Mission, Academic Quality and Institutional Effectiveness, and Integrity

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1 IA.1 The mission describes the institution s broad educational purposes, its intended student population, the types of degrees and other credentials it offers, and its commitment to student learning and student achievement. ER6: The institution's educational mission is clearly defined, adopted, and published by its governing board consistent with its legal authorization, and is appropriate to a degree- granting institution of higher education and the constituency it seeks to serve. The mission statement defines institutional commitment to student learning and achievement. Questions from Guide: o What does the institution's mission statement say about its educational purposes? Are the purposes appropriate to an institution of higher learning? o How does the mission statement inform institutional planning? o Who are the intended students for the courses offered in DE/CE format? Are they similar to or different from students studying in traditional learning mode? During SJCC s self-evaluation process, which took place [during XXX time period], it was realized that the proposed mission lacked clarity in addressing the standard. This, in turn, caused us to review, assess and modify the mission statement to clearly fulfill the standard. For this reason, the previous and proposed mission statements are presented below. SJCC s previous mission statement (adopted by the College Planning Council and in effect from May 8, 2009 to XXX) is presented below. This version of the mission statement directly addresses SJCC s broad educational purposes 1 and its commitment to student learning and student achievement 2. While it does not explicitly address the college s intended student population 3 nor the types of degrees and other credentials it offers 4, these are contained within the narrative typically associated with the mission statement. Previous Statement: The of San Jose City College is to effect social justice 1 by providing open and equitable access to quality education and programs that both challenge and prepare individuals for successful careers and active participation in a diverse, global society 2. Previous Statement Narrative: Our aligns with our Vision statement, Inspiring Success One Student at a Time as well as the Vision statement of the San Jose Evergreen Community College District, that By the year 2017, SJECCD becomes the premier institution for advancing opportunity, equity, and social justice for everyone through education excellence. To fulfill our commitment to student success and assist students of all ages and background 3 in achieving their education, employment, and life-long learning goals, SJCC offers the following: 4 Two year college degrees and certificates Lower-division transfer and general education courses Basic skills and English as a Second Language instruction Career and technology training (link)

2 SJCC s proposed mission statement (adopted by the College Planning Council and in effect from XXX to the present) is presented below. This version of the mission statement directly addresses SJCC s broad educational purposes 1, intended student population 2, the types of degrees and other credentials it offers 3, and its commitment to student learning and student achievement 4. Proposed Statement: The mission of San Jose City College is to serve our students and the community 2 by offering high quality, relevant, and innovative instruction for basic skills, career pathways, university transfer, and life-long learning 1 by awarding certificates and associate degrees 3 to eligible students taught in a multicultural environment where student achievement and successful learning are highly valued, supported, and continually assessed 4. Proposed Statement Narrative: The Vision of San Jose City College is to be a premiere educational institution of excellence through: The guiding principles of opportunity, equity, social justice, and open, equitable access for student success and achievement; An exceptional learning environment that challenges and empowers students through teaching excellence, robust student support programs, innovation, and state-of-the-art technologies that prepare students with the knowledge, relevant transferrable skills, creativity, ethics and values to succeed and thrive in a dynamic healthy global environment; A culture of inquiry and evidence that is characterized by the commitment of faculty staff and students to be accountable for learning excellence through the assessment of measureable and meaningful learning outcomes to increase learning, and to inform data-driven decisions that foster adaptability in programs and services. (link) Additional Evidence: The San Jose Evergreen Community College District s (SJECCD) Board of Trustees is committed to student learning and achievement through systematic assessment of its own policies and behaviors. The duties of the Board Self Evaluation committee are to assess the Board s effectiveness at meeting its responsibilities and obligations. As a part of this assessment, the board participates in an annual survey as well as a 360 o evaluation on a 3-year cycle. This 360 evaluation is included as a measure of holding the Board responsible for acting ethically and honestly while carrying out its duties. Additionally, the Board evaluates its performance at every board meeting as evidenced by the agendas and minutes. (link) The Board Ends Policies (link) are designed to align with the mission of the district and emphasize student learning and achievements as foundational to the work of the district and the colleges. They are evaluated based on metrics tracked and analyzed by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success (link). Faculty, staff, administrators and board members are evaluated based upon these policies.

3 IA.2 The institution uses data to determine how effectively it is accomplishing its mission, and whether the mission directs institutional priorities in meeting the educational needs of students. Questions from Guide: What data does the institution use to determine whether or not it is accomplishing its mission? What institutional processes does the institution use to evaluate the effectiveness and success of its mission? (Federal Regulation) QFE: Has the institution identified groups of students whose educational needs are not proposedly being served or not being served adequately; how can the institution better serve these students? There were no data collection efforts explicitly devoted to determining how effectively the previous mission statement was being accomplished, and it was not utilized in a proactive way to direct institutional priorities in meeting the educational needs of students. The proposed mission, on the other hand, was developed with these priorities in mind. Moving forward, the following data will be collected with the specific intention of determining how effectively SJCC is accomplishing its mission: o Educational Purposes: Instructional quality will be determined via data derived from student course evaluations, program review, outcomes assessment results, and institutional set standards reporting. This data will be disaggregated for basic skills courses, career pathways, transfer students and life-long learners to help identify outcome gaps and drive related mitigation efforts. o Intended Student Population: Student demographic data in comparison with community demographic data associated with enrollment, retention and completion, will allow judgment of the degree to which our student population reflects the community we strive to serve. Data disaggregation will help identify outcome gaps and drive related mitigation efforts. o Degrees & Other Credentials Offered: Data related to certificate and degree program enrollment, retention and completion will be collected to determine the degree to which the college is meeting established benchmarks. Data disaggregation will help identify outcome gaps and drive related mitigation efforts. o Commitment to Student Learning & Student Achievement: Student, faculty and staff survey data will be one metric used to determine the degree to which the college is accomplishing its mission to provide a multicultural environment where student achievement and successful learning are highly valued, supported.... Qualitative data from the program review process, in addition to student outcome tracking data, will provide additional evidence. Evidence of continual assessment will be documented throughout the implementation of these efforts. SJCC uses data to determine how effectively it is accomplishing its mission through a number of tools, including the strategic planning metrics - which are tracked each year and the California State Community College Student Success Scorecard. Additionally, the recently approved Board Ends Policies (link) are accompanied by Ends Policy Metrics (link) that are measured and reported to the board and posted on the District website (link). The metrics for the district and colleges participation in the Institutional Effectiveness Partnership Initiative can also be found on the District s website (link).

4 The mission directs institutional priorities in meeting the educational needs of students through an integrated equity agenda, and annual update to the District Office strategic planning metrics, and standards by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success. ANALYSIS & EVALUATION What you have here is good for Evidence. For the A & E I would now discuss what you have outlined and include that the college will incorporate student achievement into Program review starting in 2016 cycle developed. This should also be one of those policies and procedures that need to be written.

5 IA.3 The institution s programs and services are aligned with its mission. The mission guides institutional decision-making, planning, and resource allocation and informs institutional goals for student learning and achievement. Questions from Guide: How does the mission statement guide planning and decision making? To what extent is the mission statement central to the choices the college makes? Has the institution considered in consultation with its key constituents if and how DE/CE is congruent with the mission? Does the mission include any statements related to its commitment to DE/CE? The previous mission was not used to align programs and services. Furthermore, the previous version of the mission was also not explicitly used to guide institutional decision-making, planning or resource allocation, nor did it inform goals for student learning and achievement. The proposed mission will drive these priorities as follows: Programs & Services Aligned to : o IPCC program modification? (Linda Meyer & Laura Garcia) Drives Institutional Decision-Making Drives Institutional Planning Institutional Resource Allocation Beginning the 2015/16 academic year, SJCC s Finance Committee developed a new budget request template implemented in coordination with the Program Review Committee (link). It requires budget managers to articulate each individual budget line item with 1) the college s General Education-Level Outcomes, 2) college goals, and 3) the president s priorities, all of which are articulated with the college s mission?. (links to each) In this way, the Finance Committee is working to tie, in a more meaningful way, resource allocation to alignment with college priorities. Informs Goals for Student Learning & Achievement ANALYSIS & EVALUATION

6 IA.4 The institution articulates its mission in a widely published statement approved by the governing board. The mission statement is periodically reviewed and updated as necessary. ER6: o The institution's educational mission is clearly defined, adopted, and published by its governing board consistent with its legal authorization, and is appropriate to a degree- granting institution of higher education and the constituency it seeks to serve. The mission statement defines institutional commitment to student learning and achievement. Questions from Guide: o When was the proposed mission statement approved by the governing board? o Has the mission been reviewed to reflect the commitment to DE/CE and what was the rationale for the changes to the statement? Widely Published The colleges mission is widely published through a statement approved by the governing board. Specifically, the mission is disseminated via the following mechanisms: o College s website (link) o District Website (link) o SJCC Institutional Planning & Resource Allocation Guide (link) o SJCC Education Master Plan (link) o SJCC Facilities Master Plan (link) o SJCC Catalog (link) o SJCC Strategic Plan (link) o Roar o CAC Charge o Board Policy 1200 District o Other? Periodically Reviewed & Updated The mission statement is periodically reviewed and updated by the College Advisory Council (CAC). The CAC charge explicitly states that the mission statement will be reviewed. The CAC reviewed the mission statement in fall 2013 (CAC Minutes), and its recommendations were sent to the college president, who decided to keep the mission statement as is. In fall of 2015 the CAC again reviewed the mission statement under the lens of meeting accreditation Standard 1 (see CAC agenda and minutes). An adhoc committee was formed to assess the mission statement and to propose changes so that the mission statement met the criteria of standard 1. Throughout the 2015 fall semester the proposed mission statement was vetted to the college via the Roar (See Roar editions) and direct s from the CAC (see s). Feedback was given to the CAC that was then shared with the Academic Senate and it is expected through continued discussion that a revised mission statement will be recommended to the college president and adopted by the Board of Trustees in early spring semester ANALYSIS & EVALUATION Throughout the self-evaluation process it became clear that although reviewing the mission statement is part of the charge of the CAC, the actual process of how the mission statement is

7 assessed and implemented is not well documented. There are no college policies or procedures addressing the mission statement, and unless you are a member of the CAC, college personnel would not know where to find information concerning the periodic review of the mission statement. What has been determined through the self-evaluation process is that the college needs policies and procedures that are specific and perhaps unique to SJCC that are not shared by Evergreen Valley College. E.g. Closing the loop examples ADS, art ladies