2007 Self Study - Scottsdale Community College

Transcription

Learn.
Grow.
Achieve.
HLC / NCA 2007
ACCREDITATION
scottsdale community college
Self-Study Report 2007
www.scottsdalecc.edu/selfstudy
Dr. Arthur W. DeCabooter
President
HLC / NCA 2007
ACCREDITATION
scottsdale community college
Self-Study Report 2007
1
2
3
4
5
For Continued Accreditation by The Higher Learning Commission
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Table of contents
Introduction: Scottsdale community Colege
Maricopa County Community College District
Service Area
Students
Significant Changes Since 1997
Employees Accreditation History Self-Study Process
Response to Concerns from the 1997 HLC Visit
7
7
7
9
10
10
11
17
Criterion One: Mission and Integrity
CORE COMPONENT 1A Mission Statements
CORE COMPONENT 1B
Valuing Diversity
Diversity-Related Activities and Organizations
Diversity Infusion Program
Diversity Committee
Expected Behavior
Positive Learning Environment
CORE COMPONENT 1C Support for the Mission
CORE COMPONENT 1D Governing Board
College Governance
College Committees
Curriculum Development
Communication
CORE COMPONENT 1E Administrative Regulations
Internal Audit
MCCCD Legal Department
Internal Constituents
Athletics
External Constituents
Summary
29
29
31
31
31
32
32
33
33
35
35
35
35
36
37
37
38
38
39
39
39
40
40
41
42
Table of Contents
1
2
3
4
5
Criterion Two: Preparing for the Future
CORE COMPONENT 2A
Strategic Planning
Facilities Master Plan
Other Planning
Attention to Emerging Trends
Enrollment Management
Innovation
History and Heritage www.scottsdalecc.edu/selfstudy
43
43
45
46
46
47
49
50
CORE COMPONENT 2B
Human Resources Financial Resources
General Fund
Other Funds
CORE COMPONENT 2C
Periodic Reviews
Collecting, Analyzing, and Using Organizational Information
Feedback Loops
Support for Evaluation and Assessment Processes
CORE COMPONENT 2D
Link with Budgeting
Involvement of Constituents in Planning Summary
50
51
52
52
54
55
55
56
56
57
57
57
57
59
Criterion Three: Student Learning
and Effective Teaching
Table of Contents
1
2
3
4
5
CORE COMPONENT 3A
Assessment of Student Learning at Multiple Levels
Challenges for Assessment at SCC
Faculty Knowledge of Assessment
Course-Level Assessment Program-Level Assessment
Institutional-Level Assessment
Communication of Assessment Results
Integration of Data for External Accountability
Faculty Involvement in Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes Effectiveness of the Assessment Program
CORE COMPONENT 3B
Faculty Evaluation Plan Course Evaluations
Professional Development
Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology
Support for Innovation
Support for Innovation in the Use of Technology
Innovation in Occupational Programs
Improving Teaching and Learning
CORE COMPONENT 3C
Learning Resources Support for Learners Support for Learning Regardless of Location
Accessibility and Staffing of Resources for Learning
Support for Technology
Advisement to Promote Student Learning
Counseling Services to Support Student Learning
Counseling Services to Promote Effective Learning Environments
CORE COMPONENT 3D
Assessment of Learning Resources
Partnerships to Enhance Student Learning
61
61
62
63
64
64
65
67
68
69
71
71
71
72
72
73
73
74
75
76
77
77
77
78
78
79
80
81
81
82
82
83
Budget Priorities in Support of Teaching and Learning
Curricular and Pedagogical Improvements
Learning Outcomes Assessment in Student Services Summary
84
84
85
86
Criterion Four: Acquisition, Discovery,
and Application of Knowledge
CORE COMPONENT 4A Freedom of Inquiry Planning and Budgeting
Lifelong Learning
MCCCD Professional Development
SCC Professional Development
Recognition of Achievement
Faculty Evaluation Plan
Sabbaticals CORE COMPONENT 4B
General Education
Student Learning Outcomes
CORE COMPONENT 4C
Program Reviews
Creation and Use of Scholarship
CORE COMPONENT 4D
Ethical Use of Knowledge
Policies and Procedures
Social Responsibility
Summary
87
87
88
88
89
90
91
93
93
94
94
95
96
96
97
99
99
99
100
101
Table of Contents
1
2
3
4
5
Criterion Five: Engagement and Service
CORE COMPONENT 5A
Diversity of Constituencies
Environmental Scanning and College Planning
Outreach Programs
CORE COMPONENT 5B
On-Campus Activities
Educational Programs
Co-Curricular and Volunteer Activities
Planning for Ongoing Engagement and Service
CORE COMPONENT 5C
Collaboration with Other Educational Sectors
Mobility of Learners
Effective Bridges among Diverse Communities
CORE COMPONENT 5D
Workforce Development Activities
Continuing Education
Assessment of Student Services
103
103
104
104
105
105
106
107
108
108
108
108
109
110
110
111
111
Summary
112
Federal Compliance
Credits, Program Length, and Tuition
Institutional Compliance with the Higher Education Reauthorization Act
Student Notification of College Crime and Graduation Rates Professional Accreditation
Off-Campus Locations
Advertising and Recruitment Materials
Organizational Records of Student Complaints
113
113
114
114
115
115
115
Summary and Request for
Continued Accreditation
117
Glossary
119
index
120
Table of Contents
Tables & Figures
1
Figure 1.1: Enrollment since 1997
Figure 1.2: Students by Ethnicity Spring 2006
Table 1.1: SCC Employees Fall 2006
Table 1.2: SCC Faculty Degrees Fall 2006
Table 1.3: SCC Self-Study Steering Committee
Figure 2.1: Ethnic Diversity of SCC Employees 1995–2006 by Percentage
Table 2.1: SCC Strategic Plan
Table 3.1: Maricopa County Community College District Governing Board
Figure 4.1: Historical Headcount: SCC and MCCCD
Table 4.1: SCC Employee Groups
Table 4.2: Ethnicity of SCC Employees
Table 4.3: Faculty Qualifications in MCCCD
Figure 4.2: General Fund Revenues
Figure 4.3: Budgeted Expenditures by Function
Figure 4.4: Budgeted Expenditures by Object
Figure 5.1: The Plan/Do/Check/Act Cycle
Table 5.1: PDCA Levels of Assessment Projects
Figure 5.2: Assessment Methods Figure 5.3: Faculty Knowledge of College Assessment Activities
Figure 5.4: Faculty Involvement in College Assessment Activities
Figure 5.5: Assessment FEPs as a Percentage of Total FEPs
Figure 5.6: Online and Hybrid Classes at SCC
Figure 5.7: Help Desk Requests 2004–2006 Table 8.1: SCC’s Title IV default rates for 2002–2004
2
3
4
5
8
8
10
10
11
18
26
36
47
51
51
52
53
53
53
62
62
63
70
70
72
74
79
114
Introduction: Scottsdale community Colege
Scottsdale Community College (SCC) is one of the ten colleges, two skill
centers, and numerous satellite locations in the Phoenix metropolitan area
comprising the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), one
of the largest community college systems in the country.
Scottsdale Community College occupies a 160-acre site located near the
eastern border of the City of Scottsdale, leased from the Salt River PimaMaricopa Indian Community under a 99-year agreement. In addition to the
main campus, the College offers both credit and noncredit workforce
development classes at the Business Institute in North Scottsdale.
A five-member elected Governing Board oversees the MCCCD and appoints the
Chancellor and staff throughout the District. Each of the colleges in the District
has a president who oversees faculty and staff, ensuring that activities fall within
the policies and regulations of the Board and the Chancellor.
The vision, mission, and values of the Maricopa County Community College
District guide the operations of the individual institutions, and District policy
governs the College’s operation in such areas as government interactions,
curriculum, articulation with other institutions, governance, salaries, benefits, and
other terms of employment. Therefore, while Scottsdale Community College
operates autonomously in responding to its unique community, the College makes
decisions regarding planning, budgeting, curriculum, and governance in the context
of District policies.
Introduction
Service Area
As the only public community college in the country located on land leased from
Native Americans, SCC is committed to maintaining a special relationship with
this community. This location presents the College with some unique challenges:
on the one hand, the College takes pride in maintaining a strong relationship with
this community; on the other hand, the relatively sparse and static population
bordering the eastern half of the College’s service area limits the College’s ability
to keep pace with the growth of the metropolitan Phoenix area as a whole and
that of most of the other colleges in the District. To help maintain an equal
distribution of resources, the MCCCD typically locates its colleges at the center
of a service area with a six-mile radius. In contrast, because of its location, SCC
operates from the center of a semicircle. Maps are available in the Appendix and
online at www.scottsdalecc.edu/maps.
Students
Scottsdale Community College opened in the fall of 1969 and moved to its
present location in the fall of 1970 with an enrollment of 948 students. As seen
in the table below, student headcount reached its maximum in 2003, and FTSE
peaked in 2004. Since then, enrollment has averaged 19,000 credit students and
1
2
3
4
5
6,300 FTSE per year. Another 2,800 students on average enroll in noncredit
Continuing Education and Workforce Development classes every semester.
22000
20000
18000
Total Headcount
Figure 1.1: Enrollment since 1997
16000
14000
6000
19,000
19,639
20,028
19,380
18,095
17,763
16,817
16,074
8000
Total FTSE
10000
16,260
12000
0
Introduction
1
2
3
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
6,359
6,396
6,210
5,784
5,316
5,048
4,819
4,624
2000
4,643
4000
2005
While the student body ranges across ethnic and age groups, data from Fall 2006
show that the student population is predominantly white (71%), and the majority
(68%) are between the ages of 18 and 29. The student body is 53% female. The
following chart illustrates ethnicities:
Figure 1.2: Students by Ethnicity Spring 2006
4
4% N at ive
3.3%
Asia
n
2.7
%
Bla
ck
5
9.1
%
O
th
er
1 0% Hispa nic
70
.9%
W
hit
e
In addition, data from Fall 2006 show 959 international students enrolled at SCC,
including 120 foreign nationals representing 49 countries attending on F-1 student
visas. This enrollment is the largest since Spring 2002, when SCC experienced its
highest student visa enrollment of 144. As a result of the impact of September 11,
2001, student visa enrollment declined to 112 in Fall 2002 and continued to
decline to a low of 94 in Fall 2005. Like all institutions of higher education across
the country, SCC was affected by increased recruiting competition from other
countries and the perception of the United States’ being less welcoming to
foreigners. In response, the International Education Programs office participated
in targeted marketing efforts through web presence, innovative online fairs,
international recruiting trips, and district-wide collaborations on international
publications. The College is pleased that the steady decline was reversed this year.
Significant Changes Since 1997
The Maricopa County Community College District relies on general obligation
bond monies to finance large capital improvement, technology, and construction
projects, and the voters have been very supportive of these initiatives. A 1994
bond funded many new projects completed since the last HLC visit, including:
•The Applied Sciences building, housing faculty offices, classrooms, and specialized laboratories, including two full-scale restaurants;
•The Language and Communication classroom building, which also houses the Writing Center as well as faculty offices, language and writing laboratories, and classrooms;
•The Child Enrichment Center;
•The Computer Technology and Mathematics Building, containing classrooms, faculty offices, and the Mathematics/Science Tutoring Center; and
Introduction
•The Fitness and Wellness Center.
1
2
Bond funds were also used to increase parking, perform major facility
maintenance, improve accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act,
expand student access to technology resources in the Student Center, and
improve security through the installation of a college-wide system of cameras and
call boxes.
In addition to the projects funded by the 1994 bond, the College completed
several other building projects, including:
•
An expansion of the Maintenance and Operations facility;
•
An expansion of the Language and Communication Building, including specialized laboratories for the Motion Picture/Television and Journalism departments as well as seven general-purpose classrooms; and
•
A concession/storage/restroom facility adjoining the athletic fields.
In November 2004, the voters of Maricopa County approved another general
obligation bond initiative to support capital development for the MCCCD.
From the $951,000,000 commitment, SCC will receive $62,000,000 in direct
allocations as well as sharing the benefits of $90,000,000 earmarked for districtwide technology improvements. The College’s Facilities Master Plan will guide the
expenditure of these funds, which will construct or remodel an additional 154,000
square feet of classroom and instructional support space. Plans are discussed in
detail in Criterion Two.
3
4
5
Employees
The College’s six employee groups and the number in each group as of Fall 2006
are shown in the following chart:
Table 1.1: SCC Employees Fall 2006
Employee Group
Full-time faculty, including short-term
Adjunct faculty
Professional Staff (PSA)
Management/Administration (MAT)
Maintenance/Operations/Crafts
Safety
Number
168
461
145
65
35
4
SCC takes pride in having a highly-qualified faculty, with nearly a quarter of all
full-time faculty holding doctorates. The College also employs over 450 adjunct
faculty, all of whom have comparable educational and professional credentials. The
following chart shows the degrees earned by SCC faculty:
Table 1.2: SCC Faculty Degrees Fall 2006
Introduction
1
2
3
Full-Time
Faculty
Adjunct
Faculty
Doctorate
Master
Bachelor
Associate
Other
Total
40
117
9
2
0
168
26
243
128
21
43
461
In addition, the College participates in the Active Retirement program of the
MCCCD, which permits retired employees to work up to 49% of their previous
commitment for a comparable proportion of their previous salary. In 2006–2007,
a total of 59 College employees, including 32 faculty, participate in the Active
Retirement program. In 2005, the College renovated a building to provide office
space, a conference room, a lounge, and secretarial support for its instructional
staff, including active retirees in the Emeritus Center.
4
5
A distinctive characteristic of SCC is the stability of its administration. Dr. Arthur
DeCabooter has served as College president since 1978, and during that time the
College has had only three Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs (formerly titled
Deans of Instruction), two Vice Presidents of Student Services (formerly Deans
of Student Services), and only one Vice President of Administrative Services
(formerly Dean of Administrative Services, a position created in 2004). At the time
of this writing, the College is conducting a search for a Vice President of Academic
Affairs following the resignation of Dr. John Neibling in June 2006 to accept a
college presidency.
Accreditation History
Scottsdale Community College received a five-year accreditation as a separate
associate degree-granting college of the Maricopa County Community College
District in July of 1975. The reaccreditation process was completed in June of 1980
with a seven-year approval; in 1987 the College was reaccredited for ten years;
and in 1997 the College was granted a further ten years. The 1997 visiting team
10
required the College to file a series of reports describing its progress in
assessing student academic achievement, and the HLC accepted the last of these
reports in 2002. The current self-study process will culminate with an HLC visit
in February of 2007.
Self-Study Process
The current self-study process began with the appointment of Dr. John Neibling,
Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Dr. Patricia Medeiros, Language and
Communication Division Chair, to serve as Self-Study Co-Chairs in the fall of
2003. During that fall semester, the co-chairs decided to organize the self-study
process according to the five criteria for accreditation, and a steering committee
was formed. Criterion co-chairs were appointed, and faculty and staff were
invited to volunteer to serve on subcommittees for each criterion. Criterion
subcommittees were constituted during the spring of 2004. Although there was
some turnover in committee chairmanships, the overall membership was stable.
Members of the steering committee were encouraged to attend the Higher
Learning Commission annual meetings in 2004, 2005, and 2006 in order to become
familiar with the new criteria, and most members attended at least once.
Introduction
Table 1.3: SCC Self-Study Steering Committee
1
Sharon Blanton
Dean of Instructional
Technology (former)
At-Large Member
Steering Committee
2
Yira Brimage
Dean of Student Services
At-Large Member
Steering Committee
4
Myron Brower
Faculty/Division Chair,
Applied Sciences
Criterion Three Co-Chair
Karen Chalmers
Faculty/Division Chair,
Culinary Arts
Criterion Five Co-Chair
Laurie Cohen
Director, Research, Planning, &
Development
At-Large Member
Steering Committee
Charles Cooper
Faculty Senate President
At-Large Member
Steering Committee
Carl Couch
Vice President of
Administrative Services
Criterion Two Co-Chair
Chris Ferguson
Faculty, English (retired)
Criterion Four Co-Chair
Debra Glasper
Faculty, Counseling
At-Large Member
Steering Committee
Marina Gorton
Associate Dean of Instruction
(former)
Criterion Three Co-Chair
Dean Hermanson
Acting Vice President of
Academic Affairs
Criterion Four Co-Chair
Osaro Ighodaro
Associate Dean of Student
Services
Criterion One Co-Chair
3
5
11
Introduction
Jim Jacques
PSA President
At-Large Member
Steering Committee
Debbie Kushibab
Associate Dean of Student
Services (former)
Pat Medeiros
Faculty/Division Chair, Language
and Communication
Self-Study Co-Chair
John Neibling
Vice President of Academic
Affairs (former)
Self-Study Co-Chair
Joe Ortiz
Faculty, Communication and
Performance Arts
Susan Peterson
Faculty, Business
Criterion Two Co-Chair
Jim Simpson
Faculty Senate President
(sabbatical)
At-Large Member
Steering Committee
Ginny Stahl
Vice President of Student
Affairs
Criterion Five Co-Chair
Therese Tendick
MAT President
At-Large Member
Steering Committee
1
In May 2006, Dr. John Neibling left the College to accept the Presidency of Clovis
Community College, and he was not replaced as self-study co-chair.
2
3
4
An important aspect of the self-study process has been informing the College’s
constituencies about the criteria for accreditation and SCC’s successes and
challenges in meeting the core components of each criterion. The self-study
coordinators have published regular newsletters and distributed them to faculty
and staff, and the first issue was also mailed to students with their invoices in
November 2005. An Events Committee was formed as a subcommittee of the
Steering Committee to plan awareness events for faculty, staff, and students
between Fall 2006 and the time of the site visit. Copies of newsletters are available
in the Resource Room, and newsletters and information about events are available
at www.scottsdalecc.edu/selfstudy/scc_accreditation_news.
5
Self-study subcommittee members:
Criterion One
Co-Chairs Joseph Ortiz, Faculty, Communication and Performance Ar ts
Debbie Kushibab, Associate Dean of Student Services (former)
Osaro Ighodaro, Associate Dean of Student Services
Members Barbara Bentz, Secretary, Counseling
Dan Combellick, Faculty, Computer Information Systems
Darrell Copp, Faculty, Communication and Performance Ar ts
Ramona Goth, Faculty, English
Tom Greenwalt, Faculty, Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Ar ts
12
Linda Hicks, Faculty, Communication and Performance Ar ts
Sheri Hicks, Coordinator Student Services, Admissions and Records
Donna Lehman, Coordinator, Adult Re-entry
Becky Marushak, Director, Student Life and Leadership
Ann McCage, Faculty, English
Anne Mello, Secretary, Applied Sciences
Colleen O’Neill, Manager, College Fiscal Services
Lisa Peace, Faculty, Ar t
Laura Ruiz-Scott, Faculty, Foreign Languages
Suzette Schlapkohl, Faculty, English
Dixie Swan, Faculty, Communication and Performance Ar ts
Donna Young, Director, Disability Resources and Services
Criterion Two
Co-Chairs
Susan Peterson, Faculty, Business
Carl Couch, Vice President of Administrative Services
Members
Bernard Combs, Faculty/Division Chair, Social/Behavioral
Sciences (retired)
Jim Elam, Faculty, Computer Information Systems
Jay Judson, Accounting Assistant, College Business Office
Gera King, Faculty/Program Director, Interior Design
Patricia Lokey, Faculty/Division Chair, Library
Susan Moore, Faculty, English
Dominic O’Neill, Faculty, Culinary Ar ts
Samuel Van Cleave, Facilities Manager, Maintenance and Operations
Introduction
1
2
3
4
5
Criterion Three
Co-chairs Myron R. Brower, Faculty/Division Chair, Applied Sciences
Marina Gorton, Associate Dean of Instruction (former)
Members
Karen Biglin, Faculty, Library
Sheila Brandt, Faculty, Business/Computer Information Systems
Dave Brown, Faculty, Health, Physical Education,
Recreation, and Dance
Laura Fitzgerald, Faculty, English
Callin Jackson, Executive Secretary (former)
Alan Jacobs, Faculty, Mathematics (retired)
Michael Kuzmik, Faculty, Architectural Technology
Nellie Nelson, Faculty/Division Chair, Health Science
Jim Simpson, Faculty, Business/Computer Information Systems
Doug Sawyer, Faculty/Division Chair, Mathematics and Science
Sidne Tate, Director, Instructional Technology
Tom Trollen, Faculty, Computer Information Systems
Michael Valle, Faculty, Philosophy
Larry Williams, Program Director, Hospitality and Tourism
Rachel Woodburn, Faculty, Computer Graphics
13
Criterion Four
Co-Chairs Dean Hermanson, Acting Vice President of Academic Affairs
Chris Ferguson: Faculty, English (Retired)
Members Steve Borick, Faculty/Depar tment Chair, Physical Sciences
Rosanne Dlugosz, Faculty/Program Director, Early Childhood Education
Barbara A Fahey, Faculty/Depar tment Chair, English
Marcia Gonzales, Faculty, Interior Design
Anneliese Harper, Faculty, Communication and Performance Ar ts
Karen M. Johnson, Manager of College Fiscal Services
Dilip Kumar, Faculty/Depar tment Chair, Social Sciences
Peter Martin, Faculty, Computer Information Systems
Batoul Nasser, Secretary, Student Activities (former)
Therese Tendick, Director, International Education Programs
Anna Thorlaksdottir, Faculty, Motion Picture/Television Production
Fran Watkins, Director, Admissions, Records and Registration
Michael Whelan, Faculty, Culinary Ar ts
Robbie Zellitti, Computer Maintenance Technician. Instructional
Technology Services
Introduction
Criterion Five
1
Co-Chairs Karen Chalmers, Faculty/Division Chair, Hospitality,
Tourism and Culinary Ar ts
Virginia Stahl, Vice President of Student Affairs
2
3
4
5
Members
Art Becker, Faculty, Health, Physical Education,
Recreation, and Dance
Tia Bruised-Head, Faculty, Counseling
Curt Bruggman, Director College Annual Fund
Connie Carruthers, Faculty/Depar tment Chair, Mathematics
Michael Cornelius,Director of Advisement, Enrollment and Testing
Ana Cuddington, Director of American Indian Programs
Zhara Dean, Director of Continuing Education
Cyndi de Boer, Director of Career Services
Cat Dragon, Coordinator, Fine Ar ts and Instructional Technology
Craig Emanuel, Director of College Safety
Chris Jensen, Faculty, Motion Picture/Television Production
Liz Ketterman, Director of Early Outreach Programs
Paul Langworthy, Director of Fitness and Wellness Center
Bill Meacham, Faculty, Computer Information Systems
Jamie Moore, Faculty, English
Jorge Rodriguez, Program Advisor, Student Life and
Leadership Program
Pat Serrano, Faculty, Computer Information Systems
Bobbie Sferra, Faculty, Teacher Education Program
Dee Shipley, Director of Financial Aid
Therese Tendick, Director of International Education
14
The Steering Committee thanks everyone who helped with
this project, and extends special thanks to the following
for their special assistance:
Scottsdale Community College:
Chris Chesrown
Matt Diglio
John Fitzpatrick
Grant Gagnon
Janelle Hoffman
Linda Hughes
Gera King
Becky Marushak
Mary McKeever
Patti McNeill
Erica Moore
Vicky Owen
James Quintero
Ron Schilling
Shelley Skinner
Jack Van Cleave
Phoenix College:
Adrian Delsi
Marian Gibney
Brent Jameson
Introduction
1
2
Chandler-Gilbert Community College:
Jeanne Canham
Bill Holmes
3
4
5
Paradise Valley Community College:Rick Vaughn
Administrative Secretary: Buffie Baxter-Bowen
Graphic Designer: Michelle Fehler
15
Response to Concerns from the 1997 HLC Visit
1
Although the college has articulated a concern for diversity in its
strategic plan, the team did not discern any evidence of significant
commitment to diversity on the campus.
Scottsdale Community College recognizes that diversity encompasses much
more than race or ethnicity, and the College strives to focus on inclusion in
order to create a welcoming environment for students and employees. In 1994,
the Chancellor of the Maricopa County Community College District appointed
a district-wide committee to advance diversity within the District by addressing
issues of diversity for students, staff, and curriculum. In conjunction with the
District initiative, Scottsdale Community College supports an active Diversity
Committee whose goal is “to facilitate, coordinate, and support college activities
and projects that promote diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion” (Diversity
Action Plan 2005–2008 11). In an open letter in 2003, Chancellor Rufus Glasper
stated: “Diversity within the Maricopa Community Colleges involves creating an
environment that demonstrates equity and mutual respect of each person. We are
each charged with the responsibility of providing an organizational climate where
students and employees feel that they are welcome and an integral part of our
community. Our success depends upon us learning from each other and working
together to achieve the vision and mission of this organization.”
Responses
As a part of its commitment to diversity, the College has adopted a statement
of commitment that declares: “…Scottsdale Community College is committed
to promoting an educational mission in which our students and the world in
which they live are made stronger through diversity…Our goals are to recognize
and validate diverse racial, ethnic and religious points of view as well as diverse
perspectives regarding physical and mental abilities, sexual orientation, age, and
countless other experiences and identities that make each of us unique, but
nonetheless interconnected” (Diversity Action Plan 2005–2008 8). The committee
goes on to define diversity: “…in the broadest possible manner, going beyond
visible traits and/or characteristics. The Committee looks at all ways in which
people may differ from one another, but in so doing, emphasizes the importance
of inclusiveness and examining similarities as well as differences” (Diversity
Action Plan 2005–2008 10). The Diversity Committee focuses on four general
areas to support and promote diversity at SCC: curriculum, student enrollment,
employment, and campus climate.
1
2
3
4
5
Curriculum
The Diversity Committee assists faculty in integrating diversity issues and
perspectives into their classes as well as in developing new diversity-based
curriculum. A major component of this aspect of the committee’s work focuses on
the promotion of the MCCCD Diversity Infusion Program, which is spearheaded
by Dr. Bonnie Gray, an SCC faculty member. This program offers an intensive
experience for faculty as they infuse diversity into their classes, and it maintains
a Diversity Helpline with suggestions and resources for adding diversity to
courses and for dealing with diversity issues in the classroom. The program
offers a special library collection, housed at the SCC Library, and a website,
www.maricopa.edu/diversityinfusion/. The Diversity Infusion Program also
provides student internships, a mentoring program for faculty, and an annual
17
diversity book fair. In addition, the International Education Committee is currently
presenting and phasing in a “Globalizing the Curriculum” plan which will allow
faculty to globalize their curricula through training, implementation,
and assessment.
Student Enrollment
SCC recognizes that the student population reflects the diversity of the
surrounding community, and the College provides an array of student support
services to accommodate diverse student interests and needs. Among the specific
actions undertaken are recruiting in area high schools, specifically targeting
ethnically diverse students; community service projects to link SCC with ESL and
first-generation students; targeted recruiting efforts to increase the international
student population; participation in community-based activities to enhance the
College’s visibility; and marketing/public relations activities to promote awareness
in the community of diversity programs and initiatives at SCC. These activities are
contributing to the growth of diversity at SCC; for example, the percentage of
Hispanic students grew from 7.3% in Spring 2001 to 10.6% in Spring 2006.
Employment
Responses
1
2
3
4
5
As part of the Maricopa County Community College District, Scottsdale
Community College works in conjunction with the District in making every effort
to recruit and retain a quality, diverse workforce. The College’s Marketing and
Public Relations office helps to develop strategies to inform qualified candidates of
employment opportunities, and the College provides and promotes opportunities
for professional growth through diversity-oriented events and activities. The
College has expanded its recruitment efforts to include a preference for bilingual
Spanish speakers in hiring and to advertise in targeted publications such as Indian
Country Today. As the chart below indicates, the College’s employees are more
ethnically diverse in 2006 than in 1995:
Figure 2.1: Ethnic Diversity of SCC Employees 1995–2006 by Percentage
90
80
70
60
50
40
2006
30
1995
20
10
0
1995
2006
Native
Asian
Black
Hispanic
White
Campus Climate
The MCCCD defines diversity as “the environment created within Maricopa that
demonstrates equity and mutual respect” (Board Policy “Manner of Governing”).
The District has embraced diversity as a value of the institution, stating that “we
celebrate the diversity of our communities and pledge to promote and recognize
the strengths as reflected in our employees and students. We believe no one is
18
more important than another, each is important in a unique way, and we depend
on each other to accomplish our mission.”
In keeping with the District values statements and initiatives related to
diversity, SCC works to maintain a campus environment that fosters respect
and appreciation for the diverse people who work and study at the College by
minimizing barriers, empowering people, and treating everyone in an equitable
and respectful manner. To further these goals, the College conducts ongoing
assessments of employees and students with regard to their perceptions of the
campus climate as related to diversity. A variety of methods have been used,
including surveys and focus groups of students and employees. In the most recent
series of focus groups, most participants agreed that the atmosphere at SCC is
respectful of diversity, that an atmosphere of equity exists on campus, and that
they have been treated fairly with respect to issues that make them diverse. The
College is committed to continuing its efforts to promote and enhance a climate
of respect and inclusion of all people. (Diversity Action Plan 2005–2008 and surveys
are available in the Resource Room.)
In addition to the Diversity Committee, the College demonstrates its commitment
to diversity in numerous ways. For example, Student Support Services provides
a variety of assistance to students with diverse needs: the Disability Resources
office offers tutoring, interpreters, and adaptive equipment; the College supports
a strong English as a Second Language program with courses offered at several
locations in the community as well as on campus; in addition, significant portions
of the General Catalog and Student Handbook are presented in Spanish as well as
in English to serve the College’s large number of Spanish-speaking constituents.
The College’s International Education Program provides specific admission, visa,
and academic advising services dedicated to international students’ needs. The
College also supports a variety of programs for senior adults, including health
and wellness activities, lecture series, and courses geared specifically for seniors,
as well as numerous clubs and activities for diverse students. (A list of clubs and
activities is available in the Resource Room.)
Responses
1
2
3
4
5
The International Education Program sponsors a number of co-curricular
activities, including study-abroad programs, international fellowships and
travel for faculty, intercultural communication training for employees, cultural
awareness activities, and International Community Club projects that facilitate
the internationalization of the College and curriculum. The College sponsors
numerous faculty-led education abroad programs each year in countries including
Australia, New Zealand, Italy, France, and Mexico. In addition, the College
supports faculty and staff in travel for international fellowship and professional
development. Significantly, SCC has identified Cultural Awareness as one of its four
general education student learning outcomes. Assessment of Cultural Awareness
is discussed in Criterion Three, and diversity efforts are discussed further in
Criterion Two.
2
There does not appear to be a regular practice of effective, datadriven program review of either occupational or transfer programs.
Occupational program directors conduct annual program reviews using a facultydesigned instrument. This review includes a five-year enrollment analysis, summary
of advisory committee recommendations and actions taken, a summary statement
19
of results of student learning outcomes assessment, a Strengths/Weaknesses/
Opportunities/Threats (SWOT) analysis for planning purposes, and projected
goals and objectives for the upcoming year. The program review process has
contributed to a number of changes in occupational programming at SCC since
2001. For example, programs in Gaming, Speech Language Pathology Assistant,
Public Relations, and Electrical Line Worker have been eliminated or transferred
to other colleges, the Nursing program has expanded, and the Small Business
Management program has been transferred to the Business Institute. Examples of
recent program reviews are available in the Resource Room.
Each semester, the Vice President of Academic Affairs and division chairs receive
the 45th-Day FTSE Report, which provides a great deal of information, including
a five-year history of enrollment within each academic area of the College. Other
regular reports include the Highpoint Report containing data on FTSE
by division and department after the first week of classes, and the Staffing Report,
which provides data on staffing requirements. The Staffing Committee uses this
information, as well as other data, in deciding which staffing requests it
should endorse.
3
Responses
1
2
3
4
5
There does not appear to be a formal process in place to evaluate
community education programming.
The Continuing Education Department conducts evaluations of all classes the
first time they are offered and at least once a year thereafter using the Noncredit
Student Evaluation form with responses based on a seven-point Likert scale.
Evaluations are reviewed and summarized by the Director of Continuing Education
and reported to the Dean of Instruction. Instructors are informed of the results
for their classes and employ interventions derived from the assessment process.
Examples of interventions based on assessment in noncredit classes include
modifying educational scopes and learning goals, altering pedagogical strategies,
and increasing or decreasing the number of class meetings. Examples of Noncredit
Student Evaluation Forms are available in the Resource Room.
4
A comprehensive database to provide consistent and accurate
information for institutional decision-making does not exist. This is
especially evident in student services, where data are available, yet their
usefulness for the improvement of services is not documented.
Since the last HLC visit, the College has made great strides in the development
and distribution of institutional data. The College provides a broad range of
general and specific information to users of its Institutional Research Database,
ranging from environmental scanning data to retention and completion data for
specific courses. The College has access to the District’s Institutional Research
Data Warehouse with comprehensive data on students, classes, and degrees. Two
other databases the College uses extensively are the Decision Support System,
which allows faculty, staff, and administrators to access data directly, and the
ASSIST data warehouse, which allows the College to track SCC transfer students
at the three state universities. ASSIST is discussed further in Criterion Three. The
District is also in the process of implementing a new Student Information System
to expand access to enrollment information for improved decision-making. The
College expects to deploy the new system in Fall 2007. Information about SIS is
available in the Resource Room and online at www.scottsdalecc.edu/nss.
20
In the Student Services area, the annual report format has been changed to
document program modifications made on the basis of information gathered. User
surveys throughout Student Services have also resulted in establishing annual
goals and resulting improvements in services to students. Annual Student Services
reports are available in the Resource Room.
5
Students do not have an effective communication forum to
express their views.
SCC students may express their opinions by means of letters, emails, or telephone
calls to any employee of the College. In addition, the Student Leadership Forum
provides a number of meetings and forums for the exchange of views, including
annual meetings with a District representative to discuss tuition and fees; visits
to Governing Board meetings twice a year; and meetings with the President and
Vice Presidents on a regular basis. Students also serve on College committees
as appropriate, including the Commencement Committee and the Bookstore
Advisory Committee.
In addition, The Campus News, the College’s student newspaper, provides all
students with a venue in which they may express their views on issues ranging
from local concerns to national and international issues. In recent years, student
editorials have addressed topics ranging from the 2004 Presidential election to
the state of the College’s Honors program to the cost of textbooks. Students are
encouraged to submit letters to the editor, and approximately 95% of those letters
are published. In addition, the editor frequently responds to concerns voiced in
these letters, and often follow-up articles offer further response. Copies of The
Campus News are available in the Resource Room.
Responses
1
2
3
4
5
The Campus News will further expand students’ ability to express their views
by initiating web-based publication in the near future. Readers will be able
to post responses to articles, submit letters to the editor electronically, post
announcements for College clubs and activities, and create group calendars for
organizations. This interactive website is expected to be functional by the time of
the HLC team visit.
6
The previous team’s expressed concern about funding for library
acquisitions remains. Allocations for books and both print and
electronic serials have not kept pace with needs and inflation.
The College’s response to the 1997 Team Report contains the following
statements:
The funding for the Library at Scottsdale Community College has
come from a variety of sources. Salaries for professional and support
staff have been funded from the General Fund. Within this fund
is an allocation for expendables, subscriptions, repairs, and other
discretionary funds of approximately $36,000. Additional funds
have been allocated from College capital of $70,000. These were
supplemented by District Library allocations for DRA upgrades of
approximately $40,000. IAC InfoTrac software subscription costs are
approximately $160,000 across the District which includes SCC.
When the previous District bond monies expired, the College added
21
a $3.00 per credit hour technology-course fee for selected courses
that used technology in the curriculum. One half of the money
(approximately $70,000) was allocated to the Library. This provided
for purchase of equipment and electronic subscriptions for the
InfoLab. The technology fee was discontinued when the 1994 bond of
$384,000,000 was passed.
In summary, the allocation of funds to the Library has followed
inflation along with supplemental funds to meet the needs of emerging
technology. The problem of subscription costs exceeding normal
inflationary increases is a given, but must not be considered in
isolation. The issue is the allocation for hard-paper Library acquisitions
balanced against the student ability to access Library holdings on
a global scale through electronic media. Also included is the issue
of the need to duplicate expensive subscriptions to journals with
the availability of approximately two dozen library systems within a
reasonable distance of SCC.
Responses
Finally, the issue of a 20% reduction in circulation is balanced with a
very heavy increase in paper copies of journal articles produced from
electronic search and retrieval methods. SCC will continue to address
the needs of the Library and values a state-of-the-art facility that
addresses the needs of the students and the community.
1
Since the last HLC team visit, the library’s purchasing budget has increased by
43%, not including recent specific increases of nearly $20,000 for subscriptions
and electronic resources. The administration has also approved new professional
positions in the library in the past two years. In 1996–1997, the library employed
three professional librarians in faculty positions; in 2006–2007, six full-time and
one half-time active retiree faculty are assigned to the library, and the library
employs three professional staff members. In total, operational support for the
library has increased 129% since 1996–1997.
2
3
4
5
When viewed as an isolated entity, it might appear that the SCC library has
received lower funding than other MCCCD libraries and American Library
Association standards. On a per-FTSE basis in 2002, SCC’s expenditures for
books, serial back files, and electronic materials was 85% of MCCCD’s average
expenditures and 82% of the national average. The per-FTSE expenditure for
periodical subscriptions is even lower, with SCC spending 78% of the MCCCD
average and 42% of the national average. (Source: National Center for Education
Statistics, 2002 data.)
Nevertheless, these figures must be viewed within the context of the Maricopa
Community College District, which provides access to library materials for all
students across the District through subscription databases and an efficient
interlibrary loan program, so that students have access to approximately 500,000
titles. Since the upgrade to the Dynix library system, completed in Fall 2004,
students can create accounts and order materials from other District colleges
through the online catalog. Delivery time is about two to three working days. In
addition, the SCC Library has access to over 30,000 titles of electronic books (ebooks) through ebrary and NetLibrary. All student computer stations are equipped
with e-book reader software, and the books are also available online to valid users.
22
SCC students have access to a wide variety of online databases and reference
materials. Some of these resources are paid from College funds (for a total of
$25,000), and some are paid from District funds (for a total of $505,000). The
District funds pay for databases, e-books, and reference materials to which
all MCCCD students have access. While the District-supported databases
offer general materials for all students across the system, many of the SCC
databases are specific to courses offered by the College (e.g., LexisNexis for the
Administration of Justice Studies classes). A complete list of databases is available
in the Resource Room.
7
The lack of adequate institutional research seriously interferes with
effective assessment of student learning and in supplying evidence
necessary to determine whether the college is achieving its objectives.
The Maricopa County Community College District maintains an Institutional
Effectiveness office that both initiates and coordinates the gathering and
interpretation of data for the organization. Scottsdale Community College
supports the participation of the SCC Institutional Research Director in the
district-wide Institutional Research Council.
The SCC Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Development (IR),
established in 1999, maintains a large collection of data and reports on its website
and regularly disseminates data to administrators, division chairs, department
chairs, and program coordinators in the form of several reports, including:
Responses
1
2
•High Point Reports
• 45th Day Reports
•Year End Reports
•Staffing Reports
• Attrition Rates and Grade Distribution Reports
3
4
5
In addition, the IR Office responds to the data needs of administration, faculty,
and staff. In 2005–2006, the office responded to over 200 requests, many of
which required querying the Institutional Data Warehouse, an MCCCD relational
database with information on students, courses, and grades. The IR Office is the
only entity on campus with access to this database.
The IR Office also plays an integral role in assessment at SCC. For example,
the IR office coordinates faculty course evaluations, developing policies and
procedures for conducting course evaluations as well as processing, analyzing, and
disseminating evaluation results. A significant feature of the evaluation reports is
the inclusion of comparative data by discipline and by college, as well as a fiveyear comparison of the individual faculty member’s own evaluations. (Examples
of the course evaluation instrument are available in the Resource Room.) The IR
Director and the Research Analyst also consult with faculty regarding research
design, methodology, and data analysis for classroom research projects and other
types of faculty-initiated assessment of student learning.
The IR Office also conducts various surveys to determine student satisfaction,
goal attainment, and future plans, including a Graduate Survey conducted annually
and a biennial Occupational Student Survey. Surveys are also conducted on an “as
needed” basis to investigate important college-wide questions. For example, in
23
2005–2006 the IR office conducted a survey designed to measure the
effectiveness of new marketing techniques and a needs assessment survey to
determine the level of interest of Fountain Hills residents in taking SCC courses
in their community.
In addition, the IR Office also oversees SCC’s participation in several
national data collection projects, including the Community College Survey of
Student Engagement (CCSSE), the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory
(SSI), and the National Community College Benchmark Project (NCCBP).
Reports of these surveys and examples of the College’s regular reports and
surveys are available in the Resource Room. The IR website is available at
www.scottsdalecc.edu/research.
8
Although SCC is carrying out extensive assessment of student
learning at the course level, there is inadequate assessment of
learning at the program level and above. There are no significant
aggregate results or mechanisms for curricular changes based on
assessment.
Responses
1
2
3
4
5
The attendance patterns of students at SCC create a significant challenge for
faculty and administration in their efforts to assess student learning outcomes.
The majority of SCC students are not enrolled full-time (minimum 12 hours
per semester) in pursuit of a certificate or an associate’s degree. Approximately
70% of SCC students attend part-time, averaging 8 credit hours per semester.
In addition, many of SCC’s students “swirl,” a term used to describe students
who enroll at multiple colleges concurrently or consecutively and/or who attend
college sporadically. The “swirling student” phenomenon results in low course
loading, low persistence from one semester to the next, even lower persistence
from one year to the next, and/or sporadic enrollment patterns including lapses in
enrollment. This phenomenon is caused by a variety of factors including transfers
to and from universities, a financial need to alternate enrollment periods with
periods of work, and the simple desire to complete a small number of specific
classes for personal interest or to fulfill a specific purpose. The “swirling student”
presents difficulties for institutional-level assessment, particularly in identifying
and tracking a representative and consistent cohort over the course of their
educational pursuits at SCC. These conditions shape the context of student
learning outcomes assessment at the institutional level at SCC in both the
academic and the student affairs areas.
SCC Assessment History
The faculty designs and manages virtually all aspects of assessment at SCC, which
has evolved in three distinct periods since initial efforts in 1996, leading to the
current level of work:
1996–2001
In this early “developmental period,” student learning outcomes assessment at
SCC was primarily characterized by isolated course/classroom-level assessment.
In this exploratory period, faculty and staff developed the first assessment plans
and sought applications that were efficient, meaningful, and relevant to their
specific classes and programs. Reporting was sporadic and inconsistent; levels
24
of both participation and accountability were low; and efforts at the program
and institutional levels were minimal. A Student Learning Outcomes Assessment
Committee (SLOAC) comprised mainly of department chairs and program
directors formed at the outset of this period, and a large number of General
Education outcomes were initially identified. Faculty received minimal guidance and
feedback from administration.
2001–2003
During this “embedment period,” faculty analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of
their prior efforts and clarified their understanding of best practices. Assessment
became firmly established within individual academic and occupational programs,
evidenced by expansion from course/classroom-level assessment to program-level
assessment. A consistent reporting format (the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle) and
formal reporting hierarchy were established, and the SLOAC formally defined its
membership, by-laws, and roles. Goals for General Education assessment at the
institutional level were formally identified, and the list of outcomes was reduced
to a manageable number. After the hiring of a new Dean of Instruction (now
titled Vice President of Academic Affairs) during the 2000–2001 academic year,
administration offered increased guidance and feedback.
2003–present
Responses
In this “comprehensive period,” assessment policies and activities have become
fully integrated into instruction college-wide. All four of the identified General
Education outcomes are assessed at the institutional level; program- and course/
classroom-level assessment has become firmly established in the Plan-Do-CheckAct (PDCA) cycle as described in Criterion Three; many faculty members conduct
assessment projects as part of their own evaluation process; and planning and
reporting take place on an annual basis. Assessment at SCC is characterized
by widespread participation across all disciplines, and a broad range of multiple
measures is employed to fit the various specific needs of individual disciplines
and programs. As described in Criterion Three, the Student Affairs departments
at SCC have also adopted the principles and practices of student learning
outcomes assessment.
1
2
3
4
5
Assessment of General Education Student Learning Outcomes
Scottsdale Community College has undertaken college-wide assessment efforts
in four major areas: Written Communication, Information Literacy, Cultural
Awareness, and Critical Thinking. In each of these areas, a subcommittee has
developed assessment plans and methodologies for institutional assessment. These
assessment efforts acknowledge the fact that SCC is essentially a one-year college
for the vast majority of its students. In particular, the Written Communication
committee has adopted an “institutional portfolio” assessment model that uses
artifacts produced by students as a regular part of their class work, and the
Critical Thinking committee embeds its testing in normal classroom activities.
Criterion Three contains a detailed discussion of the assessment of the four
General Education learning outcomes.
In summary, current assessment practices at SCC include activities at course/
classroom, program, and institutional levels, include multiple measures, and include
25
internal, external, direct, and indirect assessment components. As described
in Criterion Three, the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle provides a mechanism for
implementing curricular change on the basis of assessment results. At all levels,
faculty are implementing interventions based on the results of assessment efforts.
Most importantly, the level of involvement and the sophistication of learning
outcomes assessment at SCC continue to grow through ongoing efforts of
faculty, administration, and staff. Further discussion of student learning outcomes
assessment may be found in Criterion Three.
9
While the college has made recent improvements in strategic
planning, especially with divisional plans and initiatives, the
institution lacks a comprehensive strategic plan.
In 1998, SCC created the Strategic Planning Committee with the objective of
revising the College mission statement, values statement, and strategic issues and
goals. Under the leadership of the Associate Dean of Instruction (now titled Dean
of Instruction), the committee has developed several generations of a strategic
plan that remains consistent with the plan generated by the MCCCD. The College’s
current strategic plan, Strategic Directions and Priorities 2005–2008, contains six
major goals, each managed by a goal champion, and each goal is further divided
into specific objectives to be accomplished. The six major goals are:
Responses
Table 2.1: SCC Strategic Plan
Goal
Goal Description
Maximize Access
SCC will maximize stakeholder access to
the Maricopa Colleges’ facilities, programs,
and services.
2
Create Dynamic Learning
Environments
SCC will promote and support opportunities
for students by enhancing learning
environments and delivery options, student
retention and success strategies, and quality
teaching and learning.
3
Maximize Collaboration
SCC will enhance internal collaboration and
increase external partnerships.
4
Develop Resources for
Growth
SCC will identify and pursue new and existing
revenue while promoting cost effectiveness.
5
Recruit and Retain
a Quality and Diverse
Workforce
SCC will recruit, develop, and retain a quality
diverse workforce.
6
Develop a Strong Identity
SCC will develop a strong identity that
reflects its role in and value to the community.
1
2
3
1
4
5
Specific objectives and a list of goal champions are available in the Resource Room
and at www.scottsdalecc.edu/about_scc/strategic_plan.html.
The College’s Operational Plan is then developed through a process driven by
the Strategic Plan: each department, division, and program contributes to the
development of the overall plan. While the strategic planning process is still
26
relatively new at SCC, it has greatly improved since the last HLC visit. Strategic
Planning at SCC is discussed in detail in Criterion Two.
10
Academic advising for students is a problem for both faculty and
students. The current plan for the faculty to have released time
should be viewed by the entire college as only a first step in planning for
a faculty advising process.
Since the last HLC team visit, the Advisement Center has undergone profound
changes. Of particular significance is the shift in leadership from a faculty member
on one year’s reassigned time to a professional Coordinator of Advisement, a
Management/Administrative/Technical (MAT) position. The 1997 Team Report
expressed concern regarding the “high turnover of coordinators, five in ten years”
(34). Since 1997, however, the Advisement Coordinator position has stabilized.
The previous coordinator served for approximately six years, and the current
coordinator has held the position since the fall of 2003.
In addition, the Advisement Center employs four full-time academic advisors and
a small number of active retirees to supplement the faculty staffing. In 2005–2006,
the full-time advisors handled approximately 61% of all visits, faculty handled 26%,
and early retirees handled 11%. The faculty advisors, including several division
and department chairs, provide a great range of expertise in their areas, and the
full-time advisors provide consistency and can perform additional services such as
group advising sessions and classroom visits that faculty may not have time to do.
This model also allows the Advisement Center to adjust staffing levels according
to demand, so that SCC has much shorter wait times during peak registration than
other colleges in the District. Thus, while the College has remained committed
to its basic model of faculty advisement of students and provides reassigned time
for faculty to fulfill this responsibility, it has modified the plan to provide greater
stability and continuity to the Advisement Center.
Responses
1
2
3
4
5
The 1997 report recommends that the College should “adopt a plan on how
to obtain feedback from students about their experience with the [Advisement]
Center” (34). The Advisement Center conducts periodic student satisfaction
surveys and responds to student concerns by adjusting its processes as needed.
Noel Levitz surveys (available in the Resource Room) show that student
satisfaction with advisement increased significantly from 1998 to 2004. Specific
changes in response to student satisfaction surveys include a remodeling of the
center to enhance privacy and to permit storage of more materials in an orderly
fashion. The Advisement Center instituted appointments in 2004 as a response
to students’ dissatisfaction with wait times. The advisors also undergo more
consistent training, nine hours each semester, to improve the overall quality
of advising.
Another recommendation of the 1997 Team Report was “that the college review
its orientation program to include a section on course selection.” The Advisement
Center has made persuading students to attend the new student orientation
sessions a top priority for the last two years. The Center has also provided
“University Transfer 101” sessions during the fall and spring semesters to show
students how to navigate transfer requirements and plan appropriate courses
of study. Evaluations of these sessions have been excellent, as detailed in the
Annual Report.
27
The Advisement Center has adopted AdvisorTrac software to maintain advisement
records and to contact students. This aids in consistency and accuracy as well as
facilitating proactive advising techniques. For example, advisors track all students
majoring in their disciplines, and call students to set advisement appointments and
encourage them to register early.
The Advisement Center has also increased its collaboration with the Counseling
Department and the Career Center to assist undecided students. Advisors have
increased cross-training and plan to pilot a joint “My Major Discovery” program
for undecided students who have completed more than 35 credits. The Center
is also collaborating with Counseling and the Honors Program to help students
develop Educational Plans as a part of their course assignments. The Advisement
Center Year-End Reports, which are available in the Resource Room, detail
assessment results and the effectiveness of the many changes that have been made.
Scottsdale Community College concludes that it has adequately responded to the
concerns expressed by the 1997 HLC visiting team.
Responses
1
2
3
4
5
28
Criterion One: Mission and Integrity
The organization operates with integrity to ensure the fulfillment of its mission through structures and processes that involve the board, administration,
faculty, staff, and students.
Scottsdale Community College (SCC) operates with integrity to fulfill its mission.
As a unit of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD),
SCC articulates its mission with the established vision, mission, and values of
the college district. The integral connection of the College to the District is
found in all major planning and support processes related to strategic initiatives,
curriculum, budgeting, facilities, and human resource management.
The MCCCD clearly states its vision, mission, and values, and these ideals provide
the underpinning for policy development, organizational structure, resource
management, and all work activity. While SCC maintains a distinctive mission, it is
aligned with MCCCD’s mission.
CORE COMPONENT 1A
Criterion
The organization’s mission documents are clear and articulate publicly the
organization’s commitments.
1
2
3
4
5
Mission Statements
The mission documents of the Maricopa County Community College District
clearly establish it as an organization that focuses on learning across a broad
spectrum of educational programming, including traditional academic offerings,
occupational programming, and opportunities for lifelong learning. The MCCCD
mission is:
Maricopa Community Colleges provide access to higher education for
diverse students and communities. We focus on learning through:
•University Transfer Education
•General Education
•Developmental Education
• Workforce Development
•Student Development Services
• Continuing Education
• Community Education
• Civic Responsibility
•Global Engagement
As part of the MCCCD, SCC operates in a manner that is consistent with the
stated mission of the District. However, SCC goes beyond the MCCCD mission by
articulating an expanded and enhanced definition:
29
The mission of Scottsdale Community College is to create accessible,
effective, and affordable environments for teaching and learning for the
people of our communities in order that they may grow personally and
become productive citizens in a changing and multicultural world.
Scottsdale Community College is committed to offering:
•
General Education, enabling all students to exercise their obligations
and privileges as citizens with intelligence and informed judgment.
•
University Transfer Education, enabling transfer to public and private
four-year colleges and universities.
•
Occupational Education, providing job training, retraining, and upgrading
of skills through courses, internships, and certificate and degree
programs.
•
Basic Skills Education, preparing students for access to post-secondary education through remedial and developmental education.
•
Student Development and Support Services, providing a broad range
of services to enable students to develop and achieve educational,
personal, and career goals.
•
Continuing Education and Community Services, providing enrichment
opportunities for lifelong learning through credit and non-credit
courses, workshops, seminars, forums, and cultural programs.
•
Cultural Education, supporting opportunities to experience and
participate in the fine arts.
1 Criterion
2
3
4
5
The mission establishes SCC as a comprehensive community college that
accommodates the dynamic learning needs of its constituencies, with numerous
programs specifically designed to meet the needs of the community. Since the
College serves a large metropolitan area as well as the Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community, the mission is sufficiently broad to be responsive to the
disparate learning needs of surrounding residents and local employers.
SCC identifies and responds to changing community needs. For example, prior to
the last HLC site visit, the mission statement for Scottsdale Community College
was “to provide quality education to the citizens of Maricopa County in response
to community need.” Realizing that the communities served were increasing in size
and diversity, the institution revised its mission statement to reflect the changing
environment. In 1999, the College’s values statement and Strategic Plan were
developed as an outgrowth of the revised mission statement, and the Strategic Plan
was again revised in 2004–2005 to align with the MCCCD reporting template. As
the College responds to changing environmental realities, the mission serves as the
basis for the strategic planning process. The current strategic plan, entitled Strategic
Directions and Priorities 2005–2008, mirrors the strategic goals of the MCCCD,
although the ensuing action objectives are particular to the College. Strategic
Planning, which is integral to operational planning and budgeting, is discussed in
detail in Criterion Two.
30
The College mission statement is prominently displayed on campus and in various
publications produced by the institution, including the General Catalog and
Student Handbook, all schedules related to the academic, occupational, and
co-curricular programs, administrative reports to internal and external agencies,
and the College website.
An initiative is underway in the MCCCD to examine current assumptions and to
consider the current realities and trends that impact the work of the colleges.
Beginning in the spring of 2006, the Chancellor initiated discussions that will take
place at each of the ten colleges in the District. These discussions of the colleges’
changing priorities will form the basis for reviewing the mission of MCCCD and
the individual colleges.
CORE COMPONENT 1B
In its mission documents, the organization recognizes the diversity of its
learners, other constituencies, and the greater society it serves.
Valuing Diversity
Scottsdale Community College’s mission documents strongly articulate the value
the College places on diversity. The College demonstrates its commitment to
diversity through policies, procedures, and activities that promote awareness
and appreciation of diverse perspectives and ways of life. The College ensures
equitable and fair treatment of all students, employees, and local residents,
and the MCCCD Values Statement enumerates diversity, freedom, fairness,
responsibility, and public trust as guiding values. Manifestations of these values
include compliance with nondiscrimination policies in dealing with both internal
and external constituents, following Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
guidelines in hiring and admission practices, initiating affirmative action when
necessary, and funding support to infuse diversity into the curriculum.
Criterion
Diversity-Related Activities and Organizations
An important element of the mission of Scottsdale Community College is to
prepare students to become “productive citizens in a changing and multicultural
world” by means of curricular offerings, programmatic activity, and student
organizations. A number of student organizations at SCC reflect the diverse
student populations that it serves, including:
• AWARE (Adult Who Are Re-entering Education)
•Black Student Union
• Campus Crusade for Christ
• Gay-Straight Alliance
•International Community Club
•Sun Earth Alliance Indian Club
• Advocacy @ SCC (Disability Awareness)
• American Indian Honor Society
www.scottsdalecc.edu/selfstudy31
1
2
3
4
5
Recruitment and publicity efforts for these student organizations are most
evident at the beginning of each semester, and many organizations are active in
theme-related awareness campaigns and the distribution of information throughout
the academic year. A complete list of student clubs and organizations is available in
the Resource Room.
The institution also conducts numerous activities to foster learning about diverse
perspectives and ways of life, including International Education Week, Black History
Awareness Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Many Faces of Hate Film Series,
Native American Heritage Month, Foreign Language Week, and a comprehensive
Senior Adult program. Each of these activities is publicized to the campus and local
community through news releases, event calendars, and email campaigns. Examples
are available in the Resource Room.
In addition, the university transfer programs offer many courses that meet
university general education requirements related to cultural diversity in the
United States and/or global awareness. Among the courses regularly offered at
SCC are Elements of Intercultural Communication, World Dance Perspectives,
World Religions, Southwest History, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, and a wide array
of foreign language courses. Moreover, the College’s Student Learning Outcomes
Assessment Committee has focused on cultural awareness as one of four General
Education outcomes for students. Assessment of this learning outcome is
discussed in Criterion Three.
1 Criterion
2
Diversity Infusion Program
3
4
Scottsdale Community College hosts the MCCCD Diversity Infusion Program,
which supports faculty efforts to enhance students’ comprehension of
social and cultural diversity. Internal funding to develop course syllabi and
instructional materials is made available to full-time and adjunct faculty through
a competitive application process. Successful applicants spend an academic
year developing syllabi and related materials that are geared to a particular
course, and these materials are made available to other faculty through a
website at www.scottsdalecc.edu/diversity. The MCCCD program also
maintains a library collection of diversity materials as well as a helpline to
provide assistance to employees on a multitude of diversity-related issues.
Further information on the MCCCD Diversity Infusion Program is available at
www.maricopa.edu/diversityinfusion.
5
Diversity Committee
The College also supports a Diversity Committee to coordinate and advocate
campus activities that promote diversity and multiculturalism. The SCC Diversity
Committee increases, enhances, and promotes individual awareness, understanding,
and respect for all facets of diversity, and positively impacts the culture and
climate of the campus and the community at large. This committee produces the
SCC Diversity Action Plan, which includes goals for curriculum development,
employment, institutional climate, and student enrollment. The most recent plan is
available in the Resource Room.
32
The College has offered its employees workshops designed to broaden
sensibilities to diversity issues. For example, in fall 2004 external consultants
conducted a workshop with the central theme “Inclusion Breakthrough,” which
139 faculty, staff, and administrators attended. This workshop focused on ways
of expanding diversity infusion practices beyond the narrow focus of workforce
and student recruitment processes. As a direct outgrowth of this workshop, the
College Diversity Office was established to facilitate activities and programming
for students. Additionally, the MCCCD Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Association,
in conjunction with the MCCCD Employee and Organizational Learning Division,
offers two-part workshops on creating a safe workspace for gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgender people. Twenty-three SCC employees completed this training in
its initial offering.
In a number of focus group sessions examining College diversity between Fall
2002 and Spring 2004, a representative group of over 165 students were asked,
“In general, do you think that the atmosphere of Scottsdale Community College
is respectful of people’s diversity? (Do you feel that all students have equal
opportunities at Scottsdale Community College; that there is an atmosphere of
equity?)” Responses indicated that students recognize that SCC is diverse and that
the campus community reflects a respect for diversity. Further information about
the commitment to diversity at SCC is available in Chapter 2, where the College
responds to a concern of the previous HLC team.
Criterion
Expected Behavior
Along with structures and activities that recognize the institution’s responsibility
to the society it serves, SCC publishes codes of expected behavior that are
congruent with its mission. Standards of professional conduct for all employees
are outlined in the Blue Book, which the MCCCD Legal Department distributes
to every employee. Among other guidelines, the standards address issues related
to the appropriate use of institutional facilities and equipment as well as policies
concerning nondiscrimination, sexual harassment, and workplace violence. The
Blue Book is available in the Resource Room and online at
www.maricopa.edu/legal/dp/TheBlueBook2006.pdf.
Similarly, the General Catalog and Student Handbook addresses matters of
academic misconduct, students’ rights, discrimination complaint procedures, sexual
harassment policy, hazing prevention, substance abuse/misuse, and appropriate
use of technology resources. In short, both the employee and student handbooks
outline behaviors and practices that are important to a civil and respectful
learning environment.
SCC also responds to changes in its environment. Sensing a trend toward
classroom incivility and its potentially deleterious effect on learning, SCC
administrators and faculty leaders formed a College committee to study this issue.
The group developed a civility statement that can be included in syllabi to outline
expectations for appropriate classroom behaviors for both students and faculty:
1
2
3
4
5
To promote a positive learning environment in this class:
Instructors are expected to be professional, courteous, respectful
and empathic to students:
•Begin and end class on time;
•Be prepared for each class session;
•
Provide academic feedback and grade assignments in a timely manner;
•Be available for individual consultation;
•
Clarify assignments and inform students of any adjustments to the class
schedule.
Students are expected to be reflective, courteous, respectful, and
empathic to classmates, instructor, and other college staff assisting
in your learning:
1 Criterion
•Be in class and be on time;
2
3
•Be prepared for class sessions;
4
5
•
Participate in class activities;
•
Follow instructions and complete assignments;
•
Keep up with and turn in assignments by the due dates;
•
Put forth your best effort;
•
Ask questions when you don't understand;
•Maintain knowledge of your grade status;
•
Contact instructor right away about concerns or situations that
interfere with your success in class;
•
Comply with policies found in General Catalog and Student Handbook.
All SCC faculty are strongly encouraged to include this statement in their syllabi
and to address it explicitly with students at the start of each semester, and a
workshop on creating a positive learning environment has become a standard part
of the new-faculty orientation sessions for both residential and adjunct instructors.
34
CORE COMPONENT 1C
Understanding of and support for the mission pervade the organization.
Support for the Mission
Scottsdale Community College’s administration, faculty, and staff demonstrate
outstanding support for the College mission. Teaching and learning are central
to the institution’s mission, and evidence of the College’s commitment to that
mission is seen in the budget: as detailed in Criterion Two, nearly 70% of the
operational budget is allocated in direct support of student learning, such as
faculty salaries, academic support, and instructional facilities. Historically, new
operational dollars or carry-forward monies have been allocated to establish new
faculty lines as recommended by the College Staffing Committee. The College
administration and faculty leadership have diligently maintained the 90:10 full-time
to adjunct staffing ratio in the day program as required by the Residential Faculty
Policies. Only one other MCCCD college maintains this strong ratio of full-time to
part-time instructors.
The College has a long-serving President who enjoys enormous support from
both internal and external communities. One major indicator of the President’s
ability to marshal support for the College’s mission is found in his efforts to
develop a student scholarship fund. The College boasts approximately $1,700,000
in endowed scholarships. Similar support for the College mission is found among
employees, who pledged over $80,000 for student scholarships in a 2005 campaign.
This financial support for students by the external community and employees
affirms support for the mission of the College and its related work.
LearningCentered
Criterion
CORE COMPONENT 1D
The organization’s governance and administrative structures promote
effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the
organization to fulfill its mission.
Governing Board
Scottsdale Community College operates with a great deal of autonomy within the
policies, practices, and procedures of governance and administration established
by the Maricopa County Community College District Governing Board, pursuant
to Arizona Revised Statutes Section 15–1444. The five board members are elected
from geographical districts across Maricopa County for six-year, staggered terms.
The Governing Board routinely meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each
month to conduct its formal business. Governing Board policy expresses the role
and scope of the Governing Board in the governance process, including board
member job descriptions, operational procedures, board committee principles, and
a board member code of conduct.
1
2
3
4
5
Table 3.1: Maricopa County Community College District Governing Board
Name
Term of Office
District
Dr. Donald Campbell
1983–2012
5
Ms. Colleen Clark
2007–2012
1
Mr. Scott Crowley
2004–2008
4
Mrs. Linda Rosenthal
1980–2008
3
Mr. Jerry Walker
2005–2010
2
The Governing Board maintains a commitment to govern from a strategic
perspective while delegating administrative responsibilities to the Chancellor. The
Governing Board remains accountable to the external community in a variety of
ways, including:
•
Producing an annual report that addresses indicators of
institutional effectiveness;
• Providing a citizens’ forum during regularly scheduled Governing
Board meetings;
•
Conducting special forums on specific issues for which community input
is needed; and
1 Criterion
•Hosting topical Strategic Conversations throughout the academic year.
2
3
The Strategic Conversations are an important collaborative process, allowing the
Governing Board members, administrators, campus leaders, and constituent groups
to discuss strategic and mission-related concerns. Recent topics have focused on
addressing student needs, developing community partnerships, quantifying and
qualifying student success and retention, and supporting innovative teaching and
learning methods.
4
5
In addition to the policies and procedures the Governing Board has established,
every employee group has a policy manual that outlines the scope, rights, and
responsibilities of the respective employee group as well as terms of employment,
work conditions, grievance procedures, and benefits. The establishment of these
respective groups gives form to governance and administrative structures that
support the College mission.
College Governance
The College President works within the established mission to provide leadership
to the College. An Administrative Council, comprised of executive administration
and the Faculty Senate President and President-elect, directs College planning
related to strategic initiatives and overall College operations. This council meets
bi-weekly. In addition, the three Vice Presidents (Academic Affairs, Student Affairs,
and Administrative Services) meet weekly to share ideas, communicate across
their respective areas of the College, and ensure a seamless approach to the daily
operations of the College.
36
SCC provides an exemplary model of shared governance, a hallmark of which is
the collaborative nature of leadership exercised by the President, administration,
and faculty. SCC has a well-established plan for faculty governance that organizes
faculty into eleven instructional divisions, each with a chair elected to a threeyear term by division faculty. Additionally, five of the academic divisions are
further organized into departments with faculty chairs for both day and evening
programs. This two-tiered structure permits the development of a cadre of
experienced, dedicated senior faculty leaders, and the decentralized nature
of the division and department structure empowers faculty to exercise a high
degree of leadership and decision-making responsibility in support of the College
mission and related curriculum. A copy of the SCC Governance Plan and a list of
division and department chairs are available in the Resource Room. The College’s
organizational chart may be found in the Appendix.
Distinctive
The Governance Plan is periodically reviewed for its efficacy in supporting the
mission of the College. In 2004–2005, an ad hoc Faculty Senate committee studied
the existing plan with a goal of recommending improvements as necessary. One
resulting recommendation was to conduct regular evaluations of the performance
of academic chairs as required by the Residential Faculty Policies. Such evaluation
had not been conducted routinely, and thus the Faculty Senate is currently
working to develop an evaluation instrument and implement a procedure.
College Committees
Criterion
1
2
Effective leadership and collaborative work in support of the mission of the
College are further embodied in the College committee structure. The Faculty
Senate, working in conjunction with the College administration, initiates and
evaluates over 25 committees to attend to institutional priorities and activities,
ranging from College staffing and staff development to campus beautification.
Faculty and staff committee assignments are made by the administration and
Faculty Senate each spring, and a Faculty Senate review process evaluates and
aligns the activities of open committees with changing institutional priorities and
initiatives. For example, the need to develop and implement a student learning
outcomes assessment plan for the general education program was identified in the
College’s last accreditation review. Through the established committee structure,
a plan was brought to fruition and is currently being implemented. Similarly,
initiatives related to the development of online course offerings, new faculty
orientation, and increased opportunities for student and faculty international
education experiences all have been realized through collaborative committee
activity. A list of committees is available in the Resource Room.
3
4
5
Curriculum Development
The curriculum development process within the MCCCD is also managed in a
collaborative manner. The faculty work within their respective discipline areas
to identify needs and to develop and evaluate the curriculum. In academic
areas, the curriculum is shared across the MCCCD; thus, each curriculum
proposal is subject to review and approval by a District-wide, discipline-specific
instructional council. A similar review process occurs in shared occupational
programs. All SCC-initiated curriculum changes are then submitted to the SCC
Curriculum Committee for review and action. This committee, consisting of the
Connected
Vice President of Academic Affairs, deans, and division chairs, meets monthly
to consider curriculum issues ranging from minor course modifications to new
program proposals. Proposals are evaluated according to several criteria, including
college-wide impact and the recommendations of instructional councils and
advisory committees. Once approved, curriculum proposals are forwarded to the
District Curriculum Committee for action, and curriculum receives final review
and approval from the Governing Board. The iterative nature of the curriculum
development process, while it is time-consuming, ensures that courses and
programs are consonant with the stated mission of the College.
In addition to the internal collaboration on curriculum development, the College
partners with external constituencies in curriculum and transfer planning. Through
the various District instructional councils, the College participates in articulation
task forces which facilitate statewide articulation among the Arizona public
community college districts and the state universities. For example, the College
is represented in the Maricopa/Arizona State University Alliance, which was
established to facilitate the transfer of students into teacher education, nursing,
manufacturing technology, interdisciplinary studies, and honors studies programs at
Arizona State University. These and similar initiatives are important to sustaining a
viable transfer program for students.
Communication
1 Criterion
In general, the communication flow within the organization helps employees fulfill
their respective roles in support of the College mission. The College President
meets with the faculty at the beginning of each semester to provide a general
update of the state of the College, including strategic and budgetary initiatives
at the District and College levels. Also, relevant personnel additions and changes
are announced, campus master planning updates are described, and other relevant
topics that broadly impact the College are addressed. Similar meetings are
conducted for other employee groups.
2
3
4
5
College information, changes, and decisions that are particular to job functions
are conveyed through the Vice Presidents and division and unit heads. Each area
has its own means of managing such information flow. For example, the division
chairs meet bi-weekly with administration to discuss issues relative to the
College academic program as well as general College operations. In this forum,
the Vice President of Academic Affairs facilitates input that will have a bearing on
administrative policies under review by the Administrative Council. Similarly, the
Faculty Senate President often presents such input from the Faculty Senate to
the Administrative Council. In Student Affairs, the Vice President meets weekly
with the deans and periodically with all unit managers, and the deans meet
bi-weekly with the managers who report to them to address issues related
to student services.
CORE COMPONENT 1E
The organization upholds and protects its integrity.
Scottsdale Community College and the Maricopa County Community College
District uphold and protect their integrity in exemplary fashion. The MCCCD, as a
38
public institution, takes pride in operating with integrity and impeccable attention
to its fiduciary responsibility.
Administrative Regulations
The MCCCD sets forth administrative regulations that embody federal and state
laws and requirements pertaining to public institutions of higher education, and
these Administrative Regulations provide the means by which the Chancellor
manages and/or delegates the colleges’ day-to-day operations. Included in the
Administrative Regulations are provisions for fiscal management, serving student
interests, management of auxiliary services, certain protections of academic
interests, and nondiscrimination policy. The adoption of new administrative
regulations, or the amendment or deletion of existing ones, can be initiated by
any group or staff member. Upon review by the appropriate Vice Chancellor, the
proposal is subject to a series of reviews and comment by internal groups and the
Chancellor’s Executive Council (CEC). Final approval of a proposed Administrative
Regulation rests with the Chancellor.
Internal Audit
The MCCCD has an internal audit service whose mission is to ensure the
efficient and effective use of resources. One function of the service is to conduct
annual fiscal audits to ensure appropriate stewardship of public monies, and
the Governing Board demonstrates fiscal responsibility through public budget
reports at every business meeting, a public budget approval process, and public
deliberation on other fiscal matters. As a result of the responsible management
of the funding entrusted to the college district, the MCCCD boasts a bond
rating of AAA. An indication of the community’s support for the MCCCD is the
$951,000,000 general obligation bond which passed in November 2004 with over
75% of the votes. The bond issue is discussed further in Criterion Two.
Criterion
MCCCD Legal Department
When appropriate and necessary, College employees are educated about laws
and regulations relevant to their assigned duties. The MCCCD Legal Department
maintains a website and attendant publications to support understanding of and
compliance with applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations, and
District online tutorials are provided for College employees on topics such as
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), harassment, intellectual
property, and the responsible use of public records. In addition, the Legal
Department maintains staff to advise College employees on work-related matters
when needed. The MCCCD Legal Office also distributes In Brief, a quarterly
newsletter containing articles on legal matters relevant to higher education.
Recent articles have focused on receiving student discrimination complaints,
the Student Code of Conduct, practical interpretations of MCCCD Administrative
Regulations, copyright law, and the appropriate use of email accounts and
other College facilities. Copies of recent issues of In Brief may be seen in the
Resource Room.
1
2
3
4
5
Internal Constituents
The College promotes clear and fair policies regarding the rights and
responsibilities of each of its internal constituencies. All board-approved employee
groups have policy guidelines, including specific steps and timelines, for due
process and the management of grievances or complaints. The policy manuals are
subject to annual revision and negotiation by the respective employee groups and
representatives of the MCCCD Governing Board. Policy manuals are available in
the Resource Room and online at www.maricopa.edu/hrweb/pol_pdf.html.
For students, the General Catalog and Student Handbook contains the instructional
grievance process and the non-instructional complaint resolution process, with a
maximum of ten working days allowed for responding to the student complaint at
each level prior to an unsettled complaint reaching the executive administrative
level for a final determination. The specificity of the process dictates a timely
response to such concerns. The College administration maintains records of all
student grievances and complaints.
1 Criterion
2
3
4
5
Two recently adopted initiatives point to the importance MCCCD places on its
fiduciary responsibility. In fiscal 2000–2001, MCCCD Chancellor Rufus Glasper
presented to the Governing Board the Maricopa Integrated Risk Assessment
program (MIRA), designed to embed risk assessment and management in the
colleges’ daily operations. MIRA reports its goals and progress annually to the
board. A second and related initiative was the development of a code of ethics.
In 2002, the college district contracted with Dr. Rushworth Kidder, founder of the
Institute for Global Ethics, to facilitate a two-day ethics code-building workshop.
The experience included all Governing Board members, the Chancellor, members
of the Chancellor's Executive Council, faculty representatives, and leaders of the
employee policy groups. The resulting draft, Maricopa Guiding Principles, was
then discussed by focus groups throughout the college district, and the
adopted principles now serve to provide behavioral standards and concrete
expression to the Maricopa Values. Maricopa Guiding Principles is available in
the Resource Room.
Athletics
Scottsdale Community College adheres to the regulations of the Arizona
Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) and the National Junior
College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for all its athletic programs. SCC
embraces the exemplary standards of academics, fair and equal competition,
and sportsmanlike conduct espoused by these bodies. The administration of the
SCC intercollegiate athletic program includes a men’s and a women’s athletic
director, who oversee eight women’s and eight men’s sports. In 2005 the Men’s
Athletic Director was elected for a three-year term as President of the National
Junior College Athletic Association. This is not only a testament to his many years
of exemplary work on behalf of student athletes, but more importantly it is a
reflection of the NJCAA’s respect for the high standards of student athletics at
Scottsdale Community College.
SCC has had Academic All-American teams in baseball, softball, men’s and women’s
golf, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s cross country, and men’s basketball. Several
of the athletic teams have also finished at the top of their division, region, and
40
national competitions. The College regularly files an Equity in Athletics
Disclosure Act report with the US Department of Education Office of
Postsecondary Education.
External Constituents
The MCCCD and SCC also deal fairly with external constituents. The Office
of the General Counsel provides an ombudsman service as a means for the
external community to address disputes and other concerns. The service receives,
facilitates, documents, and responds to complaints and concerns about College
or Governing Board operations. The College President remands any external
community complaints to the appropriate Vice President for investigation and
resolution. The responding Vice President has the responsibility of documenting
and communicating to the President the resulting action.
Criterion
1
2
3
4
5
Summary
Scottsdale Community College fulfills Criterion One in exemplary fashion.
The College’s mission documents are clear, and the activities of the
organization fulfill its mission. Its operations, including strategic planning,
budget planning, and long-term planning, are aligned with the College mission
and purpose. The governance and administration of the College promote its
mission, and the College upholds and protects its integrity.
Strengths
•SCC has a clear mission statement and a strategic plan that is
derived from that mission.
•The College’s administrative leadership is committed to
collaborative governance.
1 Criterion
•The division and department structure provides for decentralized leadership, empowering faculty to exercise a high degree of leadership and decision-making responsibility in support of the College mission
and related curriculum.
2
3
4
5
•Scottsdale Community College, as part of the MCCCD, takes pride
in operating with integrity and impeccable attention to its
fiduciary responsibility.
Challenges
•The SCC Statement of Values does not appear in any document except the Strategic Planning Documents from April 1999. SCC should increase public recognition of this important document.
•The College mission statement may be in need of review and revision.
•
42
A regular, effective process for evaluation of division and department chairs should be established.
Criterion Two: Preparing for the Future
The organization’s allocation of resources and its processes for evaluation
and planning demonstrate its capacity to fulfill its mission, improve the
quality of its education, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.
In Criterion Two, Scottsdale Community College demonstrates its commitment
to fulfilling its mission, improving the quality of its education, and responding to
future challenges and opportunities through effective allocation of resources,
careful planning, and regular evaluation.
CORE COMPONENT 2A
The organization realistically prepares for a future shaped by multiple
societal and economic trends.
Scottsdale Community College demonstrates the ability to prepare realistically for
its future through a well-developed planning process that includes a Strategic Plan
and a Facilities Master Plan as well as numerous other planning activities.
Strategic Planning
1
Beginning in 1998, the College implemented a strategic planning process for the
purpose of ensuring the institution's overall long-term effectiveness by providing:
•
Clear articulation of agreed-upon goals and objectives;
•
A catalyst for aligning the efforts of individuals, task forces, and committees;
Criterion
2
3
FutureOriented
•Direction on the development of supporting action plans;
•Broad guidance for the allocation and reallocation of the budget and the
optimum utilization of the institution's resources; and
•Documentation that serves as the basis for systematically measuring
follow-through and effectiveness.
As a result of this planning process, the College has had a number of successes:
•Enhancement of facilities both aesthetically and technologically;
•Establishment of an employee recognition program;
•Development of a budgeting structure that promotes the allocation and real location of resources to enhance technology in response to emerging needs;
•Development of a strong new-faculty orientation program; and
•Efforts to highlight the value of attending educational workshops
and conferences.
4
5
The primary driver of SCC’s planning is the College’s Strategic Planning
Committee, which creates the operational plan. Members of this committee
include the College President; the Faculty Senate President and President-elect; the
Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs, Administrative Services, and Student Affairs; a
division chair; and representatives from the Instructional Technology Department,
the Ocotillo Committee (the College’s technology committee), and the Student
Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee. SCC’s current strategic plan, Strategic
Directions and Priorities 2005–2008, contains six major goals, which align with those
of the Maricopa County Community College District:
•Maximizing Access
•Enhancing Learning Environments and Delivery Options
•Enhancing Collaboration and Increasing Partnerships
•
Pursuing Revenue Sources and Promoting Cost Effectiveness
•Recruiting, Developing and Retaining a Quality Diverse Workforce
•Maintaining a Strong Identity
A goal champion heads each goal to ensure that it is accomplished. Strategic
Directions and Priorities 2005–2008 is available in the Resource Room and online at
www.scottsdalecc.edu/about_scc/strategic_plan.html.
1
2 Criterion
3
FutureOriented
4
5
Connected
44
SCC’s strategic plan reflects a sound understanding of the College’s current
capacity. For example, Goal #2 addresses the recognized need to expand the
College’s current technology as well as to develop alternative delivery systems,
such as online courses, to serve the demanding Scottsdale constituency, whose
high income and education levels demand state-of-the-art technology and delivery
methods. Goal #3 contains a plan to increase classroom space by offering courses
in the farther reaches of the community (north Scottsdale, south Scottsdale,
and Fountain Hills) and by providing more customized training to the already
well-educated Scottsdale community. In one activity to achieve this goal, in the
fall of 2005 the College moved its Workforce Development program to the
Business Institute in north Scottsdale in order to expand access to non-credit
and alternative-delivery credit course offerings. The College has addressed other
strategic goals by hiring an Enrollment Manager (Goal #1), creating a Faculty
Emeritus Center (Goal #6), continuing development of the SCC Diversity Plan
(Goal #5), ongoing efforts to promote the College’s identity (Goal #6), and hiring
a Director of Development charged with developing financial resources such as
scholarships and endowments (Goal #4).
The MCCCD is currently developing a more systematic process for conducting
organization-wide strategic planning. This initiative includes county, state, and
regional strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats (SWOT) analyses, integration
of individual college plans, and strategic direction from the Chancellor and the
Governing Board. A feedback loop by means of individual college reports identifies
institutional accomplishments and progress toward goal attainment. These reports
are submitted periodically, either as monitoring reports to the Board or as
specific reports through the District Strategic Planning Advisory Council. These
efforts present several opportunities. For example, while the Maricopa Strategic
Directions and Priorities 2004–2007 cites in its Goals increasing the diversity of
the student and faculty population, implementing the Diversity Plan, and providing
more technology and training, it does not address setting goals and outcomes
for training for a global society. Detailed information concerning the MCCCD
Strategic Plan is available at www.maricopa.edu/stratplan.
Facilities Master Plan
SCC will receive over $62,000,000 from the general obligation bond of 2004,
to be used to add or remodel 154,000 square feet of classroom and student
activity space and to enhance existing facilities. To ensure maximum
long-term benefit from the bond, the College has developed a Facilities Master
Plan to prioritize and guide the use of bond funds for building construction and
remodeling, development of technology infrastructure, and campus safety. The SCC
Facilities Master Plan is available in the Resource Room and online at
www.scottsdalecc.edu/collegefacilities/documentation.html. A project
construction schedule for the next decade (also available in the Resource Room)
will guide the completion of both bond-funded and locally-funded major projects.
The most significant of these projects are:
•
•
A new physical sciences building, including classrooms, laboratories, computer laboratories, faculty offices, and support spaces;
FutureOriented
1
Criterion
A new student/community center including student activity spaces, food
service, conference and meeting rooms, College receiving department, and
related storage;
•Expansion of the Music Building and Performing Arts Center to provide new classrooms and technical laboratories, faculty offices, rehearsal rooms, and
recording and sound studios;
•
A new general-purpose classroom building, including associated faculty offices;
•Remodeling and renovation of existing facilities in numerous locations, includ
ing Nursing, Paramedic, Music, Life Science, the Library, and other spaces
vacated by functions moving into new buildings; and
•
A loop road, expanded parking capacity, and a new traffic light at the main campus entrance.
In addition, the 2004 bond initiative will provide funds for updating and expanding
technology, including network infrastructure, instructional computing, classroom
environments, and telecommunications; comprehensive facilities maintenance that
will add substantially to the life of buildings; upgrading and expansion of safety and
security systems for students and employees of the College; and new equipment
purchases to support occupational programs that respond to economic and social
demands, such as training new nurses.
2
3
4
5
Other Planning
Along with Strategic Directions and Priorities 2005–2008 and the Facilities Master
Plan, many other planning documents at SCC provide evidence of its awareness
of the relationships among educational quality, student learning, and the diverse,
complex, global, and technological world in which the organization and its
students exist. For example, SCC’s Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan
focuses on student learning, with the four identified general education outcomes
centering on cultural awareness, information literacy, critical thinking, and written
communication, and the College Diversity Plan outlines strategies to demonstrate
the College’s commitment to diversity. Student Learning Outcomes Assessment
is discussed in detail in Criterion Three, and the Diversity Plan is discussed in
Chapter 2 and Criterion One.
Attention to Emerging Trends
FutureOriented
1
2 Criterion
3
4
5
As part of its ongoing planning processes, SCC considers emerging trends in
technology and demographic shifts. Emerging technological trends and the
College’s corresponding needs are addressed through the Ocotillo Committee,
whose mission is to “support the technological needs of the campus” and to
“develop and monitor a plan that establishes priorities regarding the acquisition,
maintenance, and support for the use of technology at SCC.” Ocotillo Committee
membership includes faculty representatives from each division, administrative
representatives from both instruction and student services, and the Dean of
Instructional Technology. The committee works closely with the Instructional
Technology Department to address the current state of technology at SCC as well
as the College’s future needs, and it also participates in the activities of the larger
MCCCD Ocotillo Committee.
The Strategic Planning Committee has coordinated environmental scanning
in the form of SWOT analyses generated by a variety of College departments,
covering areas such as personnel, technology, curriculum and programs, personnel
development, environment, students, and student services. Other environmental
scanning documents, including economic and demographic statistics, are
available through SCC’s Institutional Research website,
www.scottsdalecc.edu/research.
However, the most systematic environmental scanning at SCC is conducted by
the occupational and academic departments to determine what new programs or
program modifications are needed to meet the community’s needs. For example,
the Business Department recognized a demand for business education for working
adults in north Scottsdale, and responded by creating the Business Institute,
housing the Business Fastrack program and the College’s Workforce Development
program in a location in the Scottsdale Airpark. The Business Institute offers
accelerated courses that meet once a week and online courses for students who
work full-time.
Connected
46
Another significant example of the College’s response to changing demands is the
vast expansion of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program in response to
the large and growing population of non-English speakers in Scottsdale. From Fall
1999 to Fall 2005, ESL FTSE grew 170%, and the current unduplicated headcount
is over 700. Within the past four years, the ESL program initiated a specialized
program called “ESL for Hospitality” to serve the needs of the thriving hospitality
industry in Scottsdale. This program now offers a certificate of completion through
special-purpose ESL courses that serve the large non-English-speaking labor force
working at local restaurants, hotels, casinos, and resorts. Further information on
the ESL program is available online at www.scottsdalecc.edu/english/esl.
Yet another example of the College’s responsiveness is the development of
the Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program to train new elementary
teachers needed in the community. These programs, as well as others, were
developed as a result of the analysis of demographic and economic data of
Scottsdale’s population base.
Although there is no single, routine planning cycle used throughout the College,
plans are written in many areas; some departments or programs, such as
occupational programs, update their plans annually, but others, particularly in the
traditional academic areas, are more informal in their planning. In addition, in the
past two years the College has noted trends that suggest that a more systematic
approach to environmental scanning would be beneficial to the College.
Enrollment Management
For many years, Scottsdale Community College enjoyed enrollment growth
between four and five percent annually. As an outgrowth of a College-wide NoelLevitz enrollment summit in 1999, the College created the position of Associate
Dean of Enrollment Management and filled the position in May 2001. At that time
the focus was on responding effectively to the increasing student population.
However, as seen in the following table, enrollment has declined approximately 3
percent annually for the past three years.
1
Criterion
183244
189452
17763
170911
16074
16817
168225
16260
250000
200000
280500
278093
MCCCD
197432
300000
268726
258502
Figure 4.1: Historical Headcount: SCC and MCCCD
150000
19000
19639
20028
19380
50000
18095
100000
SCC
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2
3
4
5
Acknowledging that continued modest growth is critical not only for funding but
also for employee morale and students’ ability to enjoy a wide array of curriculum
offerings, SCC changed the direction of enrollment management.
Environmental scans and analyses of the College’s service area pointed out several
factors that have negative impact on SCC enrollment:
•The six-mile radius considered to be SCC’s prime service area has not
experienced the same growth as the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
•The affluence of Scottsdale encourages many traditional full-time students to
attend residential universities outside the metropolitan area.
•Increased efforts by Arizona State University to recruit SCC’s traditional pop
ulation of freshmen and sophomores have been highly effective.
FutureOriented
The College has responded with several efforts to counter the decrease
in enrollment:
•Hiring two Outreach program advisors with the goal of increasing enrollment from the College’s prime feeder high schools by five percent annually for the next ten years;
1
2 Criterion
3
•Expanding high school bridge programs through Hoop of Learning and
Achieving a College Education (ACE);
•Operating the Business Institute to address the needs of the business community north of the campus and to attract new college clientele;
4
5
•
Partnering with Notre Dame Preparatory High School for evening classes
in the north Scottsdale area;
•Discussing throughout the College the role that course offerings, times,
and delivery methods play in attracting and retaining students;
•Involving all academic divisions in issues of recruitment and retention and
in developing faculty responses;
•Increasing the responsibilities and expected outcomes of the Enrollment
Management Committee;
•Developing a formal Enrollment Management Plan (available in the
Resource Room); and
•Hiring a new Director of Marketing and Public Relations, who has
responded with a fresh look to promotional materials and increased visibility
in the community.
In Fall 2006, when other colleges in the MCCCD, in the state, and throughout the
country also experienced enrollment decreases, SCC’s decline slowed. The College
will continue to counter the loss of enrollment through modification of internal
practices and through external marketing and promotional efforts. In addition, the
number of recent high school graduates, traditionally a strong student cohort for
48
SCC, is expected to increase as the Baby Boom Echo (born between 1982 and
1995), one third of the nation’s population, transitions from high school to college
or the workplace. SCC is poised to assist in those transitions with strong transfer
and workforce development programs.
Innovation
Recent SWOT analyses identify two particular strengths of Scottsdale Community
College: the hiring of forward-thinking administrators and the consistent support
for faculty in instructional innovation and new program creation. For example, Carl
Perkins III and Arizona Proposition 301 funds provide over $250,000 annually for
the development of new occupational programs. The College has also received
State grant funding and partnered with Scottsdale Healthcare to expand its
Nursing program at an offsite facility operated by Scottsdale Healthcare.
The Ocotillo Committee also fosters innovation and change, with two of its goals
being to “examine and make recommendations for consistent implementation,
evaluation, and assessment of online courses at SCC” and to “develop guidelines
for computer security at SCC.” One result of these Ocotillo’s activities is the
implementation and support behind Blackboard, an online course management
system that allows faculty to either enhance a traditional course with Web-based
content or create an entirely online course. The college facilitates innovation and
change in many additional ways, including:
1
Criterion
•Instructional Skills Workshops, which help faculty develop and enhance their teaching skills;
•
LearningCentered
A Faculty Evaluation Plan that encourages faculty to implement changes in their teaching to enhance student learning;
•Selection of the Innovator of the Year, an award from the League for
Innovation;
•
Educational Development Projects, which provide funding to faculty for the creation of learning experiences outside the normal scope of class
preparation; and
•Summer Projects, which provide mini-grants to faculty for professional
training, workshop participation, work experience, or scholarly research
during the summer.
These and other programs are discussed in detail in Criterion Four.
Innovation and change will affect enrollment, and the former Vice President of
Academic Affairs’ “Long Term Enrollment Planning” position paper analyzes the
factors that will influence SCC’s enrollment growth for the next 20 years. “Position
Paper on Long-Term Enrollment Planning, August 12, 2004,” is available in the
Resource Room.
2
3
4
5
History and Heritage
Distinctive
A plan to develop a strong identity reflecting SCC’s role as an educational leader
in the community is identified as Goal #6 of Strategic Directions and Priorities
2005–2008. As one response to this goal, the College recently celebrated its 35th
anniversary with ceremonies that both reflected on the past and looked to the
future. The celebration included the unveiling of a new logo, which graphically
identifies the College as a provider of higher education to the community. SCC
also incorporates in its planning its desire to preserve as part of its heritage “Artie
the Artichoke,” the College mascot. Dating from the early 1970s, the “artichoke”
established SCC as a college that emphasizes academics over athletics.
Significantly, the College honors its history and acknowledges the value of its
long-time employees through its ongoing participation in MCCCD’s Active
Retirement program. Participating retirees may work up to 49% of their previous
commitments for a comparable proportion of their previous salary. In 2005–2006,
32 faculty and 27 other employees took advantage of this opportunity. In the fall
of 2005, the college opened the Emeritus Center in the newly-renovated Faculty
Office Building to provide active faculty retirees with offices, a conference room,
a lounge area, and secretarial service. These activities illustrate SCC’s efforts
to bridge its history to its future, a necessary component to capitalizing on its
strengths as an institution.
1
2 Criterion
3
CORE COMPONENT 2B
The organization’s resource base supports its educational programs and its
plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future.
4
5
Scottsdale Community College benefits from outstanding physical, financial, and
human resources, and the College utilizes those resources effectively to maintain
and strengthen its educational programs. As a unit of the Maricopa County
Community College District, the College shares in the benefits of the District’s
sound financial management, evidence of which can be found in its Financial
Stability Policy, which requires maintenance of an 8% resource reserve. The
District consistently maintains a bond rating of AAA among the three primary
rating services, the only community college district in Arizona to achieve
this outstanding rating.
SCC participates fully in the many resource allocation programs maintained by
the MCCCD. These include funding for the impact of enrollment growth, to offset
increases in negotiated wages (both salary and benefit changes), to mitigate the
impact of inflation, and to support new program initiatives. The Maricopa County
tax base continues to grow consistently, and with property tax representing over
half the annual income to the District, MCCCD enjoys a revenue base that is not
only stable, but is likewise growing. Thus, the College is exceptionally well funded
by community college standards and is able to provide quality education with its
current human, capital, and physical resources.
50
Human Resources
In addition to its physical resources, SCC maintains a highly qualified faculty and
a large support staff to provide quality service to its students. The following table
illustrates the primary SCC employee groups in fall 2006:
LearningCentered
Table 4.1: SCC Employee Groups
Employee Group
Number
Residential Faculty
168
Adjunct Faculty
461
145
Management/Administrative/Technical (MAT)
65
Maintenance/Operations/Crafts
35
4
Safety
(Source: Scottsdale Community College Human Resources Database.)
SCC also supports the recruitment, development, and retention of a diverse
workforce. The following table illustrates gender and ethnic diversity for each
employee group:
1
Criterion
Table 4.2: Ethnicity of SCC Employees
2
Female
White
Black
Asian or
Pacific
Islander
Native
American
Residential Faculty
53.5
46.5
87.9
1.3
5.1
3.2
2.5
Adjunct Faculty
47.9
52.1
90.5
2.4
4.8
1.6
.7
24.8
75.2
78.7
1.4
11.3
3.5
5.0
Management/
Administrative/
Technical (MAT)
51.4
48.6
80
7.1
7.1
2.9
2.9
Maintenance/Operations/
Crafts
77.1
22.9
51.4
2.9
42.9
2.9
0
Safety
100
0
100
0
0
0
0
Hispanic
Percentage of the SCC
Workforce That Is:
Male
3
More information about workforce diversity can be found in Chapter 2, in
Criterion One, and online at SCC Employee Demographics web site at
www.maricopa.edu/hrweb/emplrel/stats/demo_college/demo_scc.html.
Because SCC is part of MCCCD, many personnel functions, including hiring
procedures, compensation, benefits, and evaluation processes, are determined at
the District level. Corresponding policies and procedures are outlined in individual
employee group policy manuals. Policy manuals are available in the Resource Room
and online at www.maricopa.edu/hrweb/pol_pdf.html.
4
5
Both residential and adjunct faculty must meet minimum qualifications as shown
in the following table:
Table 4.3: Faculty Qualifications in MCCCD
Academic Teaching Fields
(e.g., English, sciences, math, humanities)
Occupational Teaching Fields
(e.g., nursing, business, interior design)
A master’s degree in the teaching field, or
The same qualifications as those listed for
academic teaching fields, or
A master's in any teaching field with 24 upper
division and/or graduate semester hours in
the teaching field, or
A master's in any teaching field with 18
graduate semester hours in the teaching field,
and
Completion of EDU 250 (Overview of the
Community Colleges) or equivalent within
two years of date of hire.
LearningCentered
1
2 Criterion
3
4
5
A bachelor’s degree plus three years’ work
experience in the field to be taught, or
An associate degree or 64 semester hours
and five years’ work experience in the field
to be taught,
and
Completion of EDU 250 (Overview of the
Community Colleges) or equivalent within
two years of date of hire.
SCC complies with the MCCCD Residential Faculty Policies (section 5.2.2) by
maintaining designated instructional ratios. The college actually exceeds the
mandated 90:10 ratio of full-time to adjunct staffing levels in the day academic
program. Student to faculty ratios are: Academic 27:1; Occupational 20:1; and
Health Care (10:1). Thus, the College supports its student body with a solid faculty
base in all educational areas.
Faculty and staff at SCC have numerous opportunities to grow professionally,
as detailed in Criterion Four, and in order to provide additional developmental
opportunities the College plans to expand the Center for Teaching, Learning,
and Technology (CTLT), which provides assistance with instructional design and
instructional technology. The larger facility will include a computer-equipped
faculty/staff training room.
Financial Resources
The college’s financial resources are ample to maintain and to strengthen its
educational programs.
General Fund
The Current Unrestricted Fund (General Fund) provides the primary operating
revenues for SCC, covering the basic operating costs of salaries, benefits, utilities,
and supplies. The following charts show the sources of General Fund Revenues by
percentage for MCCCD and the allocation of the General Fund budget at SCC by
function and by object:
52
Figure 4.2: General Fund Revenues
70%
FY
1996 – 1997
60%
50%
40%
FY
2004 – 2005
61
58
30%
20%
24
10%
0%
18
17
11
Property Tax
7
5
State Aid
Tuition and Fees
Other
Figure 4.3: Budgeted Expenditures by Function
por
12%
Phy
up
ic S
sica
dem
l Pl
an
Aca
t
13%
t
9%
Stu
d
t
en
Ser
vic
e
1
Criterion
SCC General Fund
Fiscal Year 2006/2007
3
7% General Insitutional
4
10 %
A
55
%
In
st
ru
ct
io
5
dmi
nist
rati
on
n
fits
ne
Be
ye e
plo
Em
17
%
less than 1% Travel
Figure 4.4: Budgeted Expenditures by Object
5%
SCC General Fund
Fiscal Year 2006/2007
2
S
and
lies
upp
Mat
eria
ls
at
d Communic
3% Utilities an
io n s
3% Mi scellaneo
us and Transfe
rs
2% C
u r re n
t Fixe
2%
d Ch
Co
arges
ntr
actu
al S
er v
67
ices
%
Pe
rs
on
al
Se
rv
ice
s
LearningCentered
At the District level, the General Fund budget for FY 2006–07 is $540,939,456,
from which SCC receives $42,725,624 to support a projected FTSE of 6,025.
Instruction and academic support account for 68% of the budget, demonstrating
the College’s commitment to funding activities that contribute directly to student
learning.
Although tuition has increased from $34 per credit hour in 1996–97 to $65
per credit hour for 2006–07, it is still below the national average for two-year
institutions. SCC ranks in the 14th percentile among 152 community colleges
across the US Data from 2004 showed SCC’s tuition at $51/credit, while the
national average was $69/credit. (The 2006 National Community College
Benchmark Project, showing data from 2004, is available in the Resource Room.)
In addition, the most recent Noel-Levitz survey and Community College Survey
of Student Engagement both indicate that students rate admissions and financial
aid less important than did students nationally. Thus, not only are SCC students
relatively affluent, but they also enjoy a quality education at an institution with
abundant resources and relatively low tuition.
A number of departments and occupational programs at SCC require students to
pay additional course fees in order to provide special supplies or equipment for a
given class. In most cases these fees range between $10 and $25, but in programs
such as Culinary Arts or Motion Picture/Television, where expensive equipment is
required to maintain educational quality and relevancy, these fees can amount to
over $200. Course fees are subject to approval by the Governing Board, and the
College fiscal office carefully monitors the use of these funds to ensure that they
are used only for their intended purpose.
1
2 Criterion
3
4
5
Other Funds
FutureOriented
54
The Current Auxiliary Fund (Fund 2) is designated for services that are primarily
self-supporting, including non-credit course offerings and athletic programs. The
2006–07 Fund 2 budget is $22,308,989. The Current Restricted Fund (Fund 3)
includes Financial Aid, grants, and AZ Proposition 301 funding for new occupational
programs. The 2006–07 budget for this fund is $8,473,993. Finally, the Plant
Fund (Fund 7) is SCC's capital fund, which accounts for building upgrades and
renovation, new construction, and capital equipment purchases. As the College
begins participating in annual allocations of capital equipment funds from the
2004 bond, available funding for equipment will dramatically increase. Over
seven or eight years (depending on designation), the College will receive annual
allocations that will peak in 2008–09 at $3,300,000. These resources, in addition to
those funds held by the MCCCD for system-wide equipment purchases (such as
$90,000,000 for new and emerging technologies), represent a generous reservoir
of resources to meet needs for both replacement and new equipment. Therefore,
plans for the development and allocation of resources rest on a firm foundation
and document the College’s commitment to supporting and strengthening the
quality of the education it provides.
CORE COMPONENT 2C
The organization’s ongoing evaluation and assessment processes provide
reliable evidence of institutional effectiveness that clearly informs strategies
for continuous improvement.
Scottsdale Community College has a well-developed system for collecting data,
the first step to evaluating its effectiveness as an academic institution. The
College’s Institutional Research Office issues periodic reports, including the
highpoint enrollment and FTSE report (every fall and spring semester), 45th day
enrollment and FTSE reports (fall and spring), year-end reports (every year),
staffing reports (every year), attrition and grade distribution reports (every fall
and spring), and graduate survey analyses (every term). The office also tracks
attrition and completion rates in specific courses, prefixes, and departments.
In addition to institutional data collection, departments and programs conduct
periodic reviews and make improvements on the basis of their findings. The
Institutional Research Office maintains an online resource of information at
www.scottsdalecc.edu/research which includes historic and projected
enrollments, student demographics, and other relevant information needed to
make informed institutional decisions. Access to this data is limited to employees
of the College, though some summary data will soon be available to the public.
As a unit of MCCCD, the College undergoes organization-wide evaluations, such
as the annual financial audit, periodic audits performed by the District Internal
Audit personnel, and evaluations performed by ad hoc committees of the District.
Financial data are available to all users through access to the District’s College
Financial System (CFS) and a web-based inquiry version. While access to both
systems is limited, it is routinely granted for any user with a legitimate need. These
systems provide access to historic financial information at both program and
institutional levels.
1
Criterion
3
4
5
Periodic Reviews
The College’s academic, student service, and administrative subunits conduct
periodic reviews, and the appropriate Vice President then establishes a structure
to ensure ongoing operational improvement. In addition, each occupational
program conducts an annual review to ensure that its objectives are being
achieved, and external advisory boards ensure that occupational curriculum
responds to current and anticipated industry needs. Periodic surveys of both
graduates and employers ensure that the occupational educational experience at
SCC is relevant to the workplace.
2
Connected
The Student Learning Outcomes Assessment program, encompassing both
academic and occupational programs, measures SCC’s effectiveness in achieving
its primary purpose, student learning. Outcome measures assist individual faculty
members, department and division chairs, the deans, and the Vice President of
Academic Affairs in their regular and ongoing evaluation of the instructional
program. Student Learning Outcomes Assessment at SCC is discussed in detail in
Criterion Three.
Each student service area prepares a comprehensive annual report of
accomplishments and goals for review by the Vice President of Student Affairs.
Periodic surveys using Noel Levitz, CCSSE, and the Graduate Survey provide
data on students’ satisfaction with the services provided by the College, and
the College has taken action based on survey results, particularly in the area of
student services. One example of student service improvement is the hiring of a
new Director of Advisement, who has created a more extensive training program
for advisors, group advisement and transfer sessions for students, and a system for
tracking student progress. The next scheduled implementation of the Noel-Levitz
survey is 2007, and the next scheduled implementation of CCSSE is in 2009. Survey
results are discussed further in Criterion Four, and recent results are available in
the Resource Room.
The Administrative Services area is in the process of developing departmental
vision and mission statements, which will become the basis for identifying
individual departmental goals. By the winter of 2006–2007, all vision, mission, and
goals statements are expected to be in place, along with agreed-upon assessment
techniques. These assessments will benchmark performance standards internally
and, where applicable, against District, regional, or national standards. One result
of the improved planning efforts in the Administrative Services area is the recent
shift in the College’s grounds maintenance program from a primarily employeestaffed model to a blended employee/contract service provider model. Another
result is the transition from a self-operated food service facility to a contract
service provider in August 2006.
1
Collecting, Analyzing, and Using Organizational
Information
2 Criterion
3
4
The College and the District have myriad methods of collecting, analyzing,
and using organizational information, and MCCCD is currently in the process of
streamlining and expanding access by means of a new Student Information System,
expected to be fully functional in 2007. The new system will provide users districtwide with an expansive Decision Support System (DSS) and query tools, and
expanded access to enrollment information will further inform decision-making.
Several SCC faculty and staff have already been trained to use the new system.
5
Feedback Loops
Connected
In accordance with its long tradition of shared governance, the College has
historically relied on college-wide committees to oversee various aspects of
operational activity. Each committee is comprised of representatives from faculty,
administration, Management/Administrative/Technology (MAT), and Professional
Staff (PSA), as appropriate. The President’s Administrative Council serves as a
capstone committee that oversees operations of all aspects of the institution. This
structure of overlapping and linking committee assignments ensures monitoring
and coordination of key areas such as outcomes assessment, staffing, technology,
facilities, and diversity.
Support for Evaluation and Assessment Processes
The College provides solid financial and human support for its various assessment
efforts. The Office of Institutional Research was established in 1999–2000 with
56
an initial budget allocation of $65,765, and its budget has more than tripled to
$197,904 for 2006–2007. A modest initial budget of $3,000 was established
in 1999–2000 for Student Learning Outcomes Assessment, and that amount
has more than doubled to $7,500 in 2006–2007. It should be noted that actual
spending on student learning outcomes assessment, including reassigned time
for faculty leaders, has increased more than tenfold to $30,984. The College also
supports a permanent standing Outcomes Assessment Committee of 34 members.
The increased financial support, along with the permanent committee, illustrates
the College’s serious long-term commitment to the outcomes assessment process.
CORE COMPONENT 2D
All levels of planning align with the organization’s mission, thereby
enhancing its capacity to fulfill that mission.
Scottsdale Community College aligns its planning efforts with the College’s
mission. The mission guides all levels of planning, and the SCC Strategic Planning
Committee periodically updates the operational plan to ensure alignment with
the District Strategic Plan and the College’s mission of creating accessible and
effective environments for teaching and learning. Each specific discipline and
department plans and implements curricula designed to fulfill the College’s
mission, and division chairs also consider the broader mission of serving the
community by being sensitive to the emergence of the community’s needs for
education and training.
1
Criterion
2
3
4
Link with Budgeting
Planning processes, driven by the College’s mission and strategic priorities, in turn
drive the budgeting processes at the division and department levels. Since several
of the Strategic Planning Committee’s goal champions are also members of the
Administrative Council, they have an opportunity to further explain alignment and
details noted in funding requests. At the division and department levels, annual
capital and operational requests require the identification of the College’s and/or
District’s Strategic Goals that will be furthered by the funding of that request. To
allow for continuity in technology development, divisions and departments also
explain how funding of a particular item might have future capital implications. An
example of the Capital Request form is available in the Resource Room.
5
FutureOriented
Involvement of Constituents in Planning
SCC’s planning processes involve both internal and external constituents. Internal
constituents are involved in many aspects of planning through participation in
various College committees. For example, the International Education Program
created a strategic plan with input from the International Education Committee,
which includes faculty participants, PSA representatives, MAT representatives,
and international students. The International Education Program Strategic Plan
is available in the Resource Room. Another example is the planning done by the
Division Chairs Committee, composed of all the elected chairs of the eleven
academic divisions. As delineated in the College Governance Plan, each division
Connected
chair is responsible for the educational programs of the division. External
constituents participate in planning primarily through advisory committees
comprised of community and industry members representing specific occupational
programs. Advisory committee members provide occupational program directors
with updates on the job market and salaries as well as with advice on curriculum
revisions. This valuable information from external constituents helps program
directors develop their own program plans.
Strategic planning at SCC is a flexible and fluid process. As environments
change, the College’s goals and strategies adapt to change. For example, the
growing demand for online and hybrid course delivery strategies drives technology
planning at SCC, as well as the budget to support these programs. In response to
this budget goal and budget constraints, in 2003–04 all divisions agreed
to forgo their capital equipment requests, diverting the funds to cover needed
improvements in technology infrastructure. This incident is further evidence
of the strong commitment to shared governance at SCC, as well as a
clear demonstration of the College’s flexibility in responding to changing
demands and environments.
1
2 Criterion
3
4
5
58
Summary
Scottsdale Community College demonstrates outstanding performance
in fulfilling Criterion Two. The College’s planning is informed by its
understanding of multiple societal and economic trends, such as the need for
workplace development and online course delivery. The College also benefits
from an exceptionally strong resource base to support and strengthen its
educational programs, resulting from both District and College stewardship.
The College’s processes for evaluation and assessment provide evidence
of institutional effectiveness that shapes its strategies for continuous
improvement, and all levels of planning align with the College’s mission.
Strengths
•The College enjoys an exceptionally strong resource base, including
outstanding financial, physical and human resources.
•The College has established an effective Institutional Research Office,
which has played a critical role in college-wide assessment and data
collection to improve institutional effectiveness in the past seven years.
1
Criterion
•The College exceeds the 90:10 ratio of full-time to part-time
instructors as stipulated by the Residential Faculty Policy.
•The College offers substantial support for innovation.
Challenges
•
A coordinated planning, assessment, and reporting process involving
all divisions, departments, and programs and a routine planning cycle
would provide better coordination of planning college-wide.
•
A more systematic approach to environmental scanning would be
beneficial to the College.
2
3
4
5
Criterion Three: Student Learning
and Effective Teaching
The organization provides evidence of student learning and teaching
effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational mission.
In Criterion Three, the College examines the ways in which it gathers, evaluates,
and uses evidence of student learning and teaching effectiveness to fulfill its
mission. Assessing student learning outcomes has become an integral part of
the SCC culture, and assessment efforts continue to grow in scope, efficiency,
and effectiveness. The SCC Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee
(SLOAC), of which all department chairs and program directors or their designees
are members, guides the assessment of student learning. Current assessment
practices include activities at the classroom/course and program levels as well
as work conducted by four separate General Education assessment teams,
subcommittees of SLOAC, working at the institutional level. In addition, Student
Affairs is in the process of developing student learning outcomes for all areas of
student services at both the College and the District levels.
CORE COMPONENT 3A
1
2
The organization’s goals for student learning outcomes are
clearly stated for each educational program and make effective
assessment possible.
Criterion
Scottsdale Community College is exemplary in clearly stating student learning
outcomes for every course and program it offers and in assessing students’
attainment of those outcomes. MCCCD maintains a course bank of over 8,000
courses, each with a definitive set of learning outcomes (called competencies).
Faculty develop these competencies through a systematic curriculum process, as
described in Criterion One, and regularly review and revise them.
Assessment of Student Learning at Multiple LevelS
SCC assesses student learning outcomes at the course, program, and institutional
levels on a regular basis. Since the initiation of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)
reporting cycle in 2001–02 , assessment has become an integral part of SCC
culture. Breadth and Depth Surveys administered in 2004 and 2005 gauged the
depth to which the various reporting programs were embedded in the Plan-DoCheck-Act cycle, with the fully developed cycle feeding back into itself. That is,
after checking the action, a new or revised plan is initiated and the cycle repeats.
3
4
5
Figure 5.1: The Plan/Do/Check/Act Cycle
Plan
do
act
check
The table below shows some significant findings of these surveys:
Table 5.1: PDCA Levels of Assessment Projects
1
2
3 Criterion
4
5
2003–2004
2004–2005
Total Projects
Reported
56
84
Number of Disciplines
Reporting
30
37
One Full Cycle
Completed
26
41
More than One
Cycle Completed
25
43
Course-Level
Assessment
38
68
The Department Assessment Projects Summary (available in the Appendix)
provides an overview of assessment projects, the level at which those projects
were administered (classroom, program, or institutional), and the depth to which
those particular projects are embedded in the PDCA cycle. This information
shows the college-wide growth of a comprehensive and substantive approach to
assessment that is integrated in and informs departmental and curriculum planning.
Challenges for Assessment at SCC
As explained in Chapter 2, the nature of the SCC population provides some
challenges to assessment at SCC. Because students typically attend SCC for
one year or less, it is difficult to conduct longitudinal assessment studies on an
identified cohort. Also, because students often attend sporadically and/or attend
more than one college at a given time (called “swirling”), it is often difficult to
identify students at different levels of experience on the basis of the number of
credits they have earned at SCC, since a student identified as a “new” student to
SCC might actually be a college or university student who has come to SCC to
complete a few needed credits.
Because of the swirling student issues, SCC faculty often direct the “act” (or
intervention) component of the assessment cycle towards pedagogy rather
62
than students so that informing pedagogical improvements through assessing
one group of students benefits learning for following groups. For example, the
Written Communications and Critical Thinking teams have developed faculty
workshops and written materials that are informed by findings from the previous
years’ assessments. The Cultural Awareness team also plans to discuss the
results of previous years’ assessments with faculty and present workshops to
help instructors better understand the current developmental stages of many
of their students. Again, even though faculty members are targeted in these and
similar workshops, the ultimate beneficiaries are students, ensuring that future
generations derive benefits from previously assessed groups.
Faculty Knowledge of Assessment
A Survey of SCC Faculty Assessment Knowledge, Involvement, and Methods
completed in December 2004 and again in April 2006 indicated that a variety of
multiple measures are employed across campus, and that in many cases those
methods are fluid, with faculty adopting different methods from one year to
another as awareness grows, results are analyzed, and efficacy is studied. As the
following graph shows, the most frequently used methods are common exams,
individual and group projects, quizzes, written reports, and oral presentations, and
some programs include both internal and external assessment methods.
Figure 5.2: Assessment Methods
80%
1
2005
2
Criterion
70%
60%
4
2004
5
76
50%
40%
30%
39
55
29
20%
32
10%
0%
3
5
use of
common exam
use of nationally
standardized exam
provide samples
to assessment teams
This graph highlights three methods that showed dramatic increases between
the 2004 and 2006 surveys. The increase in the use of common examinations
across different sections of the same class and the increased use of nationally
standardized examinations indicate the growing awareness of the value of these
tools. The increasing number of student artifacts submitted for institutional-level
assessment, in particular for use by the Written Communication subcommittee,
informs more accurate analysis of general skill levels across the College.
Significantly, direct comparisons between the two surveys again demonstrate
not only that the assessment culture lives at SCC, but also that the culture
evolves as it grows. In all, 54 assessment methods were identified in the
2004 survey and 35 methods in the 2006 survey. This drop in the number of
methods, in conjunction with the growth of documented assessment activities,
indicates an effective consolidation of approaches as faculty communicate
successes and disappointments and as departments and programs work to
create and maintain effective, uniform, and iterative assessment cycles. Further
information is available in the “Survey of Scottsdale Community College Faculty
Assessment Knowledge, Involvement, and Methods” in the Appendix and online at
www.scottsdalecc.edu/criterion/2006-2.
Course-Level Assessment
The Breadth and Depth Surveys of 2004 and 2005 show a dramatic increase
in course/classroom-level assessment activities, rising from 38 to 68 identified
examples. While the most common assessment methods are applied internally,
five of the 2004 classroom-level examples and 13 of the 2005 examples employed
external measurements similar to those employed at the program level, such as
portfolio or performance evaluations by industry professionals and nationallynormed tests. Other course/classroom-level assessments included locally-produced
rubrics, common final exams, entry/exit tests, and exit interviews. Course-level
assessment is described in detail in the annual Student Learning Outcomes
Assessment Reports, available in the Resource Room.
1
2
3 Criterion
4
Program-Level Assessment
All program-level assessment practices reported in the 2004 and 2005 surveys
included internal measures such as the use of common final examinations and
evaluation of work produced in capstone courses or projects. Fourteen of
the 17 disciplines and programs reporting also provided evidence of external
assessment, including the use of nationally-normed tests, results from licensing
exams in Nursing and Education, portfolio and performance reviews by
industry representatives, and the collection of data pertaining to SCC students’
performance at Arizona State University. Significantly, the 2004 study showed that
evolving program-level assessment plans were beginning to embed in a developing
PDCA assessment cycle within their respective disciplines, and the report for 2005
showed that 11 of the 17 program-level assessments were completed as part of a
continuing, repeating PDCA cycle.
5
One particularly promising external assessment tool is the Arizona System for
Information on Student Transfer (ASSIST) database, through which community
college transfers can be tracked through their continued studies at the three state
universities. As a significant number of SCC students indicate that they intend
to transfer credits to a university (approximately 40% in Fall 2005, including
students concurrently enrolled at SCC), the ability to measure the success of SCC
students at the junior and senior levels, and particularly the ability to compare
the performance of SCC students with that of other students, would offer great
benefit in assessing students’ learning at SCC. Prior to 2005, contractual issues
prevented state universities from sharing data freely, and the community colleges
were not permitted to provide District aggregate data. The system did not allow,
for instance, receiving data of “native” Arizona State University (ASU) student
64
performance compared with SCC student data when they transferred to ASU. In
Fall 2005, however, the SCC Institutional Research Office was able to access grade
distributions for the ASU courses being monitored. Further information about
ASSIST is available at www.asu.edu/assist.
Institutional-Level Assessment
Institutional-level assessment of General Education at SCC currently addresses
four identified learning outcomes: Written Communication, Critical Thinking,
Information Literacy, and Cultural Awareness. These four outcomes were
identified, defined, and refined over several years by the larger SLOAC, and
each is administered by a separate subcommittee. The four General Education
targets were phased into place, with initial work beginning with the Written
Communication assessment subcommittee in Fall 2001 and work beginning on
the final component, Cultural Awareness, in 2003–2004. Membership on the
various subcommittees rotates among faculty on a staggered two-year cycle to
ensure both continuity and widespread faculty involvement. Each subcommittee
publishes an annual report of findings and recommended interventions and
presents its findings to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and the larger
SLOAC. Annual Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Reports are available
With the 2004 incorporation of the Cultural Awareness component, SCC reached
its initial assessment goals for course/classroom-, program-, and institutionallevel assessment. While strategies and reporting, especially at the institutional
level, remain fluid as some avenues are eliminated and others explored, general
consensus agreed that this last element placed the final block into a viable
foundation for assessment. Assessment instruments and annual reports are
1
2
Criterion
Written Communication
As of Spring 2006, the Written Communication assessment team had completed
three full assessment cycles, including intervention activities. In conjunction with
this work, the subcommittee completed a comprehensive survey to determine the
scope and nature of writing assignments college-wide. The team created a rubric
to evaluate writing proficiency in student artifacts submitted by faculty across the
curriculum following an “institutional portfolio” model. The most recent results
show that 69 percent of papers met overall proficiency standards, and proficiency
rates in four of the five subscales showed substantial improvement from 2003–
2004 to 2004–2005. The remaining area (main idea/purpose; 69% proficiency) was
similar to previous years’ figures (70%).
Interventions since Fall 2003 have included panel programs and workshops
for faculty on approaches and resources for implementing writing across the
curriculum, the development of a web-based resource for students, brown-bag
discussions on writing issues, and involvement in new faculty orientation. In
2005–2006, the Written Communication team sponsored faculty workshops on
“Creating Effective Written Assignments,” “Correcting Written Assignments,” and
“Dealing with Plagiarism.” Long-term strategies have also been identified, including
contact with high school instructors, collaboration with other colleges in the
District, and establishing a connection to the National Writing Project.
3
4
5
Critical Thinking
After a pilot period, the Critical Thinking Assessment Team began using the
Scottsdale Test of Critical Thinking in 2003–2004 to assess critical thinking by
administering the test to students in large, multi-section courses including ENG
102, CIS 105, and PSY 101. Results did not support the hypothesis that taking
courses at SCC would improve students’ scores on the test; rather, the only
statistically significant characteristics were reading level and cumulative GPA. In
response to these assessment data, the team has made four recommendations:
•Develop an operational definition of critical thinking;
•Develop a central store of ideas about improving the teaching
of critical thinking;
•Develop more accurate procedures to assess students’ critical thinking
across the curriculum; and
•Develop college-wide activities to promote critical thinking in classes
across the curriculum.
1
2
3 Criterion
4
5
Because of the relatively short duration of enrollment for most SCC students, the
committee decided to focus interventions on faculty rather than students. The goal
was to increase faculty members’ understanding of critical thinking elements so
that they would be better equipped to teach critical thinking concepts to students.
To that end, during Spring 2006, the committee presented a faculty workshop
focusing on various aspects of critical thinking. In addition, the committee is
developing a website to provide resources to help faculty incorporate critical
thinking concepts in their classes.
Information Literacy
The Information Literacy subcommittee began work on the third identified
General Education target in Spring 2002. Using the Information Competency
Standards for Higher Education as a guide, the subcommittee developed a rubric
to measure student artifacts gathered across the curriculum against six traits
of information literacy. Following a pilot study, the team completed its first
assessment in Spring 2004. While providing a baseline for future comparisons,
results showed no significant correlation between information literacy at SCC
and age or earned academic credits. These results may be tied to the
“swirling student” phenomenon.
In Spring 2005, the committee moved to the Educational Testing Service’s
Information and Communication Technology Assessment. Although the results
show only the total score of each participant, the SCC scores are above the
national norm. Clearly, SCC and its feeder schools are successful in preparing
students for information literacy; because part-time and ESL students scored lower
than their counterparts, the College will focus on reaching these groups while
maintaining a growth in information literacy among the whole student population.
Because of the limitations on test data available from ETS, the committee is
seeking another test that will provide information on sub-scores within the test.
Detailed test results are available in the Resource Room.
66
Cultural Awareness
Cultural awareness is measured using the Intercultural Development Inventory, a
national instrument developed by Milton Bennett and Mitchell Hammer (Hammer
& Bennett, 1998) based on theoretical concepts from Bennett’s Developmental
Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) (Bennett, 1986, 1993).
The SCC study employed a cross-sectional design comparing a randomly selected
group of newer students (those with fewer than 16 credits) with a randomly
selected group of more experienced students (those with greater than 45 credits).
Results showed that although the more experienced students had, on average,
a higher overall developmental intercultural sensitivity score than less experienced
students, the difference was not statistically significant. As a whole, most SCC
students were found to be in the “minimization” stage of the DMIS, characterized
by the tendency to emphasize the similarities of all cultures and minimize deep
cultural differences. In future years, the Cultural Awareness subcommittee plans
to collaborate with the SCC International Education Office to administer
the IDI to assess the cultural awareness levels of SCC students participating
in education abroad.
In addition to the student assessment, during Spring 2006 the Cultural Awareness
subcommittee conducted a survey to assess faculty members’ thoughts and
practices regarding 30 different student outcomes related to multicultural
education. Faculty were asked to indicate the importance of each outcome to
them, the relevance of each outcome to classes they teach, and whether or not
they included each outcome in their classes. Results indicated that on average
faculty thought that all of the student outcomes were important, but faculty varied
between 25% and 65% when asked about inclusion of the student outcomes
in their classes. Complete data from these surveys may be found in the report
entitled “Cultural Awareness Assessment Team Annual Report (2005–2006).”
Communication of Assessment Results
Results of assessment activities are communicated in a variety of ways appropriate
to the College’s various constituencies. Each department and program submits
an annual report using the PDCA framework, and these reports are summarized
and distributed to all residential faculty, administrators, and other constituents.
As part of the regular ongoing SLOAC activities, two department chairs and/or
program directors address each monthly meeting in order to promote dialog and
share best practices. These presentations typically summarize current practices,
give examples of assessment tools and strategies, and most importantly, discuss
successes and challenges of particular assessment efforts. The presenters invite
constructive criticism, comments, and suggestions about current practices. This
forum continues to provide valuable insight and feedback on assessment strategies
and provides a larger view of assessment activities across the College.
References
Bennett, M. J. (1986).
Towards ethnorelativism:
A developmental model of
intercultural sensitivity.
In R. M. Paige (Ed.),
Cross-cultural orientation:
New conceptualizations and
applications (pp. 27–69).
New York: University Press
of America.
Bennett, M. J. (1993).
Towards ethnorelativism:
A developmental model of
intercultural sensitivity.
In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education
for the interculturalexperience
(pp. 21–71). Yarmouth, ME:
Intercultural Press.
Hammer, M. R., & Bennett,
M. J. (1998). The intercultural
development inventory
(IDI) manual. Portland, OR:
Intercultural Communication
Institute.
At the institutional level, assessment information is made available to constituents
through a variety of practices and in a variety of formats including published
reports, oral presentations and discussions, postings on the SCC web site, and a
quarterly publication, The Water Cooler. In addition, pertinent information relating
to current assessment efforts, historical data, depositories for ongoing work and
1
2
3
4
5
research, and minutes from the SLOAC meetings are posted on the College’s
assessment website. Sites for each of the four Institutional Outcomes are nested
in the site, along with institutional goals, framework for assessment, assessment
rubrics, and The Water Cooler. Further information is available at
www.scottsdalecc.edu/assessment, and copies of The Water Cooler are
LearningCentered
1
2
Assessment results are communicated to students in a number of ways. For
example, syllabi typically include competencies and learning outcome goals for
each class, while course outlines and instructional methods reflect interventions
resulting from assessment efforts. Some, but not all, faculty discuss outcomes
assessment with students the first day of class and throughout the semester. At
the classroom level, best practice has students regularly apprised of their progress
in meeting stated outcomes. Nevertheless, the degree to which faculty discuss
learning outcomes with students, the influence of assessment and subsequent
interventions on instruction, and the extent of the students’ role in completing
assessment activities remain inconsistent. The lack of general student awareness
of ongoing assessment activities that in many ways directly shape their learning
experience may be viewed as a concern, but it does not necessarily fall outside
expectations, given the nature of SCC students. The efficacy of concerted efforts
to remedy this situation is, to a certain degree, undermined by the “swirling
students” whose short time at SCC prevents their involvement in long-term
assessment activities. Regardless of students’ awareness of the on-going, cyclical
activities, however, the results of outcomes assessment at SCC significantly
influence their instruction and learning.
3 Criterion
4
Integration of Data for External Accountability
5
SCC’s Institutional Research Office provides a wealth of information to
appropriate constituencies, including course completion rates, degrees and
certificates awarded, grade distributions, and retention rates. The Institutional
Research Office also surveys graduates to determine, among other items, their
employment status and their opinion of the effectiveness of their education.
Results are distributed to the appropriate chairs and directors for incorporation
into their respective assessment work. A list of regular reports issued by the
Institutional Research Office is available in the Resource Room.
The Institutional Research Office conducts regular surveys of graduates comparing
their educational objectives and the degree to which those objectives were met
as well as their current educational and employment status. Responses from
Spring 2005 offer typical percentages: 98% of respondents indicated that their
educational objectives were met or “partially” met; 58% indicated that they were
currently enrolled in a community college or university; 82% indicated that they
were currently employed; and 68% indicated that they were employed in a job
“directly” or “somewhat” related to their SCC program of study. The Occasional
Student Survey (2006) targeted students who were enrolled in at least one
68
occupational class, but fewer than nine total credits, during Spring 2006. Of those
who responded, 80.9% worked either full or part time, and 85.8% indicated that
they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their coursework at SCC. Survey
results are available in the Resource Room.
Programs that lead to professional licensure, such as Nursing and Education,
incorporate data regarding their students’ performance on licensure examinations
into their ongoing assessment activities. During the period from 1995–2004, 99%
of SCC graduates passed the LPN exam compared to a national rate of 88%, and
in seven of those years, 100% of SCC graduates passed. Over the same period of
time, the average SCC pass rate for the RN exam was 92%, compared to a national
rate of 86%. Results of the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment for 2002–
2003, 2003–2004, and 2004–2005 showed that 100% of SCC graduates passed
the state examination. Further information regarding licensure examinations is
Faculty Involvement in Assessment of Student Learning
Outcomes
At Scottsdale Community College, virtually all aspects of defining student learning
outcomes, developing strategies for assessing those outcomes, developing and
applying appropriate interventions, and checking the results of those interventions
fall within the faculty’s purview. Program assessment plans and individual
assessment activities are designed and conducted by faculty within their respective
departments or programs. Department chairs, occupational program directors,
and division chairs, each playing a role in the development, application, and
reporting of assessment activities, are themselves faculty. The SLOAC and the four
General Education Assessment subcommittees are likewise composed of faculty
who have developed SCC’s institutional assessment strategies and conduct the
corresponding assessment activities in consultation with administration.
1
2
Criterion
Faculty representatives administered the “Survey of SCC Faculty Assessment
Knowledge, Involvement, and Methods” in 2004 and 2006 in part to determine the
levels of general knowledge of assessment activities at SCC as well as the level of
involvement in College and departmental assessment activities. Participants were
asked to rate their knowledge of assessment activities at SCC on a scale ranging
from 1 (no knowledge/involvement) to 5 (extensive knowledge/involvement).The
average self-ratings are shown below, demonstrating significantly greater
knowledge and involvement for full-time faculty, and likewise greater knowledge
and involvement in activities within one’s respective department or program.
Comparisons between the two groups of results show an increase in all categories
of assessment knowledge and involvement over the 16 months separating
the two surveys.
3
4
5
Figure 5.3: Faculty Knowledge of College Assessment Activities
e
so
m
ek
no
wl
dg
wle
kno
no
wle
ed
ge
little
siv
ek
good knowled
ge
very
ex
ten
t
ex
dge
ge
led
ow
n
ek
siv
en
ver y little knowledge
e
som
full time 2004
ek
now
led
ge
sive
good knowledge
ge
no
kn
led
ow
kn
ow
led
ge
e
ledg
now
me
so
dk
goo
kno
wle
dge
full time 2006
ext
en
dg
owle
d kn
goo
no
some kno
wledge
ver
y
litt
le
kno
w
dge
wle
kno
ver
y
led
g
e
litt
le
k
no
wl
part time 2006
part time 2004
ed
g
e
Figure 5.4: Faculty Involvement in College Assessment Activities
1
yl
itt
le
some
dk
full time 2006
y
ver
yl
le
ge
kno
wle
dge
led
ow
kn
wle
no
itt
k
le
litt
r
ve
owledg
e
ge
ed
wl
no
ge
ed
wl
no
k
e
od
ledg
go
know
nsive
e
t
x
e
no
part time 2004
dge
wle
kn o
very li
ttle kn
owled
ge
know
ledge
k
me
so
full time 2004
some kn
o
go
ge
ed
wl
no
no
ek
no
wl
ed
ge
ge
goo
dk
no
wle
dge
so
m
no
wl
ed
ve
r
siv
ek
ledge
ex
ten
5
kn
ow
l
4
ed
ge
w
no kno
3 Criterion
exte
nsiv
e kn
owle
d
ge
2
dk
goo
e
ledg
now
extensive knowledge
no
dge
part time 2006
kn
ow
led
ge
While adjunct faculty’s average self-ratings are lower than those of residential faculty,
it is likely that adjunct faculty are actually more involved in assessment activities than
they realize. For example, in some cases adjuncts may be implementing interventions
derived from a department’s assessment activities without being aware of the
motivation for those changes. Adjunct faculty’s knowledge of assessment and their
involvement in assessment activities are growing, but more work can be done to
70
include this important group more directly in the processes through efforts of
department chairs, occupational program directors, and the SLOAC. Detailed data
from these surveys may be found in the Resource Room and online at:
www.scottsdalecc.edu/criterion/2004-6/feedbackAggregateResults.asp
www.scottsdalecc.edu/criterion/2004-6/feedbackFacultyAggregateResults.asp
www.scottsdalecc.edu/criterion/2004-6/feedbackAdjunctAggregateResults.asp
Effectiveness of the Assessment Program
As part of the established reporting cycle at SCC, the efficacy of assessment
undergoes annual review at four different levels. At the course/classroom level,
faculty review findings determined through completion of their particular role
in their respective department/program assessment plan; department chairs and
program directors then assimilate and review information, submitting a written
report to their respective division chairs; and division chairs summarize the
information and report it to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, who publishes
an annual College assessment report. Department and division chairs also share
ideas and challenges through their participation in SLOAC. These review processes
help to ensure not only that assessment efforts continue, but that interventions
resulting from previous assessment efforts are evaluated.
CORE COMPONENT 3B
1
2
The organization values and supports effective teaching.
Criterion
4
Scottsdale Community College demonstrates outstanding support for effective
teaching through its employment of highly-qualified faculty, its conscientious
evaluation of teaching effectiveness, and its generous support of a wide range of
professional development activities for faculty, administration, and staff.
5
As described in Criterion Two, SCC takes pride in employing highly qualified
faculty. In the MCCCD, regular evaluation of residential faculty takes the
form of the Faculty Evaluation Plan (FEP). Probationary faculty complete an FEP
every year; once they attain appointive status, typically after five years, residential
faculty complete an FEP every three years. Further information about the FEP
is available in Criterion Four.
While faculty are free to develop their FEPs in a variety of directions, recent
trends show a movement toward focusing on assessment-related activities.
On occasion several members of a single department will coordinate their FEPs
to target a specific issue, working either concurrently as a team on a broad
department-level project, or linking successive FEPs together, building one year’s
project on work completed during the previous year. A significant indicator
of the development of SCC’s assessment culture reveals itself in the number of
recent FEPs centering on the assessment of student learning, as seen in
the following chart:
3
Distinctive
71
80
60
Addressed Pedagogy
100
Addressed Assessment
Figure 5.5: Assessment FEPs as a Percentage of Total FEPs
87
74
72
68
40
57
57
43
45
20
0
2002–2003
2003–2004
2004–2005
2005–2006
Over the last four academic years, 203 documented assessment activities were
completed under the auspices of the FEP. Copies of assessment-focused FEPs are
1
2
3 Criterion
4
Course Evaluations
5
The Institutional Research Office administers and analyzes a faculty course
evaluation developed by SCC faculty. The survey instrument can be customized
for specific courses or programs, and the results offer feedback for the particular
class evaluated and compare the instructor’s effectiveness with his or her own
performance for the previous five years, with results from other instructors within
the particular discipline (course level), and with all instructors at SCC (institutional
level). Individual instructors can use the results to guide interventions, while
department chairs and program directors can use these results to compare
instructional effectiveness and focus across multiple sections of the same course
and, ultimately, to design corresponding interventions at a broader level. Faculty
evaluation forms are available in the Resource Room.
Professional Development
Scottsdale Community College actively supports professional development
designed to facilitate teaching suited to varied learning environments. The College
provides financial support to faculty for such development, funding travel to
conferences, teacher training, and professional meetings. The College and the
District also award learning grants to faculty for projects designed to improve,
advance, and enrich student learning; summer projects for research or professional
development activities; sabbatical leave; programs for study, research, travel, and
work experience related to professional growth; and salary advancement for
72
both academic and non-academic work, such as clinics, workshops, or seminars.
Professional development is discussed further in Criterion Four.
In support of these and related activities, the College grants released time for
two residential faculty members to serve as Staff Development Coordinators,
whose duties include coordinating travel requests for full-time and adjunct faculty,
facilitating adjunct faculty workshops and “brown bag” discussion groups, and
overseeing new faculty orientations. Both coordinators attend District meetings
for Staff Development and are ex-officio members of the SCC Staff Development
Advisory Committee. Other faculty members coordinate additional aspects
of ongoing SCC faculty development efforts, including summer Educational
Development Projects, sabbatical applications, and salary advancement through
continuing education. The College also maintains and supports an active
Instructional Technology department that regularly offers workshops to help
faculty and staff improve their use of technology.
In the fall of 2004, the newly remodeled and refocused Center for Teaching,
Learning, and Technology (CTLT) opened its doors to faculty and staff. The
CTLT provides learning opportunities to support instructional development and
improvement; promotes meaningful dialog and research related to instructional
development; and supports development and application of appropriate technology
to teaching and learning. Both SCC’s instructional designer and technology trainer
work from offices adjacent to the CTLT, and faculty can readily draw on their
expertise. Along with a technology training video library, the CTLT also houses
a Faculty Resource Room containing materials and information on sabbaticals,
summer projects, travel funding, and other sources of support.
1
2
Criterion
4
5
While SCC clearly promotes and financially supports professional development
and improved pedagogies, the majority of this support addresses instructional
technology with lesser emphasis on pedagogical theory and practice. Furthermore,
with a few notable exceptions like Instructional Skills Workshops and “brown
bag” sessions, on-campus support for non-technical aspects of professional
development employs online or video formats rather than formally organized
group activities. This concern is somewhat allayed through a variety of “faceto-face” cross-campus developmental programs offered through the Maricopa
Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI). Information about MCLI is available in
Criterion Four an online at www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu.
Support for Innovation
Scottsdale Community College demonstrates openness to innovative practices
that enhance learning by its support of many projects. For example, the
Educational Development Projects (EDP) program fosters innovation and
improvement of instruction by providing faculty with summer funding for
enhancing instructional methods and programs and, especially, for developing
innovative instructional techniques and/or specialized instructional materials. Each
summer the College awards between $15,000 and $20,000 to approximately ten
EDP applicants chosen by a faculty committee.
3
73
Support for Innovation in the Use of Technology
The College actively supports a number of campus and District organizations in
an effort to develop and communicate innovative practices. For example, faculty,
technical staff, and administrators come together on the SCC Ocotillo Committee
to develop, monitor, and prioritize the acquisition, maintenance, and support of
computer technology at SCC. Ocotillo is discussed further in Criterion Two.
SCC offers a robust electronic-learning program, including internet-supplemented,
hybrid, and online courses. As the chart below shows, the number of online
courses is growing steadily.
Online
Classes
Figure 5.6: Online and Hybrid Classes at SCC
150
148
140
134
120
90
1
2
4
30
5
Hybrid
Classes
60
3 Criterion
18
16
4
0
Fall 2005
Spring 2006
Fall 2006
The number of internet-supplemented courses, including those sections using
Blackboard, is typically much higher, with an estimated 750 classes using the webbased instructional supplement in Fall 2006. To support the creation of internet
courses, SCC offers stipends to faculty who initially develop an online course.
Additional support is provided through “Getting Started in E-Learning,” a faculty
guidebook adopted in Fall 2004, and a number of other resources. These materials
are available online at www.scottsdalecc.edu/scconline.
SCC faculty members presented a workshop on “Leveraging the Power of ELearning” to the College and to the National Infrastructure Initiative (part
of Educause) and the TechED Events conference of the Community College
Foundation. Another innovative electronic-learning project, the “E-Learning Travel
Guide,” is designed to assist students considering the option of online learning.
This student guide is available at www.scottsdalecc.edu/scconline/orientation.
The Online Learning Group (OLG) is a District-wide forum that promotes
networking, communication, and information sharing among those who teach
online, develop online materials, and otherwise support online learning. Through
monthly meetings at college sites, the OLG works to increase members'
knowledge and understanding of online learning, use of technology, pedagogy, and
74
teaching strategies for online environments. An SCC staff member co-chaired this
organization for 2004–2006.
SCC faculty members formed a loosely-organized users’ group for Blackboard
courseware in the late 1990s, and the more formal Blackboard and Learning Tools
User Group (BUG) was created in 2004 by faculty and staff who wanted to share
their common interest in instructional technology. Attendance has averaged 15
participants per month, which is considered to be an excellent turnout for an
optional learning event.
Innovation in Occupational Programs
Expanded, enhanced, and innovative programs are also evident in many of SCC’s
occupational programs, several of which have won national recognition. For
example:
•Nursing has created a unique partnership with Scottsdale Healthcare,
whereby SCC faculty deliver classes for the organization’s employees at their
north Scottsdale location (SHC-University).
•
Interior Design completed a separate accreditation process with a visit from the Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research (FIDER, now
known as the Council for Interior Design Accreditation) in March 2005,
making SCC one of only five community colleges in the country at that
time to be so accredited. To underscore this recognition, at the time of
accreditation only 130 of 330 university design schools across the United
States and Canada carried FIDER credentials. FIDER accreditation will enable
SCC Interior Design graduates to sit for professional registration exams in all
states with interior design licensing.
1
2
Criterion
4
5
•Hospitality and Tourism added a multi-disciplined opportunity in conjunction with the Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance division for
students to earn an associate degree emphasizing golf within the hospitality industry. Hospitality students can also participate in an international exchange
program with Mexico or Canada through US Department of Education
learning grants.
•
Culinary Arts completed a separate accreditation process in January 2006, gaining a three-year accreditation from the American Culinary Federation.
Significantly, both the Certificate and AAS degree programs received the award. The SCC program is one of 32 post-secondary institutions, including public and private institutions, to carry this prestigious status. Also of
significance, Culinary Arts students are now required to develop a portfolio
of class assignments, including a written journal and a photographic record of their achievements.
•
Architectural Technology/CAD, serving both the Architectural Technology and Interior Design Programs, moved toward a greater emphasis on threedimensional modeling by incorporating AutoCAD Architectural Desktop into CAD classes. This new software works on the cutting-edge principle of
building a three-dimensional computer model and extracting the twodimensional construction drawings from that model.
3
75
•The Business Department delivers its highly successful Fastrack certificate program in a fully online format. A pioneer in online learning at SCC, the
program moved to this learning format seven years ago.
•The Motion Picture/Television Department uses outside professionals to
provide students with critical feedback to improve their skills. In addition, a plan to create an internship program with the Maricopa Community
Colleges Television station is in progress.
•The Fire Science Academy brings damaged and wrecked vehicles to the
College for realistic training in rescue techniques.
•
Administration of Justice Studies has expanded its Forensic offerings into an AAS and two Certificate options. These classes simulate actual crime scenes from which students gather and analyze evidence. In Summer of 2006, faculty conducted a highly successful series of “mini-camps” for secondary school
students. Also of note, in 2004–2005, a gas chromatograph was approved for
purchase through occupational funds and will be used in both Chemistry and Forensics classes.
Improving Teaching and Learning
SCC sponsors and supports research in teaching and learning, as well as the use
of technology to improve student learning. For example, the College supports the
Instructional Skills Workshop, a four-day intensive workshop on teaching skills and
assessment of student learning, for both residential and adjunct faculty. SCC is
the only college in the MCCCD to offer this opportunity, which is funded by SCC
administration at a rate exceeding $500 per participant. Results of participants’
evaluations overwhelmingly demonstrate the benefit gained. ISW is discussed in
detail in Criterion Four.
1
2
3 Criterion
4
5
Distinctive
Another significant demonstration of the value the College places on excellent
teaching is the New Faculty Orientation program: during their first semester, all
new full-time instructors participate in weekly mentoring and orientation seminars
addressing instructional strategies, administrative concerns, MCCCD and College
policies, and general campus operations. Begun in 2003, the New Faculty program
demonstrates both a philosophical and a financial commitment to improving
instruction, helping new faculty understand the daily workings and responsibilities
of their jobs, and, significantly, providing opportunities to improve teaching skills.
Three hours’ reassigned time for each participating faculty member is granted
toward this commitment. This extensive orientation program helps to ensure that
new faculty quickly become an effective part of the organization. A schedule of
sessions for Fall 2006 is available in the Resource Room.
While the College and the District offer myriad opportunities for faculty to
improve their instructional skills, an ongoing challenge is expanding the scope
of offerings and motivating more faculty to participate in sponsored events.
Numerous learning events are scheduled, but times frequently conflict with widely
ranging regular teaching loads and committee obligations. Scheduling remains
problematic and appears to be the primary obstacle to wider participation. The
76
SCC Ocotillo Committee is currently conducting discussions to try to resolve the
difficulties of scheduling professional development activities at times when faculty
can attend.
CORE COMPONENT 3C
The organization creates effective learning environments.
Scottsdale Community College demonstrates an exemplary commitment to
creating and enhancing learning environments that promote effective teaching
and learning.
Learning Resources
The standard mediated classroom at SCC contains an instructor’s computer
station with data projector and appropriate media capabilities. Across campus,
as of July 2006, 96% of classrooms that need them have data projectors, and the
remaining five classrooms will receive projection systems as part of the ongoing
Instructional Technology Master Plan.
The SCC Library balances traditional resource models with current technology.
Students can electronically access online learning resources including EBSCOhost,
InfoTrac, LexisNexis, and Wilson Omnifile, Gale databases, the National
Newspaper Collection and Ethnic Newswatch, four online encyclopedias, three
Research Topic Databases, and a growing electronic ebook collection. A complete
list of library databases is available in the Resource Room.
1
2
Criterion
4
5
The SCC Media Center supports student learning by providing technological
support to students, faculty, and staff. In partnership with the Disability Resources
and Services Office, the Center offers a Braille reader/transcriber and a voiceactivated computer for visually impaired students. Besides managing and
maintaining a wide variety of audio/visual equipment, the Center lends computers
and/or software, houses the Help Desk, and can perform highly sophisticated
graphics operations. The Media Center also assists students and faculty with a
wide variety of audio/visual activities, including videotaping and editing for critical
self-evaluation and storing/loaning instructional materials on video and audiotape.
The Center also duplicates tapes, CDs, and DVDs, and can perform audio and
video transfers.
Support for Learners
Scottsdale Community College provides an environment that supports all learners
and respects the diversity they bring to the College community. For tutoring and
other assistance, the College provides a Writing Center for help with English,
ESL, and foreign languages (approximately 22,600 student visits in Spring 2006), a
Math and Science Center (approximately 11,000 visits in Spring 2006), a Social/
Behavioral Learning Center (approximately 10,000 visits in Spring 2006), and a
number of smaller facilities.
3
77
SCC also offers a variety of programs and support mechanisms to help ensure that
all students, regardless of their skill level or special needs, have the opportunity
to learn and participate in the greater college experience. Included in these
advocacy and support groups are the Achieving a College Education (ACE)
Program, the Honors Program, the International Education program, the Veterans’
Services Office, and many others. A complete list of services is available
In 1998, SCC completed a comprehensive facility upgrade to bring the entire
campus into compliance with the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act. In
addition, to ensure that all students have access to the resources they need, the
Office of Disability Resources and Services provides approximately 450 students
every semester with special academic accommodations including note-taking,
alternate testing, interpreters, adaptive equipment and technology, and
appropriate furniture.
Support for Learning Regardless of Location
1
2
3 Criterion
Along with the wide array of services available on campus, the College provides
online access for students wishing to apply for admission, register for courses, add
and drop courses, check class schedules, check fee balances and pay fees, verify
and correct personal information, check grades, and perform numerous other
tasks. Grades are also accessible by touch-tone telephone, and students can
register for classes by telephone or by fax. In 2005–2006, 4,560 students enrolled
via the internet.
4
5
Accessibility and Staffing of Resources for Learning
Scottsdale Community College commits substantial resources to the support
of learning resources at numerous sites, including on-campus facilities, off-site
locations, and web-based resources. Use, supervision, and technical/instructional
assistance vary among the resource sites, from permanently staffed locations for
which regular evaluations and assessment activities are performed, to laboratories
overseen by faculty volunteers, to open sites with no supervision. Those sites
critical to general student success, for example the Library, Writing Center, and
open computer lab, offer day and evening hours as well as some Saturday hours;
websites are available at all times. More specialized resources, such as nursing
clinical sites, are available as required. Effective staffing is maintained for pivotal
learning resource sites such as the Library, Open Computer Lab, Writing Center,
and Testing Center. Effective staffing is also maintained for technical support
through the Instructional Technology department with its staff of over twenty
technicians. A survey completed in 2004–2005 showed that six of the 18 identified
sites available for student use were without permanent staff supervisors. While
these unsupervised sites most certainly support student learning, it is commonly
agreed that permanent staffing would at least facilitate, if not enhance, learning. A
list of learning resources with their hours of operation and staffing is available
78
Support for Technology
SCC employs a variety of programs and strategies to use and improve technology
in support of student learning. As of July 2006, a total of 990 computers were
dedicated to students’ use: 598 in dedicated classroom environments, 297 in
laboratory or open laboratory environments, and 95 laptops affording mobility
within the environment. Faced with increasing technological demands of oncampus and distance-learning modes, SCC has established a Technology Renewal
Fund through which hardware and software are replaced or upgraded on a regular
cycle. This approach not only helps ensure the integrity of SCC’s technological
support, but also provides a significant planning tool for faculty and staff. Minimum
standards tied to identified learning or operational needs have been established
for all computers on campus, and all departments are evaluated semi-annually
to identify gaps and shift funding appropriately. Priority is given to computers in
classrooms and laboratories, the centers of student learning.
Since Spring 1999, SCC has offered dedicated student accounts with individual
server space, and currently an average of 8,000 students per semester use
College computing services. Through these accounts, students can access SCC
websites from off-campus as well as access their own files from any computer on
campus. Recent data show that 5,500 students per semester use on-campus print
services, which are offered free of charge. The Student Instructional Resource
Entry Network (SIREN) provides students with an integrated suite of productivity
tools and a wide range of network resources designed to expand learning, critical
thinking, personal development, and civic responsibility. These tools are available to
all students at all times. In further support of learning, the Instructional Technology
Help Desk provides students, faculty, and staff with a primary point of contact
for technical assistance. The Help Desk responded to the following number of
requests for assistance from faculty, staff, and students:
LearningCentered
1
2
Criterion
4
5
Figure 5.7: Help Desk Requests 2004–2006
15000
6000
11,098
12,866
3000
0
3,897
Numbers of Requests
12000
9000
2004
2005
January – June 2006
The decrease in requests is the result of providing web-based self-service
materials and outsourcing Blackboard support to Presidium, which offers
24/7 service.
The Instructional Technology department supports learning and technology in a
variety of ways beyond typical maintenance and upgrading, including one-on-one
assistance, tutoring, website access, online tips and tutorials, mini-workshops,
3
79
“webinars,” brown bag learning events, face-to-face training, and print and audiovisual materials. Online and telephone help is available through the Help Desk,
and faculty and staff can also check out a variety of software from this source to
support their special technology needs on- and off-campus.
In 2004, five new programs aimed at enhancing e-learning skills were offered
to faculty and staff: Blackboard Quick Start Basics, Blackboard Quick Start
Intermediate, Leveraging the Power of E-Learning, Online Faculty Partnership
(mentoring program), and a Faculty Orientation to Online Learning CD, which
received the SCC Innovation of the Year Award for 2003–2004. Resources
developed to support student use of technology include a Student Orientation
to Online Learning CD, over 20 Open Computer Lab handouts, and a PowerPoint
Student Orientation to the Open Computer Lab.
1
2
3 Criterion
4
Three specialized web sites meet specific needs of students, faculty, and staff: the
Faculty E-Learning Resources website was established in 2004 to provide faculty
support for online course content and registered over 2200 “hits” in its first
year. The website has expanded considerably since its launch in 2004, and it now
serves as a major resource for faculty in creating online course materials with
approximately 50 pages and 80 quick reference guides on Blackboard, Microsoft
Office products, and other computer software tools designed to enhance
instruction and learning at SCC. In addition, the Instructional Technology “Help
Yourself Desk” site was developed to provide information on common issues
and questions, and the E-Learning Travel Guide provides support information
to students enrolled in online and/or hybrid courses. E-learning resources are
available at www.scottsdalecc.edu/scconline.
The Faculty Development Advisory Committee and the Center for Teaching,
Learning, and Technology (CTLT) sponsor numerous learning opportunities for
SCC faculty, with special focus on technology. Training workshops offered through
the CTLT provide faculty and staff with assistance in such computer technologies
as Blackboard, Microsoft Office, web-page creation and editing, and calendaring.
Since Summer 2005, the year-round workshop schedule has grown to 15 different
offerings, serving over 300 registrants. Assessments by participants at the end of
each workshop shows an average overall satisfaction rate of 4.7 on a scale of 1–5,
with 5 indicating “highly satisfied.”
5
Advisement to Promote Student Learning
Many faculty members function as academic advisors, thus grounding advisement
in the teaching/learning framework. Advisors guide students along outlined
prerequisite paths to help ensure that students have the required skills to proceed
to subsequent levels within the curriculum. Furthermore, advisors follow approved
articulation agreements with the state universities, again to help ensure that
students are following the best curricular path for their individual goals.
In order to promote student success and instructional effectiveness, SCC requires
students who have not otherwise satisfied proficiency requirements and who
plan to enroll in English, reading, and/or mathematics (or any course for which
these are prerequisites) to complete ASSET or Compass placement tests in those
80
areas. Students enrolling in any ESL course likewise complete the Combined
English Language Skills Assessment (CELSA) placement test. Advisors use the
results of placement tests to help students identify classes compatible with their
demonstrated skill level, and SCC offers a range of developmental classes designed
to bring those students lacking prerequisite skills to levels that will help ensure
success in college-level sections. In keeping with SCC’s open admissions policy,
placement tests are not mandatory for all students. Assessment results have
demonstrated, however, that students who undergo the process benefit from this
effort. Further information about Advisement, which was a concern for the 1997
HLC team, is available in Chapter 2.
Counseling Services to Support Student Learning
SCC’s counseling services are distinct from advisement. In support of student
learning and retention, professional counseling faculty work with individuals and
groups of students, assisting across a wide range of educational, occupational,
personal, and social issues. The Counseling Department supports students
in finding a workable balance among academic, personal, family, and work
commitments; developing strategies for coping with personal challenges and crises;
exploring and evaluating career options; and developing strategies for academic
success. Along with individual assistance, Counseling Services also offers classes in
support of learning for students from diverse educational backgrounds, including
Strategies for College Success, Career Exploration, Eliminating Self-Defeating
Behavior, Stress Management, Native American Pride and Awareness, Introduction
to Multiculturalism, and Personal Money Management.
1
2
Criterion
Counseling Services also intervenes with students placed on academic probation,
working with them to improve learning and study strategies. Assessment results in
2003–2004 showed that 63% of probationary students who met with a counselor
once improved their GPA during that semester. This number rose to 77% for
students who met with counselors for at least one follow-up visit. As a result of
this finding, systematic procedures were initiated in order to encourage students
to attend follow-up sessions with their counselor. Assessment results from
2004–2005 showed that 47% improved their GPA after one visit, while 62% of
those who participated in at least one additional follow-up visit improved their
GPA. Results from 2005–2006 showed that 36% improved their GPA after one
visit, compared to 69% for those who attended at least one follow-up visit.
Counseling Services to Promote Effective
Learning Environments
The Counseling Department also provides consultation and professional
development to promote effective learning environments. Counselors develop
and deliver workshops on classroom management for new residential and adjunct
faculty each year as part of SCC’s effort to enhance classroom civility. This effort
is discussed further in Criterion One. In Spring 2006 the department began
providing similar training to instructional departments and divisions as well as
student service areas in order to facilitate the understanding and use of College
procedures in response to disruptions.
3
4
5
Creation of effective learning environments is also encouraged through
partnerships with departments in the instructional and student affairs areas.
Counselors participate in orientations for a variety of student groups such as
“new to college,” Culinary Arts, International Education, and adult reentry
as well as providing presentations and workshops in areas of personal awareness
and skill development.
CORE COMPONENT 3D
The organization’s learning resources support student learning and
effective teaching.
Scottsdale Community College provides exemplary resources to support student
learning and effective teaching.
Assessment of Learning Resources
LearningCentered
1
2
3 Criterion
4
5
The College regularly evaluates the effectiveness of its learning resources.
For example, in 2004–2005 the SCC Library faculty conducted a longitudinal
ownership citation analysis in conjunction with the English and Biology
departments to determine how effectively the Library was meeting the research
needs of ENG101, ENG102, and BIO105 students. As a response to the findings
of this analysis, in its instructional sessions the Library increased emphasis on
effective web searching and evaluation, the value of scholarly journals versus
magazines, and the use of e-books. Further improvements included promotion of
Information Literacy instructional sessions offered by the Library, an increase in
online full-text sources, and the purchase of additional resource materials. The
Library conducts similar assessment activities every year, and results are included
in the Student Learning Outcomes Assessment annual reports, available in the
Resource Room.
The viability and use of the Open Computer Lab are regularly assessed by user
surveys regarding hours of availability, quality of instruction and assistance, and
availability and use of support technology/software. This information then informs
improvements in services and instructional support. For example, results from
the Spring 2005 survey resulted in the addition of workstations and allocation
of additional computer laboratory space, more strategic stationing of assistants,
and expanded training sessions for laboratory technicians. Additional examples
of assessment-driven improvements include an adjustment to monitor heights in
the computer laboratories to accommodate students wearing bifocals and the
installation of the “cyber-café” area in SCC’s student center to offer students
access to computers for personal, non-class-related use.
The College also administers the “Student Survey–Online Courses,” which
provides assessment data on distance learning, including the location from which
a student works, access, online orientation, course content and presentation, and
instructor/instruction. This information directly drives improvements to facilitation
as well as pedagogy. Numerous changes in course navigation and course content
have been made as the result of feedback received from online students. The
Instructional Technology Department is currently working to create an online
survey that will provide data to individual instructors and to the institution.
82
Partnerships to Enhance Student Learning
SCC partners with community members, businesses, and organizations to enhance
learning and strengthen teaching. For example, SCC’s occupational programs
maintain advisory committees of local professionals who help shape and evaluate
curriculum and provide insight on entry-level job skills (competencies and learning
outcomes) and employment opportunities. Cooperative Education and internship
programs offer students the opportunity to extend their learning experiences
into the workplace while receiving college credit. The Director of Cooperative
Education oversees the former efforts, while faculty within the specific academic
or occupational discipline typically coordinate internships. Employers work in
partnership with the student and an identified faculty supervisor in establishing
and measuring the desired learning outcomes. Examples of Cooperative Education
contracts and requirements are available in the Resource Room.
Connected
Along with close relationships with advisory committees and numerous
cooperative and internship programs, the College fosters partnerships in a
number of other areas. For example, the Nursing program enjoys a long-standing
relationship with the Mayo Clinic and added an educational partnership with
Scottsdale Healthcare in 2003. The SCC Fire Science Program successfully
partners with the City of Scottsdale Fire Department in training emergency
medical technicians, firefighters, and paramedics, and officials from the Scottsdale
Fire Department currently serve on the Fire Science Advisory Committee.
1
The SCC Music Department initiated a partnership with Fender Corporation in
January 2005, through which Fender has supplied instruments and equipment for
student use, partnered to provide guitar lessons at the Scottsdale Boys’ and Girls’
Club, and maintains a Music Industry Club website for SCC students.
2
Criterion
The Director of the SCC American Indian Program coordinates numerous
partnerships with various Native American communities and other related
organizations throughout Arizona. Examples include the Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community Education Department, Police Department, Boys’ and Girls’
Club, Youth Services Division, Phoenix Symphony, Phoenix Indian Center, American
Indian Institute, Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs, and Native American
Recognition Days Committee. One noteworthy result of such partnerships was
evidenced in 2005–2006 with 1307 (duplicated enrollment) Native American
students at SCC.
For the past ten years, SCC has maintained a unique partnership with Northern
Arizona University (NAU), with offices and classes located on the campus of
Scottsdale Community College. The NAU-Scottsdale campus began offering an
articulated bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management in 1996, and
three years later NAU launched a similar Interior Design program. Bachelor’s
degree programs in Elementary Education and Parks and Recreation Management
have since been added. These programs allow students to complete their
associate’s degree at SCC and then complete their upper-division courses through
NAU, all on the SCC campus.
3
4
5
Budget Priorities in Support of Teaching and Learning
LearningCentered
Budgeting priorities at SCC reflect the College’s strong commitment to improving
teaching and learning. As described in Criterion Two, nearly 70% of the College’s
annual operating budget is allocated to teaching and learning. In addition, yearly
capital requests (including building and grounds requests) generated by division
chairs, with the input of faculty and staff within their respective divisions, typically
require justification based on their impact on student learning. Subsequent
administrative review and capital allotments weigh the educational benefits of
the requests, linking allotments directly to the classroom experience as well as
to the SCC Strategic Plan.
In Spring 2006, a typical semester, 363.5 hours of reassigned time were budgeted
for faculty in support of teaching and learning activities, including Advisement,
Orientation, Honors Program, Staff Development, Student Learning Outcomes
Assessment, and administrative duties (division and department chairs and
occupational program directors). While this amount of reassigned time might
appear high, the expense is more than balanced by the need for relatively few
administrators because of the wide-ranging administrative responsibilities
apportioned to faculty through the SCC Governance Plan.
FutureOriented
1
2
3 Criterion
4
5
Rather than tie learning technology to bond issues, SCC administration and
division chairs undertook an effort in 2003 to create an independent budget to
maintain, upgrade, and replace technology and equipment college-wide. This
effort addresses not only replacing and expanding technology needs, but also
physical aspects of SCC’s learning environments including furniture, finishes,
maintenance, and remodeling. The result has effectively removed technology
and equipment from the competitive annual capital request cycle and placed
responsibility and control for these vital areas under the Dean of Instructional
Technology and the Vice President of Administrative Affairs. Significantly, this
approach to funding technology and equipment not only frees this aspect of
the SCC budget from dependence on future bond elections, but also allows for
a coordinated, fair, globally-applied replacement cycle for all instructional and
support technology and equipment.
Curricular and Pedagogical Improvements
At Scottsdale Community College, assessment results inform improvements in
curriculum, pedagogy, and student services as well as instructional resources. Of
the 203 assessment actions completed through FEP’s over the last four academic
years, approximately half were directed toward improving pedagogy. As the
scope of assessment efforts continues to grow at the classroom, program, and
institutional levels, so grows the valuable role of assessment results in shaping
learning-related decisions college-wide.
The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle and assessment-related Faculty Evaluation
Plans, both discussed earlier in this chapter, provide two vehicles by which SCC
faculty identify and apply interventions designed to improve instruction. The
widespread use of these vehicles demonstrates not only that the College has
established an assessment culture, but that that culture is deepening as faculty
progress through the PDCA cycle and conduct assessment studies as part of their
individual evaluation plans.
84
One of the many virtues of the embedded PDCA assessment cycle lies in the
“Check” and “Act” components, which drive improvements to curricular structure
and content as well as to instruction. As assessment efforts are firmly and
appropriately embedded at the course and program levels, the preponderance of
evidence shows direct application of corresponding improvements at those levels.
As faculty drive both SCC’s curricular and assessment processes, it follows that
curricular activity is closely linked to assessment activities and that activity in this
realm provides evidence of interventions derived, at least in part, from assessment
activities. This is particularly true for both course and program modifications,
which typically result from an identified need for updating, clarifying, and/or
changing stated competencies (outcomes). As described in Criterion Two, the
process formally requires a stated rationale for modifying existing outcomes/
competencies and typically includes a presentation and discussion at a College
Curriculum Committee meeting. The process is vital and shows consistent,
ongoing efforts to respond to identified shortfalls and/or changing needs at both
the classroom and the program levels.
Learning Outcomes Assessment in Student Services
In addition to the vast array of learning outcomes assessment activities in
instructional areas of the College, similar efforts are underway in Student Affairs.
For many years, SCC Student Affairs directors and managers have included the
identification of learning outcomes as part of their annual reports. In February
and March of 2006, Student Affairs personnel across the MCCCD participated
in a series of workshops led by a nationally recognized expert in this field, Dr.
Margaret Culp, to coordinate their learning outcomes assessment efforts.
1
2
Criterion
As a result, each area of Student Affairs is now charged with developing student
learning outcomes and determining how the subsequent knowledge will be
used for program review. The College’s Student Affairs learning outcomes are
also tied to the MCCCD Student Affairs learning outcomes, to the SCC academic
learning outcomes, and to the respective Student Affairs district-wide councils.
The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle used by the faculty is built into the assessment
process for Student Affairs. Annual Student Services Reports are available
3
4
5
Summary
Scottsdale Community College fulfills Criterion Three in outstanding
fashion through its development and support for an exemplary program
of student learning outcomes assessment at the course, program, and
institutional levels.
Strengths
•Student learning outcomes assessment is firmly embedded in the institutional culture of Scottsdale Community College, and the
results of assessment inform decisions at all levels.
•The framework for institutional-level assessment is in place and
operational, and interventions are being applied. The program
of institutional-level assessment has been crafted to accommodate
the unique “swirling” nature of SCC students.
•
Assessment of student learning outcomes at SCC is faculty-
owned and faculty-driven.
•The innovative fusion of student learning outcomes assessment with
the Faculty Evaluation Plan enhances teaching and learning.
•The College provides outstanding support for effective and
innovative teaching.
1
2
3 Criterion
4
5
•The College provides a wide range of learning resources to support student learning, including an exemplary advisement process.
•The College supports a wide range of technology in support of student learning.
•The College recognizes that learning occurs throughout the College, not just in the classroom.
Challenges
•
Although a great many course- and program-level changes are made as a result of student learning outcomes assessment, adjunct faculty are
not always made aware of the rationale for such changes.
•
While information regarding student learning outcomes assessment
is available on the College website, the data could be disseminated
more proactively.
•Students’ awareness of student learning outcomes assessment
is inconsistent.
•Outcomes assessment in non-academic areas is in its initial stages.
86
Criterion Four: Acquisition, Discovery,
and Application of Knowledge
The organization promotes a life of learning for its faculty, administration,
staff, and students by fostering and supporting inquiry, creativity, practice, and
social responsibility in ways consistent with its mission.
In Criterion Four, Scottsdale Community College examines how it promotes a life
of learning for all its constituents through inquiry, creativity, practice, and social
responsibility. This broad range of activities conducted in ways consistent with the
mission is outlined below and reveals that SCC has a rich tradition of acquisition
and discovery of knowledge and a continued growth in its application.
CORE COMPONENT 4A
The organization demonstrates, through the actions of its board,
administrators, students, faculty, and staff, that it values a life of learning.
As a member of the Maricopa County Community College District, Scottsdale
Community College subscribes to the exemplary Values Statement of MCCCD,
which says, “We value lifelong learning opportunities that respond to the needs
of our communities and are accessible, affordable, and of the highest quality,”
and “We encourage the exchange of views, be they popular or unpopular. We
support academic freedom as a principle that protects open dialogue between all
our employees and all our students.” The Values Statement can be found in the
College’s General Catalog and Student Handbook 2006–2007 (8) and online at
www.maricopa.edu/gvpolicy/policy/vision.htm.
1
2
3
Criterion
Freedom of Inquiry
The Governing Board of MCCCD has disseminated statements supporting
freedom of inquiry for the organization’s students, faculty, and staff, and honors
those statements in its practices. A variety of published statements and practices
support freedom of inquiry for all constituents of MCCCD. For example, a
statement of academic freedom is included in the Residential Faculty Policies
(RFP), indicating that faculty members are entitled to academic freedom in
the classroom in discussion and method of presentation of the subject taught,
provided that the faculty member informs the students that the views presented
are those of the faculty member and that reasonable alternative views will be
presented. As part of their expression of academic freedom, instructors select
textbooks and maintain the right and responsibility to determine grades and other
evaluations of students. The RFP is available in the Resource Room and online at
www.maricopa.edu/org/faculty/rfp.html.
In addition, SCC faculty and staff are provided numerous professional growth
opportunities related to teaching and learning through the Center for Teaching,
Learning, and Technology as well as other opportunities. Professional Growth
is discussed in detail in Criterion Three, and a list of professional development
activities and opportunities is available in the Resource Room.
4
5
Planning and Budgeting
The College’s planning and pattern of financial allocation demonstrate that it
values and promotes a life of learning for its students, faculty, and staff. As seen
in Criterion Two, the College allocates nearly 70% of its budget directly or
indirectly to instruction.
The SCC faculty and administration have made a long-term commitment to comply
with the faculty staffing ratio of 90:10 as outlined in section 5.2 of the Residential
Faculty Policies (www.maricopa.edu/hrweb/pol_dwnld.html). This policy
provides that 90% of all daytime student credit hours must be taught by full-time
Residential Faculty. This policy guides the Faculty Staffing Committee annually
as it recommends the allocation of new faculty positions to the departments or
programs most in need of additional faculty.
1
2
3
4 Criterion
5
LearningCentered
In November 2004, the voters of Maricopa County approved a $951,000,000 bond
for the construction of facilities at the colleges. Scottsdale Community College will
receive about $62,000,000 and has a well-developed Facilities Master Plan to guide
new construction and renovation projects. These plans are discussed in detail in
Criterion Two. Over 75% of voters approved this bond issue, providing further
evidence of the widespread recognition of the College’s commitment to teaching
and learning and to serving the needs of the community.
FutureOriented
The priorities of the SCC Strategic Plan provide further evidence of the College’s
commitment to providing opportunities to students and employees to acquire,
discover, and apply knowledge and skills. The first three strategic directions of
the SCC Strategic Plan are to maximize access, enhance learning environments
and delivery options, and enhance collaboration and increase partnerships. These
strategic directions (goals) focus on enhancing the College’s commitment to the
acquisition, discovery, and application of knowledge. The Strategic Plan is discussed
in detail in Criterion Two.
Lifelong Learning
SCC demonstrates its commitment to a life of learning by providing a vast array
of educational and cultural opportunities, both curricular and co-curricular, for
students, employees, and the community. For example, the College’s Continuing
Education Program provides meaningful, enjoyable, and varied educational
opportunities that respond to the diverse needs of the community and help
community members explore their interests, achieve their goals, and enrich their
lives in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere. Further information on the program is
available at www.scottsdalecc.edu/noncredit.
The SCC Workforce Development effort provides high quality non-credit business
and job-training programs at a reasonable cost. The Workforce Development
program at Scottsdale Community College provides services in four areas:
computer training, job training, custom training, and online training. In 2005–2006,
the Workforce Development program had 945 enrollments in 102 classes and
generated $206,233 in student fees. A copy of the 2005–2006 annual report is
88
The Senior Adult Educational Program at Scottsdale Community College has
been in existence for over 25 years, providing courses and lecture series to the
local population. Although the program is designed to be of interest to seniors,
students of all ages take the classes. As well as the popular computer classes,
courses in many other subject areas are offered, such as health and wellness,
language and communications, politics, history, world religions, arts, and humanities.
Two popular lecture series, the Tuesday Arts and Humanities series of lectures and
the free Monday Travel Lecture series, are also available. More information about
senior adult education is available at www.scottsdalecc.edu/senior.
In 2003, Scottsdale Community College received a planning grant from The Virginia
G. Piper Charitable Trust to begin a new program called Boomerz, designed to
provide a welcoming place where maturing adult residents of Scottsdale and
surrounding communities will discover a variety of resources to volunteer, pursue
civic engagement, re-career, and find employment, as well as to engage in lifelong
learning, embark on healthy lifestyles, and enjoy social connections in a community
for all ages. Housed at SCC, the Boomerz program is part of a $317,000 grant
involving Gateway Community College, the City of Scottsdale, the Scottsdale Area
Chamber of Commerce, and 17 other private agencies in Scottsdale and Tempe.
Further information is available at www.BoomerzAz.com.
Connected
MCCCD Professional Development
1
The organization supports an abundance of professional development
opportunities and makes them available to all of its administrators, faculty, and
staff. As part of the MCCCD, SCC provides its employees access to well-funded
professional growth opportunities of various kinds. Full-time faculty at SCC have
access to Professional Growth funding which includes half- or full-year sabbaticals,
conferences, registration fees for workshops and other events, and travel funds.
Employees and their immediate families may take courses tuition-free at any of
the Maricopa Community Colleges; in addition, faculty are rewarded for earning
upper-division and graduate credits by advancement on the salary schedule. Some
summer projects and a wide array of MCCCD training opportunities also result
in advancement on the faculty salary scale. During academic year 2005–2006, the
total District budget for faculty sabbaticals was $704,331. The College supports an
average of five sabbaticals a year, and five faculty at SCC were awarded sabbatical
leaves for 2005–2006. In addition, occupational faculty may use Carl Perkins funds
for professional development, and adjunct faculty have access to funds for travel
and registration fees, may attend MCCCD training events, and receive tuition
waivers for MCCCD classes.
2
3
Criterion
Administrators and staff also have many opportunities for learning. For example,
Management/Administrative/Technical (MAT) Professional Growth funds provide
employees with the opportunity to participate in seminars and workshops or
to complete special projects; these funds are used to cover travel, registration,
tuition reimbursement, and related expenses. Professional staff may take advantage
of internships for technical training that will be helpful in preparing them for
administrative, management and support opportunities, and the Professional Staff
Paid Educational Leave offers an opportunity for career and professional growth
through the completion of a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. Other
employee groups, including Maintenance and Operations, Crafts, and Safety, offer
4
5
employees the opportunity to increase their knowledge, update previous academic
learning, and sharpen their thinking as required by the job.
The MCCCD offers numerous additional opportunities for professional growth,
including Creative Pathways, a program of renewal by means of short-term
employment opportunities; many technology training classes; the Ocotillo Online
Learning Group for technology users at all colleges; dialog days on various topics
across the District; the Women’s Leadership Group mentor program for faculty
and staff; and District Learning Grants for faculty. The District’s International and
Intercultural Education office provides opportunities for foreign travel, including
international faculty development programs in Chile and the Czech Republic,
staff exchange programs with colleges in the Netherlands, the Salzburg Seminar
program, and a language and culture program in Mexico. Further information on
these and other programs is available at www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/iie.
In addition, the District offers a multitude of workshops such as training in the
Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), automobile operations and
financial procedures, and conferences on such topics as marketing, student success
and hiring practices. The District also supports sabbaticals for faculty, staff, and
administrators through the various employee groups.
Located at the District Support Service Center, the Maricopa Center for Learning
and Instruction (MCLI) provides faculty with growth funds, supports faculty/
staff development, and offers the Maricopa Institute for Learning, the Maricopa
Faculty Internship program, and various programs through the International and
Intercultural Education office. Further information may be found at
www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/programs.php.
1
2
3
4 Criterion
5
The Employee and Organizational Learning Team (EOLT) offers workshops
covering a number of topics for all employees in the MCCCD. The current
offerings may be viewed at www.maricopa.edu/learn/calendar/. During 2005–
2006, 312 SCC employees participated in EOLT-sponsored workshops and training.
SCC Professional Development
Along with the many opportunities offered by the District, SCC provides a number
of training programs and learning opportunities for faculty and staff. For example,
the semester-long New Faculty Orientation program, coordinated by the Center
for Instructional Technology (CIT), provides faculty with the necessary information
and support to begin their teaching experience at Scottsdale Community College
in a positive way. The New Faculty Orientation program is discussed in Criterion
Three. The CIT also coordinates Blackboard training for faculty teaching online
courses and sponsors user groups to support faculty in their use of technology
to enhance student learning, such as the Blackboard User Group (BUG) and the
Sim Man User Group (SMUG) in the Nursing program. The College also provides
training in software, internal data systems (as updates or changes are made), and
new-employee orientation to College and District computing systems.
Two additional programs available to all SCC faculty provide for improvement in
instructional delivery. The Educational Development Project (EDP) is authorized by
the Faculty Grant Program of the District and is funded by SCC to foster creation
during the summer of improved instructional methods and programs, innovative
techniques, and specialized instructional materials. Funds may be granted to
90
individual faculty members or to groups of faculty to collaborate on a project.
During the 2005–2006 academic year, seven EDP projects were funded for
a total of $13,936.50.
Another significant program, the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW), developed
in conjunction with SCC’s Communication and Performance Arts Department,
educates faculty in the use and methodology of modern instructional techniques,
presentation styles, student learning styles, and peer faculty assessment. These
four-day intensive workshops, which originated as a project of the Ministry of
Education in British Columbia, have been offered at the College since 1990, and
over 90 SCC faculty members have participated. In addition to the full-time,
part-time, and temporary SCC faculty who have benefited from this skill-building
workshop, the ISW has supported the MCCCD Faculty Internship program,
offering workshops to over 40 faculty interns since 2003.
Distinctive
Other College-sponsored training is provided in CPR and the use of defibrillators,
available to all employees at SCC; use of SCC’s Fitness and Wellness Center,
also available to all employees; and “brown bag” sessions on various specific topics.
Clearly, all employees can find ample means of professional growth in many
areas within College life, and some activities are directly rewarded by
advancement on salary schedules.
In the case of faculty, however, a large percentage of long-term instructors are
at the top of the salary scale. While professional growth offers opportunities to
increase knowledge, upgrade skills, learn new skills, and a variety of other benefits,
these mature faculty see no financial incentive to participate. In addition, since the
bulk of professional growth funds come from District allotments, SCC faculty must
compete with faculty from nine other colleges for the opportunities.
1
2
3
Criterion
5
Recognition of Achievement
SCC does an outstanding job of publicly recognizing students, staff, and faculty
for achievement in acquiring, discovering, and applying knowledge in a variety of
ways. For example, at the annual Excellence under the Stars awards ceremony,
individual faculty members honor students for achievement and improvement at
a festive public ceremony featuring entertainment by SCC students and staff. In
addition, various departments at SCC honor their students for high achievement.
A few of the many such awards are the annual Hypatia Award for the top
female mathematics student; recognition of student work by the English and Art
departments with a dinner at the Desert Oasis dining room and publication in
the Vortex, an award-winning magazine; the Beth Ells Scholarship for a deserving
art student; an annual film festival to showcase student work in the Motion
Picture/Television Department; and yearly awards given by the Interior Design
Department based on competitions and special community service projects.
Distinctive
Individual faculty and staff in each employee group are honored each year with
peer-nominated awards for outstanding service to SCC. In addition, the MCCCD
and the League for Innovation in the Community College co-sponsor the annual
Innovation of the Year awards to recognize an individual or team who have
designed and implemented a significant innovation that has had a positive impact
on the education of students. One innovation is selected from each college, the
skill centers, and the District Office. A district-wide innovation is then selected
4
91
to receive the Dr. Paul M. Pair Innovation of the Year Award, which includes
$2,000 to be used to further the winning innovation. Full details can be found
as entries in the Maricopa Learning exchange at
www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/innovate/index.php. Innovation winners at
SCC in recent years were:
FutureOriented
•The Student to Student Scholarship Program, a unique and creative
program that provides an opportunity for current students to assist
future SCC students through modest donations to a scholarship fund. It
simultaneously cultivates students as future supporters of community
college initiatives (2002).
•The Department of Physical Sciences for its classroom-sized planetarium jointly funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation and the College. The planetarium provides free astronomy shows for the public and serves as a teaching aid (2003).
•The Computer Information Systems team, which developed a Student
Orientation Program and Faculty Orientation Program for online courses in
their discipline. The programs’ goals were to prepare students and increase
success and retention and also to provide faculty with tools and resources to
improve courses (2004).
1
2
3
4 Criterion
5
•The ESL Program, which has planned and implemented English language
training for such diverse businesses as hospitality, landscaping, construction,
and the automobile industry since January 2000, responding to the needs of
the community. This innovative effort has contributed to an increase of over
1000% in ESL enrollment (2005).
The College also formally recognizes other achievements of faculty and staff. Some
of the 2005–2006 achievements honored were:
•
Katherine Herbert’s third book, The Perfect Screenplay: Writing It And Selling It,
was released in April. She was also asked to teach at the sixth annual
Screenwriting Conference at Santa Fe. One of the eight students she took to
the conference won the "Actors' Choice" award for his screenplay.
•Dr. Bonnie Gray and Dr. Paul Grocoff have announced a partnership with
McGraw-Hill to author a psychology text. Dr. Jeff Ricker will also be
collaborating on the project, writing all of the teaching aids and ancillary
materials for the textbook.
•Dr. Virginia Stahl, Vice President of Student Affairs, received the Arizona
Region of Phi Theta Kappa Distinguished Advisor Award. Further, Dr. Stahl was
recognized by the Maricopa Foundation for her work to support students
with a $1,000 student scholarship in her name.
•Regina Mannix was named the National Junior College Athletic Association
District Coach of the Year 2005. She was also named the American Volleyball
Coaches’ Association Southwest Region Coach of the Year and won the
American Volleyball Coaches’ Association 300th Victory Club Award for 2005.
92
•
Jon Levy, Men’s Golf Coach, was named Conference Coach of the Year.
•Dave Critchley, Men’s Tennis Coach, was named Conference Coach of the
Year.
A complete list of the individuals recognized for their achievements in 2005–2006
is available in the Resource Room.
A variety of other activities recognize achievements of both faculty and students,
including the Retro Muse Coffeehouse, a bi-weekly showcase of writing and
performance, the Honors program, the Campus News, fine arts exhibits, and
the Model UN. Each of these programs allows students to apply what they have
learned in the classroom to a public product with a set of skills that can be used
in the workplace, in further education, or for personal enrichment.
One way in which the College uses scholarship and research to stimulate
educational improvement is the Faculty Evaluation Plan (FEP), an ongoing process
that actively engages both experienced and new faculty in teaching and/or course
or program development. In the FEP, the faculty member works with a small team
of colleagues to improve a specific element of his or her teaching, using various
assessment techniques to document improvement. Faculty complete FEP projects
annually for their first five years and every three years thereafter. As discussed
in Criterion Three, an added dimension to the FEP process is the increasing
integration of criteria drawn from Student Learning Outcomes Assessment. For
example, a number of faculty have developed ways to infuse critical thinking
into their courses in response to the College’s adoption of critical thinking as a
significant General Education outcome. By the creative use of the FEP process,
faculty scholarship, faculty research, and student learning are enhanced. The
document CT Across Disciplines, located in the Resource Room, provides detailed
examples from 21 faculty members representing 15 disciplines explaining how they
teach critical thinking within their discipline.
Distinctive
1
2
3
Criterion
5
Sabbaticals
For many faculty at SCC, the sabbatical is a path to scholarship and research.
Faculty propose a range of creative projects that involve study, examination, and
practical application of knowledge in their discipline areas, and the results of these
projects stimulate educational improvement and inform course development
choices as faculty return from sabbatical. Recent faculty sabbatical projects include
the development of a self-study to become accredited by the National Association
of Schools of Theatre; participating as an intern at two local bioscience
laboratories; completion of a textbook; and conducting research on amplified
biochemical oscillations in cellular systems. Reports of these and other sabbatical
projects are available in the Resource Room.
An innovative use of the sabbatical is The Maricopa Project, a groundbreaking
effort to revitalize instruction in foundation mathematics. Begun in 1993, the
Project joined area high schools, MCCCD, and Arizona State University to
determine challenges and goals in mathematics instruction. Six student outcomes
4
Connected
93
were identified and instructional modules were developed, based on the
philosophy that “learning mathematics means to build strong connections among
various topics of mathematics.” The resulting modules present mathematics in
“fresh and engaging ways” and allow students multiple access points. Several SCC
Mathematics faculty members have participated in this innovative program as
their sabbatical projects, with one completing research and publishing two peerreviewed articles regarding problem solving in mathematics in the past year.
CORE COMPONENT 4B
The organization demonstrates that acquisition of a breadth of knowledge
and skills and the exercise of intellectual inquiry are integral to its
educational programs.
The MCCCD is exemplary in its integration of general education into all of its
undergraduate degree programs through curricular and experiential offerings
intentionally created to develop the attitudes and skills requisite for a life of
learning in a diverse society.
General Education
In 2002, the MCCCD Curriculum Committee adopted a General Education
Statement, which appears in each college’s catalog. In part, this statement says:
1
2
3
4 Criterion
5
The general education core of the program of study for an
associate degree or a certificate helps students develop a greater
understanding of themselves, of their relationship with others,
and of the richly diverse world in which they live. The general
education experience provides students with opportunities to
explore broad areas of commonly held knowledge and prepares
them to contribute to society through personal, social, and
professional interactions with others. General education fosters
students' personal development by opening them to new directions,
perspectives, and processes. (2006–2007 General Catalog and
Student Handbook 63).
General education requirements are part of every degree program offered at SCC
and include the general skills (reading, writing, oral communication, literacy and
critical inquiry, mathematics, and computer/statistics/quantitative applications),
the multiple kinds of learning (humanities and fine arts, natural sciences, social
and behavioral sciences), and the awareness of diversity (global, historical, and
multicultural) [for transfer degrees only] necessary to a life of learning. Courses
that satisfy the components of the general education requirements come from a
variety of disciplines; for example, the humanities and fine arts component can be
satisfied by courses in fourteen disciplines, and the global awareness component
can be satisfied by a course in any of eighteen disciplines (2006–2007 General
Catalog and Student Handbook 33–40).
Scottsdale Community College integrates general education into its degree
programs through experiential offerings as well, including many options listed
under Credit for Prior Learning in the College catalog (2006–2007 General Catalog
94
and Student Handbook 13–20). These options include credit by evaluation, collegelevel equivalency examinations, Servicemen’s Opportunity College, and transfer
credit. SCC also offers many unique opportunities for gaining knowledge and skills
related to general education, including Student Public Policy Forum, Arizona Town
Hall, and many Honors and Phi Theta Kappa service events, including an annual
study trip to Mexico.
Students must satisfy two Awareness Areas in order to meet the graduation
requirements of the Arizona General Education Curriculum (AGEC): Cultural
Diversity in the United States and either Global Awareness or Historical
Awareness. For fall 2006, SCC offers 66 courses that meet the requirements
related to global awareness, historical awareness, and cultural awareness.
The wide variety of occupational degree and certificate programs offered by
SCC makes the College a resource for the acquisition of considerable breadth of
education (2006–2007 General Catalog and Student Handbook 69–72). Moreover,
cooperative education is available to all students (2006–2007 General Catalog
and Student Handbook 142–143), and SCC offers a wealth of noncredit classes
which enhance the attitudes and skills requisite for a life of learning in a diverse
society. In addition, the College attempts to integrate its four General Education
student learning outcomes across the curriculum. This effort is discussed in
detail in Criterion Three.
1
Student Learning Outcomes
One basis for ensuring positive student learning outcomes is the use of course
competencies at SCC. These competencies are the result of concentrated work
by the District instructional councils, discipline specialists who assess academic
standards, transfer requirements, workplace needs, and lifelong learning goals as
they develop the competencies. The competencies state specific goals for each
course and assure that the transfer courses are in agreement with university
requirements. This means that students taking and passing English 101, for
example, have achieved the same learning goals in any section of the course. While
the method of delivery varies in different classes, the outcomes are comparable.
The course competencies are separate from but complementary to the General
Education outcomes described previously.
2
3
Criterion
5
Student learning outcomes demonstrate that graduates have achieved a breadth of
knowledge and skills and the capacity to exercise intellectual inquiry. The Student
Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee, which is comprised of representatives
from every academic department, systematically conducts research to determine
the extent to which students are mastering general education skills, and results
are communicated in the Outcomes Assessment Annual Report. The assessment of
General Education at SCC is discussed in detail in Criterion Three, and the annual
reports are available in the Resource Room.
Learning outcomes demonstrate effective preparation for continued learning. Many
of the assessment efforts at SCC are focused within the institution itself, but it
would be valuable to be able to follow the progress of students as they continue
their education. One of the biggest challenges, then, is to develop reliable survey
and tracking methods. Reports on student tracking are regularly compiled by the
4
95
office of the Dean of Instruction in occupational programs, including Nursing,
Interior Design, Architectural Technology, Culinary Arts, and Business Fastrack.
Results are then compiled with student surveys and included in the College’s
annual Assessment Report.
CORE COMPONENT 4C
The organization assesses the usefulness of its curricula to students who will
live and work in a global, diverse, and technological society.
Scottsdale Community College demonstrates outstanding performance in regularly
assessing the usefulness of its curricula.
Program Reviews
Connected
1
2
3
4 Criterion
5
Regular program reviews consider the currency and relevance of courses
and programs in both academic and occupational areas. Each academic and
occupational program has a district-level instructional council that coordinates
changes within the discipline and sends representatives to serve on statewide
articulation task forces. This structure enables regular program review and
monitoring of course objectives, course transfer capability, and higher education
synergy for the benefit of students and faculty. Academic departments at SCC
have positive relationships with area baccalaureate degree-granting institutions,
especially with Arizona State University. This relationship has been built over
many years of interaction via instructional councils, articulation task forces, and
statewide curriculum councils. Further discussion of program reviews, which were
identified as a concern by the HLC team in 1997, may be found in Chapter 2.
SCC also utilizes advisory councils to assess the usefulness of occupational
curricula. Feedback from regular meetings of these councils is used to adjust
program curriculum, and the councils also provide contacts that the department
may use to develop student internships. Meeting agendas and minutes are
Since 2003, SCC has conducted annual follow-up surveys of occupational students,
alternating between graduates and “occasional” students, occupational students
who take less than nine credit hours but at least one occupational course during
the spring semester. Generally, these surveys have provided very positive feedback
regarding students’ satisfaction with SCC’s programs. Because the surveys are
conducted by telephone and responses are reported in the aggregate, SCC is able
to assess overall perceptions of students concerning programs and the students’
intent, as well as student satisfaction. Specific program data can be sorted for the
programs in the Graduate Follow-up Survey, providing needed feedback to these
programs that may not be provided by other satisfaction reports.
The Graduate Follow-up Survey conducted in Spring 2005 indicated that 46%
of the graduates from the previous year had taken developmental coursework,
but that only 34% of the graduates believed this coursework was helpful or very
important to their success. As a result of this information and other research data,
SCC is moving forward with a committee to analyze and make recommendations
for the function of developmental courses at SCC.
96
The Occasional Student Survey provides the College with an understanding of
students’ purpose for taking classes and their intention of taking more classes.
Generally, this survey reflected that students are working full-time, taking classes
not related to their current employment, and are very satisfied with SCC. The
results of the survey are shared with all occupational program directors, division
chairs, and the administration. Copies of both survey instruments and results are
Creation and Use of Scholarship
SCC supports creation and use of scholarship by students, in keeping with its
mission, in numerous ways. For example, the student newspaper, the Campus
News, is created and produced by SCC students. In the process, students apply
skills and theory learned in journalism classes as they research, write, and publish
original work that is distributed to the College and the community. The Motion
Picture/Television Department completes several special projects every semester,
collaborations between faculty and the best graduating students. One project
was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005. Other examples of applied
scholarship include the Retro Muse, the Creative Writing and Art competition
which culminates in The Vortex, fine arts exhibits, and theater performances.
Faculty also expect students to master the knowledge and skills necessary for
independent learning in programs of applied practice. For example:
1
2
•Students in the Culinary Arts program operate two restaurants located on
campus. Culinary Arts students have participated in "SkillsUSA" (formerly
VICA) at the state level for 16 years and have won gold medals in each of
those years. Since 1985, SCC students have earned three gold medals as well
as one silver and one bronze in Culinary Arts and a bronze in Commercial
Baking at the National SkillsUSA competition.
•
3
Criterion
5
Interior Design students compete in local and national design competitions,
and in 2002 and 2003 SCC students placed first in national design
competitions sponsored by Southern Accents and the American Society of
Interior Designers.
•The Arizona Jazz Band at SCC has traveled to many countries to perform and
recently released a CD.
•In March of 2006, AVNET, an $11 billion corporation headquartered in
Maricopa County, hosted a total of seven competitions for MCCCD students
in the first annual AVNET Tech Games, with winning teams receiving $500 per
person for scholarships to attend the university of their choice. A team of
SCC film production and editing students took first place.
•In the spring of 2006, SCC dance students were invited to perform at the
Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The applications were very competitive,
and SCC is very proud to have its students recognized in this way.
•The Eastman Kodak Company invited the Motion Picture/Television (MPTV)
program to participate in an opportunity to shoot a 5- to 10-minute film.
4
97
Kodak provided film, camera, and process, for a total of over $20,000. MPTV
engaged students to create the script, choose a director and producer,
and build a crew. Lead positions, such as director, producer, art director,
cinematographer, and screenwriter, all were provided with a professional
mentor to help guide their work. The uniqueness of the project is that it
gives students the opportunity to work in the 35mm format, which is the
professional standard but too expensive for typical classroom applications.
SCC was the only community college film program to be included, and the
SCC film will be screened in Fall 2006.
•
A number of SCC’s MPTV students have been very successful in the industry.
The department’s Spring 2006 honor roll featured 23 graduates who work as
reporters, editors, directors, and producers in the motion picture industry.
•The College participates in the International Consortium for Educational
and Economic Development (ICEED), which promotes student and
faculty exchanges between and among institutions in Canada, the US, and
Mexico. SCC has used ICEED mini-grants to explore EMT programming with
the Instituto Tecnologico in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, and to promote
golf management with an Instituto in Cancun, Mexico. SCC’s Vice President
of Student Affairs is one of four US members of the Board of Directors of
ICEED.
1
2
3
4 Criterion
5
•The Cooperative Education program at SCC serves approximately 125
students per year. In 2000 and again in 2005, five-year studies were completed
to assess the success of the College’s efforts to link with community
employers. In each study it was found that nearly two-thirds (66%) of
the cooperative education students placed in jobs were offered full-time
employment. This number far exceeded expectations and is a tribute to the
quality of SCC’s occupational programs.
Each year, over 120 students participate in faculty-led short-term education abroad
programs which provide opportunities for SCC students to learn foreign languages,
cross-cultural communication skills, and cultural knowledge in a global setting.
Examples in past years have included:
•
Language and culture study in Italy;
•
A dual-discipline learning community of photography and interior design in
Paris;
•
Choir performances at Mozart celebrations in Salzburg: and
•
A unique program in which Native American and non-Native American SCC students learn digital storytelling, complete community service projects, and study comparative indigenous arts with the Aborigine of Australia and Maori of New Zealand.
In 2005–2006, the College saw a 39% increase in education abroad advising
appointments and a 108% increase in classroom presentations by the advisor,
resulting in a 21% increase in enrollment.
98
CORE COMPONENT 4D
The organization provides support to ensure that faculty, students, and staff
acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly.
The College’s academic and student support programs contribute to the
development of student skills and attitudes fundamental to the responsible
use of knowledge.
Ethical Use of Knowledge
Issues concerning the ethical use of knowledge are directly addressed in courses
across the curriculum, including administration of justice, biology, business,
communication, composition, journalism, motion picture/television, philosophy,
and psychology. Examples of coursework include debates in biology classes on
the ethical use of genetic knowledge and on the world-wide impact of population
growth; lessons in composition classes on appropriate paraphrasing, quoting
and attribution of information from sources; and lessons in film classes on the
philosophical issues faced by makers of social documentary films.
Scottsdale Community College has a strong general anti-plagiarism policy (2006–
2007 General Catalog and Student Handbook 205), which is supported by more
specifically stated policies in individual divisions and departments. A challenge for
SCC, which is common to all institutions of higher learning, is the relative ease
with which modern technology can be used for academic cheating. One of several
ways that SCC addresses this problem is by making turnitin.com, a web-based
plagiarism-detection service, available to all instructors. In addition, student writing
and learning are facilitated by the Writing Center, which provides professional
tutoring and handouts relating to the responsible use of knowledge, and the SCC
Library, which provides workshops focusing on the responsible acquisition of
information from internet and print sources.
1
2
3
Criterion
5
Policies and Procedures
SCC follows explicit policies and procedures to ensure ethical conduct in its
research and instructional activities. For example, the MCCCD website provides
clear and concise guidelines related to copyright law, and the Office of General
Counsel sponsors workshops and includes articles related to this topic in its
publication, In Brief. At SCC, information about the proper use of copyrighted
material in the classroom has been presented in all-faculty meetings and is
included in the 2006–2007 General Catalog and Student Handbook (221–22), and
a notice with basic information regarding copyright law is posted next to each
copy machine on campus. In addition, policies regarding proper use of computing
resources (MCCCD’s Technology Resources Standards) are also stated in the
2006–2007 General Catalog and Student Handbook (222–23), and the policies
governing acceptable use are vigorously applied.
The Student Services Institute provides training for student services personnel in
the responsible use of information, and all faculty and staff who come into contact
with student data are required to complete a Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA) tutorial. The College and the District issue periodic reminders
4
99
and updates regarding the proper use of student information, including
grades and other class-related information. At this time, the MCCCD does
not have a policy related to Human Subjects research, but the Legal Services Office
formed a committee in the spring of 2006 and is moving forward with
developing such a policy.
The organization creates, disseminates, and enforces clear policies on practices
involving intellectual property rights. The Residential Faculty Policy, in section 3.2.
Intellectual Property Rights, recognizes “the academic exception of the Works
Made for Hire Doctrine” for faculty whose work is created independently. This
policy also provides parameters for work “commissioned or sponsored” by the
College. Intellectual property right policies are also provided on the District
website (www.maricopa.edu/legal/ip) by the Office of General Counsel as
these policies relate to copyright guidelines, including the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act of 1998. In addition, the Office of General Counsel offers an online
tutorial for College personnel and students regarding intellectual property
rights related to copyright.
Social Responsibility
SCC provides many curricular and co-curricular activities that relate responsible
use of knowledge to practicing social responsibility. For example, students,
faculty, and staff in the Biology Department created and maintain a wildlife
demonstration garden on campus, putting into practice the principles of
environmental conservation. They also maintain the Center for Native and Urban
Wildlife (CNUW), providing educational experiences for elementary students and
instructional support for educators. Further information about CNUW is available
at www.scottsdalecc.edu/cnuw.
1
2
3
4 Criterion
5
Connected
Another example is the Model UN class offered by the Political Science
Department, which prepares students for participation in the national
Model United Nations Conference each spring in New York City along with
representatives from over 200 colleges and universities from around the world.
This activity enables students to have a real-world experience learning about a
political institution that helps shape the world in which they live and to gain an
understanding of perspectives and views from around the world. In addition, the
Student Public Policy Forum provides an opportunity for students to work directly
with local government personnel and public policy officials.
FutureOriented
Student Life and Leadership also offers many programs that encourage social
responsibility and put that philosophy into action. Emerging Leaders provides
“an opportunity for participants to identify, develop and practice leadership skills
in order to make positive social change.” A related program, the LeaderShape
Institute, “develops participants to lead with integrity.” LeaderShape, which has
been identified as “exemplary” by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, includes a weeklong session for 60 to 70 students from “diverse ethnic, religious, and cultural
backgrounds.” During the week, students are encouraged to develop a personal
vision and consider how they can make a positive contribution to their community.
Students return to the College with a plan that includes “goals, relationships, and
action steps” which encourage implementation of their newly learned skills.
100
Opportunities for practical application of leadership skills are available to students
on campus through the SCC Student Leadership Forum (SLF). This elected group
serves as a type of student government intended to “preserve students’ rights,
serve students’ needs, provide funding for student projects, and . . . serve as the
official voice of the students.” SLF members participate in a variety of activities
including special projects, volunteer events, serving as student representatives, and
interacting with the campus and surrounding community. Students may serve in a
variety of official positions or as students-at-large representing the student body.
Summary
Scottsdale Community College fulfills Criterion Four in exemplary fashion.
The College values a life of learning and supports educational programs
that enable students to acquire a breadth of knowledge and to exercise
intellectual inquiry, so that they may function in a global, diverse, and
technological society, and it supports faculty, staff, and students in the
responsible acquisition, discovery, and application of knowledge.
1
2
Strengths
•The College’s allocation of resources demonstrates its commitment
to a life of learning.
3
Criterion
5
•The College provides a wide variety of programs and services to its
constituents.
•The College recognizes and celebrates the achievements of faculty, staff,
and students in a variety of ways.
•MCCCD provides significant legal support to all colleges in the District.
Challenge
•
While the College has an effective means of tracking and surveying its
occupational graduates, it has not yet developed a method of gathering
information from graduates of its academic programs.
4
101
Criterion Five: Engagement and Service
As called for by its mission, the organization identifies its constituencies and
serves them in ways both value.
In Criterion Five, Scottsdale Community College examines how it strives to
fulfill its mission as well as honoring the responsibility established in the College
President’s observation that “'Community' is our middle name.”
CORE COMPONENT 5A
The organization learns from the constituencies that it serves and analyzes
its capacity to serve their needs and expectations.
Scottsdale Community College does an outstanding job of responding to the
needs of its varied constituencies.
Diversity of Constituencies
Scottsdale Community College serves a population of approximately 250,000
residents of the communities of Scottsdale and northeast Phoenix. While the
diversity of the service area is growing, in general it is one of the more affluent
areas of the Phoenix metropolitan area. The northern portion of Scottsdale is
growing rapidly and is populated by citizens with a high level of discretionary
income. Students from this geographical area generally seek transfer education
and/or lifelong learning experiences. In addition to offering a strong transfer
curriculum, the College provides a vibrant Continuing Education program, through
which 6,030 students participated in 527 courses in 2005–2006. In order to
serve the needs of an aging population, the College has established the Boomerz
program to promote civic engagement and deliberate retirement planning for the
coming swell of Baby Boomers reaching traditional retirement age. Continuing
Education and Boomerz are discussed in detail in Criterion Four. The College also
addresses the fitness and health needs of the large number of senior adults in its
service area through individualized fitness regimens and wellness seminars
in the Fitness and Wellness Center.
1
2
3
4
Criterion
The southern portion of the city of Scottsdale has become home to many recent
immigrants whose first language is most often Spanish or Korean. The College
has developed a strong program to serve the growing educational needs of these
families through English as a Second Language (ESL) courses taught on campus, at
churches serving the immigrant population, and on site at numerous employment
locations, particularly hotels and resorts. The College has also responded to a
request from a local refugee program to provide ESL classes throughout the
metropolitan area. The number of students in ESL classes has steadily increased in
recent years, from 35 FTSE in 1999 to 223 FTSE in 2005–2006, and the program
continues to grow. One recent addition to the program is the offering of classes
to the College’s own employees. Custodial staff are learning English, and several
members of the faculty and staff are learning Spanish in an effort to serve Spanishspeaking students and employees more effectively.
103
5
Distinctive
One of the unique aspects of Scottsdale Community College is its physical
location on land leased from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
(SRPMIC). Although the resident population is small (approximately 5,000),
the College responds to the needs of the SRPMIC in several ways, including
waiving tuition and fees for members of the Community; serving on the SRPMIC
Education Committee; providing educational programs in the Community; making
space available for Community meetings; providing an office with computer and
telephone for the Community Police; and working with the Family and Children’s
Education program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs.
Liaisons with the SRPMIC include the College President, who works directly with
the Community President; the Vice President of Academic Affairs, who works
directly with the Education Committee; and the Vice President of Administrative
Services, who oversees facilities and lease agreements. The American Indian
Program Office continues to build formal and informal relationships that
strengthen the ties between the College and the community.
Environmental Scanning and College Planning
Through the Strategic Planning and Facilities Master Planning processes, the
College examines both its curricular capacity and its physical capacity to address
the current and future educational goals and needs of students and faculty.
Strategic planning and the Facilities Master Plan are discussed in detail in Criterion
Two. Satisfaction and engagement of currently-enrolled students are assessed
through the Noel-Levitz Satisfaction Survey and the Community College Survey
of Student Engagement, and additional analyses are conducted through the annual
review of all student services areas.
1
2
3
4
5 Criterion
In order to respond to community needs, the Institutional Research Office
regularly conducts environmental scans to assess enrollment patterns,
demographic data, shifts in scheduling patterns, preferences of delivery methods,
and the effects of tuition costs on ability to attend Scottsdale Community College.
Recent responses to these changes include the creation of the Boomerz program
described in Criterion Four and the development of an Enrollment Management
Plan in response to a reduction in enrollment since 2004, which is discussed in
Criterion Two. Another example is the closing of the former Airpark site in the fall
of 2004 and the subsequent creation of the Business Institute to deliver specialized
training with responsive delivery methods in north Scottsdale. Further information
about the Business Institute is available in Criterion Two and online at
www.scottsdalecc.edu/institute.
Outreach Programs
Connected
104
The College supports a wide variety of outreach programs to provide ongoing
service to its communities, including Achieving a College Education (ACE), which
works with students from high school through attainment of a community College
degree; Hoop of Learning, which provides academic support for Native American
students; Disability Resources and Services; Boomerz; the work of the Center
for Native and Urban Wildlife in restoration of the environment at Cole’s Ranch;
and Computers for Kids, which provides refurbished and recycled computers for
Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs and for Supai Middle School. A complete list of outreach
programs is available in the Resource Room.
Outreach programs result in a greater diversity of the curriculum and a
multicultural student population, both of which enrich the College environment.
Other benefits to the College include the development of a stronger presence
in the business community through Business Fastrack and the Business Institute,
and stronger partnerships with public schools in Scottsdale, Mesa, and Phoenix
through the ACE and Hoop of Learning programs. The community expresses
its appreciation for these outreach programs, as well as the other services
provided by the College and the MCCCD, through scholarship support, donations,
partnerships, and the overwhelming support of the November 2004 bond
referendum as discussed in Criterion Two. Of particular note, in 2006 the Salt
River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community presented a $1,000,000 donation to the
MCCCD to support the ACE and Junior ACE programs.
CORE COMPONENT 5B
The organization has the capacity and the commitment to engage with its
identified constituencies and communities.
Scottsdale Community College demonstrates outstanding capacity and
commitment to maintain collaborative relationships with its communities on
several levels. The College has the physical capacity on campus for many of these
activities, but it also employs sites throughout the communities to bring the
College closer to those served.
1
2
3
On-Campus Activities
SCC sponsors numerous activities that bring community members to the College,
beginning at an early age with Head Start and other children’s programs in the
Child Enrichment Center, and continuing through senior adulthood with the
Boomerz and Senior Adult programs. A number of health and wellness activities
take place at the Fitness and Wellness Center, and firefighters and emergency
medical personnel from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community use the
Center for their ongoing physical training. Both the Center for Native and Urban
Wildlife and the Planetarium attract groups of elementary students as well as
other community members for educational programs.
4
Connected
Criterion
The College annually hosts more than 45 concerts, plays, musicals, dance programs,
tours, art exhibits, and other events in the fine arts, attended annually by over
28,000 people. Additionally, many of these events are recorded and broadcast to
the community on the MCCCD television station. One popular program is
“The Many Faces of Hate” film series, which gathers community members and
College students to view a film and discuss the repercussions of hatred in
a community. This partnership with the Anti-Defamation League has been in
existence since the fall of 2004 and was used as a pilot to transport the series to
other Colleges in the District.
In addition, SCC’s Senior Adult Program offers courses geared toward mature
learners, such as the popular travel series and a colloquium with SCC faculty
called “Coffee with the Professors.” Also, SCC’s Culinary Arts restaurants are
open to the public for lunch and dinner, and serve more than 6,000 guests annually.
In addition, the Culinary Arts Department offers tours for groups of high school
105
5
students and teachers who are interested in careers in hospitality or culinary arts.
The Career Center hosts three job fairs each year, with over 60 local businesses
participating. On average, attendance is more than 1,000 at each of these events.
The Career Center utilizes the Discover program to assist in career advisement,
and SCC also participates in the District-wide Maricopa Career Network, which
was utilized by 3,384 employers in 2005–2006 to post 7,785 job opportunities, an
increase of 75% since inception in 2002.
International Education Week brings to the campus many cultural programs
including foreign films, dance troupes, musical groups, discussions of international
events and consequences, and promotion of study-abroad opportunities. These
events are attended by a great many community members as well as students and
College staff. Other popular activities are the bi-weekly Retro Muse Coffee House,
Lunch with the President and the Vice Presidents, community band and chorus,
Career Planning and Placement résumé builder sessions, non-credit courses, senior
adult lecture series, and numerous other programs.
Distinctive
1
2
3
4
5 Criterion
College facilities are utilized extensively by both the College and the community.
For example, the Performing Arts Center is used for classes, student music,
dance and drama performances, nurses’ pinnings, and student orientations, and
the community uses the facility for film series, public forums, lectures, dance and
music concerts, and high school student scholarship competitions. The College
makes space available for community members to cultivate individual plots in
the Community Garden, which is extremely popular with local residents, and
the College is also one of the few public venues that welcome model airplane
enthusiasts, who are permitted to fly their models near the athletic fields. Both
the internal and external communities also compete for use of space in the
Student Center. Among the annual events external groups hold in the Student
Center are Community Celebrating Diversity, Arizona Town Hall Annual Meeting,
Scottsdale Leadership classes and forums, the Scottsdale Rose Society’s rose show,
the Scottsdale Unified School District Youth Town Hall, and the Police Officers of
Scottsdale Association’s “Shop with a Cop.” The critical press for meeting space
is expected to ease when the College builds a new Student Center, funded by the
2004 bond referendum, which is planned for 2010.
Educational Programs
Connected
Several educational programs engage students with the external communities.
For example, service learning is a component of several courses, and the College
has participated in the America Reads program for over six years. Students
involved in this program work with young students at the Paiute Child Care
Center and at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The Mathematics
Department hosts an annual city-wide Math and Science Day, attracting high
school students from the surrounding area, and biology students participate in
cancer research with the Mayo Clinic. Along with operating two dining rooms,
Culinary Arts students participate in culinary demonstrations and competitions,
both local and national. Other community activities occur through service
learning opportunities that are formalized through classes and College clubs and
organizations, as well as those that are less formal.
Cooperative education and internship work experiences in the community benefit
both students and employers by providing first-hand experience. For example,
106
the College has forged a valuable relationship with Disney World, which since the
spring of 2004 has accepted over 60 students to serve as interns for a semester. In
addition, over 100 students participate in cooperative education programs every
year. A five-year study completed in 2004 indicated that 96% of the students in
Cooperative Education agreed that the experience helped them to achieve their
career goals. The report is available in the Resource Room.
Co-Curricular and Volunteer Activities
The College also provides an extensive array of co-curricular activities to engage
students with the wider communities through a variety of service projects. Clubs
and organizations promote strong community service programs, including Shoe
Box Ministry, USO, and American Cancer Society walks and relays as well as
numerous one-time efforts such as the Art Department's project to decorate
trash cans for the Tempe Town Lake Park. Interior Design students have designed
and implemented community projects such as Sunshine Acres boys’ home and
Doves apartment complex for seniors. They have also designed the Cohen
Memorial Garden “room” at Scottsdale Healthcare North and continue other
community projects. Faculty and students have also organized regular community
service days (College to the Community, Make a Difference Day, and Into the
Streets) during which groups work at local service agencies to clean facilities,
sort and fold clothes, read stories to children, care for animals, feed the homeless,
and perform other needed service. An example of community outreach beyond
national borders is the annual education abroad program in which SCC students,
including a number of Native American students, collaborate with indigenous
peoples of Australia and New Zealand on a community service project.
Students and employees of SCC raise tens of thousands of dollars and provide
thousands of hours of service for numerous national and local causes ranging
from blood drives to telethons to the Scout-O-Rama. Along with the extensive
institutional service provided to the College’s communities, College employees
as individuals also demonstrate extensive engagement and service to the
College, District, and surrounding community through volunteerism. Over 70
employees report spending an average total of approximately 1,300 hours a month
volunteering in the community.
1
2
3
4
Connected
Criterion
Employees have also responded to the call from the College Development Office
to contribute to student scholarship funds. Over $81,000 was pledged by 90
employees in the initial campaign. Friends and families also endow memorial
scholarships to honor a loved one upon death or retirement. In 2005–2006 more
than 2,325 SCC students received private and institutional scholarships.
The College's connection to the community also extends beyond its immediate
service area. When the horrible events of September 11, the Southeast Asia
tsunami, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita occurred, both the College President
and the District Chancellor sent messages encouraging employees to respond
generously and provided information about how to do so through a variety of
community agencies, such as the American Red Cross. When Hurricane Katrina
demolished their homes in 2005, eight SCC students from Louisiana lost their
family support. The College and community responded by providing contributions
for rent, food, and transportation. In addition, the SCC men’s and women’s
107
5
basketball teams traveled to Eastern Arizona Community College to play games
to benefit colleges in Louisiana and Mississippi that needed assistance in replacing
their athletic facilities.
Planning for Ongoing Engagement and Service
FutureOriented
The College is now over 35 years old and has some difficulties in adapting older
spaces for new uses, finding adequate space for the many activities it would like
to accommodate, and incorporating technology into older spaces. However,
these shortcomings are being addressed through Facilities Master Planning and
the building of new spaces to be funded by the 2004 bond referendum. In the
meantime, the College copes with these inadequacies and continues to sponsor
many activities to engage students and community members.
CORE COMPONENT 5C
The organization demonstrates its responsiveness to those constituencies
that depend on it for service.
SCC is exemplary in its responsiveness to its constituencies. The College's
willingness to collaborate with its varied constituencies creates an array of
services and academics that impact all areas of the institution and foster seeds of
change, as well as serving to integrate the College more fully with its community.
1
2
3
4
Collaboration with Other Educational Sectors
5 Criterion
Connected
The College has a long history of collaboration with the many constituencies
that make up the community it serves and with other educational sectors. For
example, the Achieving a College Education (ACE) Program bridges underrepresented students from high school to community College to university in a
2+2+2 cohort. Since the replication of this program at SCC in 2003, more than
60 high school students have been mainstreamed into regular College classes.
These students have achieved an average GPA of 3.1 and 83% attained degrees.
Concurrent and dual enrollment, by which students receive credit both at their
high schools and in college for taking classes at SCC, offers younger students the
opportunity to earn college credits; more than 1,500 students take advantage of
these popular programs annually.
Mobility of Learners
The Maricopa County Community College District, through the Office of
University and College Relations, maintains articulation agreements with a wide
variety of institutions of higher learning. MCCCD also participates in the Arizona
Course Applicability System, providing a valuable resource for instructors and
advisors to ensure that student transfer needs will be met. The College offers
more than 700 courses that transfer to the in-state universities based on the
student’s program of study. The AA, AAS, and ABUS are designed to transfer
seamlessly to in-state and out-of-state universities, and over the past five years,
108
more than 400 students with AAS degrees have transferred to in-state universities
and more than 30 have transferred with the AGEC degree. Further information
about articulation is available at www.dist.maricopa.edu/academic/artic/.
SCC also participates in the Academic Advising Articulation Task Force
(az.transfer.org/cas/atass/advising/AAATF.html), which deals with student
transfer issues. As a part of this effort, the Director of the Advisement Center
serves as Transfer Student Ombudsman to track problems and assist students.
Connected
In addition to the articulation agreements facilitated through the MCCCD, the
College has developed numerous agreements to serve the needs of specific
programs and students. For example:
•SCC’s Hospitality and Tourism and Culinary Arts programs articulate with Northern Arizona University (NAU), and students can complete a BA degree by taking NAU classes on the SCC campus;
Distinctive
•SCC’s Interior Design program articulates in a 2+2 program with NAU’s BS program, and in 3+1 programs with Charter Oak State College online and with Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio.
•SCC’s Administration of Justice Studies program articulates with Arizona
State University’s (ASU) Justice Studies BA.
•SCC’s Nursing program articulates with ASU’s BSN program.
1
2
•
A new articulation agreement for Hospitality students has been developed with Les Roches Association School of Hospitality Management in Bluche, Switzerland, and Marbella, Spain, evidence that articulation for the students of SCC is an ever-expanding, globalized process.
3
4
Criterion
The College also supports the mobility of learners through a number of activities.
For example, universities are encouraged to visit the College to talk with
prospective students. Between 15 and 20 public and private universities annually
meet with transfer students, and the three state universities visit up to eight times
per semester. In addition to individual visits, each October the College hosts
University Transfer Day, where nearly 20 universities set up information tables
for students and give presentations to SCC advisors. Universities also present
information to advisors in training sessions, and university transfer information
is presented at New Student Orientations each fall and spring in special sessions
for undecided students and business students, and in Counseling Services’ career
exploration and college success classes.
Effective Bridges among Diverse Communities
The College’s Diversity Action Plan, which is discussed in detail in Chapter 2
and in Criterion One, endeavors to “celebrate the diversity of our community”
and “to promote an environment where faculty, staff and students are engaged
in the broadly defined SCC environment, as productive citizens and responsible
community builders.” This engagement is accomplished through numerous
efforts throughout each year. For example, the American Indian Program Office
works with tribal communities through the Hoop of Learning and the Head
109
5
Start Program, as well as participating in the development of a CD to promote
the College’s occupational programs. These efforts are increasing each year and
show positive results through greater persistence and success of Native American
students at the College. More than 1,700 students utilized services of the office in
2005, an increase of 17% over the prior year. Through the intervention/retention
program, many students successfully raised their GPA’s.
College administrators and faculty participate in and are recognized by many
civic groups, serving to keep the College mindful of the needs of the greater
metropolitan area. The President participates in myriad community groups,
Community Celebrating Diversity the Arizona Town Hall, the Environmental Fund
Group, Scottsdale Charros, and the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, to name
just a few. The Vice Presidents are members of numerous organizations such
as Scottsdale Leadership, Friends of the Library, and Rotary Club. Newspaper
articles about community involvement, new venues, and successes of SCC are
frequent in all local publications, informing the community about the College’s
many partnership ventures. A recent example acknowledged the growth of the
Administration of Justice Studies Program into crime scene investigation and other
areas of potential job opportunities. Examples of recent news articles are
CORE COMPONENT 5D
1
Internal and external constituencies value the services the
organization provides.
2
3
4
Scottsdale Community College enjoys outstanding support from both internal
and external constituencies. For example, at the 35th Anniversary Celebration of
the College in November 2005, both civic and tribal leaders spoke about the
long history and growth of mutual support between SCC and its community
partners. SCC’s partnerships with constituents demonstrate collaboration and
active involvement and support of College personnel, students, and community
members in a wide variety of opportunities where College work serves the
common good. Examples of community members’ comments may be found in
Listening to the Community: A Year Long Examination of Future Needs,
5 Criterion
Workforce Development Activities
Connected
The College’s workforce development activities are sought after and valued by
civic and business leaders. For example:
•The College offers 21 Occupational Education programs that prepare students for employment in area businesses. Graduates of programs such as Nursing, Administration of Justice, Culinary Arts, Fire Science, and EMT are
in great demand. Advisory boards for each of these programs provide insight
into industry requirements for new programs and curriculum changes as well
as a gauge of satisfaction with SCC graduates.
•The Business Institute offers credit and noncredit short-term courses for
small businesses and a wide variety of online courses for upgrading skills or
110
preparing for a career change. More than 25 courses were offered in spring
2006 to students in this fast-growing business area in north Scottsdale.
•
Cooperative Education affords working students the opportunity to gain
College credits through the development of learning objectives determined in
coordination with an instructor and their area manager. Student participants,
instructors, and managers provide evaluations of the program and the
outcomes. More than 130 students participated in 2005.
•The Workforce Development Coordinator works with local businesses to
provide customized employee training opportunities through the Career
Preparation program. For example, the Pharmacy Technician program enrolls
more than 25 students each semester, and to date over 200 trained pharmacy
technicians have gained employment through the program. Home Inspection
Training classes, another example of workforce development, began in January
2005 to provide licensure training.
•In 2006, the Social Sciences Department achieved an initial accreditation by
the Arizona Department of Education for its participation in the Scottsdale
Teacher Education Partnership, a 45-credit post-baccalaureate program for
teacher certification in elementary education.
Continuing Education
1
2
Continuing Education is another growing entity at the College, offering over 500
non-credit classes to serve more than 6,000 community members annually.
The popularity and efficacy of these courses are determined through written
student evaluations as well as the use of “guest evaluators,” College employees
who are invited to take the class at no cost in return for providing detailed
evaluation. Evaluations show a 92% student satisfaction rating for these offerings
overall and also provide information that is used for improvements in scheduling
and decisions about class offerings. Further information about evaluation of
Continuing Education classes, which was a concern of the 1997 HLC team, is
available in Chapter 2.
3
4
Criterion
Assessment of Student Services
Services provided to students are continually expanding and consistently
evaluated. Each Student Services area conducts an annual assessment of the
effectiveness of its activities in student engagement and service to the community,
assessing the prior year’s goals according to program and learner outcomes
and establishing new goals for the upcoming year. For example, the Admissions,
Advisement, Testing, and Counseling Services areas all show increases in numbers
served and efficiency of operation. A survey of students in the Advisement
Center shows a 4.43 satisfaction rating on a 5-point Likert scale, with over 23,500
students seen in 2004-2005. The College provides a Writing Center, Math Tutor
Center, Open Computer Laboratory, and several smaller facilities to assist student
success, and all receive positive evaluations for the services provided. Examples of
the Annual Report of Student Services are available in the Resource Room.
111
5
Summary
Scottsdale Community College fulfills Criterion Five in outstanding fashion.
The College engages with its constituencies and communities to understand
their needs and to respond to those needs in ways that are valued by both
internal and external constituencies.
Strengths
•The College provides a wide range of educational, co-curricular, and
extra-curricular services that benefit the community.
•Scottsdale Community College, through the Maricopa Community
Colleges Foundation, provides scholarships to over 1,000 students
annually.
1
2
ChallengeS
3
4
5 Criterion
•
At present, the physical facilities are overtaxed by the demands of
internal and external constituents. This need is being addressed in the
College’s Facilities Master Plan and by the College Facilities Committee.
•The ability of the College to assist under-prepared students is a
challenge being addressed through continued community collaboration.
112
Federal Compliance
Credits, Program Length, and Tuition
As part of the Maricopa County Community College District, Scottsdale
Community College determines credits, program length, and tuition on the basis of
District standards. The College operates on a semester schedule, with two
16-week semesters (Fall and Spring) as well as one 8-week and two 5-week
summer sessions. In addition, the College offers a number of late-starting and open
entry/open exit classes. Classes that fall outside the traditional semester time
frame meet for the same number of minutes per credit as traditional classes.
Program length varies according to the degree or certificate awarded, but
most associates’ degrees require 60–66 credits. Certificate programs may range
from a few credits to a program of study requiring a year or more of full-time
study to complete. All requirements for degrees and certificates are clearly stated
in the College’s General Catalog and Student Handbook, which is available online at
www.scottsdalecc.edu/catalog.
Tuition at Scottsdale Community College is determined by the Governing Board
and is consistent throughout the District. Tuition per credit hour is based on the
student’s residency, with out-of-county and out-of-state students paying a higher
rate than Maricopa County residents. In addition, course fees may be charged for
courses that use special equipment and/or supplies. Information regarding tuition
and fees is clearly stated in the College catalog and schedule of classes as well as
on the College website.
1
2
3
4
5
Institutional Compliance with the Higher Education
Reauthorization Act
Federal Compliance
Title IV Compliance
Scottsdale Community College is authorized to participate in the following Federal
Financial Aid programs:
•
Pell Grant
•
Perkins Loan
•
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
•
Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
•
Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
•
Federal Work Study
•
Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) Loan
113
In addition, the College participates in Leveraging Educational Assistance
Partnership (LEAP), a federal/state grant program.
SCC complies fully with the Title IV requirements of the Higher Education
Reauthorization Act, and the current Program Participation Agreement (PPA),
Eligibility and Certification Renewal (ECAR), program reviews, and program audits
are available in the Resource Room.
Table 8.1: SCC’s Title IV default rates for 2002–2004 are:
Fiscal Year
2002
2003
2004
Default Rate
8.5%
7.3%
National Average
8.5%
7.6%
7.9%
8.1%
SCC’s default rates are very close to the national averages for two-year public
institutions. The College partners with USA Funds in using the Debt Manager
system to identify students who are delinquent on loan payments. The College
alerts students by letter of the potential danger of default and offers options to
stay in good status. In addition, the College informs students who drop below
half-time status or who completely withdraw of their responsibilities related to
maintaining good status.
Student Notification of College Crime and
Graduation Rates
1
2
3
4
5
Federal Compliance
The College Safety Department publishes regular incident reports to the
college community via email, and the annual Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus
Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Report is posted on the College
website. The current report is available at www.scottsdalecc.edu/safety.
Graduation and transfer rates are compiled by the District for the IPEDS
reporting system administered by the National Center for Education
Statistics. This information is available on the IPEDS website at
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool. The College also files the annual Equity in
Athletics Disclosure Act report. The most recent report is available
Professional Accreditation
Several programs at SCC are separately accredited by professional agencies:
•The Nursing program is accredited by the National League for Nursing
Accrediting Commission (NLNAC).
•The Culinary Arts program is accredited by the American Culinary Federation
Foundation Accrediting Commission.
•The Interior Design program is accredited by the Council of Interior Design
Accreditation (CIDA, formerly known as FIDER).
•The Teacher Education program is accredited by the Arizona Department
of Education for its participation in the Scottsdale Teacher Education
Partnership.
114
Off-Campus Locations
Scottsdale Community College offers some courses at various off-campus
locations, and students may complete a number of different Business certificates
at the Business Institute, but completion of the associate degrees requires general
education coursework that is available only at the main campus; therefore,
students are unable to complete a degree at off-campus locations. The most recent
end-of-term report of the Business Institute is available in the Resource Room.
Advertising and Recruitment Materials
Scottsdale Community College presents accurate information regarding its
affiliation status with the Higher Learning Commission in the General Catalog and
Student Handbook and the College’s website. The statement in the catalog reads:
Scottsdale Community College is accredited by:
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The Higher Learning Commission
30 North LaSalle St., Suite 2400
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312–263–0456 or 800–621–7440
FAX: 312–263–7462
The College’s website includes the same information and a link to the Higher
Learning Commission’s website. Recognizing that incomplete information was
published in the schedule of classes, the College corrected the statement for the
Summer 2007 schedule.
Public notice of the February, 2007, site visit was published in the Scottsdale
Republic, Scottsdale Tribune, SCC Campus News, and Fountain Hills Times. Copies of
the notices are available in the Resource Room.
1
2
3
4
5
Federal Compliance
Organizational Records of Student Complaints
Scottsdale Community College responds to student complaints according to the
policies outlined in the General Catalog and Student Handbook, and the appropriate
administrator (Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vice President of Student Affairs,
or Dean of Instruction) maintains records of complaints and their disposition.
These records are available for review.
115
Summary and Request for
Continued Accreditation
Through a comprehensive and inclusive self-study process conducted for
the purposes of improvement and continued accreditation, Scottsdale Community
College has demonstrated that it fulfills the five criteria for accreditation by
the Higher Learning Commission.
The College demonstrates that it operates with integrity to fulfill its mission;
that its planning and evaluation processes give it the ability to fulfill its mission,
improve the quality of the education it provides, and respond to future challenges
and opportunities; that it provides evidence of student learning and teaching
effectiveness; that it promotes a life of learning for its students and employees; and
that it serves its constituencies in valuable ways.
Scottsdale Community College respectfully requests continued accreditation
for ten years by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools.
1
2
3
4
5
Future Accreditation
117
Glossary
AA
AAS
ABUS
ACE
AGEC
AGS
AS
ASSIST
Associate in Arts Degree
Associate in Applied Sciences Degree
Associate in Business Degree
Achieving a College Education
Arizona General Education Curriculum
Associate in General Studies Degree
Associate in Science Degree
Arizona System for Information on Student Transfer
ASU
Arizona State University
ATF
Articulation Task Force
Blackboard
Course management system
Campus
News
Scottsdale Community College’s student newspaper
CCSSE
Community College Survey of Student Engagement
1
2
3
4
CEC
Chancellor’s Executive Council
CEG
Course Equivalency Guide (online)
CFS
College Financial System
CTLC
5
Glossary & Index
Diversity
Infusion
Program
A District program, housed at Scottsdale Community College, focused on
enhancing diversity in the curriculum
DSAAAC
District Student Academic Achievement Assessment Committee
DSS
Decision Support System - a self-service database
EDP
Educational Development Project
ESL
English as a Second Language
FEC
Faculty Executive Council: the District faculty governance council
FEP
Faculty Evaluation Plan: The evaluation tool for residential faculty members
FPG
Faculty professional growth opportunities for residential and adjunct faculty
FTSE
Full-Time Student Equivalent
FTTE
Full-Time Teacher Equivalent
119
General
Education
Outcomes
IC
IDI
IR
ISW
4
Management, Administration, and Technology employee group
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction: The MCCCD’s faculty
development and academic support office
NAU
Northern Arizona University
NCLEX
National Council of State Boards of Nursing Examination
NJCAA
National Junior College Athletic Association
Residential
Faculty
Glossary & Index
SCC’s technology committee
Plan-Do-Check-Act: cycle of assessment activities
Professional Staff Association employee group
Full-time, permanent, board approved faculty members
RFP
Residential Faculty Policy
SCC
Scottsdale Community College
SIREN
Student Instructional Resource Entry Network
SIS
Student Information System
SLF
Student Leadership Forum: SCC’s student government
SLOAC
SRPMIC
STCT
120
MCLI
PSA
5
Instructional Skills Workshop, an innovative intensive workshop for
faculty to develop instructional and assessment skills
MAT
PDCA
3
Institutional Research
Maintenance and Operations employee group
Ocotillo
2
Instructional Council: District-wide curriculum councils of faculty
representatives from each college in the District for each discipline
Intercultural Development Inventory: the instrument used for institutional
assessment by the Cultural Awareness assessment committee
M&O
MCCCD
1
Explicit institutional student learning outcomes: Written Communication,
Information Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Cultural Awareness
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee: College committee
comprised of department chairs
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Scottsdale Test of Critical Thinking: the instrument used by the Critical
Thinking assessment team
SWOT
Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats analysis
U of A
University of Arizona
Vortex
Annual SCC publication featuring students’ literary and artistic work
Water
Cooler
SCC’s assessment newsletter
index
A
D
ACE 48, 78, 104, 105, 108, 119
Active Retirement 10, 50
Administrative Council 36, 38, 56, 57
Administrative Regulations 39
Advisement 27, 28, 56, 80, 81, 84, 109, 111
AGEC 95, 109, 119
American Indian Program 83, 104, 109
articulation agreements 80, 108, 109
Artie the Artichoke 50
Assessment 19, 24, 25, 32, 40, 44, 46, 55, 57, 61, 62,
63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 81, 82, 84, 85,
86, 93, 95, 96, 111, 119, 120
ASSIST 28, 49, 55, 65, 75, 92, 106, 109, 111, 112
Decision Support System 20, 56, 119
Development Office 107
Director of Development 44
Disability Resources 13, 19, 77, 78, 104
District Learning Grants 90
diverse 17, 18, 19, 26, 29, 31, 32, 33, 46, 51, 81, 88,
92, 94, 95, 96, 100, 101
diversity 17, 18, 19, 30, 31, 32, 33, 45, 46, 51, 56, 78,
94, 103, 105, 109, 119
Diversity Action Plan 17, 19, 32, 109
Diversity Committee 17, 19, 32
Diversity Infusion 17, 32, 119
Division Chair 11, 12, 13, 14
division chairs 20, 23, 38, 55, 57, 69, 71, 84, 97
B
Blue Book 33
bond 9, 21, 22, 39, 45, 50, 54, 84, 88, 105, 106, 108
Boomerz 89, 103, 104, 105
budget 22, 35, 39, 42, 43, 52, 54, 57, 58, 84, 88, 89
BUG 75, 90
Business Fastrack 46, 96, 105
Business Institute 7, 20, 44, 46, 48, 104, 105, 111, 115
C
Campus News 21, 93, 97, 115, 119
Career Center 28, 106
Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology 87
Chancellor 7, 17, 31, 36, 39, 40, 44, 107, 119
Child Enrichment Center 9, 105
CNUW 100
College Financial System 55, 119
Community College Survey of Student Engagement 24,
54, 104, 119
Community Garden 106
competencies 61, 68, 83, 85, 95
Computer Lab 78, 80, 82, 111
Continuing Education 8, 14, 20, 29, 30, 88, 103, 111
Counseling Services 81, 109, 111
course fee 22
Creative Pathways 90
Critical Thinking 25, 63, 65, 66, 120
CTLT 52, 73, 80
Culinary Arts 11, 12, 13, 14, 54, 75, 82, 96, 97, 105,
106, 109, 110, 114
cultural awareness 19, 32, 46, 67, 95
curriculum 7, 17, 19, 22, 29, 31, 32, 37, 38, 42, 46, 48,
55, 58, 61, 62, 65, 66, 80, 83, 84, 95, 96, 99, 103, 105,
110, 119, 120
Curriculum Committee 37, 38, 85, 94
E
E-Learning 74, 75, 80
Educational Development Projects 49, 73
Emerging Leaders 100
Emeritus Center 10, 44, 50
English as a Second Language 19, 46, 103, 119
Enrollment Management Plan 48, 104
Excellence under the Stars 91
1
2
3
F
Facilities Master Plan 9, 43, 45, 46, 88, 104, 112
Faculty Evaluation Plan 93, 119
Faculty Internship 90, 91
faculty orientation 34, 37, 43, 65
Faculty Senate 11, 12, 36, 37, 38, 44
FERPA 39, 90, 99
Fire Science 76, 83, 110
Fitness and Wellness Center 9, 14, 91, 103, 105
4
5
Glossary& Index
G
Gay-Straight Alliance 31
governance 7, 35, 36, 37, 42, 56, 58, 119
Governing Board 7, 21, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 54, 87, 113
H
Help Desk 77, 79, 80
Honors 21, 28, 78, 84, 93, 95
hybrid 58, 74, 80
Hypatia Award 91
121
I
P
In Brief 39, 99
Information Literacy 25, 65, 66, 82, 120
Innovation of the Year Award 80, 92
Institutional Effectiveness 23
Institutional Research 20, 23, 46, 55, 57, 59,
65, 68, 72, 104, 120
Instructional Skills Workshop 76, 91, 120
Instructional Technology 13, 14, 44, 46, 73,
77, 78, 79, 80, 83, 84, 90
intellectual property rights 100
Interior Design 13, 14, 75, 76, 83, 91, 96,
97, 107, 109, 114
International Education 8, 14, 18, 19, 32, 57,
58, 67, 78, 82, 106
internship 76, 83, 106
PDCA 25, 61, 62, 64, 67, 84, 85, 120
Pharmacy Technician 111
Planetarium 105
policy manual 36
Positive Learning Environment 33, 34
professional development 19, 71, 72, 73, 77, 81, 87, 89
Professional Growth 18, 73, 87, 89, 90, 91, 119
Professional Staff 10, 51, 56, 89, 120
program review 19, 20, 85, 96
L
League for Innovation 91
Library 13, 17, 21, 22, 45, 77, 78, 82, 99, 110
licensure 69, 111
logo 50
1
2
3
4
5
M
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction 73, 90, 120
Maricopa Faculty Internship 90
Maricopa Institute for Learning 90
Maricopa Project 93
MAT 10, 12, 27, 51, 56, 57, 89, 120
Math and Science Center 78
MCLI 73
Media Center 77
mission 7, 17, 19, 26, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39,
42, 43, 46, 56, 57, 59, 61, 87, 97, 103, 117
Model UN 93, 100
Motion Picture/Television 9, 14, 54, 76, 91, 97
N
New Faculty Orientation 37, 65
Noel Levitz 27, 56
Nursing 38, 52, 78
R
Residential Faculty Policies 35, 37, 52, 87, 88
Retro Muse 93, 97, 106
S
sabbatical 12, 73, 89, 93, 94
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community 7, 30,
83, 104, 105, 106, 120
Senior Adult 89, 106
SIREN 79, 120
SLOAC 25, 61, 65, 67, 68, 69, 71, 120
Social/Behavioral Learning Center 78
Staff Development 73, 84
Staffing Committee 20, 35, 88
Strategic Conversations 36
Strategic Directions and Priorities 26, 30, 44, 45, 46, 50
Strategic Plan 26, 30, 43, 45, 57, 58, 84, 88
Strategic Planning 26, 27, 30, 42, 43, 44, 46, 57, 104
Student Handbook 19, 31, 33, 34, 40, 87, 94, 95, 99, 113, 115
Student Information System 20, 56, 120
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment
25, 32, 44, 46, 55, 57, 61, 64, 65, 82, 84, 93, 95, 120
Student Life and Leadership 13, 100
Student Survey 23, 68, 82, 97
T
Teacher Certification 47
tuition 21, 54, 89, 104, 113
V
O
Values 31, 40, 42, 87
Vortex 91, 97, 120
Ocotillo 44, 46, 49, 74, 77, 90
online course 37, 49, 59, 74, 80
Online Learning Group 75, 90
W
122
Water Cooler 68, 120
Workforce Development 8, 29, 44, 46, 88, 110, 111
Writing Center 9, 78, 99, 111
Written Communication 25, 64, 65, 120

2007 Self Study - Scottsdale Community College

Transcription

Similar documents

Sampson Community College Sampson Community College

Student Ambassador Program

Page 1– Contents Page 2– Principal`s Report Charny Carny Cross

Birth of the Church - Southport Church of Christ

File

Condition Reports - Scottsdale Art Auction

The Viking Voice - Sampson Community College

we`reon to something - Southeastern Community College

Flyer