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STANDARD 4: THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Associate’s Degree and Certificate Programs

QVCC offers Associate's degrees in Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS), General Studies, and several career programs. As evidenced by students who transfer to four-year schools and those who find employment in their areas of study, the degree and certificate programs fulfill the College’s stated mission of providing transfer, employment, and lifelong learning. For example, over the last five years, graduates in the Medical Assisting program have had a 92% placement rate.

The College's degree and certificate programs are conducted according to standard practices in higher education, specifically those set by BOT, DHE, and NEASC. The College does not depend on outside vendors or facilities. Coherence within programs is maintained in part by adherence to expressed program outcomes. Each program’s coordinator teaches in the program and is responsible for its goals, structure, and content, under supervision of the Dean of LSD. Coordinators’ supervision of adjunct faculty provides coherence in instructional methods and procedures. Each coordinator plans the course schedule, advises students, and maintains information on the nature, quality, and extent of student achievement. Admission to all programs is open and often occurs at the time of admission to the College. Courses rotate in a schedule that allows students to complete programs in an appropriate time.

The College continues to explore new program opportunities (as discussed in the Special Emphasis section). QVCC's responsiveness to its community is evidenced by the development of a Computer Networking degree and the re-working of the Technological Studies Degree to include a Plastics Technology option. Faculty members regularly develop new certificate programs in response to needs expressed by area employers or community members and by program advisory committees. In the last five years, the College has added nine new certificates, several new degrees, and several options within preexisting degree programs. Based on recent assessments, some programs have been terminated, with students either moved to comparable programs or advised to finish during a phase-out period.

Each degree program and academic discipline is evaluated on a five-year cycle. Self-studies are written by appropriate faculty members and include external commentary, with input from instructors, students, and graduates concerning breadth, depth, continuity, sequential progression, and synthesis of learning. Programs are evaluated for adherence to national standards and those of receiving institutions. The College provides budgets for coordinators to maintain and improve programs, although funds will have to increase as programs grow and evolve. Some faculty members use eLumen to gather information on program outcomes. The new Director of Curriculum and Faculty Orientation is actively promoting the broader use of this technology by the faculty.

The quality of academic programs is assured through faculty evaluation, college-supported faculty development, and the academic governance structure. Adjunct faculty members are regularly evaluated by faculty liaisons, and full-time members are evaluated by the Dean. Where new programs have been added, new full-time faculty members have been hired as program coordinators, and the growing staff of coordinators will take on increasing leadership in the development of curriculum.

Outcomes for each program are published in the biennially printed (and more regularly web updated) College catalog. All programs and General Education are accounted for in the Learning Outcomes Assessment Record, and the Director of Curriculum and Faculty Orientation helps program coordinators monitor how and where specific goals are met. For programs and courses, learning outcomes are formulated by faculty members in relevant disciplines and then vetted and ratified by the Academic Issues Committee, the Division Council, and the Dean. All certificate and degree proposals are approved by BOT; degrees and lengthy certificates are approved by DHE. Faculty members have a substantial voice in the approval process.

Each career program focuses on a major field of study. While most career programs restrict free electives to meet program goals, the LAS transfer program offers more choices, to allow students freedom while meeting the requirements of receiving institutions. Since the 2001 review, the College has appointed a program coordinator for the LAS and General Studies programs, who has enhanced transfer advising.

General Education Requirements

Although the College has some autonomy with its General Education curriculum, it follows CTC system guidelines that respond to DHE standards which, currently, are under review by the state legislature. The modified requirements (plus pending Gen Ed changes at some receiving institutions) will prompt a complete review of Gen Ed programming. The current requirements are balanced among arts and humanities, social sciences and history, math, and science, so that in a minimum of 21 credits of any degree, a student will engage various skills, areas of knowledge, and methods of inquiry. All degrees incorporate the Gen Ed core.

All degrees require students to demonstrate college-level writing skills by producing a graduation research paper, and through outcomes ascribed to courses, students meet Gen Ed requirements that include English language skills. The College requires one English composition course in all degrees, with an additional English course in three programs. LAS students must complete a college-level math course. Basic Skills Assessment scores direct some students into developmental English and math, as well as ESL where appropriate. ESL courses range from low intermediate to advanced levels; the newly reconfigured ESL program will be more efficient and flexible. Developmental level math and English proficiencies are required for all certificates. Across programs and disciplines, students achieve information literacy through instruction and the incorporation of technology into courses.

Integrity in the Award of Academic Credit

Credit award for all courses—including non-traditional ones—is supervised by faculty members who are in turn reviewed by the administration according to established policy. Instructors discuss academic integrity with classes early each semester. The College is exploring a freshman seminar course as one of several means of informing students about expected behavior and responsibilities. Grant funds are being used to enhance the academic preparation of students in the sciences and Allied Health.

Review of credit for non-traditional courses is aided by communication between faculty members and on-site evaluators and the use of journals, assignments, and testing. Distance learning and off-campus courses have the same assessments and learning objectives as on-campus courses, with students offered the same opportunities for faculty interaction. Students can access a student support module through WebCT Vista. From fall 2002 to spring 2006, online courses offered and total enrollment have doubled (7-14 and 140-281, respectively). The integrity of online and hybrid courses is supported by the Director of Educational Technology. The College offers one online certificate program, HIMT Coding Specialist (see the separate report); other online offerings in the Allied Health and Plastics areas are being explored. The College’s Credit for Prior Learning Program uses portfolio evaluation, with course requests reviewed by faculty members and credit granted when students meet the outcomes of specific College courses. Policies and procedures are clear and accessible, particularly with the new Credit for Prior Learning handbook.

The College accepts transfer credits according to BOT standards, updated 2005; students must be enrolled in a QVCC degree or certificate program. The College has continued to develop partnerships with its primary receiving institutions, most recently expanding its articulation agreement with the University of Connecticut.

Assessment of Student Learning

The College remains consistently engaged in the assessment of learning. For over 10 years all courses have had expressed outcomes, and the Division Council’s review process ensures that outcomes are written to be measurable. The Learning Outcomes Assessment Record links program outcomes and requirements with curriculum maps and lists processes for assessing program outcomes in courses. Through eLumen, QVCC is focusing most specifically on outcomes in Fine Arts, Medical Assisting, and some Gen Ed standards, particularly math and writing. This pilot project, led by a faculty member, has gathered data on ways instructors assess learning; now in the second year, the data remain preliminary. The current focus is to use data to refine the process of establishing and assessing outcomes. With more data, the focus will shift to the assessment of courses, entire programs, and individual students. Currently, there are various competency-based outcomes at course and program levels, such as outcomes in Medical Assisting, Computer Networking, and Early Childhood Education that are required by accrediting agencies in these fields. As more programs engage in evaluating data, the College will develop feedback systems and establish consistent practices for reviewing and improving programs.

Institutional Effectiveness

The College is focused on evaluating the quality, integrity, and effectiveness of its programs, using an outcomes assessment process that operates at course and program levels. The eLumen database will eventually measure Gen Ed outcomes across all degrees and certificates. In the coming year, the LSD Division will study the database for how well students meet two outcomes targeted by faculty vote. Other methods of assessing program effectiveness include the self-studies, with action plans that are evaluated periodically toward revising and expanding programs, and the Community College Survey of Student Engagement and various other student surveys. Resulting changes include the redesigned ESL offerings, revisions to developmental math courses, the replacement of two Computer Networking program courses, and broad revisions to Fine Arts courses. The College must keep working to draw its wealth of assessment practices into a global and systematic project.

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