TRUCKEE MEADOWS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
PROGRAM/UNIT REVIEW
VICE PRESIDENT’S RECOMMENDATION
PROGRAM/UNIT REVIEWED: GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS
Self-Study Committee Chair:
Division:
Dan Bouweraerts
Liberal Arts
Year of Review: 2014-2015
Date Submitted to the President: 06-09-15
Vice president’s findings of strengths and weaknesses of the program/unit:
This program in Graphic Communications prepares students to enter fields at an entry level with graphic arts and design
knowledge and skills.
Strengths:
1) GRC faculty work to stay current in a rapidly changing field. Excellent faculty keep up on the technology
changes as they happen. (Additional support for professional development for GRC faculty is needed.)
2) Faculty are very involved in advising and retaining students. Their course retention rate of 78% is higher than the
College average and indicative of their attention to student success.
3) Faculty have excellent relationships with WCSD faculty and students.
4) Students are only slightly more likely to be male than female. Recruitment efforts are ongoing to reach
underserved and underrepresented populations.
5) GRC faculty have played an important role in faculty governance over the past four years.
Weaknesses:
1) Their Advisory Committee members are particularly important for this workplace field, yet they do not appear to
be consistently consulted or to have excellent attendance. I concur with Dean’s recommendation to have GRC
advisory committee get more involved by providing a detailed review of the academic program.
2) There are resource issues. This program demands up-to-date software which is increasingly expensive and there
unable to be covered entirely by student class fees. Additionally, space set aside for GRC labs may not be able to
keep up with demand. The GRC Sound Editing Facility, currently in Vista, needs to be enlarged and updated.
3) Assessment activities are not completely up to date.
Summary action recommended for program/unit: Continue
Recommendations for development strategies and anticipated time lines: Recommendations from Dean and SelfStudy Committee are excellent and supported by the VPAA. The list below highlights some of the most critical and timesensitive recommendations.
1)
Continue to explore BAS degree option which would not compete with other NSHE institutions. Complete study
and make recommendation by October 2015.
2) Explore and develop GRC Skills Certificates to lead to Adobe Certified Associate status in time to have them
approved to begin Fall 2016.
3) Intensify and institutionalize work with UNR about coordination of graphics design courses in Journalism and
Art. Continuing.
4) Use faculty and Advisory Committee expertise to explore 1) Adobe software changes and 2) functionality
available through HTML 5 and CSS3 to ensure curriculum update. Make changes by April 2016.
Vice President’s Recommendation
5) Have GRC Advisory Committee provide a detailed review of program by December 2015.
6) Continue recruiting efforts of adults, high school graduates, and Jump Start students, particularly in areas of
females and minorities.
Identify additional resources and/or actions necessary from each administrative unit for implementation of
recommended development strategies:
Academic Affairs: Monitor course assessment cycles through Spring 2020. Support development of skills
certificates and BAS degree if appropriate.
Student Services: Include GRC faculty in high school recruiting visits.
Finance: Just financed through RAP (May 2015) are Sierra 221 remodel and the Adobe Creative Cloud Software
license. Going forward need to support professional development and long-term solutions for expensive software
for labs.
Human Resources: None
Faculty Senate: None
Other:
Executive Summary: The Graphic Communications Program offers an AAS and a certificate of achievement, serving
164 majors in print, motion, audio, and web-based and standalone interactive media content creation and production. It has
three fulltime faculty and three to six part-time faculty per semester who manage three Macintosh computer labs, containing
a total of seventy-five computer workstations. The program faculty are particularly strong in working with students through
mentoring and advisement. This program is very popular with students and leads to employment in a variety of industries.
Integration with area high school programs is strong. The program has transfer agreements with GBC and UNLV for
baccalaureate degree attainment, but is studying whether these agreements are meeting the needs of their students and Renoarea industries. It anticipates the creation of skills certificates and is working with its Advisory Committee to assess the
needs in this rapidly evolving technical field. UNR is strengthening its programs in this area and their decisions may impact
the direction in which Graphic Communications moves. This is an excellent, though expensive, program in high demand
which is expected to continue to change and evolve to meet workforce needs.
Vice President of Academic Affairs:
Name
Signature
Dr. Jane Nichols
Vice President’s Recommendation
Date
06/09/2015