Strategic Plan

Our 2021-2023 Strategic Plan was developed on the brink of an unprecedented period of growth and transition. After decades of operating as an extension site degree program at San Quentin State Prison, Mount Tamalpais College is now in the process of becoming an independently accredited institution, specifically designed to provide a high-quality education to incarcerated students.

This strategic plan lays out our roadmap for building the robust, sustainable institution that will be needed to achieve our ambitious vision. It is a statement of commitment to our students as people, as intellectuals, and as citizens. Read on to learn more about what's next for Mount Tamalpais College.

OUR GOALS

Click on each goal below to learn more.

1 – Strengthen Academic Excellence

Strengthen Academic Excellence and Student Success

Key Activities

Establish systems for recruiting, training, and retaining diverse, high-quality instructors.
Develop new IT programs, including computer literacy training, technology access, and digital library services.
Implement a continuum of care for students and alumni that integrates all steps of their journey, from initial contact through reentry and beyond.
Build out program design, staffing, and infrastructure for a new division of alumni affairs.
Provide support and educational resources to all California prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2 – Achieve and Maintain Accreditation

Achieve and Maintain Accreditation as an Independent College

Key Activities

Develop MTC-specific program learning outcomes and conduct learning assessments.
Continue ongoing assessment cycle needed for a six-year program review cycle and use assesment data to drive program improvements and inform the field.
Establish strategic partnerships with other community colleges, CSUs and UCs which lead to transfer guarantee agreements.

3 – Expand Access for Students

Strengthen the Field to Expand Access for Students in Other Prisons

Key Activities

Provide training and technical assistance to other practitioners in California and across the US, while documenting and disseminating vital program information and materials.
Facilitate research, collaboration, and dialogue within the field of higher education in prison.
Educate and build relationships across relevant institutions and stakeholders (such as CDCR, other higher education institutions, philanthropy, and press/media).

4 – Improve Program Quality and Inform Policy

Use Data, Research, and Evaluation to Improve Program Quality and Inform Policy

Key Activities

Finalize collaborative research partners, key questions to assess impact, and methodology for next stages of evaluation.
Launch priority evaluation projects with institutional partners.
Disseminate knowledge gained through research and evaluation, via our website, publications, and events.

5 – Enhance Resources and Infrastructure

Enhance and Responsibly Steward Resources and Infrastructure

Key Activities

Improve and expand operations and financial management capabilities.
Create and implement new campaigns and strategies for major gifts, partnerships, and institutional giving.
Increase opportunities for staff professional development.
Continue building a board of trustees that reflects the mission, vision, and values of the college, and takes an active role in institutional fundraising.
Articulate, document, and disseminate MTC’s approach to diversity and inclusion, and further explore strategies for realizing these within HR policy and practice and campus life.

6 – Promote the Empowerment of Incarcerated People

Promote the Visibility, Empowerment, and Civic Engagement of Currently and Formerly Incarcerated People

Key Activities

Develop strategy to build brand recognition locally and nationally.
Develop a robust medial communications program.
Amplify student voices through publication and media partnerships.
Create on-campus activities designed to build students’ communication skills, agency, and investment in life-long learning.
Establish and fund an MTC scholarship to support students’ pursuits post-release.

KEY MILESTONES

These are a few of the key milestones we're striving to reach over the coming years.

60%

BUDGET INCREASE

To support institutional growth, health, and sustainability

$2m

ENDOWMENT

To ensure a strong and sustainable future for Mount Tamalpais College

200

LAPTOPS

In use in classrooms at San Quentin State Prison

$2m

SCHOLARSHIP FUND

To support alumni to continue their education post-release

ACHIEVE ACCREDITATION

As an independent college

COMPLETED: JANUARY 2022

65%

OF ALUMNI

In contact with MTC in 2023

100k

CARE PACKAGES

Distributed to every state-run prison in California

COMPLETED: DECEMBER 2021

Join Us!

With your support, we can achieve this ambitious vision, create a world-class college for incarcerated students, and change the conversation about higher education and incarceration.

DONATE

Strategic Plan

Strengthen Academic Excellence and Student Success

Key Activities

Achieve and Maintain Accreditation as an Independent College

Key Activities

Strengthen the Field to Expand Access for Students in Other Prisons

Key Activities

Use Data, Research, and Evaluation to Improve Program Quality and Inform Policy

Key Activities

Enhance and Responsibly Steward Resources and Infrastructure

Key Activities

Promote the Visibility, Empowerment, and Civic Engagement of Currently and Formerly Incarcerated People

Key Activities

Join Us!

Contact Us

Please note: Prior to September 2020, Mount Tamalpais College was known as the Prison University Project and operated as an extension site of Patten University.

Tax ID number (EIN): 20-5606926

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