DMACC Planning
Changing lives. Empowering communities.
A Message from Leadership
The College is committed to communication and collaboration in all of our planning activities. With President Denson’s recent announcement of his retirement, we feel it is an appropriate time to sunset the current strategic plan. Much has been accomplished under that plan. We want to celebrate those accomplishments and share them with all DMACC stakeholders. This page will house information on all current planning activities as well as our successes through the years and from our current strategic plan. Please check back often as we chart this course towards DMACC’s future.
Our Story
What is the DMACC story? It’s a story that began on March 18, 1966 when the college was founded in a former supermarket building in West Des Moines and launched its first vocational training program to 28 students. Over six decades the college expanded both its footprint and its offerings. DMACC’s district now spans 6,560 square miles and the college now offers education and training at thirteen college-owned campuses and sites, in numerous high schools, at two correctional facilities and online to tens of thousands of students annually. Our story, from its humble beginnings to today, is our foundation.
DMACC HistoryDMACC Strategic Pillars
DMACC's Strategic Pillars represent key focus areas that align with the College's mission and vision. They are designed to support a broad range of initiatives that are all focused on success.
Development of New Collegewide Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan Update - Development of the New Collegewide Strategic Plan
Over the course of the 2025-2026 academic year, DMACC has undertaken a deliberate, multi-phase process to develop the new Collegewide Strategic Plan. This process was intentionally designed to balance strategic leadership, broad institutional engagement, and formal shared-governance review, ensuring that the final plan is both aspirational and operationally grounded.
1. Initial Draft Development and Executive Review – August 2025-March 2026
The process began with the development Strategic Pillars. Following that, the process included an initial draft of the strategic goals and targeted objectives aligned to DMACC’s Strategic Pillars and informed by the college’s mission, environmental trends, and prior strategic goals. This draft was a product of multiple discussions among the Executive Committee members, with the explicit intent of establishing a set of SMART goals before circulating the plan broadly for collaborative input.
2. Strategic Planning Committee Engagement – March 10, 2026
Following initial executive agreement, the draft plan was presented to the Strategic Planning Committee for a first formal consultative review. The committee is made up of 20 people from across the college including a member of the Board of Directors, and faculty, staff and administrators from across the college. Committee members were asked to focus on strengths, gaps, and potential implementation barriers, both during a scheduled meeting and through a follow-up feedback survey.
3. Deans, Directors, and Union Representatives – March 11-12, 2026
After seeking feedback from the Strategic Planning Committee, the plan was distributed to Deans, Directors, and the leadership of both collective bargaining groups across the institution for a second, broader review. A draft was sent by email inviting leaders to collaborate with peers and direct reports to discuss how the proposed goals and objectives aligned with their work and the College’s mission. This stage was intentionally framed as collaborative and exploratory rather than evaluative, encouraging dialogue within divisions and across functional areas. Feedback is currently being gathered through an online form.
4. College Council and Shared Governance Review – March 13, 2026
The plan was then sent for review by College Council, consistent with DMACC’s shared governance processes. Council co-chairs were asked to share with their members and seek feedback, ensuring that employee voice and governance perspectives are formally integrated into the planning process.
5. External Stakeholders – March 23-April 15, 2026
The next step of the review process is to share the draft with a group of external stakeholders including area superintendents, business owners, and advisory board members. They too will be encouraged to provide feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the plan.
6. Students – April 2026
A group of Phi Theta Kappa students has been recruited by two faculty members on the Strategic Planning Committee. The students will be asked to provide their feedback on the initial draft to the faculty who will present their findings to the Strategic Planning Committee. The intention is for this group of students to regularly meet to discuss their needs and barriers so that there is ongoing input to the Strategic Planning Committee from students.
7. Next Steps - Institutional Review and Board Consideration
Throughout the remainder of the academic year, the plan will undergo revisions using input from stakeholders. The plan itself will be a living document that the college, with input from all stakeholders, will update annually as goals are met and new directions are charted. A final revised FY 27 Collegewide Plan will be presented to the Board of Directors with a recommendation for adoption at an upcoming meeting.
The 2022-2025 Strategic Plan was sunset. Here are the results.