Access to higher education and excellence in teaching and learning.

Goals and Purposes

Heartland Community College is committed to student success. The College represents a vital and progressive community resource by fulfilling its mission through the following institutional purposes and goals.

Access to Higher Education

We admit any student who can benefit from our programs and services and provide academic, financial and other support services designed to maximize their potential for success.

We offer instruction and services in convenient locations, times and formats and maintain a moderate tuition.

Excellence in Teaching and Learning

We respond to the lifelong learning needs of a diverse student body.

We prepare students for success in life by providing career and technical education, developmental education and the first two years of a bachelor’s degree.

We provide community education programs, public service opportunities and training for district employers and their employees.

We cultivate community success through programs that reflect and anticipate academic and economic needs.

We teach students to think critically, to solve problems, to communicate effectively in both speaking and writing, and to analyze issues from multiple perspectives.

We prepare students for effective citizenship within a global context by promoting an appreciation of human diversity and commonality.

We hold students to high expectations for learning and growth through continual assessment and improvement of our academic programs.

We prepare students for life beyond the classroom through a variety of activities related to student interests.

We recognize outstanding teaching and encourage the use of emerging technology and innovative methods.

We support professional development for all employees as we strive for continuous improvement.

1. We are student-centered.
   "To see things in the seed, that is genius." - Lao-Tzu

2. We prize an upbeat, can-do attitude.
   "When a person is willing and eager, the gods join in." - Aeschylus

3. We support, and expect, professional growth of all employees.
   "We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing while others judge us by what we have already done." - Longfellow

4. We are all partners in the success or failure of the organization.
   "Success is never final and failure never fatal. It's courage that counts." - Anonymous

5. We salute tradition, not adulate it.
   "Ancestry is most important to those who have done nothing themselves." -Louis L'Amour

6. We respect the dignity of all individuals; civility, collegiality and the highest standards of professionalism should characterize HCC.
   "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Emerson

7. We are proud of the quality of the College but always seek improvement.
   "Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Einstein

8. We practice ethical decision-making and responsible use of environmental, financial and community resources.
   “This we know: the Earth does not belong to people; people belong to the Earth. This we know: all things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the people of the Earth.” – Chief Seattle

-- Approved by the HCC Board of Trustees October 16, 2007