Columbia Basin College Plenary II: Core Themes, Objectives, and Achievement Indicators Curt Freed Melissa McBurney 1

2 Core Theme Development CBC uses the Carver Policy Governance model which utilizes an institution’s board to determine the outcomes and results expected of the college (“End States”) and then to monitor the End States of the institution while delegating the “Means” to the president. The CBC Board monitors performance on each of the college’s End States through a detailed set of indicators and measures. Monitoring Reports on each End State are prepared for the Board at least annually. The End States were a perfect fit for our core themes.

3 Mission Statement Our core themes came directly from our mission statement and are also our End States: CBC exists in an environment of diversity, fairness, equity, and sustainability to ensure that the people of Benton and Franklin counties have access to educational programs providing sufficient knowledge for higher educational achievement, meaningful employment, basic skills development, cultural enrichment, physical and emotional well-being.

4 Core Themes / End States Access: CBC exists to provide people of the service district with access to educational programs. Academic: CBC exists to enable students to complete requirements that would allow them to obtain academic degrees, transfer to upper division colleges and universities, and pursue life-long learning and enrichment. Workforce Development: CBC exists to enable students to complete requirements that would allow them to earn degrees/certificates to assist them to gain employment and pursue life-long learning opportunities. Basic Skills: CBC exists to enable students to prepare for success in college-level skills courses. Cultural Enrichment: CBC will provide the college and the community with diverse and multiculturally rich programs designed to improve our quality of life, life-long learning and enhance educational programs. Physical and Emotional Well-Being: CBC will contribute to the physical and emotional well-being of its students and the community.

Importance of Core Theme Clarity Provides for meaningful assessment Supports alignment of core themes and institutional resources Allows for continuous improvement Assists in focusing resources 5

Indicator Selection The Nichols Model is used as conceptual framework for developing indicators. A set of goals is identified to provide broad coverage for each core theme. Indicators are developed to assess performance of each goal. 6

Indicator Selection (cont. ) Indicators for each goal were developed with the following criteria –Reliable quantitative data –Evaluative rather than descriptive data –Standard of performance through scale development (i.e., 1 to 5) or gathering baseline information Indicators have been revised through an iterative review and improvement process over the past several years 7

Nichols Model 8 A modified Nichols 5-Column Model is used to assess core theme (End State) performance Column One: Core Theme (Mission Area) Column Two:Core Theme Goals Column Three: Indicators Column Four: Results Column Five: Improvement Actions Mission Area: Goal A:Results: Improvement Actions: Indicator A1 Indicator A2 Indicator A3 Goal B: Indicator B1 Indicator B2 Indicator B3

9 Nichols Table Workforce Indicators (1) Goal C: Students complete workforce programs IndicatorsResults Improvement Actions C1: AAS Completions vs other CTCs Rank 18 of 34 Neutral: 1 point Improve coding process. C2: Completion rates3 of 18 programs exceeded 30% Low: 0 points Revise application process so degrees, certifications are automatically provided. Goal B: Workforce programs demonstrate enrollment and viability Indicators Results Improvement Actions B1: Program enrollments 87.1% showed growth High: 2 points None B2: Projected job growth 92% showed 10% or more job growth; 80% Demand or Balanced High: 2 points None Goal A: CBC workforce students learn and develop program skills EMT IndicatorsResultsImprovement Actions A1: Student perceptions of learning via survey a. Engage in active learning b. Interact with instructors c. CBC contributions to skills d. Recommend CBC e. Overall rating of education 2.64 High-moderate 2.15 Low 2.76 High 96.6% High 3.18 High Overall: High (2) Encourage faculty to increase engagement with students. A2: Performance on standardized exams and certifications Dental Hygiene, Rad Tech, Practical Nursing, Nursing, EMT– Strong Surg Tech- Weak Overall: High (2) Evaluate reasons for low performance on cert. exams, modify instruction or context to improve performance.

Nichols Table Workforce Indicators (2) 10 Goal D: Workforce students obtain jobs, earn a good salary, perform well IndicatorsResults Improvement Actions D1: Employment rates by program 16 of 18 programs exceeded 80% employment High 2 points None D2: Employment rates for completers Rank second in state High: 2 points None D3: Employment rates for non –completers Rank 4 th in state High 2 points None D4: Median annual pay by program Exceeds poverty level for 29 of 30 programs Exceeds 150% poverty for only 9 of 30 programs Neutral: 1 point None D5: Student perceptions of CBC impact on job preparation 4.36 Great extent High: 2 points Conduct student and alum survey in D4: Employer satisfaction with CBC graduates Insufficient dataConduct employer survey in Out of 11 indicators (22 possible points), 18 points received= 81.8% possible

Performance for Workforce End State 11 Percentage of Total Possible Points Performance Points ABCDFABCDF The pct of possible points, 81.8%, corresponds to 92 performance points= A For 2009, 75% of total possible points corresponds to 85 Performance Points= 3.1 (B) Performance overall 2010 Results 2009 Results

Benefits / Implications Increased visibility of the mission and the pilot accreditation process Work done by Institutional Research is more visible Continual refinement of goals, objectives, and acceptable indicators Performance on each core theme is evaluated in an objective, quantitative manner All assumptions and subjective judgments are clearly identified—the process is transparent Performance on each core theme can be compared to that of other core themes Improvement actions can be derived from a consideration of areas of poor performance 12