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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

President's Wednesday Message


Last week, I focused on MCC’s strengths as identified through the MSCHE Self-Study process, but this process also asks colleges to look for areas in which they can improve. Overall, we gave ourselves 15 recommendations across the 14 Standards. As with our strengths, there are common threads in the opportunities for improvement:

Communication: MCC found that we could be more diligent in developing, publicizing, and communicating policies, procedures, and plans. In some cases, this communication is focused on students; for example, MCC is working to ensure course-level learning outcomes are readily available to prospective students. We have also recommended that ongoing strategic enrollment management planning include an explicit focus on retention. In other cases, this communication is focused on internal audiences. For example, the College has recommended that program and academic assessment processes (including those related to general education) be more transparent and provide greater documentation regarding the use of results to drive improvement.

Consistency: The Self-Study team reported that we need to improve our consistency in assessment processes and the use of results. This includes but extends beyond academic and programmatic assessment. For example, MCC recommended a move to a regular cycle of review for existing College policies and student support services, and needed to articulate a more standardized assessment of transfer credits. We also saw a need to more tightly connect the assessment and resource allocation processes. As Open SUNY becomes a greater part of MCC’s offerings, the Self-Study team recommended that the College implement a formal course review process for every online course to assure continued quality.

Timeliness: In the collection of documentation and evidence that is part of the MSCHE process, the College saw a need to emphasize timely and appropriate follow-up on internal institutional and faculty committee reports. In some cases, over five years passed between the report and any follow-up; in other cases, the response was to restart the process rather than act on a report or the data. Recommendations specifically mention the need to adopt an updated General Education program and a plan to implement and assess it; they also reference the follow-up necessary on the recommendations coming from MCC’s Liberal Arts Degree Program committee.

These are the recommendations we have given ourselves; MSCHE will expect us to address each one in future reports to the accrediting agency. With a crystal ball that is well-informed by the reports of visiting teams at peer community colleges, I would predict that we may also receive some recommendations from the visiting team.

Most community colleges are seeing a keen interest by visiting teams in how they use student learning outcomes assessment to improve academic programs. Visiting teams are looking for much more than a description of the process: they are looking for data and clear documentation that changes have occurred—in a timely manner—and then that assessment has continued. Middle States defines itself as responsive to two key audiences, students and the public; all of higher education is being called upon to make more and more of our data and outcomes transparent to these stakeholders. We are likely to hear a similar message from our visiting team. The upcoming launch of the MCC Report Card (coming in April) is a step in this direction, but it is best seen as a first, not a final, step.

We should be proud of the work that happens each day at MCC. The Self-Study demonstrates our commitment to our mission and the talent and dedication of the inspiring students, faculty, staff, and administrators who fill our halls, classrooms, and offices. I know you will join me next week in welcoming the MSCHE visiting team to MCC and sharing our extraordinary College with them.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on the blog.

Anne M. Kress
President
03/09/2016