Kirkwood Community College
Learner Success Agenda
August 2013 Update
Our Vision
Kirkwood’s Learner Success Agenda (LSA) was launched in June, 2011 with these
two over-arching goals:
CREDENTIAL ATTAINMENT: We will significantly increase the number of learners
who achieve their postsecondary education or training goals, complete a degree or
certificate, transfer to a university, and/or complete non-credit workforce education
courses or programs.
COMMITMENT: Every faculty and staff member shares the responsibility for achieving
the Learner Success Agenda through their daily work. Kirkwood’s credit and noncredit instructional programs play a central role in carrying out the agenda, but our
success depends on the efforts of people in non-academic as well as academic
services.
Two years later, the Learner Success Agenda is clearly situated within Kirkwood’s
culture. Individual and departmental goals set by every Kirkwood employee and
department are linked to this vision. At every level, Kirkwood is focused on increasing
learner success through institutional and departmental professional development.
Why This Agenda Remains Important
Kirkwood Community College has endorsed the Learner Success Agenda as a
framework for improving the economic strength and quality of life for our region. We
believe: 1) education leads to greater economic prosperity for the region; 2) all citizens
will benefit as more become educated; and 3) Iowa’s workforce will benefit from greater
numbers of educated and skilled workers.
Over the past few years, a wide variety of organizations nationally have developed a
“college completion agenda.” Spurred by President Obama and funded by major
foundations, they have taken on the common goal of significantly increasing the number
of American adults who have earned a post-secondary credential. Kirkwood’s Learner
Success
s Agenda is part of th
his moveme
ent, applying strategiess specific to
o Kirkwood and
the regio
on we serve
e to achieve
e the comm
mon goal.
As a ressult of the first two yea
ars of work on
o the Learrner Succe
ess Agenda, the colle
ege
is betterr positioned
d to serve our studentss. Kirkwood
d’s faculty and
a staff arre talented,
entrepre
eneurial, an
nd collabora
ative, and have
h
shown
n remarkable commitm
ment and foccus
to advan
nce these efforts.
e
The progress summarized
s
d below hass resulted frrom the
dedicatio
on of hundrreds of individuals worrking in dozzens of crosss-departm
mental LSA
teams since June, 2011.
During these two years, Kirkw
wood Comm
munity Colle
ege’s accreditation was reviewed.
hout the rev
view processs, the Learrner Succe
ess Agenda provided the structu
ure
Through
that servved to orga
anize all elements. Kirkkwood’s Accademic Qu
uality Improvvement Pla
an
(AQIP) accreditatio
a
on was re-a
affirmed by the
t Higher Learning Commission
C
n in December,
2012.
To see the
t Learner Success Agenda fu
ull plan, go to
http://ww
ww.kirkwood.edu/learn
nersuccessagenda
Strateg
gic Initia
atives
August 2013 Upd
date
Instructtional Inno
ovation (Bill Lamb)
To imprrove learne
er success
s through integrated services and
a
collabo
orative
instructtional imprrovement.
Several tactic team
ms focused on strength
hening stud
dent service
es have recommended
d
gistration, new studentt orientation
n, academicc advising, and course
e
changess in late reg
prerequiisite identifiication. So
ome of these changes have been implementted; a few are
a
still in prrocess. Ch
hanges to th
he orientatio
on process for new facculty have also
a
been
impleme
ented through the Masster Teache
er program. Pathway models for students
enrolled in non-credit and/or credit
c
caree
er programss are in devvelopment. Multiple
es are unde
erway to ad
dvance a team-based faculty
f
proffessional de
evelopmentt
strategie
approacch, including
g sharing successful te
eaching pra
actices, settting standa
ards for
classroo
om technolo
ogy, and facculty mento
oring recom
mmendation
ns.
Program
m Effectiv
veness (Al Rowe)
R
Implement an imp
proved eva
aluation pro
ocess for aligning
a
ex
xisting credit/non-cre
edit
ms to address workfo
orce needs
s, new opp
portunities, and resource
program
allocatio
on.
Develop
ped by a cro
oss-function
nal tactic te
eam, a Prog
gram Effecttiveness/Effficiency Review
policy was
w approve
ed resulting in the desiign of Effecctiveness Profiles
P
to an
nnually asssess
all educa
ational offe
erings in the
e College’s Program of Studies. As
A of Fall 20
013, facultyy,
administtrators, and
d stakeholders will use
e profile datta/evidence
e to inform
curriculu
um/program
m design an
nd resource
e allocation decisions and
a to ensu
ure
program
m/subject off
fferings are high qualitty, relevant,, accessible
e, and cost effective.
Educational Deliv
very (Jon Neff)
N
To stren
ngthen stra
ategic and
d flexible ed
ducationall delivery capabilities
c
s.
Three diiversely-res
sourced tacctic teams made
m
up of faculty and
d staff have
e been workking
on: 1) developing
d
ways
w
to help our learn
ners navigate the many offerings and deliverry
methodss Kirkwood makes ava
ailable; 2) designing
d
ne
ew flexible scheduling
g options to
help fill community
c
demand fo
or workers with
w particu
ular skills; and 3) creating a betterr
way for students, fa
aculty and staff
s
to access their ap
pplications and data anywhere,
anytime and on any
y device.
Regional Leaders
ship (Kim Johnson)
J
To stren
ngthen lea
adership in regional workforce
w
developme
ent.
Partnersships are att the founda
ation of Kirkkwood’s success. Demonstrating
g the streng
gth
of these partnerships, the Kirkkwood Foun
ndation’s Real
R
World Success
S
ca
ampaign raiised
over $18
8.9 million in the past two
t
years to
t support le
earner succcess throug
gh scholarsships
and othe
er gifts. To promote a systematicc approach to
t developing transforrmational
partnersships, a tacttic team cre
eated a mechanism to
o document and evalua
ate Kirkwoo
od’s
partnersships and co
ommunity involvemen
nt throughou
ut the Creative Corrido
or. Through
h
the workk of anotherr tactic team
m, Kirkwood
d will be in a position to
t measure
e the
institutio
on’s regiona
al impact an
nd better co
ommunicate
e the multip
ple ways in which
academic and profe
essional prrograms benefit the reg
gion’s econ
nomic and workforce
w
position.
Market Intelligence (Kristie Fisher)
To imprrove marke
et planning
g and competitive inttelligence.
Five tacttic teams comprised of
o staff and faculty ded
dicated the last two yea
ars to bette
er
understa
anding the communityy and students we servve, as well as
a the competitive forcces
in our marketplace
m
. The gradu
uate follow--up tactic te
eam designed and imp
plemented an
a
improved process for
f learning
g about our graduates. To improvve instructio
on, anotherr
team de
eveloped a roster
r
to prrovide critica
al informatiion to facultty about the
e students in
their classes.
Operatiional Exce
ellence (Jim
m Choate)
To create transpa
arent susta
ainable org
ganizationa
al systems and structures to
supportt strategic initiatives.
Kirkwood must ope
erate efficie
ently and efffectively to achieve itss goals. To that end, over
o
the last two
t
years several
s
hum
man resourcce systemss have been
n automated and other
businesss processes have bee
en improved
d. A new co
ompensatio
on and bene
efits structu
ure
has been implemen
nted. New budget rep
porting softw
ware is in use
u that will make it
possible
e for Kirkwo
ood to foreccast long-range scenarrios. An asssessment of
o cultural
attitudess on diversity has been
n completed, and a pa
artnership with
w Diversity Focus ha
as
been established fo
or the deve
elopment an
nd impleme
entation of cultural
c
com
mpetence
training modules.
Informa
ation Exce
ellence (Mick Starceviich)
Increase access, understanding and use
u of time
ely and rele
evant inforrmation,
arch.
reports and resea
Per a Da
ata Resource Policy, data
d
diction
nary and security workk, users can
n better iden
ntify
data inconsistencie
es, docume
ent data cap
pture and managemen
m
nt processe
es. Externa
ally,
federal/sstate reportt data is sub
bmitted earrlier and mo
ore thoroug
ghly vetted. Internally,
Effective
eness Profile data marrt work is underway to
o support prrogram imp
provement and
a
future re
esearch on College effforts to stre
engthen student learnin
ng.
Going
g Forwa
ard
The besst plans are living docu
uments, ablle to adapt to constanttly changing
g
circumsttances. As
s several of the origina
al Learner Success
S
A
Agenda
tacttics are
drawing to a close, new needss have been identified
d, and three
e new tacticcs have bee
en
usion in the LSA. Theyy are:
developed for inclu
At-risk student support and completion. An enhanced student success model that
supports at-risk learners by addressing both academic and life barriers will impact the
institution’s completion rate, the community’s productivity, and the economic health and
well-being of these students. This tactic will focus on developing and institutionalizing
streamlined programs, services, and practices to connect at-risk students to the array of
community college services, public benefits and pathway programs that exist. This work
will be done in partnership with the United Way of East Central Iowa, and it supports the
regional community goal to increase the number of financially stable households by 15
percent. This tactic builds from the KPACE Expansion Planning project and current
successful best-practice programs at Kirkwood which include College Prep Block,
Project START/FINISH, and KPACE. It aligns with the Regional Leadership and
Instructional Innovation Initiatives.
Developmental Programs. To deal more effectively with the needs of underprepared
students, the following strategies are under discussion: Assess effectiveness of the
current placement model and cut scores for math, writing, reading and ELA; implement
alignment by working with ACT; and make improvements or model changes based on
data collected. Communicate placement model and plan for student success with
regard to advising, testing, and mode of course delivery. Align curricula of
developmental courses with the next course level, and design faculty professional
development relevant to student success and competency completion. This tactic will be
part of the Instructional Innovation Initiative.
Define and communicate a college-wide mission and vision for Kirkwood’s
Regional Centers. Kirkwood’s regional centers are a long-term educational investment
to our community partners and constituents. In order to ensure the success of this
investment, a clear understanding of the services, stakeholders, goals and threats must
be defined. A cross-functional college team is needed to share information, identify
student populations, challenge assumptions, map student enrollment trends, plan
comprehensive student services and identify specific goals for the centers and our
community. This tactic aligns with the Instructional Innovation, Program
Effectiveness, Educational Delivery, and Regional Leadership Initiatives.
These new tactics have been discussed with Kirkwood’s administrative team and input
has been invited from all Kirkwood employees. Leadership for these tactics will be
determined by the Kirkwood Cabinet by September, 2013.
Kirkwood’s Learner Success Agenda is updated quarterly and annual updates are
posted at www.kirkwood.edu/learnersuccessagenda.