Dear Malcolm X College Community & Friends,

Malcolm X College (MXC) is proud to share the ongoing progress on its Strategic Plan. MXC continues to serve as an educational organization, a community hub, and a catalyst for economic mobility.The institution is actively working to implement tactics to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in the Strategic Plan.While the global pandemic continues to be an ongoing challenge, MXC is focused on supporting the faculty and staff who place students at the center of their work daily. Nearly half of our initiatives are in progress, 38% in planning stage, 11% complete, and 3% are actively being problem solved. Now more than ever, Malcolm X College is here as a source of hope, opportunity, and to serve as a destination for dreams to manifest.

Our mission is to provide accessible liberal arts and health-focused education that fosters personal and professional achievement.The institution serves with urgency as a catalyst for social change and economic growth in the Chicago community. As a provider of affordable, accessible, and exceptional education, students can come to MXC and transform theirlives as well as have a multigenerational impact on their families and communities. Our team leads with values in mind. We value accountability, community, diversity, empowerment, learning, and respect for all people and work to embody those values in all initiatives.

Creating an exceptional student experience is at the heart of MXC’s strategic plan. In Fall of 2020, MXC launched our first-year experience, Connect – designed to create networked connections for students, support services, advising, and classroom instruction. Despite a pivot to remote learning, Connect’s inception was a success, resulting in increased retention rates for first year students during the pandemic. Connect continues to be scaled and improved, increasing the amount and quality of data that informs interventions. The institution is focused on increasing community access, easing the burden on students, and streamlining processes to support students.

MXC strives toincrease equity in student outcomes and narrow gaps in achievement through equity initiatives. The collegehas secured three years of Workforce Equity Initiative (WEI) grants to support Project Mpact, which offers students access to tuition funds, career programming, and economically mobile pathways. The program serves more than 200 students annually. Malcolm X College is also steadfast in supporting students experiencing food and housing insecurity through expansion of the food pantry, implementation of a basic needs survey, and exploration of student housing.

In response to the economic needs of the city of Chicago, MXC expanded workforce development programming through the Adult Education Basic Nursing Assistant bridge program that support students earning their high school equivalency and becoming a certified nurse assistant. Furthermore, the Basic Nursing Assistant program expanded to the West Side Learning Center, Wright-Humboldt Park, and the South Chicago Learning Center. Additionally, the nursing program now has a RN to BSN dual enrollment partnership with the University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC).

MXC is dedicated to building a culture of excellence. The department of Health Sciences increased access to and capacity of satellite campuses, including a renovation of the West Side Learning Center.MXC announced a new community development project with Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network, at the site of Chicago’s historic Independence Bank in Chatham. The new satellite campus will offer healthcare and skills training programs. As a result of the pandemic, all faculty and staff were trained on remote and online operationsto meet the needs of students in alignment with the strategic plan. The team’s resilience and growth mind set enable the college to innovate and respond to the needs of the moment. Through the Institutional Resilience – Expanded Post-Secondary (IREPO) grant from the US Department of Education, MXC will continue to enhance the online teaching capabilities of faculty in support of remote learning. The Office of Instruction through the Predominantly Black Institution grant launched the Centers for Teaching and Learning to support a faculty of practice in experiential learning and technology enhancements. The Centers are geared to support both technology advancement, pedagogical practices, as well as social justice.

Creating a collaborative and connected ecosystem allows MXC to innovate. Through the implementation of climate surveys to faculty, staff, and students,the institution receives and acts on feedback from stakeholders each semester. The result is the creation of a culture of conversation, feedback, and action. In Spring 2022, the institution will take this to the next level with the implementation of a more robust feedback and continuous improvement system. MXC is committed to respecting and responding to concerns and ideas from the community through community meetings and gatherings to share ideas and seek input, ensuring faculty council and faculty are at the table at the beginning of initiatives, and supportingthe needs of programs,including college and program specific marketing.

To develop, monitor, and improve critical institutional health measures, MXC created a department of grants. In the department’s first year, MXC was awarded $20 million dollars in grant funding, surpassing the $4.1M dollars the previous year. The braided funding is aligned to drive objectives and tactics in our strategic plan. The flexible funding allows MXC to innovate and respond to the ever-changing landscape. A significant portion of the grant funding will provide dedicated support to students in the Associate of Science program who plan to pursue a four-year degree in a STEM field. The institution is eager to expand opportunities for students to achieve at the highest level, conduct authentic research alongside our faculty, and enhance pathways with culturally relevant programming that support students of color in the STEM fields.

Malcolm X College experienced the first decline in enrollment in fall of 2021 despite counter cyclical positive enrollment growth in past years. In response, the collegeincreased resources for targeted marketing through braided funding sources. Continuing education enrollment continues to grow. FY21 retention reached 71%, increasing from 68% in FY20. Students taking and passing college level courses in English and Math continue to grow from 50% in FY20 to 52% in English in FY21, and from36% in FY20 to 38% in Math in FY21. This progressreflects the comprehensive and collaborative work from faculty led initiatives. The IPEDS graduation rate grew from 26% in FY20 to 27% in FY21.

MXC will prioritizeequity, enrollment, retention, and completion initiatives in the coming year to ensure that the institution meets the goals and objectives set forth in its Strategic Plan.

Sincerely,

David A. Sanders, M.S. Ed.

President

Malcolm X College