ABSTRACT OF THE SELF-EVALUATION REPORT
Since the last full accreditation cycle, Merritt College has institutionalized substantive changes.
The College’s Mission Statement has recently been updated and its Strategic Goals and
Objectives for FY 14-17 have been adopted for the College through a collaborative participatory
process. In the process, six Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILO’s) have been reaffirmed and
made central to divisional, department, program, and course level planning.
Student Learning Outcomes have been imbedded into the College’s strategic planning and
budget allocation process and the strategic planning process has been redesigned to strengthen
linkage to the departments’ Annual Program Updates (APUs). The participatory governance
process at the College has been assessed and changes are being put in place to streamline the
decision tree and improve input from constituency groups following that evaluation. The
College’s reliance on evidence-based decision-making has been strengthened and, with changes
and permanent hires within the District’s Office of Institutional Research, more reliable and
relevant data is available for use in college’s educational master planning, talent acquisitions,
technological advancement, and budget allocation processes. In addition, the College has
engaged in focused research through its Title III grant, Basic Skills Initiative, and other grant
initiatives to explore areas that directly affect student success.
Merritt College continues to upgrade its physical plant to better serve its student population and
the regional community through funds received from various tax initiatives. For example,
Measures A, B, and E have allowed for the upgrading of the R, P, Q, D, and A Buildings. The
remodeled Student Services building now houses all areas of student registration, counseling,
transfer, financial aid, cafeteria, student government offices, and other services central to student
life at Merritt. The College library has had a much needed renovation and the Learning Center,
within the Library, has also been upgraded and expanded to strengthen student academic success.
Currently, the College is eagerly awaiting the opening of a new 107,000 sq. ft. instructional
facility with state-of-the-art classrooms and facilities to support its Science and Allied Health
programs. The athletic and kinesiology programs have new fields and spaces to provide quality
education. Smart classrooms are now commonplace at Merritt College and faculty are
employing technology to assist with instruction and are conducting original research to advance
learning and scholarship. These changes to the physical plant allow Merritt to provide a
welcoming academic environment for students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community
alike.
Standard I: Institutional Mission and Effectiveness
Merritt College’s mission statement articulates the College’s commitment to ensuring its
students attain knowledge and mastery of skills as well as develop the appreciation, attitudes, and
values necessary for success in a global economy. In recognition of the changing climates within
which community colleges operate, Merritt College’s mission statement undergoes a six-year
cycle of review in order to verify that the College maintains academic, social, and economic
relevance and continually responds to the learning needs of the community we serve. A review
of the College’s mission statement was undertaken in the spring of 2014 and slight amendments
were suggested which were endorsed by the College Council and recommended to the College
President. The new mission statement has recently been approved by the Peralta Community
College District Board of Trustees. The College consistently conducts, utilizes, and assesses
research data in an ongoing systematic cycle of evaluation, integrating planning, implementation,
and re-evaluation to verify and improve the effectiveness of the College’s mission. The College
uses district data, nationally recognized surveys and program and course assessment data to
accomplish this Standard.
Merritt College employs participatory decision-making processes to ensure campus-wide input
into improving student learning. Various constituencies of the College work collaboratively to
successfully acquire funding for improving academic affairs and student services. The College
employs course, program, and College research to inform planning processes at the discipline,
department, and college level, and there is ongoing critical dialogue on strategies for integrating
student learning outcomes (SLOs) and Assessment into both the program and course levels to
enhance student success. College faculty (both full-time and part-time), staff, and administrators
have received training on SLOs and Assessment, incorporating SLOs and assessment into the
fabric of the student learning experience at the College. The College has also developed
strategies for mapping programs to SLOs and assessing student success as they relate to the
Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs). The Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment
Committee (SLOAC) has been essential in coordinating the assessment plans across all the
constituencies of the College and has also provided training and one-on-one assistance for
faculty to make the most propitious use of this critical pedagogical tool.
Standard II: Student Learning Programs and Services
The instructional divisions of the College maintain high quality and varied face-to-face, hybrid,
and online course offerings that meet the needs of the students in accordance with the mission of
the College. Instructional programs are systematically assessed in order to assure accuracy,
improved pedagogy and learning strategies, and completed student learning outcomes. The
College incorporates values that enhance diversity into the academic life of our students and
maintains a high level of integrity in its instruction, curriculum development, and assessment of
student learning outcomes. The College affords opportunities for students to learn about and
appreciate policies on ethics, rights, and responsibilities.
Merritt College recruits and admits diverse students who are able to benefit from the College
programs, consistent with the College’s Mission, Vision and Values. The College identifies the
needs of the diverse student body and creates and maintains a wide variety of services to address
those needs to support student success. Merritt College stays focused on a “Students First”
philosophy. The College works to maintain pathways through the Merritt College experience
that are characterized by ensuring access, progress, learning, and success. Student support
services use ongoing, systematic assessment and planning grounded in student learning outcomes
to improve the effectiveness of the services. Merritt College has an open-enrollment policy that
is clearly mirrored as a value in its Mission, Vision, and Values statement
The Merritt College Library (MCL) Mission is to provide access to information, collections,
systems, and services that support transfer, basic skills, and CTE curricula. In addition, the MCL
provides students with a means for developing their information competency and information
retrieval skills that will support immediate student needs as well as those that encourage and/or
promote lifelong learning. The MCL leverages technology to provide information access to
distance education students, off-site students, and other campus community members.
Standard III: Resources
Merritt College is committed to maximizing its human, physical, technological, and financial
resources in fulfillment of its mission to enhance the quality of life of the communities we serve.
In terms of human resources, we invest in our personnel and ensure diversity within the ranks of
our administrators, faculty, and classified staff through thoughtfully crafted policies and
procedures. Our technological resources are maintained and upgraded as necessary to continue
to leverage the power of digital technology to support our work administratively and in the
classroom. We understand that we are stewards of the physical and financial resources and
adhere to strict policies to assure the public that our resources are being used to enhance student
success. We work cooperatively through participatory governance bodies and the District to
maintain the integrity of our resources and provide a voice for all stakeholders in the
management of the College’s resources. All of our ongoing and new resource needs are
informed by student learning outcomes (where appropriate) and continual integrated resource
needs assessment through our participatory governance committees and appropriate executive
decisions.
Physical resource planning, including facilities, equipment, land and other assets is integrated
with institutional planning and supports student learning programs and services. Planning for
major projects is guided by the College’s Education and Facilities Master Plans (III.B.1). Both
long and short range planning are informed by the District’s Strategic Goals and the Planning
and Budgeting Integration Model. The District Office of General Services provides centralized
support for the College for maintenance of buildings and grounds and design and construction of
new buildings and renovations. This includes facility and property services as well as
maintenance and operations, capital outlay, centralized mailroom and duplication services, and
Peralta Police Services. The facility and property services include capital planning and
management, real property leasing, energy management, custodial and security services as well
as parking.
Technology resources that support student learning programs and services to improve
institutional effectiveness are the shared responsibilities of the District Office of Information
Technology (IT) and the College. The network infrastructure, communication systems, and
information systems are centralized under the direction of the Associate Vice Chancellor (AVC)
of IT at the District Office. District IT staff support the district-wide network infrastructure up to
college edge switch, telecommunications system, and district-wide information systems. Each
college manages their own network from edge switch to MDF/IDF/POE adhering to standards
recommended by District IT. The College’s network coordinator and campus based technicians
support faculty, staff, computer labs, servers, server applications, smart classrooms, wireless
access points, and network devices at the College. Each college manages their own network
adhering to standards recommended by District IT.
Merritt College has an overall budget for the fiscal year 2014-15, of $17.4 million from the
unrestricted general fund. This is a slight increase of $539,365 or 3.18% as compared to the
budget in fiscal year 2013-14. The College budget is divided into non-discretionary and
discretionary budgets. Non-discretionary budgets are those that support the salaries and related
benefits of permanent positions within the funded budget. Discretionary budgets consist of
hourly personnel, supplies, materials, services, and capital equipment budgets.
The District adopted a Budget Allocation Model (BAM) which parallels the State of California’s
funding model established in Senate Bill 361 (SB361). The shift to utilization of the SB361
model has defined limits on the majority of resources and expenditures and has encouraged
accountability at all levels. The linkage of allocations to expenditures at the college level has
moved the Peralta Community College District to greater fiscal stability and clarity as to how
colleges support their own and the District’s budgetary functions, and how auxiliary enterprises
are funded. Implementation of the Budget Allocation Model is consistent with Board Policy
Board Policy (BP) 6200- Budget Preparation and Administrative Procedure (AP) 6200 – Budget
Management.
Standard IV: Leadership and Governance
Merritt College’s leadership is comprised of the President and her administrative team, the
Academic Senate, the Classified Senate, the Associated Students of Merritt College and the
representatives from the collective bargaining units. The leadership team recognizes
collaboration as central to the participatory decision-making process. This is further supported
by approved policies and administrative procedures which fosters effective student learning
programs and services for the College and District.
The Governing Board of the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) is comprised of four
colleges and District Services. The roles and responsibilities for the Board of Trustees,
Chancellor and College Presidents are clearly outlined and available for viewing by the general
public on the District website and reinforced by the functional map between the District and each
college. Board policy delegates authority to the Chancellor to issue regulations and directives to
the employees of the District. The Chancellor is charged with implementing district
administrative procedures to ensure the quality, integrity, and effectiveness of student learning
programs and services. Organizational charts outline the report lines from the District to each
college which are available on the District and College websites.