Bay President Dr. Nerita Hughes

ESCANABA — Bay College hosted a virtual address to outline its plan for the next five years.

On Monday, Bay President Dr. Nerita Hughes presented her goals for the college at its Escanaba and Iron Mountain campuses.

Upon hiring Hughes, Bay College wanted to elevate its presence with local communities and around the state. Hughes began this venture with a tour focused on listening, learning, and observing to determine what Bay should start doing, stop doing, and what it should continue to do.

The strategic plan is based on five defining pillars crafted by Bay.

The first pillar focuses on amplifying the college’s strengths and values. The purpose is to enhance the college’s institutional identity and appeal. Hughes said people tell her that Bay is one of the best-kept secrets. Hughes does not want Bay to be a secret or to be stumbled upon, but a place people can reach out to.

“I don’t want to be the best-kept secret. I want to be the place that people call. I want to be the first line of defense if you will,” Hughes said.

The second pillar is to design a holistic student experience by designing pathways for students and providing them with the necessary support to succeed in college.

“We had a fragmented system from the time that they (students) applied and got their acceptance letter to the time that they enrolled that experience was very different,” Hughes explained.

She said the pillar will help the college make the experience more cohesive for students.

“The time that they apply to the time that they register to the time that they show up into one of the faculty members classes, that experience should be very smooth.

The third pillar focuses on cultivating a thriving and supportive workplace at Bay.

She said that just because something has been done a certain way for years does not mean it needs to continue in that manner.

“This opens up for us to really shift that culture,” she said.

Hughes recognized that staff can experience burnout as they do multiple jobs at once, saying staff should reach out to help each other when they can.

The fourth pillar involves structuring its curriculum and programs to meet the needs of the labor market. Bay wants its students to graduate with skills that apply to the current industry needs and demands.

Finally, Bay wants to adopt new technology to enhance learning, teaching, and operational efficiency in its programs and curriculum.

“At the foundation of Bay College’s strategic vision is a deep commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB). The foundation is crucial as it aligns with the changing demographics of our community, the needs of our on-campus/online students, and employer demands for a workforce reflective of broader societal diversity,” Bay stated during the presentation.

“We didn’t need a separate pillar to call out if you will, these measures, because that’s expected, think of it as the through line. So, any and everything that we do within these five strategic pillars. The foundation comes from diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. And so it doesn’t matter what your background is, it’s all about access, equity, and opportunity,” Hughes said.

One of the key takeaways is to understand that changing a culture on campus is a marathon, not a sprint. Additionally, getting a ‘buy-in’ from all constituents is key for the growth of the institution.