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Standard Three: Institutional Effectiveness The institution, appropriate to its mission and purposes as a higher education institution, develops and implements a broad-based and integrated system of research, evaluation, and planning to assess institutional effectiveness and uses the results for institutional improvement. The institution identifies institutional outcomes which can be validated by objective evidence.
A. Institutional Research and Evaluation
A1 Institutional research is integrated with and supportive of institutional planning and evaluation.
Descriptive Summary Victor Valley College’s institutional research is a part of the institutional planning and evaluation at the college. The development of the various plans was supported by statistical data from the Management Information Systems Department, as well as research data from outside agencies such as, consulting firms, State of California Department of Finance, Employment Development Department, and the accreditation recommendations. Using various research data, teams composed of administrators, faculty, staff, and community representatives developed the following major plans
Earlier organization restructuring, downsizing, and budget constraints have affected institutional research and planning. Since September 1996, the Office of Research and Technology (previously held by Vice President Charles Peterson) has been vacant. Specific responsibilities for institutional effectiveness were delegated to the Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success who retired in June, 1998. The College has contracted John Cade, a consultant, to assist with specific research needed to support institutional planning. Currently, the Superintendent/President and the President’s Cabinet, which is composed of the vice-presidents, deans, and internal auditor, provides leadership for the development, and implementation of the planning processes for the College. The Vice President of Student Learning has the administrative responsibility for the Educational Master Plan, and the Vice President of Institutional Infrastructure has the administrative responsibility for the Facilities Master Plan, the Five-Year Construction Plan, and the Telecommunications Technology Plan. The Dean of Student Services has administrative responsibility for the Matriculation Plan. The College’s programs and services are primarily evaluated by institutional program reviews. The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges is the College’s main accrediting source. Accreditation self studies, accreditation reviews, and program evaluations by outside agencies are other means for providing institutional evaluation for specific programs and services such as, Automotive, Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, Matriculation, Nursing, and Respiratory Therapy programs. In July, 1998, the College hired an internal auditor to develop, organize, and evaluate the internal controls of the operations at the college. In addition, the College hired the accounting firm, Zavrinek Trine Day, to review, and evaluate the financial aspects of the college, and federal and state compliance.
Self Evaluation Since the last Accreditation site visit, the College has improved the integration of research with institutional planning and evaluation. Some examples of research activities and data which supported planning and evaluation include the following: Strategic Plan- Following an orientation and training session, the team divided into six research groups. The Research teams reviewed and analyzed external trends and internal issues. Concurrent with this research, a community planning session was held to gather input from forty local business leaders and community agencies to discuss the future direction of the college from the point of view of these outside entities. Their opinions were recorded and became part of the external research data reviewed by the Strategic Plan’s Planning Team. Educational Master Plan: The Management Information Systems Department provided the following statistical data: Enrollment Profile Data (unit load, time of day, residency), degree and certificate data, Financial Aid Status of Students Fall 1991-96, and Student Unit Load data. Additionally, supporting data such as households and household income, ethnicity data, educational attainment data, demographics data, and unemployment/employment data was obtained from outside sources, such as the U.S. Bureau of Census and State of California Department of Finance. Facilities Master Plan- Identified facilities used established designated educational room use and Weekly Student Contact Hours (WSCH) for every classroom. The District qualified for needed facilities through room use statistical analysis. The denominator was Weekly Student Contact Hours. For example, every year the District analyzes classroom use by instructional purpose and Weekly Student Contact Hours by room. For the Advanced Technology Center, the College had to demonstrate a need for additional classrooms. For example, to demonstrate the need for the Advanced Technology Center in the year 2001- 2002, the District would have only 56% of lab stations that it would need. The Advanced Technology Center would bring this total up to 84% of the projected need. The College updates the Five-Year Facility Plan every year. Telecommunications Technology Plan- The P2S Engineering Inc. project team, a consulting firm, conducted field investigations and interviews in order to assess the current voice, data, and video telecommunications systems. Each system was analyzed to determine if the physical conditions of the system was adequate, if current faculty staff and student requirements were being met, and if future system requirements were fully addressed. After conducting research into alternative technologies and systems approaches, the consultant reviewed the findings with the campus project staff and defined improvement priorities. For example, the P2S engineering team analyzed current wiring including the audio, visual, and data on the campus connecting classroom buildings. This analysis enabled the College to complete the plan to wire every classroom and every building. The Matriculation Plan- In the Fall of 1998, the Interim Dean of Student Services conducted a New Student Evaluation Survey7 to assess new student satisfaction with matriculation. The results of the survey indicate that students are satisfied with the College’s current matriculation services. A Matriculation site visit is scheduled for March 15-17, 1999. The responsibilities of the Research Office, are currently being redefined to improve the research efforts through better integration with college planning and evaluation. Using Partnership In Excellence resources, a contract employee was hired in September, 1998 to create a research data base. This research database will be used to assist the College in developing and improving its institutional planning, evaluation and effectiveness by increasing the institutional research capability. These databases will also enable Administrative personnel to more easily access multiple data files for data analysis and research. In an effort to increase research capabilities on the campus, the College plans to hire a full-time Research Analyst and Data Processing Technician. In addition, the College is planning to hire an Institutional Researcher. These new positions will substantially improve institutional planning and evaluation and increase the College’s ability to comprehensively integrate institutional information regarding student assessment, orientation, counseling, student persistence, graduation, and transfer data, into district decision-making. The College has also identified a series of research studies which meet Matriculation and Partnership In Excellence Requirements (which include the following):
Data gathered from the entire college could be structured according to a variety of cross references. This information could then be placed on the College’s Intranet for accessibility and modification. This new resource will provide organization to the continuous task of gathering and storing information. Furthermore, it would simplify and organize statistical data which would enhance the institutional planning and evaluation processes. New initiatives in the area of program review and development have been designed to link program review with the budget allocation processes. This linkage is being modified at the present time. In an analysis of the audit evaluations, the audit findings for the Annual Financial Report Ending 6/30/9832 have been submitted to the College. In response to the prior audit findings for the year ended 6/30/97, the College has implemented many of the recommendations.
Planning Agenda 1. The College’s plans for the establishment of a centralized Research Department will be implemented as soon as possible and the College will improve its efforts to ensure that research is integrated with and supportive of institutional planning and evaluation. 2. The Strategic Plan, Educational Master Plan, Facilities Master Plan, Program Review, and other planning documents shall be assessed, reviewed, monitored, and updated periodically, taking into account all available relevant data, in addition to social, economic, political, and technological trends.
A2 The institution provides the necessary resources for effective research and evaluation.
Descriptive Summary The Management Information Systems Department provides some research and evaluation activities to the College. Necessary reports are compiled by the Management Information Systems Department, Office of Accreditation and Grants Development, and other individual departments. The research efforts that have been undertaken by the college support operations, program review, and specific aspects of institutional planning through research necessary to support specific faculty programs or departmental needs. Currently, Management Information Systems Department personnel gather, produce, and store information and statistical data needed by other departments. Some departments and programs conduct their own research in order to facilitate or fulfill the department mission. In addition, Internet resources are used by faculty, staff, and administrators for research data and resources.
Self Evaluation A research consultant was contracted in September, 1998 to develop a research database. The College is committed to enhancing its research capacity and plans to hire a full time Research Analyst, and a Data Processing Technician. In addition, the College plans to hire an Institutional Researcher. Some examples of institutional data and reports that are generated by the Management Information Systems Department include the following: Student Statistics and Enrollment Statistical Report,8 Student Retention Report,9 Grade Distribution Report,10 Probation Report,11 Class Schedule Enrollment by Class,12 VATEA Funded Services Record,13 Student Vocational Education Survey,14 Closed Class List,15 Prerequisite and co-requisite for Philosophy Department,16 and general student demographics. Similarly, the former Office of Institutional Effectiveness generated Student Satisfaction Surveys which provided research data addressing student satisfaction with services, student study hours, student educational goals, and student satisfaction with faculty and staff members. However, the lack of a centralized Research Department to collect, store, and distribute data has hindered the College’s ability to adequately evaluate its processes and/or programs. Because the College lacks a research department dedicated to the task of full-time comprehensive researching, the function of gathering data is not always efficiently organized and distributed in a format that is useable for all campus departments. Since the last accreditation site visit, the College has utilized technology to improve its research efforts through the use of Internet resources. The College Library collection is now accessible through the World Wide Web to assist instructors with curriculum development research, providing a valuable resource tool for faculty, staff, and students. The College library is currently planning to add a web page designed specifically for instructional purposes to better serve the perceived needs of the College.
Planning Agenda 1. The College will hire a qualified educator skilled in institutional research and evaluation to administer the overall research and evaluation functions. 2. The College will hire a Research Analyst, and a Data Processing Technician to increase the quality, accuracy, and the availability of data to support all institutional research needs.
A3 The institution has developed and implemented the means for evaluating how well, and in what ways, it accomplishes its mission and purposes.
Descriptive Summary Victor Valley College has developed and implemented different means for evaluating how well and in what ways it accomplishes its mission and purposes. The College engages in institutional evaluation through the accreditation process, institutional planning, program review, and student surveys. The Superintendent/President assigned the Recommendations from the 1993 Accreditation Self Study Report to the appropriate administrators. The Vice Presidents, Deans, and the Director of Accreditation and Grant Development monitor the progress made in accomplishing the self study plans and external team recommendations. Progress reports are requested from administrators, faculty and staff which are then compiled and summarized in annual, midterm, and final progress reports to the Accrediting Commission. The Strategic Plan establishes objectives for each institutional goal. In addition, action plans for achieving each objective were assigned by the Superintendent/President to members of the administration. The College has completed the Educational Master Plan and is acting to achieve the goals outlined in the Strategic Plan. This process also includes developing a means for evaluating how well, and in what ways, the College accomplishes its Mission Statement.
Self Evaluation Currently research data is program specific and not readily available to support and validate how well the institution is accomplishing its mission of transferring students, placing occupational students in jobs, remediating students’ basic skills, and addressing the level of core knowledge possessed by current and past students. The Five-Year Facilities Master Plan is updated on a yearly basis. The Strategic Plan and the Educational Master Plan will be updated yearly to reflect current changes. The Responses to Previous Recommendations From Site Visit on March 9-11, 1993 and Accreditation Self Study Plans (12/98)17 demonstrate that Victor Valley College has made good use of the accreditation process for institutional planning and evaluation. The accreditation recommendations were used in the development of the Strategic Plan, Educational Master Plan, and Facilities Master Plan. A document entitled College Accomplishments for 1996-1997 (5/12/97)18 lists many specific ways in which progress has been made toward reaching the strategic mission, purposes, and goals, of Victor Valley College. The College is pursuing these strategic goals guided by the vision and mission of the College, the Strategic Plan, and other planning documents. The Program Development and Review19 process classifies institutional components as either Instructional Programs or Support Programs and Services. The review process demonstrates how each program advances the Mission and Strategic Goals of the College in the areas of student access and success, curriculum, and instructional excellence. The Program Development and review process also guides the effectiveness of programs. The former Office of Institutional Effectiveness conducted college-wide Student Satisfaction Surveys during 1995-1997. Students were asked to report on their satisfaction with thirty Victor Valley College services and programs, including EOPS, ASB, parking, library, and availability of courses. In addition, students reported on their satisfaction with the campus environment, their preparation for life experiences, and their ability to perform in classes. Respondents were also asked to name one thing most pleasing at Victor Valley College, one thing most in need of improvement, and one staff member who had the greatest impact. The results of the Student Satisfaction Surveys reflect a high level of student satisfaction with instructional quality, class size, appearance of facilities and grounds, the variety of courses offered, and the library. Nearly all students surveyed were pleased with their overall experience at Victor Valley College and would recommend the college to a friend. The survey results indicated that Victor Valley College is successful in providing an environment conductive to student success as stated in the Mission Statement.
Planning Agenda 1. The College will adopt and implement a Plan for Institutional Assessment which uses outcome and effectiveness measures to evaluate the contribution of each program and service unit towards achieving the strategic goals of the district. This plan will integrate Accreditation Self-Study recommendations, Program Development and Review, and student satisfaction research into a comprehensive tool for measuring and improving the effectiveness of the institution.
A4 The institution provides evidence that its program evaluations lead to improvement of programs and services
Descriptive Summary The College documents evidence of improvement in services and programs through Program Development and Review process. The Program Development and Review process is currently in its second full year of implementation. Each instructional program is scheduled for review every six years. Non-instructional programs are also scheduled for review. The Program Review Schedule 1996/97-1997/98 states the time line for the review process. The former Dean of Institutional Effectiveness conducted the annual Student Satisfaction Survey 1996 and 1997. These surveys included questions regarding students’ educational goals and plans, background, financial resources, opinions and needs, employment status, study practices, use of campus services, and college experience.
Self Evaluation The College has developed a process of evaluating its programs and services through the Program Development and Review19 process. Although this process has been effective, more data on how these reviews have lead to the improvement of its programs and services is still needed. The 1998-1999 school year is only the second full year of implementation; therefore, not enough data has been accumulated to fully support major improvements of the programs and services of the departments that have been reviewed. In addition, the successful linkage of the results of these program reviews into other aspects of the college planning has not been clearly established. The College is more capable of meeting the needs of students in the community since it offers a wide variety of day and evening classes taught by qualified instructional personnel and provides quality service personnel to students. This is evidenced by the results of the Student Satisfaction Surveys.20 For example, the 1997 Student Satisfaction Survey indicated that 67% of respondents rate the variety of courses offered as "excellent" or "good," a 4% increase from the 1996 Student Satisfaction Survey. Additionally, the 1997 Student Satisfaction Survey stated that 83% of the respondents rated the instructional quality as "excellent" or "good," opposed to 82% in the 1996 Student Satisfaction Survey. Similarly, 39% of the respondents of the 1997 Student Satisfaction Survey rated the Financial Aide Office as "excellent" or "good," this was a 7% increase over the 1996 Student Satisfaction Survey. These Student Satisfaction Survey Reports are used to identify areas where the College may need to revise or implement it’s existing procedures in order to improve the learning environment of the student body.
Planning Agenda 1. The College will develop and implement a plan whereby the results of program reviews can be linked directly to the planning process of the institution.
B. Institutional Planning
B1 The institution defines and publishes its planning processes and involves appropriate segments of the college community in the development of institutional plans.
Descriptive Summary The College defines and publishes its planning processes, and involves teams from segments of the college community in the development of institutional planning as evidenced by the development of the following plans:
The Strategic Plan is the overall umbrella for planning at the college. The College defines the planning process and describes the involvement of various constituent groups in the publication, The Driving Force, the Strategic Plan 1995-2000. The Strategic Plan was developed by representatives from the various constituent groups, including the Board of Trustees and community members. Under the leadership of the Vice President of Student Learning, the College hired The Resource Group, a consulting firm, to facilitate the development of the Educational Master Plan. The purpose, process, time frames, and participants are indicated in the Educational Master Plan. A series of meetings were held in which department chairs received format and guidelines through the Program Cluster Plan Form. Each step of the process required participation and evaluation of the work that had been compiled to ensure accuracy of the final document. Under the leadership of the Vice President of Institutional Infrastructure, the College hired P2S Engineering, a consulting firm to assist with the development of Telecommunications Technology Plan. Group meetings were held with the Facilities Planning Team, and faculty, staff, administrators, and community representatives. As a response to the need identified by the 1991 Matriculation Site Team, the Matriculation Committee has been meeting on a regular basis. The Matriculation Committee, which consists of faculty, staff, students, and administrators, focuses on improving the communication, and coordination of matriculation efforts among faculty and staff.
Self Evaluation As indicated in the Responses to the Recommendations from the 1993 Accreditation Evaluation, General Recommendation Three, the College has implemented a strategic planning process that guides overall planning. The College has defined, published the institutional planning process, and utilized broad collaboration in the development of the institutional plans as evidenced by the following examples: Strategic Planning Steering Committee: The Strategic Planning Steering Committee was formed with representatives from the various constituent groups, and the administration, and community. With the assistance of a consultant/facilitator, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee determined how the Strategic Planning Team would be selected, confirmed the elements of the process, developed the content and format of the community planning session, and determined the areas where research was needed. The Strategic Planning Steering Committee monitored the year and a half process and published, "Insight on Strategic Planning" (December, 1993)21 a strategic planning newsletter to communicate the strategic planning process to the College and the community. On November 29, 1995,21 the Superintendent/President distributed The Driving Force, the Strategic Plan 1995-2000 campus-wide and to community agencies. In addition, the Strategic Planning Team consisted of representatives from each work area, students, administrators, the College Superintendent/ President, two members of the Board of Trustees and four community representatives. Action plans with objectives and time lines for implementation were developed by the cross-functional Strategic Planning Team. A Board of Trustees workshop was also devoted to a review of the Strategic Plan. Educational Master Plan Team: During the 1996-97 academic year, the Educational Master Plan Team began working on the Educational Master Plan. On September 8, 1997, a meeting22 was held to discuss the development of the Educational Master Plan process and the outline of the Educational Master Plan. On November 5, 1997, the Superintendent/President sent a memo to department chairs requesting input on program goals and objectives. The Department Chairs, representing the various program clusters, played a particularly important role in the development of this plan. Campus meetings were held with faculty, staff, administrators, researchers, analysts, students, and community representatives in order to obtain ideas, views, and perspectives of many individuals. For example, a series of in-service sessions were held on November 19, 1997. The sessions provided a step-by-step review of the processes, forms, and allowed time for any questions. Facilities Planning Committee: The Facilities Planning Committee conducted meetings23 to define and discuss the concepts for the Telecommunications Infrastructure Projects and the proposed Advanced Technology Complex. Group meetings were conducted in September, 1998 with faculty and staff in order to develop an understanding of the range of the required applications and how technology could assist users on the campus. Matriculation Committee: The Matriculation Committee24 met on August 24, October 1, October 8, and October 22, 1998, to revise the Matriculation Plan.6 The discussion material was then incorporated into the Matriculation Plan. The Committee consisted of the Dean of Students, counselors, administrators, students and Learning Center Coordinator, EOPS/CARE Director, and other participants. Since there are many phases of institutional planning, there is still a need to publish information, i.e., electronic newsletter, and conduct workshops on institutional planning so that the College staff and community can develop a better understanding of the many aspects of the institutional planning process, integration of the plans, progress made in the implementation of the plans, monitoring the plans, revisions to the plans, evaluation and renewal of the plans.
Planning Agenda 1. The College administration will distribute an executive summary of all planning documents campus wide as guides to be used for all program and department planning. 2. The College administration will conduct staff development training workshops on the phases of the planning process to include, but not limited to, overview of all district plans, integration of the plans, review progress of the implementation of the plans, monitoring the plans, revisions, evaluation, and renewal of the plans.
B2 The institution defines and integrates its evaluation and planning process to identify priorities for improvement.
Descriptive Summary The Strategic Plan defines the overall planning process of the College, and the various other plans of the various departments are a more detailed and specific blueprint of the planning process. The Superintendent/President and his Cabinet evaluate and integrate the various department planning processes to identify proposed priorities for improvement and to insure compliance with the priorities established under the Strategic Plan. Similarly, the Faculty Senate receives and evaluates suggestions from faculty for proposed improvement, and the Associated Student Body and Classified Employees Union perform the same function for the student body and classified personnel respectively. Two Representatives sent to College Assembly by the President’s Cabinet, Faculty Senate, Associated Student Body, and Classified employees union as well as the Board of Trustees employ shared governance procedures to define actual priorities for improvement. Two members from each of the following sources make up the College Assembly: Faculty, Student, Administration, Classified, and Board of Trustees. These representatives make policy decisions as a group for the College. The Board of Trustees then approves the actions of the College Assembly. Departments submit their budget requests for facilities and staffing needs for the growth of their programs. The President’s Cabinet reviews all request utilizing the goals of the Strategic Plan, Educational Master Plan and Facilities Master Plan and then approves or denies their request based upon these plans and overall college needs.
Self Evaluation The Present’s Cabinet reviews all requests prioritizes the requests, and submits recommendations to the College Assembly. Budget allocations are made on priority basis to assist in reaching the institutional goals outlined in the Strategic Plan and Educational Master Plan. Each department develops and projects its budgetary resources based only on its own needs and aspirations, and therefore fails to consider the overall needs of the college; this practice makes it difficult for individual departments to take the global view necessary for effective institutional planning. The Educational Master Plan, guided by the Strategic Plan, drew upon a number of essential existing documents, including the District’s Mission and Goal Statements, Facilities Plan, Accreditation Self-Study Recommendations, San Bernardino County Workforce Report25 and the output of the District’s Academic Program Review Process, California Department of Finance, and unemployment data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For example, The Technology/Equipment Requirements derived from the Academic Technology Plan were integrated into the Educational Master Plan. The Educational Master Plan process also identified the need for a Speech/Theater arts facility, a public service facility and a Restaurant Management facility and the remodeling of the Auxiliary Gymnasium for Adaptive Physical Education and a Dance Studio.
Planning Agenda 1. Staff Development activities will be planned to assist all constituent groups in becoming more knowledgeable of the overall budget resource allocation process.
B3 The institution engages in systematic and integrated educational, financial, physical, and human resources planning and implements changes to improve programs and services.
Descriptive Summary Victor Valley College engages in an integrated educational, financial, physical, and human resources needs planning process. Integration of institutional planning was a key factor when the Policies and Procedures Committee was integrated into the College Assembly process. The Budget Process was also integrated into the College Assembly process. The Strategic Plan, The Educational Master Plan, and The Facilities Master Plan drive the budget process. Each year, the College Assembly in conjunction with the Superintendent/President and Vice Presidents request a "List of Priorities" through augmentation budget request to all managers and faculty chair members to plan and budget for their department. This information continues to College Assembly for their consideration in developing the annual budget of the college. The College Assembly identifies the needs based on the district goals and objective which are then submitted for approval to the Board of Trustees. Changes have been implemented to improve programs and services; many of these changes resulted from analyzing the 1993 Accreditation Self Study Plans and team recommendations. Annual, mid-term, final reports, describe the status of each of those plans and recommendations. The Previous Responses to the Recommendations from the 1991 Accreditation Evaluation, a section in this self-study report, provide an updated version of the external team recommendations. Program review recommendations and summaries describe the follow-up needed to improve the program or service area under review. These program review outcomes are linked to departmental level plans. The areas prepare annual status reports that report the progress that is made each year in accomplishing the objectives of the unit, area, or department. Several programs undergo program accreditation or review by outside agencies. Among these are: Associate Degree Nursing Program, Respiratory Therapy, Vocational Nursing Program, EOPS, DSPS, and Matriculation. Recommendations resulting from outside agency reviews are also incorporated into departmental plans.
Self Evaluation Structuring the retrieval of data onto a format which is user friendly will be helpful in writing the next accreditation report. Monitoring this database is essential so that information is properly stored, analyzed and retrieved. This database would be a valuable source of statistical information. There is a process of reviewing the programs and gathering statistical information from students. Staff could also provide help in writing the goals and objectives for the College’s Strategic Plan, Educational Master Plan, Facilities Master Plan, and Matriculation Plan. The maintenance of data would ensure consistency analysis. This information provided by collected data could help redirect programs that are ineffective and not addressing the needs of our students.
Planning Agenda 1. The College will explore the feasibility of increasing staff to analyze and evaluate the result of reviews and surveys.
C Institutional Outcomes and Assessment
C1 The institution specifies intended institutional outcomes and has clear documentation of their achievement.
Descriptive Summary Victor Valley College describes its intended institutional outcomes in a number of documents beginning with its Mission Statement, Strategic Plan, Matriculation Plan, Shared Governance Plan,26 Faculty and Staff Diversity Plan,27 Facilities Plan,3 and Telecommunications Technology Plan.5 Achievement of outcomes are documented in the following reports and surveys: transfer research studies28 and transfer reports,29 College Vocational Certificate Completer Counts by Program and Vocational Degree Completer Counts by Program,30 Reports on Degrees and Certificates Awarded,31 and financial audit reports,32 Student Assessment of the College Environment, Personnel Assessment of the College Environment,33 and the Student Satisfaction Surveys.20 The primary focus of all college objectives and goals is student success. The College’s student outcomes and achievements are further documented through the state of California’s list of accountability measures. These measures provide external criteria for evaluating the College’s success against state-defined parameters. In October, 1997, representatives attended the Assessment Institute Workshop where an assessment model was presented by The National Center for Postsecondary Teaching, Learning and Assessment. In October, 1998 a nine-member Institutional Effectiveness Team consisting of faculty, staff, administrators, and a student attended the Assessment Institute held in Monterey, California. The Institutional Effectiveness Team received information regarding assessment issues and techniques to document institutional outcomes.
Self Evaluation The quality of the College’s outcomes are documented in planning progress reports, to the Chancellor’s Office on matriculation, Financial Aid/EOPS reports, Vocational Certificate and Degree Completer Report, and Management Information Systems reports, to the Chancellor’s Office. In addition outside agencies document Victor Valley College’s outcomes. Each year, financial auditors analyze the fiscal management of the college. A strength in this area is the support and funding received from the College in staff development activities relating to institutional effectiveness, i.e., a nine-member Institutional Effectiveness Team attending the Monterey Assessment Institute. This team has expressed a need for more training. The College plans to continue that support through on going training in the area of institutional effectiveness and outcomes. The College, as one of 416 community colleges participated in a transfer study conducted by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges.28 For Victor Valley College, of the 4,675 students who entered in the Fall 1990 with no prior college experience, 947 earned 12 or more credits within four years and 100 transferred by Fall 1994. As a result, the 1996 transfer rate for Victor Valley College is 10.6%. The College transfers about 250 students to U.C. and C.S.U. campuses.29 The staff will be increasing their efforts to increase numbers of transfers as part of the College’s overall goal of 10% growth in annual student transfers. Although the College documents its achievements in a number of ways, no formal mechanism exists for actively drawing connections between the institution’s intended institutional outcomes and its achievements so that all members of the college community are aware of the association. The Education Master Plan is one method for unifying these responses. In addition, there is a need for staff development activities regarding institutional assessment and effectiveness.
Planning Agenda 1. The College will provide support for ongoing staff development activities relating to institutional effectiveness, outcomes, and encourage staff to attend workshops and conferences relating to institutional effectiveness, and assessment. 2. The College will review and revise its planning documents to continue the pursuit of the goals of that specific plan and the college in general. 3. The College will strengthen the means of documenting the achievement of college student outcomes, i.e. transfer outcomes, retention and persistence rates of students, degree completion, and longitudinal studies.
C2 The institution uses information from its evaluation and planning activities to communicate matters of quality assurance to the public.
Descriptive Summary The College uses printed materials, schedule of classes, student handbook, press releases, Town Hall Meetings, Board Meetings and participation of administration, faculty and staff in public and private organizations to provide information regarding the range and quality of the college programs to the public.
Self Evaluation Victor Valley College provides information from its evaluation and planning activities on matters of quality assurance to the public in many ways. Reports are made available at public Board of Trustees meetings. Some of the strategies that the College utilizes in communicating matters of quality assurance to the public include the following:
This type of gathered information serves to inform the public concerning the environment of the College. The benefit is that it serves as evidence of the impact of our programs.
Planning Agenda 1. A clearly defined process for evaluating the effects of the updated plans will be established to insure that these documents reflect the current changes of our student population.
C3 The institution systematically reviews and modifies, as appropriate, its institutional research efforts, evaluation processes, institutional plans, and planning processes to determine their ongoing utility for assessing institutional effectiveness.
Descriptive Summary Institutional effectiveness is ensured by the Victor Valley College’s effort to assess the quality of all of the units involved in this effort. The Strategic Plan drives the larger direction of the college as a whole with the more specific plans impacting smaller units. These smaller plans and the Strategic Plan must work together to maintain the course of the College. The evaluation of the effectiveness of these plans depends upon the systematic gathering of data.
Self Evaluation The District has allotted funds to upgrade the fiber optics and network plan for the campus. A plan to upgrade the Information System for data, audio and visual transmission have been developed and an Initial Planning Project and Final Planning Project have been submitted to the state for funding. The district currently has in place a fiber optic backbone reaching all classrooms, faculty offices, and services. The backbone connects to the 4C Network and Internet. The district has established some 700 student computer learning stations and 200 faculty and staff stations through the use of state and local resources. A web site has been established with long-term uses yet to be determined. Management Information Systems is involved in the collection of data which is reviewed by the component parts and their jurisdiction. On a yearly basis a meeting takes place attended by a contracted research analyst, the Superintendent/President, and the Vice President of Student Learning. At this meeting, these individuals examine the data provided by the analyst. The data includes matriculation and institutional research needs which in turn drives the goals of annual research projects for the college. These research reports are also reviewed by the Chancellor’s Office. A new classroom facility has been planned using computer assisted learning technology: a 260-station open student computer lab, 5 dedicated computer labs, and 15 classrooms wired for student lap top PCs. The facility includes upwards of 900 student computer stations. An Initial Planning Project and Final Planning Project have been submitted to the state for funding. Planning is continuing as to how to best employ technology in student learning. Representatives from companies such as Hewlett Packard, Xerox, and IKON are assisting in this planning. The admissions office has also added a scanner to provide easier access to records by counselors and other staff.
Planning Agenda 1. As the College implements the new Educational Master Plan it will ensure that institutional goals defined in the document are reviewed for effectiveness to consider the diverse needs of a community whose population is growing. 2. The visit of the Matriculation Site Review Team on March 15th-17th, 1999, will review the activities. The external matriculation team recommendations will also be incorporated into the College’s plans and documents. The evaluating of any new positions, institutional changes, and any other proposed plans for the College will also serve as a means to evaluate how well the institution modifies its planning processes to become a more effective institution.
Standard Three Documents Cited:
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