Skip to main content

Futuring in Action: Creating a Future-Ready Mission for Community Colleges

By Rick Aman
on

As the former president of a community college in Idaho, I witnessed firsthand the rapid and often unpredictable changes impacting higher education and workforce development. Navigating these complexities was not always easy, especially when the future felt uncertain. Over time, it became evident that the traditional approaches to planning and decision-making were no longer enough to ensure the college’s long-term relevance and success. It was time to embrace a new, forward-thinking methodology - futuring.

Futuring is more than just planning for tomorrow; it’s about anticipating a range of potential futures and positioning an institution to thrive no matter what comes. It moves beyond the boundaries of conventional strategic planning, which often focuses on the present or the near-term future and normally begins with an institutions mission, vision, values and core themes. Instead, futuring enables institutions to anticipate long-term challenges and opportunities and actively shape their destinies.

For community colleges like the one I led, especially in regions such as Idaho, where industries such as energy, technology, health professions and advanced manufacturing are evolving rapidly, futuring becomes an indispensable tool for shaping institutional missions and visions. It’s about aligning the college’s mission with the anticipated economic, technological, and social changes that will define our communities in the years to come.

The Definition and Purpose of Futuring in Higher Education

Futuring is the process of systematically anticipating and planning for multiple possible futures by analyzing regional industries, demographics, economics, trends, exploring potential scenarios, and envisioning preferred outcomes. This method allows institutions to remain agile, adapting to the unpredictable nature of the future while pursuing their long-term goals. It’s essential to understand that futuring isn’t about predicting the future with certainty; rather, it’s about preparing for various possibilities.

When I think about futuring in the context of a community college, three types of futures come to mind:

This article will apply these futuring concepts to a specific Idaho community college, but the concepts may apply to any number of colleges in any region.

Shaping the Future: Key Opportunities for a Community Colleges in Idaho

Our college is uniquely positioned to leverage several regional opportunities that can help shape its future. By focusing on industries that are present and emerging such as:  renewable energy, technology, cybersecurity, advance manufacturing and healthcare, colleges can play a pivotal role in preparing the next generation of skilled technicians and professionals while addressing the evolving needs of these sectors and the workforce. Here’s how these industries might define the mission and programs of a community college in the region:

Eastern Idaho’s workforce growth is defined at some level by the I-15 corridor that extends from southern Idaho’s boarder through Canada. The region is at the forefront of several rapidly evolving industries, providing colleges with unique opportunities to align their missions with regional employers and workforce needs. By focusing on these existing and emerging industries, colleges can develop programs that prepare students for high-demand, family-wage careers while contributing to the economic and social growth of the region.

1. Renewable Energy: Powering the Future

Eastern Idaho is witnessing rapid growth in renewable energy sectors, particularly in solar, geothermal, nuclear and battery storage technologies. As the world moves toward greener energy solutions, the region is becoming a key player in this transition. Community colleges can seize this opportunity by developing comprehensive programs that train the next generation of energy technicians and operators. These students will maintain and expand the renewable energy infrastructure while contributing to sustainable energy innovations. By offering hands-on training in nuclear and solar power, colleges can ensure their graduates are equipped to meet the region’s clean energy goals. Skills at a two-year level will serve as the first two years of a bachelor’s degree at a university.

2. Technology: Networking, Coding, and IT Support

As the tech industry continues to grow, there is an increasing demand for networking, coding, and IT support professionals in Idaho. Technology skills are foundational across many sectors, and community colleges can meet this demand by offering programs in network design, software development, and IT management. By preparing students with these essential technology skills, colleges will equip graduates for jobs that are critical to the region's digital infrastructure.

3. Cybersecurity: Protecting the Digital Frontier

As industries from energy to healthcare become more reliant on digital technologies, the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals continues to surge. Cybersecurity plays a vital role in safeguarding critical infrastructure, including energy grids, healthcare systems, and financial services. Community colleges must anticipate this growing need by offering programs that prepare students to defend against cyber threats. By developing a workforce skilled in cybersecurity, colleges will help protect the region’s critical infrastructure from emerging risks.

4. Two-Year Health Professions: Meeting Critical Healthcare Needs

Healthcare is a rapidly growing industry, and Idaho faces a demand for well-trained healthcare professionals in two-year programs such as nursing, medical assisting, dental, surgery tech and allied health professions. Community colleges can expand their healthcare education offerings, ensuring students receive relevant training that meets industry standards. Graduates from these programs will enter high-demand roles in local hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities, contributing to the region’s healthcare system and improving access to quality care.

5. Advanced Manufacturing: Emerging Opportunities

Advanced manufacturing technician jobs can drive community college programming by offering specialized training in areas like CNC machining, automation, robotics, and mechatronics. Through hands-on learning, partnerships with local manufacturers, and industry-recognized certifications, students gain practical skills and real-world experience. These programs prepare graduates for high-demand, well-paying careers in modern manufacturing, while supporting local economic growth and innovation.

By recognizing and aligning with these key regional opportunities of renewable energy, technology, cybersecurity, advance manufacturing and healthcare a college can use futuring to define a mission that is not only relevant today, but also positions the institution as a driver of innovation and workforce development in the future. Emphasizing these sectors ensures that students are prepared for critical roles in industries that are vital to the region’s growth and sustainability, while also supporting the broader economic and social fabric of a service region.

Developing a Futuring-Based Mission

When I served as president of a college, we used futuring strategies to guide our key decisions. We recognized that traditional strategic planning, which often begins with an institution’s mission, vision, and values, can sometimes fall short because it is rooted in current conditions rather than future possibilities. Futuring, on the other hand, begins with an exploration of potential futures and uses those to shape the mission and strategic vision.

Here are four tools that can be helpful for an organization to approach futuring by exploring a mission that aligns with our vision for the future:

1. SWOT Analysis: Useful for establishing the current state of a college and providing a foundation to project into a preferred future state. When colleges incorporate SWOT analysis into their futuring processes, they can identify internal strengths and weaknesses along with external opportunities and threats to guide strategic planning. For example, a college looking to adapt to shifting educational demands might conduct a SWOT analysis to identify the following:

By conducting this analysis, the college gains a clear understanding of its current position. This baseline is essential for projecting how it can leverage its strengths and opportunities—such as expanding workforce training programs in response to local industry needs—to achieve its mission, while simultaneously planning strategies to address weaknesses and mitigate threats like declining enrollment.

2. Environmental Scanning: We conducted thorough environmental scans, analyzing workforce trends, technological developments, and regional economic forecasts. The insights gained from this analysis allowed us to identify industries that were likely to experience growth like nuclear energy, cybersecurity, health professions, and renewable energy. These scans formed the foundation of our futuring process, highlighting both opportunities and challenges that the college would face in the coming years.

3. Scenario Planning: We then engaged in scenario planning, where we mapped out various futures for the college. This involved exploring possible, probable, and preferred futures for our service region. For example, in one scenario, the region might see rapid growth in the health technology sector, driven by advancements healthcare simulations. In another scenario, the demand for renewable energy technicians could skyrocket, requiring the college to ramp up its training programs for solar energy and battery storage.

4. Alignment of Mission with Preferred Futures: Once we had explored several potential futures, we focused on crafting a mission that aligned with our preferred future. This preferred future envisioned the college as a central hub for workforce development, particularly in the sectors of energy, technology, and healthcare. Our mission emphasized preparing students for high-demand, high-paying jobs in industries that would shape the future of our service region.

Preferred Future: A Hub of Innovation and Workforce Development

In this preferred future, the community college has fully embraced its role as a workforce development hub for the region. The college is closely integrated with regional employers, collaborating on training programs for nuclear energy, technology, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and two-year health professionals. Students graduate with the skills needed to work in advanced technologies, contributing to both the region’s and the regions health and energy independence.

A Resilient and Agile Institution

The preferred future also envisions the college as a resilient institution, capable of adapting to unforeseen challenges. Whether it’s an economic downturn, a public health crisis, or a technological disruption, the college is prepared to pivot quickly and continue serving its students and community. This agility is made possible by a culture of continuous improvement, informed by regular scenario planning and AI-powered decision-making.

By focusing on futuring, the college fosters a spirit of innovation and adaptability, ensuring that it remains relevant in a rapidly changing world. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to think creatively about the future and contribute to the continuous evolution of the institution.

Conclusion: Shaping a Future-Ready Mission

This article provided a specific example of how futuring can help envision a preferred future for a college in Idaho, but the broader lesson is that any college can apply these techniques to shape its own future based on the needs of its region. By adopting futuring strategies, community colleges can craft missions that respond to current demands while proactively preparing for future challenges and opportunities. Through thoughtful analysis, scenario planning, and aligning with regional industries, these institutions can actively shape their futures and ensure long-term success.

Ultimately, futuring is about more than just adapting to change, it’s about leading the way. Colleges that are willing to embrace this approach won’t just survive in an uncertain future; they’ll thrive, becoming essential drivers of regional growth and innovation while providing needed skills for their graduates.