salient support for the college's online leaners, and, finally, the importance of steady coordination of the strategic plan for education and other key planning documents. Significantly, the consultants also identified areas for improvement in SMC’s data collection and management protocols, particularly for academic program enrollment trends.

The report also analyzed the top twenty largest sectors of regional employer demand for employees possessing a bachelor’s degree or higher. These prospects are meant to inform SMC’s possible program development opportunities in transfer degrees and potentially in stackable certificates leading to transfer in high-demand job markets. The relative strengths and weaknesses of each education market are analyzed so as to help SMC prioritize program opportunities in relation to its own strengths, ambitions, and limitations.

Legacy Program

Presented to the Strategic Education Plan Workgroupon Jan. 31, 2024

In its analysis of SMC’s “legacy” programs, Kennedy & Company evaluates the salient strengths and weaknesses of SMC’s program inventory. The report outlines current and future market and demographic trends to shed light on program demand and enrollment expectations for SMC’s largest programs, fastest growing, and slowest growing programs. Limitations in SMC’s data structure are also noted, indicating a need for improved alignment of enrollment and program data for better tracking of trends over time.

Additional Planning Documents

The archive of updates to Santa Monica College's previous education master plan.

Additional Santa Monica College planning documents.

See also SMC's Equity Plan and Mission, Vision, and Goals statement.