Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Department of Applied Computing and Electronics
Academic Year 2014-15 Assessment Report
MISSION STATEMENT
The Mission of Missoula College is to create a comprehensive, accessible, student-centered learning environment that fosters individual
growth, facilitates workforce development, and provides a foundation for advanced academic achievement.
The Department of Applied Computing and Electronics of Missoula College UM collaborates with business and industry to prepare
graduates to compete in and contribute to a diverse, dynamic global society. Students engage in experiential learning embracing technical
education, effective communication, problem solving, professionalism, and workplace skills. The Department promotes lifelong learning to
empower students in an ever-changing world.
ACE department meets its mission, the mission of the department, the Missoula College mission, and the University of Montana mission by
providing quality education in the following programs:
• Computer Aided Design—CAS
• Information Technology—AAS
• Computer Support Technician—CAS
• Electronics Technology—AAS
• Energy Technology—CAS and AAS
• Health Infomatics—PC (Professional Certificate)
• Network and Information Assurance (Cybersecurity)—PC (Professional Certificate)
The CIP codes for this department fall within the STEM occupations: 11.x Computer and Information Sciences and 15.x Engineering Technologies.
DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES and ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC ISSUES
1. Attract and retain faculty members who are experts in their field and in the classroom. (Education for the Global Century, Partnering for Student
Success)
2. Embrace continuous improvement and effective teaching methodologies. (Dynamic Learning Environment and The Planning-Assessment Continium)
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3. Partner with business and industry in meeting local and global demands for a well-prepared technical workforce. (Partnering for Student Success,
Discovery and Creativity to Serve Montana and the World)
4.
5.
STUDENT LEARNING GOALS AND MEASUREMENT TOOLS
Embedded
Classroom
Activites
Student
Portfolios
1. Demonstrate technical proficiency in a chosen field.
x
x
Internships and
Internship
Evaluation by
supervisors
x
2. Demonstrate the workplace skills of effective
communication, problem solving, collaboration, critical
thinking, and leadership.
x
x
x
3. Practice responsible citizenship and societal
awareness.
x
4. Formulate strategies to become life-long learners.
x
x
Entry Exams
Exit
Exams/Industry
Certifications
x
x
x
x
x
x
6.
7.
5.
2
Continued
Local Advisory
Committee
Student Course
Evaluations
Graduate
Surveys
1. Demonstrate technical proficiency in a chosen field.
x
x
x
2. Demonstrate the workplace skills of effective
communication, problem solving, collaboration, critical
thinking, and leadership.
x
x
x
3. Practice responsible citizenship and societal
awareness.
x
4. Formulate strategies to become life-long learners.
x
5.
6.
7.
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RESULTS AND MODIFICATIONS
Embedded Classroom Activities
Faculty Unit Standards were revised and approved to better define expectations of faculty members in the
areas of teaching pedagogies, service-based activities, and scholarship.
Programs directors are given release time to mentor adjunct faculty in their program. This mentoring
relationship assists faculty who are experts in their field, but may not be professionally trained teachers, use
best practices for managing their courses and their classrooms. The important to student assessment is
emphasized.
All faculty use the Moodle LMS and have agreed to make their teaching materials accessible. There have
been fewer requests for adaptive materials since the use of captioning and audio supplements to
coursework.
Student Portfolios
Internships and Student Evaluations
completed by Internship Supervisors
Internship expectations include student portfolios to showcase their skills for potential employers. Career
Services staff work with the interns on resumes, application letters, and interviewing skills. That information
incorporates the portfolio. Students produce both hard copy and electronic versions. Best practices are
presented by Career Services professionals, as well as the internship director.
Internship supervisors work with the students on their goals for the internship learning experience and fill
out a mid-term evaluation as well as a final evaluation of the student’s performance based on those goals.
The Internship director maintains frequent contact with the student through weekly seminars and the
employers through these evaluations. The student writes a reflection paper at the end of the experience.
The employer and internship faculty can work together to modify procedures as necessary throughout the
experience with the frequent contact. In this way, the students are better able to meet their goals
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Entry Exams
Students take UM identified math and writing placement tests. Those test scores place the students in the
appropriate level of these courses and these prerequisites are enforced through Banner/CyberBear when
they try to register. This has resulted in students being ready for the class with necessary baseline skills.
A pre-test is given to all IT students to ensure basic computer skills necessary for success in their first
semester classes. Suggestions for remediation are suggested as needed.
A pre-test is given to all students registering the cybersecurity courses to ensure they will be ready to take
the course. Tutorials and review of the material is provided online for those needing a refresher before the
course starts.
Exit Exams
IT students complete the CompTia A+ exam, the PC Pro exam, the Net+ exam, and the Net Pro exam.
They are given the opportunity to also take the CCENT, CCNA, and Security + industry certifications.
Energy students take the NABCEP industry certification.
Pass rates vary by semester between 80% and 100%.
Industry Curriculum and Software Tools
The IT program is affiliated with IBM Academic Alliance, CompTia, Cisco Academy, and Microsoft. In
addition, as part of the cybersecurity effort, we are the only college in the nation affiliated with Symantec—a
world leader in security solutions. Symantec donated a server for use by instructors teaching e-discovery.
TeraDact donated $250,000 worth of redaction software. ComptTIA, IBM Academic Alliance, Microsoft, and
Cisco Academy provide curriculum materials and faculty inservice/training. All materials directly match the
needs of business to provide students cutting-edge educational opportunities that is updated yearly and in
some cases each semester.
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Local Advisory Committees
Course Evaluations Completed by
Students
Graduate Surveys
Advisory committees are active for all programs: Energy Technology, IT, CAD, Electronics, and
Cybersecurity. Input from the business partners on these committees is invaluable to the success of our
graduates. The advisory committee members also provide internship placements and materials for
classroom use as needed.
Students take an online anonymous course evaluation for every course every semester. Instructors use
those to improve their teaching and assessments. Those evaluations are reviewed yearly by the IPR
process with individualized feedback given to the faculty member. Modifications are made where
appropriate and then the course is reassessed. The course evaluation cycle for every course every
semester provides timely feedback to assist instructors and program directors.
The internship directors gather information informally for students. There is no large scale organized effort
to follow the students or alumni after they leave Missoula College. Individual faculty members keep their
own records of graduates and employment history. An informal, optional survey, is on CyberBear, but we
have not seen any of the results from that effort. Advisors also gather information, but there is not a
college-wide coordination of these efforts. The ACE department, however, knows where most of our
graduates are because of our close rapport with our advisees. The Alumni Office knows the names of the
graduates by program, but do not have follow-up data.
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APPENDICES
1.
Historical Certificates and AAS Degrees Applied Computing and Electronics Department (OPBA)
CIP Codes/Program
2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013
C A C A C A C A C A C A C A
15.0303 Electronic & Comm Eng
9
3
6
9
6
9
1
15.0503 Energy Technology
2
2
13
18
14 2
5
15.1202 Computer System Tech
1
6
9
6
15.1302 Computer Aided Design
1
2
5
2
8
11.1006 Computer Support Specialist
2
10
37
28
11.0103 Information Technology
19
34
26
11.9999 Computer & Info Sciences
22
16
7
26
7
2
*C = CAS
*A = AAS
2013-2014 Fall Enrollment Comparison (OPBA)
CIP Codes/Program
2013
2014
% change
15.0303 Electronic & Comm Eng Tech
20
14
-30.0%
15.0503 Energy Technology
41
28
-31.7%
15.1302 Computer Aided Design
18
16
-11.1%
11.1006 Computer Support Specialist
11
6
-45.5%
11.0103 Information Technology
85
82
-3.5%
2011 Terms to Completion
CIP Codes/Program
15.0303 Electronic & Comm Eng Tech
15.0503 Energy Technology
15.1302 Computer Aided Design
11.1006 Computer Support Specialist
11.0103 Information Technology
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Terms
4.0
5.8
2.0
3.0
6.2
2010-2011 Retention
CIP Codes/Program
15.0303 Electronic & Comm Eng Tech
15.0503 Energy Technology
15.1302 Computer Aided Design
11.1006 Computer Support Specialist
11.0103 Information Technology
81.7%
73.7%
62.6%
92.3%
71.8%
FUTURE PLANS FOR CONTINUED ASSESSMENT
Future plans are for a continuous cycle of assessment/change/re-evaluation of curriculum, goals, outcomes, and program offerings. Will utilize the AAIP
effort to gain further insights to evaluating the individual programs.
The programs contained within the ACE department are identified as high-skill, high wage occupational areas. According to a 2011 Labor Market
Analysis, the Information/Computer field average salary is $45,818 and for Technical/Scientific fields it is $43,309. There are estimated annual openings
in the six-state region around Montana of 600 engineering occupations, 180 drafters, and 2,540 information technology workers.
Because of the focus on STEM fields, it is important that women feel welcome in our programs as they are an underrepresented population. All full-time
faculty have gone to the STEM-Tech conference at least once, and two faculty members have presented at the conference. We are making this is a
priority to recruit and retain women in all the ACE programs. Faculty are actively writing and getting grants in these areas, but more could be done. An
analysis of retention by gender should be done.
Our average class size is 18, which is optimum because of the lab equipment. Further use of on-line supplements, hybrid formats, remote teaching, and
fully on-line teaching should be evaluated each year. In addition, an online degree audit system is in place as well as an online degree planner.
However, online advising and online tutoring could be improved.
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Retention and advising are priorities in our department. The faculty have been given training and advising workshops on effective relationships with
students. A section on effective advising is included in the faculty handbook for the department. Yearly “check ups” are scheduled at a faculty meeting to
review importance of giving students accurate information and developing a mentoring relationship. Our department prides itself on being student
centered, but more could be done in this area.
Advising tracks, 2+2 articulation agreements, and other transfer options can be improved. Faculty are working with the high schools in dual enrollment
courses and at the same time working with the 4-year programs to design pathways that enable students to ladder their credentials as they matriculate
through the system. Full-time, tenured faculty comprise 43% of the faculty at Missoula College, while 57% of ACE faculty are full-time tenured. This
provides quality of instruction with expertise in the field, but also enables faculty to form ongoing consistent relationships with the high schools and
university communities.
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