Comprehensive Standard
3.3.1.2
The
institution identifies expected outcomes, assesses the extent to which it
achieves these outcomes, and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis
of result in each of the following areas:
Administrative Support Services
a Compliance ___Partial Compliance ___Non-Compliance
Narrative:
All
Administrative Support Services are committed to quality assurance, efficiency,
and continuous improvement as evidenced by their in ongoing assessment
activities and include the following units: Management Information Systems
(MIS); Institutional Research (IR); Business Affairs, Campus Security,
Facilities; Human Resources; and Public Relations.
Lawson State Community College
identifies expected outcomes, assesses the extent to which it achieves these
outcomes, and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis of the results
in educational programs, to include student learning outcomes, administrative
support services, educational support services, and community/public service
within its educational mission, if appropriate.
The College has a well-established Institutional Effectiveness Process that consists of the development and
assessment of outcomes, including student learning outcomes for all educational
programs. The College’s planning and evaluation process is ongoing. Lawson
State Community College’s institutional effectiveness process is on-going,
cyclical, and College-wide process. It
includes planning, outcomes assessment and documentation of achievements as
they relate to the institutional mission and goals. The Institutional Planning Cycle at the
College involves:
·
The
establishment of a unit level mission statement;
·
The
establishment of goals consistent with the mission and strategic plan;
·
Development
and implementation of processes and procedures to determine the extent to which
goals were achieved; and
·
Use
of the results of evaluation to improve academic programs and administrative
and educational services.
The Administrative Services establish
goals annually. These units are
responsible for determining the assessment methodologies for their goals and
providing written information and relevant documentation as to the level of
attainment of those goals. A detailed
narrative is requested from each subunit regarding the status of each goal and
how the information obtained was used to strengthen the unit; thereby,
addressing institutional effectiveness.
All goals statements, narratives and documentation must be presented in
the Planning Hearing Notebooks and
when approved loaded into the online planning software – Weaveonline
The process of establishing learning
outcomes within the administrative services units is integrated, data driven
and occurs annually. The process
complements the college wide planning model because it occurs as a part of the
College’s overall institutional effectiveness assessment plan and serves to
strengthen student learning and educational outcomes. All educational programs, administrative
units and educational support services units must participate in this process. The process is integrated across the educational,
administrative and educational support units. (Institutional Effectiveness Plans 06-07), (Institutional Effectiveness Plans 07-08) Also, the planning and evaluation process
involves personnel representing curriculum and instructional programs, student services,
administrative and support services, public relations, economic development
activities, community service activities, physical plant, and financial
administration.
Annually, assessment data are obtained
from surveys, the evaluation of student outcomes, the evaluation of educational
outcomes that are consistent with the institution’s mission, faculty and staff
evaluations, course completion data and other institutional statistics, as well
as analysis of the attainment of institutional as well as operational/divisional
goals and objectives. The Institutional
Research Office compiles data from and for academic, administrative and
educational support units. This
information is shared with appropriate units and is available on the College’s
intranet (known as the “L” Drive) for
all faculty and staff to use.
End-of-the-year
reports are developed annually by each unit.
Indeed, as part of Lawson State Community College’s Planning and
Evaluation process, each department within the Administrative Services and
Instructional Services division complete an annual Unit Plan, which outlines
specific Unit Outcomes, Outcomes Link to Institutional Goals and Strategic
Indicators, Methods of Assessing the Outcome and Budget Implications, Actual
Results Obtained, and Use of Results (Unit Plan Template) as well as a Unit
Narrative (Unit Narrative Sample).
In
addition, the tracking of Student Learning Outcomes is infused in the annual
evaluation process in an effort to improve and strengthen student learning
under specific and identified outcomes (where applicable).
The
Non-Instructional Student Learning Outcomes template (Student Learning Outcomes
Form, for Non-Instructional Units Template) that is used to document
and measure student learning includes the following: Student Learning Outcomes [listing];
Assessment Methods; Expected Results; Actual Results Obtained and Use of
Results.
Below
is summary of sample Unit Plans and Student Learning Outcomes submitted and
approved via the Planning Hearing Process.
Examples will highlight findings and use of results from the 2006-2007
school year and the 2007-2008 school year.
As
part of Lawson State Community College’s Planning and Evaluating Process, each
department within the Administrative Services Division completes an annual Unit
Plan, which outlines specific Unit Outcomes, Outcomes Link to Institutional
Goals and Strategic Indicators, Methods of Assessing the Outcome and Budget
Implications, Actual Results Obtained, and Use of Results (Unit Plan Template) as well as a Unit Narrative (Business Affairs Narrative
& Unit Plan (07-08).
Below
is summary of sample Unit Plans and approved via the Planning Hearing Process
that fall under the Administrative Services Division. Examples highlight findings and use of
results from the 2006-2007 school year and the 2007-2008 school year.
2006-2007 Sampling of Administrative
Services Unit Plan Results
Example 1: Department:
Management Information Systems
During
the 2006-2007 evaluation cycle, the MIS unit submitted and tracked the
following Unit Outcomes (2006-2007 MIS Unit Plan):
(1) 100% of faculty, staff and students will have
access to a core group of essential informational technology services including
high speed network, email, common software, data security, desktop computer
support to assist them as they teach, learn, and conduct business at LSCC; (2)
Management Information Systems will provide the Infrastructure needed to
support LSCC initiatives; (3) 100% faculty, staff and students have adequate
desktop support and access to a centralized MIS helpdesk; and (4) MIS will support training efforts for all
faculty by ensuring the network, hardware and software are working
properly.
Each
Unit Outcome listed was connected to pre-existing Institutional Goals for the
2006-2007 school year (2006-2007 Institutional Goals). For example, outcome one which
deals faculty, staff and students having access to a
core group of essential informational technology services was linked to Goal 3; Indicators A – D; Goal 1, Indicator E.
Methods of Assessment varied from Track accessibility of all personnel using
Telecommunications (Telecommunications Survey
Results, Spring 2007) and Technology Survey
and Student Perceptions Survey (Student
Perceptions Survey Results, Fall 2006) to
Implement and track helpdesk support based on e-mail to helpdesk and tasks
completed.
The
Actual Results Obtained (2006-2007 MIS Unit Plan)
indicated the following: (1) 77% of the faculty and
staff responded as either Excellent or Good to the statement “How would you
rate the adequacy of support received as related to hardware issues?” 82% of the faculty and staff responded as
either Excellent or Good to the statement “How would you rate the adequacy of
support received as related to software issues?” 81% of the faculty and staff responded as
either Excellent or Good to the statement “How would you rate the adequacy of
support received as related to network issues?”
73% of the students responded as either Excellent or Good to the statement
to “college-wide computer labs; (2) 82%
of the faculty and staff responded as either Excellent or Good to the statement
“How would you rate the adequacy of support received as related to software
issues?; (3) All faculty, staff and
students have access to helpdesk@lawsonstate.edu. The goal for helpdesk is to respond as
quickly as possible to requests.
Tracking is in place for helpdesk issues; data initiated, problem
identified, date resolved; and (4) Training sessions for Blackboard and AS/400
were posted and all systems were available for training.
Use
of Results (2006-2007 MIS Unit Plan) were
reported as follows: (1) Work with staff to improve
support related to hardware, software and network in an effort to increase
respondents in the areas of Excellent or Good; (2) Continue to assess the needs
of infrastructure for the college. New
items on the horizon include wireless systems and improved bandwidth; (3) Present information related to helpdesk at
school meetings; (4) Continue to support network, hardware and software needs
of constituents of the college. Support
efforts to allow students to register on line without Advisor having to
authorize individuals in the ACCESS system.
2007-2008 Unit Plan, MIS
(Management Information Systems)
During the 2007-2008 evaluation cycle, the MIS submitted and
tracked the following Unit Outcomes (2007-2008 MIS Unit Plan): (1) 100% of
faculty, staff, and students will have access to a core group of essential
informational technology services including high speed network, email, common
software, data security, desktop computer support to assist them as they teach,
learn and conduct business at LSCC; (2)
Provide the infrastructure needed to support LSCC initiatives; (3) 100%
of faculty, staff and students have adequate desktop support and access to a
centralized MIS helpdesk; (4) Support training efforts for all faculty by
ensuring the network, hardware and software are working properly. Each Unit
Outcome listed was connected to pre-existing Institutional Goals for the
2007-2008 school year (2007-2008 Institutional Goals).
Methods
of Assessing the Outcome ranged from the continu[ed] assess[ment] of the needs of
infrastructure…to ensuring [that] network, hardware and software are
available for training sessions.
Actual
Results Obtained were reported as follows: (2007-2008 MIS Unit Plan) (1) 100% of the
faculty, staff and students had access to high speed Internet connections on
campus as well as e-mail and common software programs. The network was protected from viruses by
content filtering through the Alabama Supercomputer Authority and Trend Virus
Protection Software. Faculty and staff
responded to the Telecommunications and Technology Survey (Telecommunications Survey
Results 2007-2008) during the spring 2008
semester. One hundred seventy-seven
persons responded to each of the following statements on the survey. 73% responded as either Excellent or Good to
the statement “How would you rate the adequacy of support received as related
to hardware issues?” 75% responded as
either Excellent or Good to the statement “How would you rate the adequacy of
support received as related to software issues?” 74% responded as either Excellent or Good to
the statement “How would you rate the adequacy of support received as related
to network issues?” Two-hundred
twenty-eight students responded to the Student Perception Survey (Student Perception Survey
Results 2007-2008) administered in
December 2007. 73% responded as either
Excellent or Good to the statement to “college-wide computer labs; (2) Two switches were purchased, fiber to
Building B on the Bessemer campus was upgraded; a plan developed for
campus-wide wireless; a grant written and funded for wireless coverage; a
survey completed on infrastructure needs with projections for several years;
fiber reconnected between East and West campuses after damage during construction
of new Wenonah High School sports complex; (3)
helpdesk@lawsonstate.edu was available to all
faculty, staff and students via the LSCC webpage. Helpdesk referrals were tracked from the date
initiated, problem identified and date resolved. There were 945 requests made to helpdesk
between June 1, 2007 through July 15, 2008.
Requests were related to hardware, software and network. One-hundred seventy-seven faculty and staff
members responded to the Telecommunications and Technology Survey during the
spring 2008 semester. 67% responded
either Excellent or Good to the statement “How would you rate helpdesk
procedures?”; (4) New releases for
Blackboard and the ACCESS system were installed at strategic times during the
school year. A site was provided for
Release 8 of Blackboard for testing during the summer term 2008. Each new release of ACCESS was accompanied by
detailed release notes. Release notes
were sent by e-mail to all areas of the college impacted by updates in the
program.
Use of Results (2007-2008 MIS Unit Plan) were reported
as follows: (1) For the items referenced in item
IE, there is a +/- 1 to 3 percentage
point difference between the survey results on the Telecommunications and
Technology Survey and Student Perceptions Survey for 2007-2008 when compared
with 2006-2007. The number of staff
available to support infrastructure, hardware and software greatly impacts the
results of this goal. Also, factors such
as response time and repair time impact users opinions as related to
support. A request for an additional
full-time staff member was included in the Title III budget request; (2)
Implement the wireless plan for the college.
Disaster recovery is most critical focus for MIS for the upcoming
year. Hardware failures are not
predictable and cause down time when they do occur. The major cost effective measure to impact
disaster recovery is the purchase and installation of a blade server and
related storage devices; (3) For the item referenced in item 3E, there is an
increase of 1 percentage point when comparing the results Telecommunications
and Technology Survey for 2007-2008 with 2006- 2007. Procedures for helpdesk are published in several
college documents including the schedule booklet, LSCC homepage, and continue
to be a topic for discussion in Orientation class as well as training classes
for Blackboard. As funds permit, an
Internet tracking software package needs to be purchased for helpdesk
procedures; and (4) Continue to support network, hardware and software needs of
faculty. Support efforts to allow
students to register on line without Advisor having to authorize individuals in
the ACCESS system. Install Release 8 of
Blackboard during the period between the Summer and Fall terms. Implement procedures to update security
patches and virus scans on faculty laptops.
Example 2: Unit Plans, Department: Institutional Research (IR)
During
the 2006-2007 evaluation cycle, Institutional Research (IR) submitted and
tracked the following Unit Outcomes (2006-2007 IR Unit Plan): (1) Create, distribute and process surveys to various LSCC
constituents; (2) Summarize degrees awarded by program; (3) Collect and publish
annually facts about LSCC students, faculty, alumni and community; (4) Collect
and publish data for Students Right to Know, IPEDS, Athletic Equity and other
requests for data. Each Unit
Outcome listed was connected to pre-existing Institutional Goals for the
2006-2007 school year (2006-2007 Institutional Goals).
Use
of Results (2006-2007 IR Unit Plan)
were reported as follows: (1) Continue to support the
needs of the college units for collection of data; (2) Monitor students
eligible for awards and track the recording of awards each semester; (3) Data
will be collected for the upcoming year based on federal requirements and
assessment needs for various units of the college; and (4) Continue to support data collection needs for
constituents in the college.
2007-2008 Unit Plans,
Department: Institutional Research (IR)
Unit
Outcomes for Institutional Research 2007-2008 were reported as follows (2007-2008 IR Unit Plan): (1) Create, distribute and process surveys to various LSCC constituents;
(2) Summarize degrees awarded by program; (3) Collect and post annually facts
about LSCC students, faculty, and community; (4) Collect and post data for
Students Right to Know, IPEDS, Athletic Equity and other requests for data.
Actual
Results Obtained (2007-2008 IR Unit Plan)
were reported as follows: (1) Point of Service
surveys were administered to faculty, staff and students during the fall and
spring semesters. Instructions for
completing the surveys were e-mailed to faculty, staff and students. Instructions were posted on LSCC
homepage. Surveys administered were
Course/Instructor, Academic Advising, General Education (General Education Survey
Results 2005-2008), Orientation, Online
Courses, Student Perceptions, Graduates Survey, Staff Perceptions, Library (Library Survey Results 2007-2008), Maintenance, and Telecommunications and Technology. The college participated in CCSSE during
spring 2008 including a cross section of students and all part-time and
full-time faculty; (2) Five hundred
eighteen degrees and certificates were awarded during the period Summer 2007
through Spring 2008. A summary by
program and award level was compiled and displayed in the spreadsheet on the
“L” Drive in the Institutional Research Folder.
The spreadsheet was available for LSCC employees for usage in various
reports. Data were included in IPEDS
(Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems) national reporting system;
(3) The fact book was compiled throughout the school year and data displayed in
the Institutional Research Folder on the “L” Drive. Data displayed in the fact book folder were
derived from both State and Federal reports including PERS (Postsecondary
Educational Reporting System) and IPEDS as well as the ACCESS system; and
(4) All IPEDS surveys, Students Right to
Know and Athletics Equity surveys are posted in the Institutional Research
Folder on the “L” Drive. Other data
collected include the College Board Survey, ACHE (Alabama Commission on Higher
Education) surveys, CAPP (College Accountability Performance Profile) and
employability surveys. Grade
distributions were completed and posted on the “L” Drive.
Use
of Results indicated the following within the 2007-2008 IR Unit Report (2007-2008 IR Unit Plan): (1) Continue to support
the needs of the college units for collection of data. Results of the point of service surveys are
used by college constituents to complete unit plans and learner outcomes. Surveys are updated upon request of
constituents; (2) Monitor students eligible for awards and track the recording
of awards each semester. Viability of
programs is directly tied to the number of completers per program. Results are used to monitor program
viability; (3) College employees have
access to posted data on the “L” Drive throughout out the school year. Data will be collected for the upcoming year
based on federal requirements and needs for various units of the college and
posted on the “L” Drive; and (4) Continue to support data collection needs for
constituents in the college. Title IV
aid is directly related to completion of IPEDS surveys. Results of surveys are posted on the “L”
Drive in the Institutional Research folder.
As stated earlier, all units within Administrative
Services as part of the planning and
evaluation process at Lawson State Community College complete Unit Narratives
and Unit Plans.
Samples
provided above detailed two specific units over the last two years. The chart below outlines evidence of
continuous planning and evaluating within the Administrative Services Division.
|
|
2006-2007 |
2007-2008 |
2007-2008 |
|
Administrative Unit |
Unit Plan & Narrative |
Unit Plan & Narrative |
Student Learning Outcomes |
|
Business
Affairs Office |
|||
|
Campus
Security |
Not Required |
||
|
Facilities |
Facilities Narrative &
Unit Plan (06-07) |
Facilities Narrative &
Unit Plan (07-08) |
Not Required |
|
Human
Resources, Office of |
Not Required |
||
|
Public
Relations |
Documentation:
|
Documentation |
Location |
|
|
Institutional
Effectiveness Process |
|
|
|
Weave
Online |
|
|
|
Planning
Model |
|
|
|
Institutional
Effectiveness Plan (06-07) |
|
|
|
Institutional
Effectiveness Plan (07-08) |
|
|
|
L-Drive |
|
|
|
Unit
Plan Template |
|
|
|
Unit Plan
Narrative Sample |
|
|
|
2006-2007
MIS Unit Plan |
|
|
|
2006-2007
Institutional Goals |
|
|
|
Telecommunications
Survey Results, Spring 2007 |
|
|
|
Student
Perception Survey Results, Fall 2006 |
|
|
|
2007-2008
Unit Plan MIS |
|
|
|
2007-2008
Institutional Goals |
|
|
|
Telecommunications
Survey Results, Spring 2008 |
|
|
|
Student Perception
Survey Results, Fall 2007 |
|
|
|
2006-2007
Unit Plan, IR |
|
|
|
2007-2008
Unit Plan, IR |
|
|
|
General
Education Survey Results, 2005-2008 |
|
|
|
Library
Survey Results, 2007-2008 |
|