Division
Program
Health PE and Athletics
Medical Assisting
Contact Person Jane Vallely
Date 1/26/2011
I. Basic Success and Equity (Data from 3 previous years)
 What trends are you seeing over time? How does the basic success data compare to the college as a whole and to statewide average success rates, if available? What might explain the differences?
 What courses in your discipline show the greatest/least amount of success? What accounts for success in these courses? How could you improve success in the less successful areas?
 What do you see in the comparisons between men and women and between different ethnicities? What accounts for differences? What concerns you? How could you strategically address the concerns?
 What inferences can you draw from the data correlating the highest level of Math/English
 completed and success in your discipline's courses?
If you have online/hybrid/telecourse/CD-ROM courses, do the success rates differ from the same courses offered on-campus? If so, should the success rates be the same, why are they different, and is this a cause for concern? What areas of inquiry does this raise about online/hybrid/telecourse/CD-ROM courses?
Explain:
Program Mission
The mission of the Medical Assisting Program is in accord with the mission of the college, the concept of a community-centered institution that recognizes and endeavors to provide a framework of educational excellence. This has particular significance for the Medical
Assisting Program. Within this context, the curriculum in the Medical Assisting Program and the process of teaching and learning is based on the following premises: The Chabot
College Medical Assisting Program is competency based and is intended to prepare the student with the entry level skills and knowledge that may lead to employment as a professional medical assistant. The program's intent is also to prepare the student for the
Certified Medical Assistant (CMA®-AAMA) exam.
The Medical Assisting Certificate Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of
Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting
Education Review Board( MAERB)
Questions related to basic data (3 Years)
How does the basic success of the medical Assisting program compare to the college as a whole?
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I believe that the medical assisting success rate is higher than the college as a whole; in terms of completion of the 2 semester sequence
What might explain the differences?
The medical assisting program is 2 semesters, once the student has successfully maneuvered through the first semester success in the second semester is almost guaranteed. The students have a great deal of one on one contact with the instructors. The program is competency based and requires a practicum. Upon successful completion of the program the expectation is that the graduate will find entry level employment in the field
What courses in Medical Assisting show the greatest/ least amount of success?
The course that causes the most problems for the students is
Meda 75: Administration of Medication for the Medical Assistant in the first semester. This is a competency based course; students have to complete 30 practice injections and well as
3 actual injections.
The attrition in this course and other courses in the first semester is usually due to:

English as a second language, especially oral language

The student does not realize the commitment of time and work to meet the
program objectives.

The student does not have the basic skills to be successful

The student has not been proactive in obtaining financial assistance and
therefore lacks the required texts and supplies

The student has not secured adequate childcare

The student has moderate to severe mental health problems that are not conducive to working in the health care setting

Students are unable to pass a background check or do not have a social security number to obtain a background check
What does one see in the comparisons between men and women and between different ethnicities?
Medical assisting is traditionally a career chosen by women, however men have enrolled and successfully completed the program.
With regard to ethnicity the students who enroll in the program are from diverse backgrounds
What inferences can you draw from the data correlating the highest level of Math/English completed and success in your discipline's courses?
There are no math or English requirements for the certificate program. ESL is the biggest hurdle, students may have completed the ESL sequence and move on to English 101A,
101B or 102 even English 1A. The downfall of some students is the inability to communicate when speaking English. When the student has poor oral language skills they are unable to meet the competencies required for each class in the program. The oral language deficit is picked up by the instructor working in the Meda75 Lab.
Students are referred to the ESL one on one tutorial.
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If you have online/hybrid/telecourse/CD-ROM courses, do the success rates differ from the same courses offered on-campus? If so, should the success rates be the same, why are they different, and is this a cause for concern? What areas of inquiry does this raise about online/hybrid/telecourse/CD-ROM courses?
The medical Assisting program does not have any hybrid or online courses
II. Course Sequence (Data from 2 previous years)
Note: Answer this question if you have been provided data about course sequences in your discipline.
 Is success in the first course a good indicator of success in the second course? What are the
 curricular, pedagogical, and/or methodological implications of what you see?
Do your successful students in the first course enroll at a high rate in the second course within two years? What are the implications of what you see?
Explain:
Is success in the first course a good indicator of success in the second course? What are the curricular, pedagogical, and/or methodological implications of what you see?
Yes, the success in the first course is a good indicator of success in the program course sequence. Students successfully completing the first semester almost always successfully complete the program.
The goal of each student in the program is to become a certified Medical Assistant that may only be accomplished if they complete the accredited course sequence.
III. Course Review (Data from 5 previous years)
 Ed. Code requires that all courses are updated every five years. Are all of your courses updated? If not, do you want to maintain or continue these courses? Please indicate your plans in terms of curriculum. Have all of your courses been offered recently? If not, why? Are students counting on courses to complete a program or major when these courses are not being offered?
Explain:
The Medical Assisting Certificate Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of
Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting
Education Review Board (MAERB). All course outlines were reviewed and updated Fall 2010 to meet the CAAHEP 2008 standards.
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IV. Budget Summary (Data from 3 previous years)

What budget trends do you see in your discipline? What are the implications of these trends?

Where is your budget adequate and where is it lacking? What are the consequences on your program, your students, and/or your instruction?

What projected long-term (5-10 years) budget needs do you see? You will detail your short-term needs in the action plan that follows. You do not need to cite them here.
Explain:
The medical assisting budget requirements are one fulltime faculty /program director, and one adjunct faculty; as outlined in the CAAHEP 2008 standards
To meet the competencies required the main budget needs for the program are supplies and occasional equipment requests. For the last many years the funding for equipment and supplies has been requested through VTEA. Approximately $3000.00 annually
In addition there are institutional fees
Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB) $1000.00
Commission on Accreditation of Allied health Education Programs(CAAHEP) $450.00
I would see the budget for medical assisting remaining fairly stable consideration given to increase in salaries and increase in cost of equipment and supplies
V. Enrollment Data (Data from 2 previous years)

Please provide a brief description of: overall enrollment trends; enrollment trends by course; and enrollment trends by time of day and Saturday.

Describe what your discipline has done in terms of curriculum or scheduling in the last two years that has effected enrollments.

Describe plans or strategies that you have for the near future in terms of curriculum or scheduling that could impact your enrollments.

Lastly, look closely at whether the schedule you currently offer provides access to the broader community that your discipline serves at Chabot College—day time, night time, Saturday, distance education, special or targeted communities that would or do enroll in your courses.
Explain:
Enrollment trends
The class size for medical assisting is 20, as there is no formal application process for the program many students try and add. The class size for registration is 25 any additional students are added by priority number. The enrollment has to be limited due to intense skills performance in the labs.
For example fall of 2008 33 students were admitted, the number moving to second semester 25. 25 graduates with a certificate or an AA degree
For example fall of 2009 36 students were admitted, the number moving to second
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semester 23. 22 graduated with a certificate or an AA degree
VI. Student Learning Outcomes Inventory
Acronym Key:
SLO = Student Learning Outcome is a general term, for the following three levels of outcomes:
CLO = Course-level Outcome, i.e. what a student can do after completing a course
PLO= Program-level Outcome, i.e. what a student can do after completing a sequence of courses
CWLG = College-wide Learning Goal

Percentage of courses in your discipline that have CLOs and rubrics developed:_____
For this information, please see the list of which courses do and do not have CLOs on the
SLOAC’s main webpage: http://www.chabotcollege.edu/sloac/default.asp

Percentage of courses in your discipline that have the minimum number of CLOs developed:
(1 unit = 1 or more CLO, 2 units = 2 or more CLOs, 3 or more units = 3 or more CLOs)_______
For this information, please see the CLO spreadsheet on the SLOAC’s main webpage: http://www.chabotcollege.edu/sloac/default.asp

Date the CLO Assessment schedule was submitted:________
For this information, please see the Course-level Outcomes assessment schedules list from the
Assessment Progress and Plans webpage: http://www.chabotcollege.edu/sloac/progress.asp

Percentage of courses in your discipline that have had all the CLOs assessed within the past three years, as per Chabot’s Assessment policy: _______
For this information, please see Chabot’s Assessment Policy from the SLO/Assessment
Guidelines webpage: http://www.chabotcollege.edu/sloac/guidelines.asp

Percentage of courses in your discipline that have had all the CLO assessments reflected upon, or discussed with colleagues, within the past three years_______

What questions or investigations arose as a result of these reflections or discussions?
Explain:
The Medical Assisting Program at Chabot College has been accredited for many years. September 15, 2005 we were granted continuing accreditation. The next accreditation will be May 2015.
However the program is required to complete an annual review and meet certain
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thresholds. If a program fails to meet these thresholds they have to write an action plan for correction, continuing failure to meet outcomes would require an accreditation visit prior to the program’s next accreditation date
CMA®-AAMA exam success rate
CMA®-AAMA exam participation
>50%
>20%
Programmatic Retention/Attrition rate >50%
Graduate Satisfaction Rate
Graduate Survey Participation Rate
Employer Satisfaction
>80%
>30%
>80%
Employer survey Participation rate
Positive Job Placement
>30%
<70%
These thresholds are measured using the following survey tools from the Medical
Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB)
Resource matrix
Student resource survey
Graduate survey
Employer Survey
Faculty evaluation
Practicum evaluation
Extern evaluation of the clinical site
2008 the Chabot College medical Assisting program met all the outcome threshold
2009 the Chabot College Medical Assisting Program did not meet all outcomes but they accepted the action plan. The program fell short in graduate placement due to the lack of jobs due to the economy.

What actions has your discipline determined that might be taken as a result of these reflections, discussions, and insights?
Actions planned:
I would ask that the college SLOAC committee accepts the requirements for CAAHEP accreditation and the annual monitoring results submitted to MAERB in place of SLOs,
CLOs, PLOs and CWLOs

What course-level and programmatic strengths have the assessment reflections revealed?
Strengths revealed:
The medical Assisting students graduate with a high level of entry level skills, the clinical site will often prefer the Chabot medical assisting Extern, and in the employer follow up survey they are very pleased with the gradates hired in their facilities

Percentage of programs within your discipline that have established at least two PLOs, and mapped appropriate CLOs to them:________
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For this information, please see the Program-level Outcomes progress page from the Assessment
Progress and Plans webpage: http://www.chabotcollege.edu/sloac/progress.asp

Which of the CWLGs do your discipline’s CLOs address? ______________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

In which if any of the College-wide Learning Goals Faculty Inquiry Groups have discipline member(s) participated? _________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Insights gained:
VII. Academic Learning Support
What kinds of academic learning support does your discipline use or require to help students succeed
(e.g., tutoring, learning assistants, student assistants, peer advisors, lab support, supplemental instruction, peer-led team learning, peer advisors)? How many hours per semester do you use and/or how many hours per semester do you need?
Explain:
In addition to the full time faculty and the adjunct faculty the program utilized the skills and knowledge of the Nursing Clinical lab coordinator to assist in skills lab
Fall 6 hour per week
Spring 3 Hours per week
Currently the program utilizes graduates from the program as board approved volunteers in the skills lab usually 3 hours per week in the fall and occasionally in the Spring
VIII. External Data

Cite any relevant external data that affects your program (e.g., labor market data, community demand, employment growth, external accreditation demands, etc.).
Community sites
Meda 73 requires that students be placed in a clinical setting for a total of 208 hours during the Spring Semester.
These sites include private doctor’s offices clinics, Kaiser in Hayward, Union city and
Fremont.
Graduates are taking longer to find jobs ( up to 6 months whereas it used to be 3 months due to the current labor market and economy.
Kaiser had a hiring freeze
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I have already addressed the rigorous accreditation standards that the program has to meet through CAAHEP and MAERB
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
From what you have learned in your basic data review, what does the information tell you about your program?

Overall, what improvements would you like to make to your program? How do you plan to address these concerns? Are there any immediate issues that require immediate attention (e.g., outdated course outlines)?

Where appropriate, please cite relevant data in your discussion (e.g., efficiency, persistence, success, FT/PT faculty ratios, SLO/PLO assessment results, external accreditation demands, etc.).
Data Summary and Plan of Action Description/Rationale:
Overall the Medical Assisting Program at Chabot College is successful, and it has a good reputation in the community.
The program serves a variety of students seeking employment as a medical assistant or students learning skills to move them forward to other health careers such as nursing. The program has also assisted many students from welfare to work. The program has good productivity and is cost effective.
Please propose a two-year plan of action and timeline to address any immediate and/or long-term concern(s). This includes activities to assess the CLO(s) to discover a plan of action. It may also include specific activities that address improving CLO(s) and their assessment, that is to say evaluating the CLO(s) and the assessment activities.
Examples of activities include:

Research and inquiry project – why is this happening?

Innovation and Pilot Projects – this is something I want to try

Intervention activities such as support services – this is what I want to do about it

Program and curriculum modification – this is what I want to do about it
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I.
Action Plan Timeline: Detail the timeline for accomplishing your goals
PLOs and/or Program
Goal(s)
Timeline Activity
Support Needed to
Accomplish These
Activities*
Outcome(s) Expected
Person(s)
Responsible
Accomplished?
Yes/No/In
Progress
Meet MAERB
Annual report thresholds meeting deadlines
Increase the performance on the CMA-
AAMA exam
Annually
Deadline
February 25
collect required data for annual report
Clerical,
Ongoing with review annually
Offer more structured review for the exam in the second semester
Meet thresholds for continued accreditation
Jane Vallely
Increase success on exam Jane Vallely
Definitions of terms:
Program Goal = A general statement of what the program hopes to accomplish, for the long-term. It may be in qualitative (narrative) rather than quantitative (numeric) terms. It may include the integration of several program outcomes, or relate to class scores, credits, units, course completion, retention term to term, progression to next course/level, program completion, degree and certificate completion, transfer, success/scores on licensure exams, job placement, attitudes, fundraising, media promotion, etc.
PLO = Program-level Outcome, i.e., what students can do, what knowledge they have, after completing a sequence of courses. It is a subset of the Program Goals, related to student learning.
*Types of Support Needed to Accomplish Activities:

Training or workshops
YEAR
ONE
LEAVE
BLANK
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
Publications, library, resources

Guidance to support research and/or inquiry projects

Technology
II.
Strategic Plan Goals and Summaries: Which Strategic Plan goals and strategies does your action plan support?
Awareness and Access
Increase familiarity with Chabot
Reach out to underrepresented populations
Promote early awareness and college readiness to youth and families
Multiple ways to deliver instruction and services for all
Student Success
Strengthen basic skills development
Identify and provide a variety of career paths
Increase success for all students in our diverse community
Assess student learning outcomes to improve and expand instruction and services
Community Partnership
Increase experiential learning opportunities
Initiate/expand partnerships among the college, businesses and community organizations
Promote faculty and staff involvement in college and community activities
Engage the community in campus programs and events
Vision Leadership and Innovation
Improve institutional effectiveness
Streamline academic and student support services
Professional development to support teaching, learning and operational needs
Support effective communication both in the college and the community
Provide safe, secure and up-to-date facilities and technology
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