Maya Caines

This multi-year strategic vision for the College of the Atlantic aims to establish comprehensive infrastructure, policies, and standardization systems to achieve a zero-waste campus. Key focus areas include enhancing surplus property and hard-to-recycle materials management through improved physical and digital infrastructure, staffing, and community engagement. It also prioritizes standardizing compost, dishware, and bin systems by expanding reusable options, improving food recovery, and implementing new procurement policies and event infrastructure. The plan seeks to eliminate non-essential single-use items and achieve an Atlas Zero Waste Score of above 90%, emphasizing waste aversion, reuse, and repair.

This Energy Framework outlines the College of the Atlantic's strategic direction to become a fossil fuel-free campus by 2030. The plan aims to achieve this by significantly reducing overall energy consumption and transitioning to local, renewable energy sources. Key pillars include reducing fossil fuel use, decreasing total energy consumption, generating on-campus electricity, addressing greenhouse gas emissions through offsets, and fostering energy education and experimentation among students, faculty, and staff. The framework also emphasizes continuous monitoring, reporting, and periodic revision of its targets to ensure progress towards its sustainability goals.

This Interim Fifth-Year Report from College of the Atlantic, submitted in August 2023, details the institution's strategic progress and future direction. It summarizes achievements under the previous 2015-2023 strategic plan (MAP) and outlines the ongoing development of the next comprehensive strategic plan for 2024-2030. Key strategic pillars include maintaining enrollment targets, enhancing financial stability through successful fundraising and tuition management, improving student persistence and graduation rates via programs like COA2 and Davis Grant initiatives, and developing a systematic approach to assessing student learning outcomes. The plan reaffirms the college's core mission in human ecology, emphasizing faculty development, physical resource improvements, and technological upgrades, alongside the implementation of a DEI Strategic Plan for inclusivity.

College of the Atlantic's strategic plan focuses on integrating sustainability, environmental stewardship, and human ecological principles into its operations, curriculum, and community engagement. Key goals include eliminating single-use plastics by 2025, reducing waste, maximizing energy efficiency, using sustainable energy sources, and promoting responsible purchasing policies. The plan also emphasizes community involvement, education, and continuous improvement through regular audits and assessments to foster a sustainable future and responsible resource management.