Standard 4
Programs and Instruction
Team Members:
Susan Huard, lead, Dean of Learning and Student Development
Nora Butts, Vocational Coordinator
Brian Donohue-Lynch, Associate Professor
David Emigh, Associate Professor
Richard Fontaine, Director of Center for Community & Professional Learning
Eric Goldberg, Professor
Marie Kilbride, Director of Learning Services
Joan Macneil, Director of Outreach & Employment Services
John McClellan, Professor
Toni Moumouris, Enrollment and Transition Counselor
Julius Sokenu, Assistant Professor
Stephanie Sywenkyj, Associate Professor
Antonio Veloso, Director of Enrollment and Research
William Weiss, Network Manager
Programs
The College offers programming in the areas listed in the following table:
|
Degree
Programs |
Certificate
Programs |
|
Accounting |
Allied Health Science |
|
Aviation Maintenance |
Bilingual Educational
Paraprofessional |
|
Business
Office Technology: Administrative Assistant |
Business Administration |
|
Computer Services: Software Applications Technical Support Transfer |
Business Office
Technology: Medical Office Skills Medical Secretary Office Skills Update Secretarial Word Processing |
|
Drug and Alcohol
Rehabilitation Counselor |
Computer Services:
Technical Support |
|
Engineering
Science |
Electrical |
|
Fine Arts |
Graphic Communication |
|
General Studies (with
online option) |
Health Information
Management Technician: Certified Coding Specialist |
|
Human Services |
Microcomputer Software
Applications |
|
Liberal Arts and Sciences |
Microcomputer Software
Fundamentals |
|
Management |
Phlebotomy |
|
Medical Assisting |
Plastics Technology |
|
Plastics Engineering |
|
|
Plastics Engineering
Technology |
|
|
Technological Studies |
|
Quinebaug Valley Community College is committed to high quality postsecondary education and lifelong learning in a student-centered environment. The institution offers its students a range of collegiate-level programs leading to degrees and certificates in recognized fields of study. Its Associate’s degree programs require 60 to 68 semester hours for completion; the certificate programs require between sixteen and 31 semester hours.
Throughout its existence, QVCC has evolved to meet the needs of the people of northeastern Connecticut through programs designed to fulfill its stated mission and goals. As the area’s center for intellectual and cultural enrichment, the College maintains an active partnership with the community in local, economic, social, and cultural development. The allocation of sufficient resources to sustain and improve programs and instruction is reflective of the College’s perception of community needs. The College reviews its priorities and allots funding for resources and personnel through its annual budgeting and planning processes.
QVCC publishes degree objectives and requirements for each program in the annual QVCC catalog. The material is also available on the College’s web site (www.qvcc.commnet.edu) under Academic Information. Requirements for each program are clearly outlined, and alternative courses of elective study are described. Each program has been carefully and thoroughly planned to prepare the student for the workplace or for the next level of study. Requirements are reviewed periodically by advisory committees and through the process of program or discipline review.
New programs and certificates are developed using the Guidelines for New Degree and Certificate Proposals established by the College and the Connecticut Community-Technical College (CCTC) system office. The proposal format requires information about justification of need for the program, proposed courses and sequences, faculty qualifications, and fiscal and physical resources needed to start and sustain the program. For the most part, the faculty generates course and program proposals. In the absence of qualified faculty for a particular field, the Dean of Learning and Student Development (LSD) collaborates with consultants to develop the program. The Academic Issues Committee initially approves all programs. The proposals are next sent to the Division Council for approval and subsequent approval by the Dean of LSD, who brings them to the President’s Cabinet and finally to the entire College staff for approval. Approved proposals are next forwarded to the system office for inclusion on the agenda of the Academic Policies and Student Affairs Committee for a recommendation to the CCTC Board of Trustees. If a recommended degree or certificate exceeds fifteen credits, the proposal is brought to the Board of Governors for Higher Education for approval, licensure, and accreditation. Program changes follow the same process, although minor changes—not involving substantive changes in courses or credits—are accomplished within the LSD Division.
Once a program is implemented, it is reviewed periodically, following procedures established by the CCTC system office. Programs are assessed on a five-year cycle in terms of content of courses, qualifications of faculty, adequacy of resources, and level of transfer preparation (if appropriate). Faculty involved in the program are responsible for drafting a self-study. After it is completed, appropriate readers are identified to review the document and visit the campus. The visitors generate a report of their observations, commendations, and recommendations. As a follow up to the report, the faculty members and the Dean of LSD meet to outline action plans. During the 1999-2000 academic year, a team from Gateway Community College, another Connecticut community college, developed a new program review process as Gateway’s contribution to the CCTC system’s Academic Model project. The Board of Trustees has approved the new process, and programs being reviewed this year at QVCC will use as many segments of the process as funding and institutional research resources permit.
Within the guidelines provided by the system office, the faculty has the substantive responsibility for designing and executing the curriculum. For example, in designing the Computer Services degree, faculty members worked with area employers and an advisory committee, while consulting standards provided by the Association of Computer Machinery, to develop the rationale and curriculum for the degree. Based on this input, the original degree was created with three pathways: Software Applications, Technical Support, and Transfer. A Technical Support certificate was developed at the same time.
In general, ideas for new courses and programs originate with faculty, from advisory councils, and from needs expressed by area employers or community members; in addition, information from environmental scans and focus groups, which are part of the planning process, have led to the development of programs. Each course and program begins with the identification of desired outcomes. These become part of each formal curriculum record along with the course description and prerequisites. Through the work of the Outcomes Assessment Committee, the methods by which program outcomes are measured have been determined and compiled into the Learning Outcomes Assessment Record. Through the program review process, the content of individual courses is reconsidered for updating and other revisions. Career programs gather curricular information annually from their respective advisory committees and professional organizations. The Coordinator for Career Services also compiles information about the effectiveness of programs and courses during her annual phone interviews with the previous year’s graduates.
If a program’s requirements are changed, a student may follow either the version in effect at the time of his or her matriculation into the program or the version in effect when she or he applies for graduation. If a program’s offerings are diminished due to low enrollment or impending termination, strong efforts are made to permit students within the program to complete their curriculum. Some are advised to take remaining courses not being offered by the institution at other colleges or via the web. In most cases, arrangements are made for the student to complete the coursework via tutorials. Tutorials are initiated by faculty, who provide a written record of the content, methods of evaluation, and schedule to the Dean of LSD.
The Center for Community and Professional Learning (CPL) is responsible for identifying credit courses that respond to specific outside agency requests, as well as being responsible for scheduling the summer session. Once such courses are identified, CPL staff—with assistance from the appropriate faculty liaison or program coordinator—develop a schedule. The faculty member is then responsible for nominating instructors to teach the courses. Final approval for credit course schedules and hiring of faculty resides with the LSD Dean.
CPL adheres to all LSD policies and procedures regarding the approval and scheduling of credit courses; hiring of instructors for summer, off-campus, and contract courses; and evaluating instructor performance. Credit courses scheduled by CPL staff are located at the Danielson and Willimantic campuses, which have the necessary learner support services. For courses scheduled at the Brooklyn Correctional Center, the correctional center’s educational staff provides support in accordance with that institution’s policies and procedures.
CPL is also responsible for developing, scheduling, and administering conferences and other instructional or enrichment activities that carry the College’s name. The CPL staff is responsible for ensuring that the activities are offered in accord with the College’s mission and goals and respond to the learning needs identified by the community constituencies served. To determine what the evolving community needs are, the CPL staff serve on agency and community boards and maintain regular contact with various community agencies and employers through an aggressive outreach effort. Suggestions from participants are solicited via evaluation forms. CPL responds to these various learning needs by hiring adjunct instructional staff and partnering with vendors or consultants who are carefully screened based on their qualifications, particularly their professional and teaching experience.
In addition to the Danielson campus, QVCC maintains the Willimantic Center. Approximately 20% of the College’s population and programming are offered there. In November 1999, NEASC recognized the Willimantic Center as a branch campus of QVCC. At its April 2000 meeting, the Connecticut Board of Governors for Higher Education gave the College permission to offer more than 50% of the requirements of four degrees and certificate programs at the Center. Thus, over an extended period of time, it is possible to complete a limited number of certificates and degrees at the Center. Courses at both campuses are taught by QVCC’s full-time faculty and adjuncts, with no faculty assigned to only one location. The Willimantic Center facility is leased, but clear provisions for availability are detailed on a renewable lease (five years with provision for another five) negotiated by the State of Connecticut Department of Public Works with the College’s input and monitored by the State Department of Public Works, Office of Lease Compliance.
The Willimantic Center uses municipal parking lots for students and staff. A change from three- to four-hour maximum parking in the closest municipal lot was negotiated with the town of Windham to better accommodate the needs of students. The change has been clearly posted by the town. Full-time staff members are provided with all-day parking permits.
QVCC offers several programs collaboratively with sister community colleges, with other training agencies, and with local high schools. For example, QVCC confers the Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Counselor Associate’s degree in conjunction with Manchester Community College. QVCC offers the general education core courses and electives, and Manchester Community College offers the specialized program core courses. Students may also begin study for a degree in Medical Lab Technology conferred by Manchester Community College by completing a prescribed course sequence in mathematics, science, and humanities at Quinebaug Valley. Similarly, QVCC offers an Electrical certificate wherein QVCC provides a core foundation of studies and the Independent Electrical Contractors of Connecticut offers the electrical specialty courses.
Additionally, the Connecticut community colleges participate, along with the University of Connecticut, Central Connecticut State University, and Charter Oak College, in the College of Technology Pathways program. In Pathways, students graduating with Associate’s degrees in engineering or technology enter directly into technical programs at one of the participating baccalaureate universities. Some of the courses in the Pathways program are developed and offered at QVCC, most specifically the general education core and some of the specialized core, while the remainder are offered at neighboring community colleges or universities. QVCC collaborates with area high school faculty to articulate Tech Prep agreements. In these agreements, the College develops an award of credit for a series of courses that are similar in content and outcomes to current course offerings and that meet QVCC curricular standards. Overall, QVCC has full responsibility for the academic elements of the instructional programs and courses it develops and offers, including those that are offered collaboratively. The College is responsible for course content; delivery of instructional programming; selection and approval of faculty; admission, registration, and retention of students; and evaluation of student progress.
Within some degree programs, students are offered options that allow further specialization. For example, students pursuing the Business Office Technology degree may elect to focus on courses dealing with administrative assistance or information processing applications. Each degree program meets the requirement of the Connecticut Department of Higher Education that at least 30% of the program be devoted to courses within a general education framework. Program outcomes have been developed for each course of study. Additionally, each degree program has embedded the College’s general education outcomes within the required courses. The outcomes for each degree and certificate program are published in the College catalog along with the required courses of study.
The curricula of the degree programs can be divided into two sections: the program core and the general education core. The program core contains courses that are introductory to the discipline as well as courses that afford the student the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge at a more advanced level. Each program has clearly articulated learning objectives, which are specific to the discipline. Programs designed to provide professional training contain components that effectively link curricular content and current practices in the field of specialization. These components include practica and internships, advisory committees comprised of individuals from a given field, and professional development funds provided to help instructors stay current in their fields.
QVCC has identified desired general education outcomes for all degree program graduates. They are listed prominently in the College catalog. All Associate’s degree programs at QVCC contain general education core requirements that focus on four areas: communication skills, humanities, math/science, and social sciences. To fulfill the requirements in communication skills, all degree-seeking students must complete English 101: Expository Writing and, prior to graduation, must have fulfilled the ten-page Research Paper Requirement with a grade of B or better. Students may choose to submit a paper from a course or may write a paper and submit it to any faculty member for evaluation. In addition to the writing requirement, 85% of the degree programs require a course in oral communication. To fulfill the humanities requirements, students may select courses from art, communications, English, foreign languages, sign language, philosophy, and theater. Likewise, to fulfill the math/science requirements, students may select courses from mathematics and courses from biology, chemistry, geology, physics, and science. Finally, to fulfill the social sciences requirements, students may select courses from anthropology, economics, education, history, political science, psychology, social science (interdisciplinary), and sociology.
The Learning Outcomes Assessment Record lists all general education outcomes, program specific outcomes, and courses required for the degree programs. Faculty members have recently reviewed the document and indicated courses where specific outcomes are met. The discussion of how the information will be collected, evaluated, and applied to decision making was begun at the June 2001 LSD Division retreat.
Instruction
The College uses a rich variety of methods of instruction, compatible with the mission of the College and the nature of the courses. Service learning, internships, and practica are included in vocationally oriented programs like those in computer services, human services, medical assisting, health information management, business administration, graphic communication, and educational paraprofessional support. Instructors use a great variety of classroom techniques, including collaborative work, seminars, small group discussion, role-playing, hands-on activity, multi-media presentation, team teaching, web work, overhead and LCD projections, TV, visualization, meditation, music, and kinesthetic activity. Over time the faculty has focused on diminishing the amount of class time spent on lecturing. Hands-on, studio, and lab work are especially important in programs like computer science, art, and the sciences. There has been some use of Total Quality techniques in the classroom, such as the use of the nominal group technique to brainstorm and organize students’ thoughts. Many instructors enrich their courses through the use of community resources, field trips, and guest speakers.
The College Biennial Report of 1998 stated that 85% of instructors use some form of electronic communication in their classes. There is increased use of LCD projectors, TVs, and computer monitors, and a growing number of instructors incorporate PowerPoint technology in their courses. A substantial and growing number of instructors are using the Internet as a resource in their classes; posting syllabi and resources online; using e-mail, electronic bulletin boards, and chat for communication; and requiring web research for papers.
PictureTel interactive or compressed video is used in a number of courses to enhance communication between students at the Willimantic and Danielson campuses. A few instructors are using technology to capture white-board work for instruction via computer terminals. Several online courses have been offered, including some delivered completely online and hybrids combining both face-to-face and distance learning. During the Spring 2001 semester, the College acquired a cart equipped with twenty-four wireless laptop computers for the Danielson campus. Students, as well as instructors in the humanities and social sciences, have used the wireless laptops. Access to the wireless network can be obtained from anywhere on the Danielson campus.
Since the College’s students are very diverse in age, background, and goals, faculty are sensitive to each student’s capabilities and needs. Instructors work to accommodate a variety of learning styles and to increase students’ awareness of their own styles. The Learning Center encourages faculty to be sensitive to the variety of learning needs and offers a number of ways of supporting students, such as peer tutoring. To fit work to each student’s motivations and learning style, some instructors give students latitude in choosing what products they will create and how they will be evaluated. Besides traditional assessment techniques, many instructors use portfolios, student-designed projects, and group projects for evaluation. For students unable to fulfill their program goals through course offerings, independent study and tutorial work is often available.
Additionally, students who through prior learning (for example self-directed study, on-the-job training, or past employment) have acquired competence ordinarily associated with the completion of courses may request evaluation through the Credit for Prior Learning portfolio assessment process. These students register for Interdisciplinary Studies 150, which has been offered annually since its inception in 1994. In the course, the students learn how to clarify, organize, assess, and document learning they have acquired through prior experience. The resulting portfolio is submitted to a specially appointed assessment committee, which determines how many credits, and for which College courses, a student will be awarded. No more than 50% of an approved Associate’s degree program may comprise credit by portfolio assessment. Students pay a fee for the assessment.
Students are also given the opportunity to learn by actively participating in the teaching/learning process. QVCC’s Education 200: Peer Learner Experience prepares students to serve as peer educators in a collegiate setting. In addition to the course work, students who take Education 200 serve as teaching assistants to faculty for other courses, so students having difficulty in those courses can contact peer tutors for assistance.
Instruction is not limited to a course’s content area. To augment their general education, almost all students receive one or more instruction sessions from the library staff on the use of print, online, and Internet resources, including evaluation criteria. In many courses, students are encouraged to go beyond secondary sources to primary documents, community resources, and interviews. In some programs, students are required to take a specific course in principles of problem solving, with stress on critical and creative thinking.
QVCC students have been awarded scholarships to prestigious institutions such as Yale University, Brown University, and Smith College. In the fall of 2000, QVCC computer science students received the largest number of Connecticut Information Technology Scholarships of any of the State’s community colleges. Extra scholarly and creative efforts on the part of students are encouraged, and a number of students have had their poems, papers, and artwork published. Art students are motivated to present their work in the College lobby at the end of the semester. Students in many courses give oral, multimedia, and artistic presentations of their work. These and other accomplishments testify to the quality of learning achieved by QVCC’s students.
Quinebaug Valley is a small college proud of the close interaction between students and faculty. Students necessarily work with a variety of instructors, each with a distinct style. Faculty members model interdisciplinary collaboration, formally in cross-disciplinary courses and informally in College activities. The lobby, cafeteria, and halls have become places commonly used to enrich dialog, via activities like the “free speech board,” public performances, exhibits, and receptions. Many faculty members model learning using “teacher as researcher” techniques to assess the effectiveness of instruction. The College’s procedures, culture, and professional activities actively foster a variety of instructional methods.
The institution endeavors to enhance the quality of teaching. It encourages experimentation with methods to improve instruction. The effectiveness of instruction is periodically and systematically assessed using adequate and reliable procedures, and the results are used to improve instruction. Beginning in the Spring 2000 semester, all students were given the opportunity to rate the quality of instruction and content of each course using a standardized form that also calls for written commentary. These ratings are reflected in the performance evaluations of faculty, and, more importantly, the ratings summary is used as feedback to faculty for their own development.
QVCC regularly reviews all faculty in relation to the quality of their teaching and offers a number of institutional tools for planning and carrying out self-directed professional development. Among these is a program instituted by the CCTC system, the Faculty Development and Review Plan (FDRP), through which faculty are expected to establish for themselves plans for continuous improvement in teaching. Under the FDRP, faculty are regularly assessed in the progress of their individual plans and in their teaching performance, through contractually prescribed cycles of classroom observation, instruments of student feedback, and written reports of self-appraisal. In addition, peer-reviewed processes of application for promotion, tenure, and sabbatical provide further opportunity for faculty to be recognized and encouraged in their commitment to learner-centered teaching.
In broad support of the instructional climate, the College sponsors resources and activities for faculty and staff. These include professional days led by outside consultants, which are supported in part through funds from the QVCC Foundation. The College supports program and instructional excellence through various specialized personnel, including a learning specialist and an instructional technology specialist (both shared with other colleges in the region). Also, a Faculty Development Consultant—a faculty member given at least a one-course release per semester—assists colleagues in the development and implementation of their individual review and professional development plans.
Scholarship and Research
The parameters of faculty scholarship are defined by CCTC system policy. Since the College’s primary mission is to teach, faculty research and scholarship focus mainly on pedagogy and student learning and development. The College provides faculty with financial and technical support relevant to conducting classroom assessment and other instruction-based research. Institutional support of faculty scholarship and research takes several forms, including professional development funds available to all full- and part-time members of the main bargaining unit, the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4C’s). Release time, sabbatical leave, and reassignment of duties—all dependent on the availability of resources—are available to faculty interested in pursuing learning-related research projects. QVCC’s administrators are supportive of faculty and staff engaged in research and assessment. The College supports the faculty by providing computers, personnel, and encouragement. Faculty members are free to innovate, are acknowledged for their efforts, and are encouraged to reflect on their successes and failures.
Support for faculty in their efforts includes resources and programs defined at the local level as well as the State level. An annual budget is allocated through the CCTC system for faculty applications related to professional development activities. Funding applications by 4C’s members for travel to workshops, conferences, and seminars—after approval by the relevant dean—are evaluated by the QVCC Sabbatical Leave and Professional Development Committee, which makes recommendations to the President for final approval. Also, the College has a campus representative to the system-wide Center for Teaching Excellence (CFTE) and a local CFTE budget for faculty development opportunities to enhance teaching and learning. Among other seminars and workshops, the CFTE hosts a teaching/learning retreat in the spring, the Barnes Seminar, to which each of the twelve CCTC colleges typically sends three people annually. Approximately 60% of QVCC’s full-time faculty have attended, as have several adjuncts and library staff members. In addition, the CCTC system sponsors an annual system-wide professional development day, which in recent years has focused on academic discipline-related issues in teaching as well as on innovation in the use of information technology.
Sabbatical leave projects, professional presentations, and publications of QVCC faculty demonstrate the vitality of the College. Faculty members are encouraged to collaborate across disciplines and to craft student learning opportunities that incorporate technological advancements. Some faculty members serve as consultants to agencies within the community. Recently, the College has extended the boundaries of the classroom by employing modularized courses, web-based instruction, and compressed video courses. The faculty has engaged in extensive scholarship aimed at developing curricula and assessment instruments to investigate the efficacy of technological enhancements and web-based instruction. Beyond research about teaching and learning, faculty do research in their individual disciplines. QVCC faculty members are published in national peer reviewed journals such as Change Magazine, Supercomputing, Postmodern Culture, and The Journal of Narrative Technique.
Faculty and staff research and innovation evolve in the context of the College and its community, as well as from networking with professional organizations and accreditation agencies. Teaching related research and professional presentations funded by the College are shared at division and staff meetings. Faculty members are encouraged to pilot course offerings before the formal proposal process, allowing faculty to be creative and seek learner feedback as they develop offerings. The College sponsors regional conferences through the Center for Community and Professional Learning and has become a clearinghouse for educators in K-12 and at other community colleges. Through State Eisenhower, National Science Foundation, and Humanities grants, QVCC faculty have worked with local schools to upgrade the skill and knowledge of public school teachers. In addition, College faculty hold distinguished positions in national, regional, and state professional organizations. They participate in system-wide research initiatives such as the common course numbering project. Finally, faculty and staff members led the College’s Outcomes Assessment Committee in the development of QVCC’s contribution to the CCTC system’s Academic Model project—distributed to all the colleges in the system—A Step-by-Step Guide to Outcomes Assessment in the Connecticut Community Colleges.
Admissions and Retention
The College believes academic advising is central to ensuring successful academic progress. Before 1997, academic advising at QVCC was done primarily by professional staff of the Student Services Division with some support from faculty and each group reporting to a different dean. This bifurcation made advisement somewhat haphazard. In 1997, QVCC integrated its academic and student services divisions into the LSD Division under one dean. Responsibility for directing and coordinating academic advisement activities was delegated to the newly created position of Director of Learning Services.
Several changes were instituted in consultation with the LSD Division Planning and Policy Committee, the Division Council, and the dean. The Director of Learning Services developed and distributed an Advisement and Transfer Manual, trained new advisors, assigned students to advisors, disseminated advisement information to students and advisors, and coordinated a walk-in advisement system in the College’s Learning Center as a supplement to advisement done during scheduled faculty office hours. The College continues to refine its advisement procedures. In the fall of 1998, faculty began to serve as advisors at returning student and open registration sessions. In the spring of 2001, the College formulated a proposal for a Northeastern Connecticut Community Advising Center to centralize in-person and online advising as well as to provide advice for area residents who have some college credits or incomplete degrees. While the College has not yet been successful in identifying a grant-funding source for the project, it is still committed to the concept of the community advising center.
The outreach efforts of the Office of Enrollment and Research include traditional high school recruitment, career and college fairs, College information panels, campus tours and information sessions, Chamber of Commerce activities, and visits by College staff to local service agencies. Targeted recruitment strategies are implemented for the Opportunity for Success Program and the High School Partnership Program.
Quinebaug Valley Community College has a clearly defined admissions policy that is available to all students. It is outlined in the College catalog and also on the QVCC web site. The admissions policy requires students to have a high school diploma or a GED or to submit a written request to the President for special admission consideration. The policy complies with legislation concerning educational opportunity, Affirmative Action, and non-discrimination. Additionally, the College has developed policies that permit enrollment of students who are under 17 years of age, home-schooled, or qualified under Federal ability to benefit criteria. The policies are consistent with the CCTC system’s mission and with the College’s published goals.
Students registering for credit programs take the Basic Skills Assessment to assess their level of competence. Developmental courses (numbered below 100) in mathematics and English are available to rectify discrepancies between assessed levels and college-level courses. The developmental student progress study shows the success of graduates who have taken developmental courses in comparison to other students over the last several years. All QVCC students are offered tutoring services in the Learning Centers at Danielson and Willimantic and are entitled to a minimum of one hour of tutoring per week per course registered. Other support services include financial aid and learning disability counseling and weekly support meetings for students identified as having barriers to success. The College offers a wide variety of courses in English as a second language, with specialized professional tutoring available. Additionally, students selected for the Opportunity for Success Program are mentored by a coordinator and eligible for courses specifically designed to develop peer support and insight into the college experience.
in addition to conventional means, students may obtain credit toward a degree or certificate by external examination, including those administered by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) and the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). The College became a limited testing center—limited to testing registered students—in the summer of 2001. There are also College sponsored examinations, called Credit by Exam, for selected Business Office Technology, mathematics, and computer science courses. The Credit for Prior Learning program provides another way for students to earn credit. Also, the Human Services, Computer Services, and Medical Assisting programs require students to complete practica or externships where they have the opportunity to enhance their performance, apply their learning, and integrate theory and practice. Seminar sessions with an instructor, formal reading and/or writing assignments, and evaluation of academic and work experience accompany this learning experience. The Bilingual Educational Paraprofessional, Educational Paraprofessional, and Phlebotomy certificates also require students to complete practica. Additionally, a legislative internship is available to students who are interested.
QVCC students seeking transfer credits from other collegiate institutions must be enrolled in a QVCC degree or certificate program and are granted transfer credit based on policies established by the CCTC Board of Trustees. Policies and procedures on the awarding of credit for recognized courses from non-collegiate organizations, military training, credit by examination for external examinations as well as college-sponsored examinations, and credit for prior learning are stated in the College catalog. No credit toward graduation is awarded for pre-college level or remedial work designed to prepare a student for collegiate study.
Transfer articulation agreements have been established with various institutions, as noted in the College catalog. The College continues to develop other partnerships with area institutions where there is a significant pattern of student transfer. The most recent articulation agreement was signed with Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts.
Appraisal
QVCC is proudly responsive to the community and students it serves. Programs and methods of instruction focus on meeting the needs of each student through a combination of creativity and judicious use of resources. Given limited resources, a continued strong partnership between the LSD and CPL divisions is important to ensure the maximum number and quality of course offerings.
The College solicits input about its academic planning processes through environmental scans, focus groups, and collaboration with local schools, business and industry, and universities and other two- and four-year colleges. Degree and certificate programs are designed to meet the needs of the constituent populations. Each vocational program has a community-based advisory committee of experts in the field, and the program coordinator consults with the advisory committee to assure continuing responsiveness to need.
QVCC actively solicits student input and feedback. As a result of student commentary, a lunch break was added to the daytime schedule, changes were made in scheduling, and new degree and certificate programs have been explored.
The College delivers instruction using current information technology to augment learning and reach all segments of its service region. Innovative faculty work, done individually and in teams, maximizes the effectiveness of computer technology to enhance teaching and learning. When hiring new faculty, the College seeks those who will bring additional technological skills to the teaching environment. QVCC continues to be on the leading edge of technology use within the CCTC system, including the use of compressed video and online courses. With its commitment to using technology to educate its students, the College needs to ensure that opportunities for staff development in this area include both full- and part-time instructors.
The PictureTel video conferencing used between the Danielson and Willimantic campuses since 1996 has allowed classes to be offered that otherwise might not have run. Also, this technology has brought together students who because of the distance between campuses would otherwise have had little chance to interact.
Both student and faculty reception of PictureTel have been mixed. Evaluations of compressed video courses suggest that those students who live near one campus, and for whom travel to the other would be difficult, are most in favor of PictureTel delivered courses. Faculty members have recognized the challenges and benefits presented by this technology, and they have worked with one another and students to use the media as effectively as possible. While many students have become acclimated to the setup, and faculty have worked to adapt their teaching, key assessment data is still needed to demonstrate or improve the usefulness of this technology.
QVCC adheres to CCTC system standards regarding admissions, student registration, and recording of credit, all of which are now standardized through the system’s Banner administrative software. The system’s move to more centrally controlled and standardized administrative data processing is still taking place, and so far QVCC has been able to voice its needs. In some instances, decisions made system-wide have favored the College’s preferences, while in others the College has had to adapt some of its practices.
The merger of the academic and student services areas into the LSD Division enabled the College to manage advisement better. The new Director of Learning Services centrally coordinates administrative services associated with advisement, such as providing consistent advisement information to students and advisors. The director updates the Advisement and Transfer Manual, trains new advisors, and provides consultation on transfer and other issues. Also, the director supervises the assignment of advisors to students as well as the logging of relevant information into the Banner database, thereby enabling the College to maintain accurate advisement records. Moreover, by making advisement available on a walk-in basis in the Learning Center—in the weeks just prior to each registration period—the director has made advisement services more convenient for students whose schedules make it difficult for them to meet with their advisors during regularly scheduled office hours. There remains the challenge of advising and supplying other student services for students who pursue online courses.
While the merger of the two divisions into LSD has strengthened advising services and other functions, it has also placed broader and heavier responsibilities on the single dean. The impact of this major institutional restructuring on programs and instruction on the one hand, and student services on the other, has yet to be effectively assessed.
The College’s instructors show considerable diversity and creativity, as well as a focus on the individual student, in the methods they use to facilitate learning. They team teach, visit each other’s classes, do interdisciplinary work, and collaborate in many other ways. Service learning, increasing within general education courses, is growing in popularity among faculty. Examples include Anthropology 105: Cultural Anthropology, in which students have created and maintained web pages for the Killingly Historical Society and Political Science 188: Politics 2000, where students created a voter registration booth that registered over 100 students. Students in the latter course also created a voter information brochure and coordinated a voter information night for the community.
While faculty enjoy the creativity of QVCC’s classrooms, they are concerned that there are disincentives to serious research. The CCTC system discourages scholarship and research by stipulating that the products of such endeavors (for example, textbooks or online courses) become system property if any College or system resources are employed in the effort. More significantly, because the College is small, QVCC faculty undertake a disproportionately high amount of administrative responsibility, compared with faculty at other institutions. Motivation for scholarship and research, let alone time, tends to suffer as a result.
The College has made progress in the area of outcomes assessment, growing from the use of classroom assessment techniques in each course, entailing the development of general education and program outcomes and methods of assessment, and culminating in the Step-by-Step Guide to Outcomes Assessment. Still, QVCC is challenged to collect evidence and make consistent, effective use of outcomes measures. The services of a full-time institutional researcher are needed to support this and other evaluative efforts.
Projection
· Within its fiscal and facility resources, the College will continue to expand its offerings based upon the needs of the communities it serves. Current projects of a certificate and degree in early childhood education, a networking option to the computer services degree, and certificates in computer networking will be completed. The College will also explore ways to facilitate students’ access to the growing number of courses offered online by other providers.
· The College will continue pursuing ways of engendering collegial exchange of research and scholarship; creating avenues for internal dissemination of research activities of faculty and professional staff (through brown bag seminars, a newsletter or pamphlet with staff presentations and publications, or a web page devoted to collegial exchange of teaching as well as content area scholarship); developing more workshops such as the Fall 2000 Quinebaug Seminar (which focused on reviewing content area research or hot topics rather than pedagogy); including faculty research and scholarship as an LSD Division goal; encouraging faculty to write grants by identifying grant sources; exploring the hiring of a grant writer; and using the CFTE Faculty Development Consultant position to energize faculty concerning research and scholarship in their disciplines.
· The College will continue to expand its outreach efforts. The number of students without high school diplomas and/or GEDs applying for enrollment at QVCC is expanding. To better serve these learners, procedures including specialized admissions letters and College policies need to be developed.
· To diversify its faculty, staff, and programming, QVCC will continue to take advantage of potential position openings due to retirement or grant funding.
Documents
Advisement and Transfer Manual
Biennial Report of 1998
Credit for Prior Learning program materials
Developmental student progress study, English and math
Discipline Review Process
Evaluations of compressed video courses
Faculty Development and Review Plan
Grants
Eisenhower
Humanities
National Science Foundation
Guidelines for New Degree and Certificate Proposals
High School Partnership Program brochure
Learning Outcomes Assessment Record
Opportunity for Success Program materials
Program Review Process
QVCC catalog
Research Paper Requirement for graduation
Sabbatical and professional projects, summary lists
Self-study reports, 1991-present (11)
Step-by-Step Guide to Outcomes Assessment in the Connecticut Community Colleges
Tech Prep Agreement samples
Tutorial application