DRAFT AGENDA
Goal Team 2: “Learning Assured”
First Solo Team Meeting
2:00 p.m., Friday, November 19, 2010
Criminal Justice Institute, Room 150
(If time targets are met, this agenda can be achieved in 2 hours, including a 10-minute break.)
Note - The goal team agendas and meeting notes are accessible by clicking on the link at
the bottom of this page:
http://www.valenciacc.edu/strategicplan/StrategicGoalTeams.cfm
I.
Welcome and Introductions (5 minutes)
Convener Suzette Dohany will ask all present to introduce themselves. See Attachment A
(page 4 of this document) for list of this team’s members. Some team members may
have missed the October 22 meeting.
II.
Review of the Charge to the Goal Teams, Team Principles and Roles (15 minutes) –
CPC Co-chairs Susan Kelley, Ed Frame and Convener Suzette Dohany
Suzette will review the charge to the goal teams, and the “four questions” that each team
will address.
See Attachment B (p. 5 of this document) for the charge and the questions.
See Attachment L (pp. 51, 56, 59, 62, and 66 for the targets for each objective.
See Attachment C (p. 7) for Team Roles, and Attachment D (p. 8) for Principles.
Susan and Ed will answer any questions about the charge from the CPC, and note that the
purpose of this meeting is to complete work remaining to be done before December 17,
2010, as stated in the charge, some of which was completed at the October 22
organizational meeting:
By December 17, 2010:
 Develop principles to guide the work of the goal teams.
 Review and discuss the goal assigned to the team and its place within the strategic
plan.
 Review the baseline and target measures established for the goal by the 2009-10 goal
teams, and determine a means of obtaining the baseline data by February 4, 2011.
 Review the list of departmental objectives entered into the college’s Weave Online
system that relate to the team’s goal, providing an overview of some of the work
underway to advance the goal.
 Review and discuss the eight questions used by the college to develop the
situational/needs analysis for the 2008-13 plan. Consider whether these are still the
right questions to ask as we review data about our internal and external environment.
Make any recommendations the team may have regarding changes to these questions.
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Suggest any strategic issues that should be considered by the college related to this
goal.
Suzette will lead the team in reviewing and finalizing the principles that will guide their
work and the roles they wish to have filled by team members.
III.
Review of Notes from October 22 Joint Meeting (5 minutes)
Suzette will ask the team if there is anything that should be added to the notes on the
team’s meeting on October 2.
See Attachment E (p. 9 of this document).
All teams’ notes are available at this web site, under the second section of the page:
http://valenciacc.edu/strategicplan/strategicplanning2010-11.cfm
IV.
Review of Strategic Issues (15 minutes)
Suzette will ask the team to review the Strategic Issues included in the 2008-13 Strategic
Plan, note those that have relevance to the goal, and suggest any strategic issues that have
emerged that the team suggests be added, if any.
See Attachment F – Strategic Issues List from 2008-13 Plan ( p. 10 of this document).
Issue reports combined from all of the 09-10 teams are available at
http://www.valenciacc.edu/strategicplan/big_2009.cfm
under the section titled Goal Team Reports on Issues and Initiatives.
The team will discuss whether it wishes to update information on the selected/added
issues for the purpose of reporting on the issues at the Big Meeting on March 18, using an
issue brief format that will be provided to the team.
V.
Finalizing the Baseline Data for the Goal (30 minutes)
The team will review the baseline data gathered for Goal 2, and discuss whether any
additional baseline data may be desirable. If so, someone on the team will agree to obtain
the additional data. See Attachment G, p 11.
(Following that, the team may wish to take a 10-minute break.)
VI.
Developing the List of Major Goal-Related Initiatives and Projects: (30 minutes)
See Attachments:
H – Template (p. 13), J- 2009-10 Initiatives List for 3.2 (p. 17),
K- Summary of the 09-10 Goal Team Report (p. 47),
L – Full Team report (p. 50)
M – Weave Online Report (p. 69 and separate PDF file), and
N (p. 70), Reports on 2.1 and 2.2 from Kurt Ewen.
Also attached is Dr. Shugart’s Goal 2 essay in Attachment I, p. 14, for reference.
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There are three tasks:
1. The list of initiatives and projects developed by the 2009-10 Goal Team in February
2010, and the attached report from Weave Online will be reviewed. See Attachment M,
p. 69, and N, page 70.
2. The team will be asked to identify any missing initiatives that are underway but not on
the Fall 2010 Weave report. (Remember that we are aiming for major initiatives and
projects – short list rather than an exhaustive list.)
3. The team will decide on a means of gathering current information about initiatives for
goal 2 for the team’s review at its second meeting.
At a later meeting, the team will review the measures that are in place for the goal and
the objectives, and whether the list of current project and initiatives is likely to enable the
college to make progress toward the goal. The team may propose at that time to adjust the
measures or to add initiatives/projects, if the group deems that to be appropriate. Those
proposals would be considered at the Big Meeting on March 18.
VII.
Review of Assignments and Next Meeting (10 minutes)
Suzette will review the list of assignments.
A meeting date and convener will be agreed upon for the second solo team meeting.
All members will be reminded to hold Friday, March 18, 2011 on their calendars for the
Big Meeting.
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Attachment A – Goal 2 Team Members
Convener for first solo meeting – Suzette Dohaney
Team Roster
1. Remy Ansiello
2. Alys Arceneaux
3. Julie Balassa
4. Nicholas Bekas
5. Lucy Boudet
6. Joanna Branham
7. Roberta Brown
8. Karen Cowden
9. Richard Daye
10. Aida Diaz
11. Suzette Dohany
12. Kurt Ewen
13. Jean Marie Fuhrman
14. Ed Holmes
15. Natalie Holter
16. Jason Horton
17. Nichole Jackson
18. Anthony Jansen
19. Sean Jennings
20. Elizabeth Jusino
21. Kimberly Little
22. Helene Loiselle
23. Paul Lopez
24. Nemir Matos-Cintron
25. James May
26. Allison Noe
27. Della Paul
28. Ruth Prather
29. George Rausch
30. Jerry Reed
31. Cheryl Robinson
32. Landon Shephard
33. Elizabeth Solis
34. Chanda Torres
35. Dennis Weeks
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Attachment B – Goal Teams Charge
Charge to 2010-11 Goal Teams
In 2010-11, the College Planning Council will convene a Goal Team for each of the four goals in
the College Strategic Plan: 1) Build Pathways, 2) Learning Assured, 3) Invest in Each Other, and
4) Partner with the Community.
Each goal team will monitor progress toward a goal, collect and interpret data, monitor related
strategic issues, make recommendations to the annual Big Meeting, and prepare an annual report
on progress toward the goal.
Each goal team will maintain the College’s “to do” list of the initiatives and projects that are
intentionally aligned with each goal. This list of a handful of major projects for each goal will
help us to maintain our focus on the actual work being carried out to advance each goal.
The teams will answer four questions:
Looking at our team’s goal and objectives…
1. Are we on track toward the targets set for this goal by the 2009-10
teams?
2. What is currently happening at the college to get us there?
3. What data do we have that help us to measure progress?
4. Will the list of major activities underway continue to “move the needle?” If
not, what is missing from the list?
Composition of the Goal Teams
The goals teams, which will be recruited college-wide, will include volunteers from faculty,
career service, professional and administrative staff.
The Council will seek to have representation from each campus on each goal team. Also, care
will be taken to ensure that those who have responsibility for the work of the goal are
represented on each goal team.
Guiding Principles
The teams will utilize principles to guide their work, and will ask one member of the team to call
the attention of the team to the extent to which the work is being conducted in keeping with those
principles. The teams will develop the principles at a first, joint meeting, set for the afternoon of
Friday, October 22. That meeting will include Dr. Shugart who will assist in launching the work
of the teams for 2010-11.
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Responsibilities of the Goal Teams
The teams will have the following responsibilities, designed to be carried out in four or five
meetings between October 2010 and June 2011, with support and assistance provided by the cochairs of the College Planning Council, Ed Frame and Susan Kelley. The first meeting will be a
joint meeting of all four goal teams, set for the afternoon of October 22, 2010.
By December 17, 2010:
 Develop principles to guide the work of the goal teams.
 Review and discuss the goal assigned to the team and its place within the strategic plan.
 Review the baseline and target measures established for the goal by the 2009-10 goal
teams, and determine a means of obtaining the baseline data by February 4, 2011.
 Review the list of departmental objectives entered into the college’s Weave Online
system that relate to the team’s goal, providing an overview of some of the work
underway to advance the goal.
 Review and discuss the eight questions used by the college to develop the
situational/needs analysis for the 2008-13 plan. Consider whether these are still the right
questions to ask as we review data about our internal and external environment. Make
any recommendations the team may have regarding changes to these questions.
 Suggest any strategic issues that should be considered by the college related to this goal.
By February 4, 2011 (this work is anticipated to require one or two meetings in the December –
January time frame):
 Gather and study the baseline data and any available updates to that data that indicate
progress toward the targets set by the 2009-10 goal teams. (Data may be obtained from
the office of Institutional Research, the Data Task Force of the College Planning Council,
the College Data Team, and/or other sources.)
By March 4, 2011 (this work is anticipated to require one meeting):
 Review the original objectives developed for each goal, interpret progress data from
2010-11, review any updates on strategic issues, draft a list of major projects and
initiatives that are intentionally aligned with the goal, and make any recommendations
regarding the goal that the committee believes may be advisable for consideration at the
“Big Meeting” on March 18, 2011. (Team members will participate in the Big Meeting.)
By June 30, 2011 (this work is anticipated to require one meeting):
 Prepare an annual report on progress toward the goal, with a focus on the list of major
projects and initiatives that are intentionally aligned with the goal, including
recommendations on how the College might use what is learned to improve its
effectiveness.
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Attachment C
Role and Responsibilities of Team Members
Goal Teams
Roles and Responsibilities
Role
Responsibility
Convener
Schedules Goal Team Meetings with members (help with room reservations is available through CPC
staff); prepares agenda
Recorder
Records minutes of meetings and distributes to group and CPC staff
Reporter
Reports group progress, findings, etc. to CPC as needed
Seekers
Actively seeks information to answer group questions or needs (could be two or three people in this
role)
Questioners
Principles Monitor
Encourages group to explore multiple scenarios and ideas when addressing data sets and
assumptions(could be two or three people in this role)
Monitors the group’s adherence to design principles and helps the group through tough
conversations by focusing on principles
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Attachment D – Draft Principles
Base principles from 2009-10 Team Joint Meeting:
- The teams will first address the work to be done to meet the goal, without concern for
measurement.
- After identifying the work to be done towards each goal, the teams will recommend
what should be measured to determine if we are making progress.
- Everyone’s voice on the team is valued and important. All perspectives are welcomed,
both from those who are closest to the work as well as those who observe it from a
distance.
Additions by 2009-10 Teams, reviewed at the Joint Meeting on Oct. 22, 2010
o Try to format and locate meetings to make them as inclusive as possible and move
location so not always meeting in same place.
o Build on prior work.
o Implement a process to synthesize work, not create laundry lists.
o Stay solution oriented and positive.
o Continue clarifying purpose.
o Be accountable for all things proposed.
o Keep in mind that planning is a cycle – use feedback to inform current practice.
o Okay to dissent, but be respectful.
o Open communication – no hidden agenda.
o Reach out to other parts of the college.
o Think beyond our own roles.
o On time, committed, invested in work, active participant.
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Attachment E – Notes from Organizational Meeting – October 22, 2010
Goal Team 2 – Suzette Dohany, convener
Minutes from October 22, 2010
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The Team did not make any changes to the current Principles.
The Team did not decide on who would take on the various roles for the Team.
The Team decided to address the Objectives as one large group rather than breaking up into
smaller groups.
Kurt Ewen agreed to provide data/report for Objectives 2.1 & 2.2. Nick Bekas agreed to provide
data/report for Objectives 2.3, 2.4, & 2.5. They both agreed to send their reports to Suzette
Dohany by 11/8/2010.
November 19th from 2-4 was decided on for the second meeting. Go To Option was also
requested.
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Attachment F - Strategic Issues List from 2008-13 Plan
An Agenda of Plan-related Issues to Be Considered Systematically
by College Councils, Committees, and Leadership Teams during
2008-2013
As the Strategic Plan is carried out, the following issues should be systematically
studied by appropriate councils, committees, and leadership teams, and the results
should inform the annual review of the strategic plan:
- How do we define and measure learning? What is our theory regarding the
assessment of learning?
- What constitutes Student Success? How does learning differ from student
success?
- How will we define “meaningful improvement?”
- What are the contributions that a student can make to achieve his or her goals?
- What does it mean for a student to achieve his or her potential?
- How do we define “Optimal Learning Conditions?”
- How do we measure the extent to which we are accessible? How can we describe
what it means to “Build Pathways?”
- How do we define and practice collaboration? How should we communicate in a
collaborative college?
- How is our commitment to valuing diversity honored through the work
envisioned by this plan?
- How will employees define their learning pathways, and how will we measure an
employee’s engagement in the learning process?
- What data model will be used to carry out this work, and how will we organize
for data sharing and accountability?
- As part of our “culture of evidence”, what do we accept as evidence of progress
against our goals and objectives? How do we validate that changes in our
proposed key indicators are meaningful and are having the intended effects on
achieving our objectives?
- What constitutes meaningful data? Should we compare statistics by socioeconomic
indicators, rather than by race? What is the usefulness of such a
comparison?
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Attachment G – Baseline Data Needed
Goal 2 – Learning Assured (6 items needed)
Objective 2.1: Learning Outcomes
Develop, align, and review program learning outcomes to assure a cohesive curricular and cocurricular experience that enhances student learning.
1. A report detailing the status of the first cycle of the process for General Education and the
Associate in Science programs during the first year of implementation. (Consult the Office of
Institutional Effectiveness, Kurt Ewen.)
2. A design that has been recorded and the status of implementation during the first year for the
Associate in Arts program. (Consult the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Kurt Ewen.)
Objective 2.2: College-level Writing
Increase the percentage of students writing at the college level.
Results from assessments implemented in General Education and Developmental Composition
courses, first available in 2010-11, providing a baseline measure. (Consult provosts and deans.)
Objective 2.3: Completion of Mathematics
Increase the percentage of students who complete the math sequence within two years.
(Completion is defined as successfully completing the highest level math course required for a
program of study. The two-year measurement period begins upon entrance to the College.)
CLC recommends a change to: “Completion is defined as successfully completing the highest
level math course required for the student’s declared major or as defined by the certificate
program in which they are enrolled.” Note that developmental education is not a program.
A report on student progress in the 2009 cohort being used in the Developmental Education
Initiative. (Available from Nick Bekas.)
Objective 2.4: Completion of 15 college credits
Increase the percentage of students mandated into developmental courses who complete within
three years the first 15 college level hours of their programs of study. (Developmental courses are
defined to include MAT1033C.)
The first annual measure for the Fall 2008 cohort of students mandated into developmental
courses who complete within three years the first 15 college level hours of their programs of
study. (Available from IR.)
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Objective 2.5: Close achievement gaps
Close achievement gaps among students from diverse backgrounds in completing six key
courses, leading to increased persistence and program completion rates. (MAT 0012C, MAT0024C,
MAT1033, ENC1101, POS 2041, MAC 1105)
The 2008-09 an annual update to trend data showing changes in gaps for the targeted courses
(available from IR).
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Attachment H – Initiative Report Template
Initiative Report
Goal Team:
Initiative Name:
Prepared by:
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative:
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date:
Information about upcoming work on the initiative:
Any data or results that can be shared that reveals how those involved with this initiative
are gauging the success of the initiative:
(Add pages as needed.)
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Attachment I – Dr. Shugart’s Goal Two Essay
The title of this goal - “Learning Assured” - generated deep and challenging discussions at every
stage of collaboration in shaping the strategic learning plan. No one can guarantee that every
student will learn. That kind of assurance is beyond our control, even as a learning college. But
the discussions led us to keep the language of assurance both as an aspirational goal and to
describe a kind of mindfulness about our results. This mindfulness has already proven to be
essential to the significant progress the college has made in fostering steadily improving student
learning results for the past decade. Make no mistake, these improving results are both real and
important. The college achieves graduation rates that are nearly three times as high as our peer
institutions. Student persistence rates from term to term and year to year have risen by some
twenty percentage points above our results in the mid-nineteen nineties and most of our peers’
current results. Rates of success in gateway courses have improved and gaps in achievement
among various student groups have been narrowed, though this work poses ongoing challenges.
These are the ways we represent results formally, and they are remarkable enough. But even
more remarkable are the thousands of individual student stories they represent - thousands more
succeeding, their lives and perhaps their families transformed by the power of an opportunity
made real in performance.
How have these remarkable results been achieved? This question is often posed by other
institutions from across the country, one suspects in search of a silver bullet solution to the
challenges all colleges face in student learning success. But there really isn’t such a single magic
solution. Rather, there are thousands of little decisions and changes made to the learning
environment emanating from a culture of student success rather than any single specific strategy.
This culture is built on a history of collaboration that has created a system of beliefs about our
students and what comprises a powerful learning environment. At the core of these is the belief
that “anyone can learn anything under the right conditions.” This single belief is one of the Big
Ideas that sustain our momentum in these efforts when many others who began the learning
centered journey have lost focus. We continue to aspire to a higher calling as an institution and
as collaborating professionals. If anyone really can learn anything under the right conditions,
then our challenge is to discern what those conditions are for our learners, remove institutional
practices that undermine these conditions, and find ways to partner with the learners to improve
each of their learning experiences. This is the aspirational dimension of Learning Assured.
So what about the dimension of “mindfulness?” Here, “Learning Assured” takes on a more
granular focus on the results our students are actually achieving and leads us to a continuing
commitment to evidence-based practice at every level. The core of this is achieving clarity
together on the expected learning outcomes for every learning experience. This is not meant to
be a confining, prescriptive management tool, but a shared commitment among professionals to
reach agreement on the essential core of learning we expect from our students and to use the
assessment of what is actually learned as our first criterion for every decision we can –
curricular, instructional, learning support, and administrative.
In our former strategic plan we called this “Learning First.” Under that goal, many significant
changes were made in the college’s systems, procedures, and programs to improve learning,
touching everything from admission and registration to the deployment of technology to hiring
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and development of faculty and staff. This work continues under the new plan. To it we will
add careful attention to naming and measuring the outcomes in areas of core skills – reading,
mathematics, and writing – as well as our general education program and other programs.
Faculty have been and will continue to be engaged in a continuing process of refining learning
outcomes for every course and program and developing instructionally appropriate models of
assessment. This work is critical to both the learner and the institution. Because the learner
controls so many of the conditions of his or her learning (like showing up, studying, seeking
assistance, putting in productive learning time, etc.) we have to find ways to partner with each
learner. The fulcrum of this partnership is clarity on outcomes and their assessment. Only with
this information can the learner grow in his or her habits of learning and receive the essential
feedback that so powerfully reinforces good learning and redirects them when they fail to meet
the standard. This insight that the purpose of assessment is to improve learning, another of
Valencia’s Big Ideas, reminds us that the learner is the primary audience for our published
outcomes and the assessment data he produces under testing. Our work in outcomes assessment
is, first, for the learner.
Of course, clarity on our outcomes and their level of achievement is also very important to the
professionals who mediate the learning process, enabling us to adjust our approaches and our
systems based on real results. The college has become quite good at this, tackling issues of
course and program design that are much less common in many other colleges.
So where will we focus our efforts for the coming several years? Look first for continuity in the
work. That is, the work undertaken in Achieving the Dream, in building the student engagement
model we call LifeMap, in learning communities (LinC), in Supplemental Learning, and in
student success will continue to be scaled to the whole institution and rigorously tested against
our results. To these efforts we will add several more. The work of developing and refining
learning outcomes and their assessment will continue among the faculty, not because some other
agency may require them, but because we believe the work is essential to our learners’ success.
In particular, work is already underway to clarify our expectations and practices in the teaching
of writing, an essential skill for all subsequent college level learning experiences. Identifying
the levels of writing competence to which our students must perform and agreeing on some
common assessment approaches are vital early steps already in the works. Similarly, focusing
more precisely on the reading skills and levels our students need to achieve to succeed in
subsequent coursework may well lead us to rethinking course pre-requisites for many college
level courses.
A speaker at a national conference was recently heard to say, “Mathematics is where aspirations
go to die.” This shocking comment wasn’t meant as a criticism of mathematics teachers, but to
awaken the audience to a fact Valencia has already begun to face: enabling our students
routinely to succeed up through college level mathematics is an essential part of our strategy.
Much of our work tied to the Achieving the Dream Initiative and now in the Gates funded
Developmental Education Initiative is focused on achieving major improvements in student
performance in mathematics at every level. Our mathematics faculty has made an extraordinary
commitment to this effort and the early results are encouraging. But there is much still to do.
Major improvements in the learning support programs in mathematics have been undertaken and
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will need to be expanded. A major experiment in curriculum redesign is already underway in
developmental mathematics and may require several iterations to get the results we hope to see.
This is a normal part of the cycle of improvement in any program.
At the program level, the college continues to focus on the power of a student’s earliest
experiences with us to shape their future success. We have called this working theory “Start
Right,” yet another of Valencia’s Big Ideas. A student’s success in his or her first five courses
on first attempt continues to be one of the best predictors of continuing academic success and
graduation. For this reason, hundreds of faculty and staff took an active part in the Foundations
of Excellence self-review last year. Many of the recommendations from that review will be
implemented over the next couple of years, including a bold experiment in expanding the work
we have done in learning communities to a full “first year experience” in which a large number
of our students who might benefit most will be taught by a team of faculty for most or all of their
coursework in their first year at Valencia. Restructuring this experience may be one of our most
powerful action research projects in the college.
Because we still have many students who “churn” in their earliest coursework, withdrawing,
failing to perform, or both, we will develop efforts intended to accelerate their progress,
especially through developmental coursework and beyond to their fifteenth hour of college
credit. The goal is to increase what one researcher calls their “academic momentum.” The
college will also be implementing and measuring the impact of a new course withdrawal policy
toward improving student success and reducing withdrawal rates, as well as seeking to infuse
and reinforce student success and other core skills in the learning experiences beyond the courses
where they are already explicitly taught.
All of these strategies have been born out of deep conversations in the college. This work is by
its nature collaborative. Our collaborative culture is rich, but should not be taken for granted.
Our commitment to collaboration as the only way to build a culture of “Learning Assured” has to
be continually renewed. This too will be a topic of “courageous conversation” in the coming
year and beyond.
While we cannot guarantee that every student will learn, we can remain steadfast in our belief
that every student can learn. This shared belief makes the “Learning Assured” goal powerful for
shaping the future of Valencia as an authentic and extraordinary learning community.
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Attachment J – List of Initiatives from 09-10 Goal Team
Initiative Report
(Reports updated with Team comments from the second and third meetings of the team, in
February and March.)
Referenced in this document are the following more detailed reports available with the
Supplementary Reports on the Big Meeting 2010 web page.
List of Follow Up Assignments
Note that there is no Initiative #1 due to the way in which the spreadsheet was numbered.
Initiative 2 – Curriculum Mapping – Nick Bekas
Initiative 3 - Program outcomes and assessment plans for A.A., A.S., A.A.S, & B. S. – Jared
Graber
Initiative 4 - Improve success in math – John Niss
Initiative 5 - Holistic grading of ENC 1101 essays – Randy Gordon
Initiative 6 - Assessing writing in Gordon Rule Humanities – Kurt Ewen
Initiative 7 - General Education Student Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Curricular
Alignment – Kurt Ewen
Initiative 8 - Develop data model – Roberta Brown
Initiative 9 - Enrollment Plan – Cheryl Robinson
Initiative 10 - New Student Experience – Kurt Ewen
Initiative 11 - Developmental education initiative – Nick Bekas
Initiative 12 - Course outlines to be produced through a second round of outcomes review – John
Niss
The team asks that we define mapping and alignment- Nick Bekas will provide these definitions.
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Initiative #2 Report – Curriculum Mapping – Nick Bekas
Team Two comments – February 9 –
Curriculum Mapping, Alignment and College Readiness Infusion:
Valencia has committed to aligning and mapping our developmental education courses. As
part of the process, faculty will be looking at places where College Readiness Skills, skills
that change the learning behaviors of students, can be infused into developmental education
course curricula. Our focus will be on five College Readiness Skills: critical thinking,
reading, motivation, study skills, and goal setting.
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Initiative #3 Report
Initiative Name: Program Outcomes and Assessment Plans for AA, AS, AAS, & B S
Prepared by: Jared Graber
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative: Kurt Ewen,
Falecia Williams
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date:
AA, AS, AAS
Significant work has been completed on the development of program learning outcomes for all
associate degree and certificate programs including 4 AA pre-majors, 7 articulated pre-majors,
36 AAS/AS degrees and 63 certificate programs. A minor amount of editing remains for two of
four AA pre-majors (Art, Studio/Fine Art and Sign Language Interpretation) as well as the AS in
Culinary Management with a comprehensive proposal scheduled for the February, 2010
Curriculum Committee meeting.
BS
In December, 2009 letters of intent for two baccalaureate degrees including: (1) a BS in
Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology with sub-specializations in Computer Systems,
Electrical/Electronic Systems, Laser and Photonics and (2) a BS in Radiologic Science were
forwarded to the state.
Information about upcoming work on the initiative:
AA, AS, AAS
The design, content and placement of specific learning assessments for each degree and
certificate program continue to evolve as part of the complete institutional effectiveness cycles
required by SACS Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.1 and the college’s Learning Assured strategic
goal.
BS
Pending approval by the state, the development of baccalaureate degrees will continue with
completion of a Substantive Change application. Substantive change is a significant
modification or expansion of the nature and scope of an accredited institution. Under federal
regulations, substantive change includes the addition of courses or programs at a degree or
credential level above that which is included in the institution’s current accreditation or
reaffirmation. This involves change from Level I to Level II status based on 12 months advance
notice, prior approval from the SACS Commission on Colleges and submission of formal
application materials.
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Any data or results that can be shared that reveal how those involved with this initiative are
gauging the success of the initiative:
The Curriculum Committee’s February 10, 2010 agenda and materials are posted at:
http://www.valenciacc.edu/curriculumcommittee/AgendaandHandouts.cfm
A comprehensive overview on Substantive Change is located at:
http://www.sacscoc.org/SubstantiveChange.asp
Team Two Comments – February 9 –
Will we develop outcomes for the AA program (noting that General Education is not the entire
program)?
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Initiative #4 Report
Improve Success in Math – John Niss
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative:
Mathematics Deans, Michele McArdle
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date:
A college-wide task force has met for over a year and has produced an updated curriculum for
MAT0012C, including selection of a common textbook and a set of study-skills activities, and
the creation of a student portfolio , two hands-on student activities, a common final exit exam
and faculty training materials. All Valencia faculty teaching the course have been through a three
hour training session and all sections of the course for Fall 2009 used the new curriculum.
Information about upcoming work on the initiative:
The task force has evaluated the first semester’s data and has plans to implement a second
training session to help faculty integrate the new activities and concepts more fully into the
curriculum. A subgroup is researching the possibility of locally developing course materials
including text and online homework resources.
Any data or results that can be shared that reveal how those involved with this initiative are
gauging the success of the initiative:
The first semester’s results were disappointing but perhaps not surprising. Three campuses saw
drops in their success rates of approximately ten percent while one campus had a ten percent
increase. The decreases may be partly attributable to the inclusion of the exit exam for the first
time on two campuses. Hopefully, continued training of faculty and incremental improvements
to the new curriculum will increase its effectiveness. The next major piece of data will be the
success rate of the students who passed MAT0012C this semester in their next math class,
MAT0024C.
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Initiative #5 Report
Holistic grading of ENC 1101 essays – Randy Gordon
Consulted: Kurt Ewen
The Comp I Assessment Project, initially designed to assess college writing skills for Comp I
students, is now serving as a valuable pilot project for other Gen Ed courses (ex. HUM 2220,
HUM 2250, and MAC 1105).The Comp I Project is now a part of Initiative 7 (General Education
Student Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Curricular Alignment).
The criteria used for ENC 1101 holistic grading is below:
Score of 4:
The paper presents or implies a thesis that is developed with noticeable
coherence. The writer’s ideas are substantive, sophisticated, and carefully
elaborated with specific and accurate support. The writer’s choice of language is
precise and purposeful to the point of being polished. Control of sentence
structure, of grammatical usage, and of standard mechanical conventions
contributes to the writer’s ability to communicate.
Score of 3:
The paper presents or implies a thesis and provides enough supporting detail to
accomplish the writer’s purpose. The paper is focused and organized so that it
presents a clear progression of ideas. The writer demonstrates competent use of
language and sometimes varies sentence structure. The paper may have
occasional errors in sentence structure, grammar, or mechanics, but the errors do
not interfere with communication.
Score of 2:
The paper may present a thesis, but it is too vaguely worded or weakly asserted to
be viable. The writer provides support that tends toward general statements or
lists and is neither sufficient nor clear enough to be convincing. Sentence
structure tends to be pedestrian and often repetitious. Errors in sentence structure,
usage and mechanics may interfere with the writer’s ability to communicate the
purpose.
Score of 1:
The paper either has no discernible thesis or presents a thesis statement that is not
supported. The details are too insufficient and/or inappropriate to provide any real
development of the topic. The writing displays frequent and fundamental errors
in word choice. Errors in sentence structure, grammar, and mechanics are
pervasive and frequently interfere with communication.
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Initiative #6 Report
Assessing Writing in Gordon Rule Humanities – Kurt Ewen
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative:
David Sutton, Dean of Humanities on East Campus and the Division Action Plans posted
at http://www.valenciacc.edu/divisionplans/
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date:
This initiative developed an assessment process for “Communicate” in all the Gordon
Rule courses that can be used to both strengthen the writing outcome for humanities
general education courses and to create a college wide rubric for writing assignments
and assessments.
Information about upcoming work on the initiative:
Work on this initiative has now ended and has contributed to the assessment of the
General Education Student Learning Outcomes reported on in Initiative 7
Any data or results that can be shared that reveal how those involved with this initiative are
gauging the success of the initiative:
Results / conclusions from this process include the following:
-
While humanities faculty have a good working consensus of how we grade and
evaluate student writing, it is clear that the assumption that our graduates will be at
least "competent" at the end of a single Gordon Rule humanities class is flawed. Also,
a free-ranging discussion revealed a considerable problem in terms of curriculum
continuity. Students exiting ENC 1101 have not learned the skills that many or most
humanities faculty expect them to have. For example, they do not have much or any
experience with research design and the use of MLA (or any other style of) citation.
Our discussion also revealed a considerable range of what kind of assignments
faculty expect of their students
-
Faculty are anxious to explore the possibility of making ENC 1102 a co-requisite of
any Gordon Rule humanities class to try and make sure that students will have the
skills they need to write papers in the humanities. They are also interested in meeting
to discuss and define what the expectations of faculty should be via a vis their
students. For example, should research papers be required or at least some evidence
of research activity be required in major papers? They are also interested in creating
a kind of clearing house of instructor-generated rubrics that all humanities faculty
can access.
Lastly, faculty are interested in the work of the English faculty as they work to refine
the LET rubric.
-
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Initiative #7 Report
General Education Student Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Curricular Alignment – Kurt
Ewen
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative:
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date:
-
The General Education Student Learning Outcomes were developed during 2007 and
approved by faculty in December of 2007 and by the College Curriculum Committee
and College Learning Council in early 2008. The General Education Student
Learning Outcomes include the following:
 Cultural and Historical Understanding: Demonstrate understanding of the
diverse traditions of the world, and the individual's place in it.
 Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning: Use processes, procedures, data, or
evidence to solve problems and make effective decisions.
 Communication Skills: Engage in effective interpersonal, oral and written
communication.
 Ethical Responsibility: Demonstrate awareness of personal responsibility in
one's civic, social, and academic life.
 Information Literacy: Locate, evaluate, and effectively use information from
diverse sources.
 Critical Thinking: Effectively analyze, evaluate, synthesize and apply
information and ideas from diverse sources and disciplines
-
Work is now underway to map the introduction, reinforcement and assessment of the
outcomes within the 5 General Education discipline areas (Communications,
Humanities, Math, Science, and Social Science) and within co-curricular student
experience.
Assessment plans connected to the General education Student learning Outcomes
were developed during Destination 2009 and will be implemented in Spring 2010.
General Education assessment plans were developed were developed in the following
areas:
 ENC1101 – Comp1
 SPC1608 – Speech
 Gordon Rule Humanities
 POS2041 – Political Science
 MAC1105 – College Algebra
-
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
New Student Orientation
Information about upcoming work on the initiative:
-
Destination 2010 will bring General Education faculty together again to fine their
plans from 2009 and to identify a second General Education outcome that they
contribute to – all General Education disciplines will need to measurably contribute to
at least 2 General Education Student Learning Outcomes.
Any data or results that can be shared that reveal how those involved with this initiative are
gauging the success of the initiative:
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Initiative #8 Report
Develop Data Model – Roberta Brown
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative:
Roberta Brown, Kurt Ewen, Jeff Cornett
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date:
A core team has been convened to discuss the development of a model for collecting and
processing data related to learning and learning assessment. This team has met to have initial
conversation around what information or ideas have already been discussed in our history and
what information we need to move forward. We will continue to meet to clarify and solidify a
solid foundation for an expanded dialogue with other members of the College that will need to be
involved in this conversation.
Information about upcoming work on the initiative:
The team will continue to meet, and are working on a visual representation of where collectible
artifacts of student learning exist in our current framework. This will be used to further
conversation around next steps.
Any data or results that can be shared that reveal how those involved with this initiative are
gauging the success of the initiative:
No data are available at this time.
Team Two comments – February 9 – We are in the beginning stages of this conversation, and a
core team is exploring it. Need to clarify what we mean by a data model for learning. Need to
identify where we have artifacts of student learning.
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Initiative #9 Report
Enrollment Management
Cheryl Robinson
Initiative Report
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative: Joyce Romano
(and indirectly Susan Kelley and Lucy Boudet from College Learning Council conversations)
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date: We have planned increased section capacity
for each term by 6-8% and built a stronger schedule of high enrollment courses to maximize
student registrations in scheduled sections. Overall capacity utilization has increased from 88%
in Fall 2008 to 92% in Fall 2009, and according to the 2/2/10 mirror report, Spring 2010 capacity
utilization increased to 89.1% compared to 88% in Spring 2009 and registration is ongoing. We
anticipate not being able to meet the educational marketplace demand, but recognize the
importance of maintaining our profile in the community and are making baseline investments
accordingly. Spring 2010 registration saw an increase in returning student registration compared
to new student enrollments. Thus, marketing messages supported brand reinforcement but did
not focus on new student recruitment as we try to serve our current students.
Information about upcoming work on the initiative: A detailed analysis of registration processes
was conducted after the Fall 2009 registration and a plan for improving specific registration
processes has been developed and will be implemented over the next year. We will hold the next
Bookstore textbook sale in the Summer term when there is less financial aid available to students
thus creating a more meaningful sale. We are continuing to send the message to students that
they need to register early and pay by the deadlines or they may not be able to make (or re-make)
a schedule. Marketing is working with the Provosts and Deans on the “Programs that need
marketing” list prepared in October 2009 and are developing new strategies to specifically target
messages as well as exploring new internet and social networking strategies to reach students.
Any data or results that can be shared that reveals how those involved with this initiative are
gauging the success of the initiative: Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 enrollments and capacity
utilizations have both increased. Student persistence has remained at 80%+. The percentage of
students deleted for non-payment has remained consistent in both Fall and Spring terms
compared to previous years.
The Goal Team noted that it would be good to have more information about proprietary
institutions in our market, how they are changing, and the extent to which they impact access
issues. Also, the team noted that we provide on-campus access to the internet via Atlas outposts
and the libraries for students who do not have computer access.
27 | P a g e
Copies of the Enrollment Plan, 2/2/10 mirror registration report, and the Student Affairs Fall
2009 registration action plan are attached. The re-launch of LifeMap will have data that should
be added here when available.
Enrollment Planning
2009-2010
Adopted April 14, 2009; Revised June 17, 2009; Revised October 6, 2009
As we implement the Enrollment Plan in 2009-10, we have discussed the challenge of balancing
priorities in light of the budget reductions from the State of Florida and the increase in demand
for enrollment in our community. We recognize the importance of being clear about the choices
we are making so that all stakeholders can support our intended direction and we can work
together in an integrated manner to achieve our enrollment goals.
The following describe our priorities and their implementation.
1. Our target is to increase enrollment by 5% FTE in Summer 2009 and by 3% FTE in Fall
2009, Spring and Summer 2010 (each term compared to the previous year) without
adding to sections or other expenses.
Revised June 2009: The new target is 6% FTE growth in Fall 2009, Spring and
Summer 2010 (each term compared to the previous year) with modest
additions of
adjunct faculty to create more capacity in front door courses.
The Summer 2009 schedule has increased section capacity of 8% compared to Summer
2008. This should easily allow for the 5% FTE growth but will add some additional
instructional costs. The Summer 2009 schedule was finalized by the Deans and Provosts
in October, 2008, prior to the direction of not adding to instructional expenses.
The Fall 2009 schedule has slight increase in section capacity (0.47%). The 6% FTE
increase will be achieved through the change in balance of sections to more high demand
courses and the room for growth based on the final capacity usage of Fall 2008 (88%).
The addition of selected sections will add to the Fall 2009 schedule section capacity
which we will quantify in September. According to the September 29, 2009 Credit
Registration Report, the Fall schedule capacity increased 6.9% from Fall 2008. The other
significant change was capacity utilization increased to 92% from 88% in Fall 2008.
The Spring 2010 schedule has xx% increase in section capacity. The 6% FTE increase
will be achieved through the change in balance of sections to more high demand courses
and the room for growth based on the final capacity usage of Spring 2009 (xx%).
2. Maintain our commitment to student access.
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3. Maintain our commitment to student progression and graduation.
These two priorities are interrelated. Deans and Provosts have carefully reviewed the
course offerings for each campus and across the college, and have moved sections to
achieve the best estimate of student demand at the front door, middle progression, and
degree completion.
Student affairs staff has developed plans to maximize student transition from high school,
awarding of financial aid, enrollment of returning students, and fee payment. Special
programs are planned to assist disadvantaged students to ensure access to college. A plan
for improving specific registration processes has been developed following a detailed
review of Fall 2009 registration and will be implemented over the next year.
To assist additional students based on the additional sections added as of June 2009,
Student Affairs and Business Office staff will add part-time hours and authorize
additional overtime for full time staff as needed to meet the extra demand for all terms.
That being said, we expect that we will not have the course capacity to meet the
enrollment demand in any of the 2009-10 terms. Our enrollment system (procedures and
processes) provides priority to pre-planning and early registration. Those who are
prepared and act in a timely manner will have the highest likelihood of success in
obtaining their desired classes. First Come + First Pay = Those Served. We will continue
to encourage students who are not able to make a schedule for Fall term to enroll in
available Flex Start classes and plan early for Spring 2010 term.
We will hold the next Bookstore textbook sale in Summer term when there are fewer
students eligible for financial aid and we can offer a meaningful sale. (The timing of the
Spring semester with semester break and the holidays between December and January
makes it more difficult to incentivize early planning with the $200,000 with which we
have.)
4. Maintain Valencia’s profile in the market place.
If demand continues to increase in the “double digits” and we are only able to
accommodate 6% of that demand, then we can predict that demand will exceed capacity
by 4% or more. While we do not expect to be able to accommodate student demand, we
realize it is still important to maintain our profile in the educational marketplace at a
baseline level and will make investments accordingly.
Our marketing efforts have several purposes, one of which is to help meet agreed upon
enrollment targets by attracting new students as well as by retaining existing students,
helping students understand how and when to act to ensure that they enroll and progress.
Also, our marketing campaign contributes to maintaining our brand in the community.
Accordingly, summer and fall marketing materials carry the messages that 1) it would be
wise to enroll for summer classes to get a head start on fall, since fall is expected to have
unusual demand levels, and 2) that it would be wise to register early for fall and pay by
the deadlines, since he who hesitates may not make a schedule.
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Fall messages will also be crafted with the aim of reinforcing the value of the College to
the community at large, helping people to understand and appreciate the difference
Valencia, our students, and our graduates make, in support of our community partnership
goal. We want to help reinforce community understanding of who we are in a changing
higher education market.
Spring 2010 new student applications are up 74% as of the end of September. While this
tremendous increase is not expected to sustain through the end of the application period,
it does signal a trend in double digit application increase for Spring 2010. Together with
the trends that Spring 2010 enrollment is more heavily from returning students than new
students, that in Fall term there was an 11% increase in enrollment and that student
persistence has remained at 80%+, Spring marketing will support brand reinforcement as
needed but not a strong push for new student enrollment. Marketing will work with
Provosts and Deans on the Programs That Need Marketing list prepared in October 2009
to determine specific targets and internet strategies.
Goal Team: Learning Assured
Initiative Name: Enrollment Plan
Prepared by: Cheryl Robinson
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative: Joyce Romano
(and indirectly Susan Kelley and Lucy Boudet from College Learning Council conversations)
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date: We have planned increased section capacity
for each term by 6-8% and built a stronger schedule of high enrollment courses to maximize
student registrations in scheduled sections. Overall capacity utilization has increased from 88%
in Fall 2008 to 92% in Fall 2009, and according to the 2/2/10 mirror report, Spring 2010 capacity
utilization increased to 89.1% compared to 88% in Spring 2009 and registration is ongoing. We
anticipate not being able to meet the educational marketplace demand, but recognize the
importance of maintaining our profile in the community and are making baseline investments
accordingly. Spring 2010 registration saw an increase in returning student registration compared
to new student enrollments. Thus, marketing messages supported brand reinforcement but did
not focus on new student recruitment as we try to serve our current students. Marketing and
Strategic Communications has begun a relaunch of the LifeMap marketing program which
includes new Campus signage and the “Me in the Making” website. This campaign is targeted to
current students and encourages goal setting and planning which supports the Enrollment Plan’s
goal of student persistence and graduation.
Information about upcoming work on the initiative: A detailed analysis of registration processes
was conducted after the Fall 2009 registration and a plan for improving specific registration
processes has been developed and will be implemented over the next year. We will hold the next
Bookstore textbook sale in the Summer 2010 term when there is less financial aid available to
students thus creating a more meaningful sale. We are continuing to send the message to students
30 | P a g e
that they need to register early and pay by the deadlines or they may not be able to make (or remake) a schedule. Marketing is working with the Provosts and Deans on the “Programs that need
marketing” list prepared in October 2009 and are developing new strategies to specifically target
messages as well as exploring new internet and social networking strategies to reach students.
Work is continuing on the LifeMap marketing campaign as we roll out new aspects throughout
the Spring 2010 term.
Any data or results that can be shared that reveals how those involved with this initiative are
gauging the success of the initiative: Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 enrollments and capacity
utilizations have both increased. Student persistence has remained at 80%+. The percentage of
students deleted for non-payment has remained consistent in both Fall and Spring terms
compared to previous years.
The following was submitted by Goal Team One, and relates to enrollment planning:
From: Nemir Matos-Cintron
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 11:23 AM
To: Susan Kelley; Kimberly Finley
Subject: Increased Access through Online Learning/ Statistical support data
Hi Kimberly:
The stats below may help to strengthen the need to take a closer look at Distance Learning as an
increased access option.
Enrollment in Online learning courses surpasses Osceola and Winter Park.
Objectives 1.3, 1.5 (support)
Submitted by Kimberly Finley, Goal Team One member:
( Distance Learning Courses which is increasing access to classes for students and is in strong
demand from students.)
Online Courses
Fall 04
Fall 05
Fall 06
Fall 07
Fall 08
Spring 09
# Unique courses offered
80
88
114
154
175
183
# Sections offered
157
191
380
584
778
801
Total enrollment in online
3181
4350
7694
12060
15476
16382
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Initiative #10 Report
New Student Experience – Kurt Ewen
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative:
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date:
The following was taken from the Foundations of Excellence Final Report – Page 19.
The Full report is attached.
-
“In order to build on the momentum surrounding concerns for new student success
and to continue studying issues raised by the Foundations of Excellence, we propose
the establishment of a new standing committee reporting to the College Learning
Council. The New Student Experience Committee (NSEC) will be co-chaired by
representatives of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs and charged with organizing
the development of a coordinated new student experience starting with the
recommendations of the Foundations of Excellence Taskforce. The membership of
the committee should be primarily drawn from those teaching and program areas
with the greatest interaction with new students (faculty from the top 10 high
enrollment courses, New Student Orientation staff, staff from Learning Success
Centers, etc.) so as to be of greater assistance in the prioritization of the items
identified above. We propose that the committee be initially co-chaired by Kurt Ewen
and Sonya Joseph until a sustainable structure can be established.”
-
The New Student Experience Committee has now been established with
representation from the following areas:
o
o
o
o
o
Chief Learning Officer
VP for Student Affairs
Provost Representative (Assistant Provost)
Director of Student Success
Faculty From the Top 10 Highest Enrolled Courses for New Students
 Developmental Math
 Developmental English
 Developmental Reading
 Math
 Humanities
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o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
 U.S. Government
 Psychology
 Comp 1
 Speech
 SLS
 EAP
 Counselor
Student Services
Academic Dean Representative
Dean of Students Representative
Orientation Manager
Financial Aid
OIT
Bridges
Academic Support Center
Project Director, Development Education Initiative
Data Team Representative
Information about upcoming work on the initiative:
The NSEC is now developing set of measurable / observable student outcomes that would
serve as a way of measuring the success of our efforts. Outcomes will be developed in
early Spring and disseminated to targeted groups for feedback.
Any data or results that can be shared that reveal how those involved with this initiative are
gauging the success of the initiative
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Initiative #11 Report
The following report was submitted for use by Goal Teams One and Two.
Initiative Name: Developmental Education Initiative
Prepared by: Nick Bekas
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative:
Nick Bekas
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date:
Supplemental Learning:
Valencia is continuing and growing our Supplemental Learning (SL) program, developed as
one of our strategies for Achieving the Dream. SL involves providing a model student who
has been previously successful in a specific course to be available outside of class to assist
other currently-enrolled students with the course content and to teach a variety of learning
strategies such as note taking, test preparation, and study skills to help the students achieve
success.
LinC (Learning in Community):
Valencia is also continuing and growing our Learning in Community (LinC) program. In
LinC, two courses are “linked” together, enrolling the same cohort of students who are taught
collaboratively by faculty from different disciplines. The faculty created and implemented
three integrated lesson plans.
Bridges to Success (BTS) Program:
As part of DEI, Valencia will be expanding the Bridges to Success program. The Bridges
Program is a Learning Community that targets at-risk students from a low socio-economic
background. An important element in a student’s success at Valencia is the connection with
people and services that can assist them when they need it. BTS works within the college to
provide services and programs of interest and benefit to our diverse student population.
Bridges also provides mentoring and co-curricular experiences focused on improving the
success rates of this cohort of students.
Curriculum Mapping, Alignment and College Readiness Infusion:
Valencia has committed to aligning and mapping our developmental education courses. As
part of the process, faculty will be looking at places where College Readiness Skills, skills
that change the learning behaviors of students, can be infused into developmental education
course curricula. Our focus will be on five College Readiness Skills: critical thinking,
reading, motivation, study skills, and goal setting.
Information about upcoming work on the initiative:
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See attached document for College Readiness Infusion Project (follows…) Any data or results
that can be shared that reveal how those involved with this initiative are gauging the success of
the initiative: See reports on the following pages.
Developmental Education Initiative (DEI) Plan: 2009-12
DEI’s central goal is to accelerate student progress through their developmental education
sequence and increase their success in subsequent General Education Courses and in General
Education Courses that can be taken while meeting their prep mandate.
DEI Goals:
1. More rapid progression through the Developmental Education program via a fully
realigned developmental education
curriculum implemented with 100% of our developmental students by 2012, featuring
placement into
courses and specific course sections designed to provide learning environments and
support
services that meet individual student needs based on assessments;
2. Greater content mastery and student success skill mastery through infusion of student
success
skills, reading and critical thinking skill development, and the use of assessment
throughout the
developmental curriculum, reaching 100% of our developmental students by 2012;
3. Fewer impediments to learning, as faculty and staff, both full- and part-time, partner
with students
and with each other across disciplines and departments to identify and address students’
needs and
offer assistance to 100% of our developmental students in accessing appropriate learning
environments, support services (including linked courses, tutoring, SL leaders in the
classroom,
student success courses, and skill labs), and supportive co-curricular experiences.
Strategic Direction 1: Demonstrate leadership and institution-wide commitment to the success
of underprepared students, by developing and implementing institution-wide policies and
practices that support better outcomes for those students and ensure that developmental students
are at least as likely to be successful in college-level courses as their counterparts who are not
required to take developmental courses by aligning, centralizing and coordinating a
comprehensive developmental education program across four campuses, utilizing a replicable
alignment model that provides that:
A. the entry-level college courses in English and math align with high school
graduation competencies
(cooperating with work already underway in Florida at the state
level);
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B. learning outcomes for each developmental education course align with those
of prior and succeeding courses, including entry-level college gateway courses for
which developmental courses are prerequisites;
C. placement test scores are used to place students in appropriate courses and
course sections are structured to meet their learning needs and feature an
appropriate array of support services;
D. college-level gateway courses taken concurrently with developmental courses
support both developmental and college-level skill mastery;
E. competency-specific assessments in each course support curricular alignment
and provide feedback to faculty to improve instruction and to faculty and
students to improve individual student learning;
F. and all who teach or support developmental students, including those who
teach part-time, will participate in required full-time and adjunct faculty
development.
Strategic Direction 2:
Increase the number of underprepared students who quickly become ready for credit-bearing
courses and ensure that all developmental students master student success and critical thinking
skills, and content that cuts across courses, by:
A. embedding student success course and critical thinking content and skill mastery into all
developmental course curricula (enhancing the expansion of Student Success course
offerings and the presence of SL leaders in classes that took place as part of our ATD
Initiative);
B. embedding the development of reading skills in all developmental math courses;
C. greatly expanding learning in community (LinC) course options launched as part of ATD,
including expansion of the Bridges program for minority students requiring
developmental mathematics; and
D. extending SL into all levels of developmental reading, writing, and mathematics
(building on the SL successes in mathematics as part of our ATD Initiative).
Research and Analysis: The Community will create an annual research and analysis agenda that
includes:
A. analyzing data about developmental student success and the strategies to improve
success;
B. consulting prospective, current, and former developmental education students via focus
groups and
C. other means to provide the “student voice” as we design and refine strategies;
D. examining course and program outcomes;
E. identifying achievement gaps among students in the K-12 educational pipeline as well as
those
F. enrolled at Valencia;
G. supporting “breakthrough” thinking that develops and scales up strategies for addressing
gaps and
H. improving student success; and
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I. assessing academic programs and teaching and advisement strategies from the
perspective of current
J. research on effective practice.
DEI Focus for 2010:
Strategy 1: Data Planning, Collection, and Assessment
o Strategy 2: Continuation and Expansion of AtD Strategies
o SL Expansion
 341 sections 2009/2010
 361 sections 2010/2011
 381 sections 2011/2012
o LinC Expansion
 94 sections 2009/2010
 106 sections 2010/2011
 118 sections 2011/2012
o Strategy 3: Bridges Expansion
 300 students 2009/2010
 350 students 2010/2011
 400 students 2011/2012
o Strategy 4: Curriculum Alignment, Mapping, and Infusion of College Readiness
Skills
 Focus on the following courses:
 REA 0001, REA 0002, ENC 0010, ENC 0012, MAT 0012, MAT 0024C,

MAT 1033C, HUM 1020, SLS 1122, SPC 1608, ENC 1101, MAC 1105.
Need teams of faculty to map and align curricula for math, reading, and
writing sequence
o Needs analysis
o Curriculum Model
o Assessment Plan
o Implementation Plan
o Strategy 5: Student Success Project
o Strategy 6: Developmental Education Student Learning Community
o Strategy 7: Developmental Education Faculty Learning Community
38 | P a g e
DEI Data Needs
Purpose: This chart is intended to outline the data needed to be collected and analyzed for DEI strategies.
Strategy
Strategy 1:
Summative
Data for
Annual
Reporting
Principal
Responsibility
IR
Type of Data
Needed
Descriptive
Statistics
Description/Data Needs

Director of
Learning
Assessment

Data for
internal
reporting and
decision
making
Strategy 2:
Continuation
and expansion
of LinC/SL
Project
Director DEI
Director of
Student
Success
Project
Director DEI
Strategy 3:
Expansion of
Bridges
Program
Director of
Bridges
Project
Director DEI
Descriptive
Statistics

Qualitative
Data
Descriptive

Statistics based
on internal
indicators
Qualitative
Data
Strategy 4:
Curriculum
Alignment,
Mapping, and
Infusion of
College
Readiness
Skills
Director of
DEI,
Deans of
Math,
Commun.,
Director of
Student
Success,
Faculty from
Reading,
Descriptive

Statistics based
on internal
indicators
Qualitative
Data:
Reflective
assessments
from faculty on
the curriculum
process
Status
Reporting
Frequency
2009
External –
IR will update external report
Report
Annually as
to AtD Database annually.
Complete required by
The indicators that must be
DEI
reported are established by
JBL.
College –
Reporting of data to the
Cohort
College will remain
tracked by
consistent with indicators
semester
developed by the Data Team
and may include use of other
data sources.
In
External For the continuation of SL
Progress annually as
and LinC, AtD research
required by
plans will be updated. See
DEI
Appendices A & B for
updated plans.
Internal –
Cohort,
tracked by
semester
In
External For Bridges, a plan will have
Progress annually
to be developed. Cohort
tracking should follow
Cohort
models developed by the
tracked by
Data Team but should be
semester
modified as necessary to fit
the structure of the Bridges
Program. (See Appendix C
for Plan)
In
External –
A model for the Curriculum
Progress annually
Mapping, Alignment, and
College Readiness Skills
Internal –
infusion project for the above
annually and
courses still needs to be
by semester
developed.
 MAT 0012C has
completed initial work
and has begun
implementation of this
work in Fall, 2009. Any
data from this project
will be collected and
39 | P a g e
Writing, Math,
Gen. Ed.
Courses, and
Student
Success





Strategy 5:
Student
Success Project
Director of
Student
Success
Director of
DEI
Qualitative
Study
analyzed after the end of
Fall Term.
State Exit Exam Data and
any other College-wide
Exit Exam will be
collected for ENC 0012,
MAT 0024C, and REA
0002.
This project will start in
the Spring of 2010. In
Phase I, the curricula of
the following courses
will be analyzed by a
group of faculty: REA
0001, REA 0002, ENC
0010, ENC 0012, MAT
0012, MAT 0024C, MAT
1033C, HUM 1020, SLS
1122, SPC 1608, ENC
1101, MAC 1105.
The outcome of Phase I will be
the development of two
integrated assessment plans
centered on the teaching of two
College Readiness skills. These
plans will be implemented and
assessed in Fall 2010.
Phase II will begin in January
of 2011. The outcomes of Phase
I will form the basis for the
development and
implementation of the Phase II
plan. In 2012, the Phase III plan
will be developed and
implemented based on the
results of Phase II.
See Appendix D for Plan
for Curriculum Mapping
Project
 Full-time faculty will be
teaching SLS 1122 and
another group will be
infusing LifeMap skills
into their subject area
courses.
 A qualitative research
plan has been developed
for the Student Success
Project. (See Appendix
E)
In
progress
Qualitative
Research will
be conducted
in Spring.
This is a onetime study.
40 | P a g e
Strategy 6:
Dev. Ed.
Student
Learning
Community
Director of
DEI
Strategy 7:
Dev. Ed.
Faculty
Learning
Community
Director of
Faculty
Development
Director of
DEI
Descriptive
Statistics (?)

Qualitative
Data (?)

Data –
Participation
data, a survey
based on
Comp. of a
Valencia
Educator,
reflective
assessments
A business proposal has been
submitted to Senior
Leadership.
Once a decision on how to
fund staffing has been made,
the details of the
implementation will be
developed by the DE LC
Work Team. A research plan
should be developed in
conjunction with the
implementation plan.
 Work has not been
started, but it should
begin in Fall, 2010.
 The tentative plan is to
develop a series of
workshops training
teachers in key elements
of Developmental
Education teaching and
learning theories and
strategies.
 A formative assessment
plan is required. The
formative plan should
include elements of the
Competencies of a
Valencia Educator.
 Participation data will
need to be tracked as
well.
In
Progress
Not
Started
Not Decided
Not Decided
41 | P a g e
College Readiness Infusion Project
Meeting Descriptions and Agendas
February 19 (Learning Day Session)
The goal of this session is to review the project’s purpose and its goals. We will also
discuss the definitions of key terms, concepts and processes that will be used throughout
the project. Participants will receive a packet of course outlines for every course to
review.
The following are College Readiness Skills each discipline team will focus on during this
project.


Math and Writing will focus on critical thinking and reading.
Reading and General Education courses will focus on critical thinking and one other
college readiness skill (reading, motivation, study skills, and goal setting).
February 19th
Agenda:





Introductions (5 min.)
Discussion of the project’s purpose (5 min.)
Q&A about project (15 min.)
Definitions (10 min.)
o Curriculum Mapping and Alignment
o Student, Course, and Program Outcomes
o College Readiness:
 “The level of preparation a student needs in order to enroll and succeed,
without remediation, in a credit-bearing general education course . . .”
from College Knowledge by David Conley
o Remedial Courses vs. Developmental Education Courses
 Remedial courses focus on students learning the academic skills
necessary to perform college-level work at the level required by the
institution.
 Developmental Education courses focuses on a comprehensive approach
helping all students improve their learning skills.
Discussion (30 minutes)
o Q&A about definitions
o What are learning skills?
o What is the difference in the two definitions?
o Which definition reflects our course outlines?
Next Session (5 min)
Review all course outlines and then closely analyze your own courses and then fill out
the following forms in The Curriculum Mapping book. Fill them out in the order they are
listed:
Concepts and Issues, p. 79
Skills, p. 80
Assessment Tasks, p. 81
Outcome Guide, p. 19
42
When filling out these forms think about the following questions and jot down your
thoughts to them before filling out the forms.


Does your course prepare students to be successful in other courses? Why? Why not? If
why not, what changes would you make to the course curricula? Why? fill out the chare
What changes need to be made in the course curricula so that there is alignment from
course to course between courses?
March 19
The goal of this meeting is to review the outcome work in interdisciplinary groups and
reach consensus on the mapping of the courses. By the end of the meeting, a Course
Outcome Guide should be filled out for each course. Included in the Course Outcome
Guide should be two college readiness skills.
Agenda:


Q&A/Discussion about curriculum mapping work
o Process
o Concerns
o Suggestions
Discipline Based Discussions of curriculum mapping
o Review individual work
o Discuss/Compare similarities and difference
o Reach consensus on changes, if any
Next Session:
Find Places where the college readiness skills assigned for each course can be infused
into the curriculum and then discuss how they can be integrated with the
skill/concept/issue covered where the college readiness skill can be infused. The goal is
to not have the skill stand alone but to use it for improving what is already being learned
by students. Then think of assessment models that can be used as method of evaluating
the effectiveness of the integration. The assessment should focus on evaluating what
students learned.
April 2nd
The goal of this meeting is reach consensus on where college readiness skills can be
infused into the curriculum and identify types of assignments can be used to teach these
skills.
Agenda:



Q&A/Discussion about curriculum mapping work
o Process
o Concerns
o Suggestions
Discipline Based Discussions of curriculum mapping
o Review individual work
Discipline Based Discussions of curriculum mapping
o Review individual work
o Discuss/Compare similarities and difference
43
o
o
Reach consensus on where college readiness skills should be infused. There can
be multiple suggestions for each skill. In other words, you can end deciding that
critical thinking can be infused in three different places in the curriculum
Make a list of possible assignment for each skill
Next Session:
Develop two to three Developmental Education Outcomes.
Develop proposed models for assessing the college readiness skills infusion. The
assessments can be either formative or summative.
Think about how new students can be assessed on the following College Readiness
Skills: critical thinking, reading, motivation, study skills, and goal setting.
April 16th




Group Discussion on how we can possibly assess new students for the following
College Readiness Skills: critical thinking, reading, motivation, study skills, and
goal setting.
Discuss and reach consensus on two to three Developmental Education Outcomes.
Discuss how these outcomes align with the course outcomes for reading, writing,
math, and general education courses.
Project Assessment
Destination 2010
Tentative Meeting Descriptions
Friday, May 14, 2010 from 1pm to 4 pm on East Campus
Constance Staley will be conducting a workshop at this meeting.
Agenda:
 Constance Staley will be conducting a workshop on the following two topics:
o The importance of student success skills
o Planning lessons for infusing student success skill into courses
Next Session:
Review of Curricular Work from Spring
Friday, May 21, 2010 from 1pm to 5pm on West Campus
This meeting will discuss the outcomes of the Destination work. Then we will focus on reactions
to the Spring Curricula work and explain how this work forms the basis for the participants’
project. The focus will be on the differences between a remedial course and a developmental
education course and on the definitions and learning indicators of the following College
Readiness Skills: critical thinking, reading, motivation, study skills, and goal setting.
Agenda:
 Discussion of Spring Project
 Expected outcomes of Destination Project
 Discussion of the differences between remedial and developmental education courses
44



Discipline based discussion of curricular changes and infusion of college readiness skills
Share assessment models developed in the Spring project in preparation for next week’s
work
Assessment of Session
Next Session:
Review assessment models
Workshop on developing integrated assessment plans
Friday, May 28, 2010 from 1pm to 4pm on Osceola Campus
This meeting will be a workshop on developing integrated assessment plans. Participants should
leave the workshop with a plan for their integrated assessment plans.
Agenda:
 Review/discuss previous session
 Discipline based work on integrated assessment plans
o Sharing of individual plans
o Discussion of overlap
o Discussion of a common college-wide assessment of a course outcome
 Evaluation of Session
Next Session:
Sharing and evaluation of integrated lesson plans
Friday, June 4, 2010 from 1pm to 5pm on West Campus
In this session, participants will share their integrated assessment plans. They will do a guided
self evaluation and then complete a guided a peer assessment.
Agenda:
 Review/Discuss previous session
 Self review of integrated assessment plans
 Peer review of integrated assessment plan
 Introduction of Developmental Education Program Outcomes
 Evaluation of Session
Next Session:
Revise integrated assessment plans based on self and peer reviews
Review Developmental Education Program Outcomes
Make Suggestions for revising Developmental Education Outcomes
Friday, June 11, 2010 from 1pm to 4pm on East Campus
Agenda:
 Review/Discuss previous sessions
 Brief sharing of integrated assessment plans in discipline based groups
 Discussion of proposed revisions of Developmental Education Outcomes
 Discuss Fall meetings, expectations, implementation of plans, and assessment of
implementation
 Evaluation of Destination 2010
45
Initiative #12 Report
Course outlines to be produced through a second round of outcomes review – John Niss
Person(s) consulted in obtaining information about the status of this initiative:
John Niss, Karen Borglum
Summary of progress made on the initiative to date:
Over the last several years, as part of Valencia’s commitment to maintaining a current
curriculum and satisfying Florida statute, course outlines have been developed for the
vast majority of courses at the college. Many of the first outlines authored have been in
place for two years and thus must be reviewed and updated. Deans have been notified of
the courses with outlines in need of review and faculty teams are in place to accomplish
the work.
Information about upcoming work on the initiative:
All non-current course outlines should be reviewed and updated and any missing outlines
should be completed as part of this ongoing process.
Any data or results that can be shared that reveal how those involved with this initiative
are gauging the success of the initiative:
The first few reviewed/updated outlines have been submitted to and approved by the
College-wide Curriculum Committee.
46
Attachment K – Summary of Report from Goal Team 2 - 2009-10
(Developed by Susan Kelley)
Goal Two: Summary of Progress and Work Underway (October 2010)
Goal 2: Learning Assured
 Implement optimal learning environments for students.
 Integrate individual student effort with the learning process.
 Establish learning and learning support systems and techniques designed to
reduce achievement gaps among groups of learners from diverse backgrounds.
Objective 2.1: Learning Outcomes
Develop, align, and review program learning outcomes to assure a cohesive curricular
and co-curricular experience that enhances student learning.
Objective 2.2: College-level Writing
Increase the percentage of students writing at the college level.
Objective 2.3: Completion of Mathematics
Increase the percentage of students who complete the math sequence within two years.
(Completion is defined as successfully completing the highest level math course required
for a program of study. The two-year measurement period begins upon entrance to the
College.) CLC recommends a change to: “Completion is defined as successfully
completing the highest level math course required for the student’s declared major
or as defined by the certificate program in which they are enrolled.” Note that
developmental education is not a program.
Objective 2.4: Completion of 15 college credits
Increase the percentage of students mandated into developmental courses who complete
within three years the first 15 college level hours of their programs of study.
(Developmental courses are defined to include MAT1033C.)
Objective 2.5: Close achievement gaps
Close achievement gaps among students from diverse backgrounds in completing six key
courses, leading to increased persistence and program completion rates. (MAT 0012C,
MAT0024C, MAT1033, ENC1101, POS 2041, MAC 1105)
The 2009-10 goal team projects that the current and planned activities related to this goal
can be expected to “move the needle” toward goal achievement, but noted that the
uniform training of advisors is needed to achieve objective 2.4. The team also were
cautiously hopeful regarding the potential of current plans to meet objective 2.5, as
fluctuations in gaps are being studied.
The team established short-term measures that will assist in monitoring progress toward
these ultimate aims:
47





All programs will have and follow a continuous improvement process that includes
learning outcomes assessed on an on-going basis.
All students will write at a level appropriate to their educational goals.
All students will complete at least the mathematics courses that satisfy Gordon Rule or
the highest program requirement for their program of study within two years of entrance.
All students mandated into developmental courses will complete within three years the
first 15 college level hours of their programs of study.
There will be no gaps in performance on these six courses among cohorts of students
from diverse backgrounds.
Overview of Selected Efforts to Achieve the Goal
Learning Outcomes
Curriculum Mapping, Program Outcomes and Assessment Plans – Work began on
mapping the introduction, reinforcement and assessment of the General Education outcomes
within the five General Education discipline areas and within the co-curricular student
experience. Work is now underway to map the introduction, reinforcement and assessment of
the General Education Student Learning Outcomes within the five General Education discipline
areas and the co-curriculum. Assessment plans are being implemented.
Learning outcomes for General Education and the AS and AAS degree programs have
been developed, approved and are listed in the 2010-2011 College Catalog. A committee is
working on outcomes for the AA program courses beyond the 36 General Education hours.
Program outcomes were created by faculty for two new baccalaureate degree programs.
Improved Success
To provide more students with access to the courses needed to achieve their goals,
section capacity has been increased each term by 6-8%, and a stronger schedule of high
enrollment courses is being offered. Work is underway to evolve support services and student
services, including a number of programs aimed at the objectives in goal 2. Among those are:
Bridges to Success - This learning community for at-risk students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, is expanding, involving 300 students in 09-10.
College Readiness Skills Infusion - Faculty are infusing College Readiness Skills (skills
that change the learning behaviors of students) into developmental education course curricula.
Mathematics - Outcomes and assessment for the developmental mathematics sequence
are being established as part of the Destinations faculty development efforts.
New Student Experience - A new standing committee was created, as recommended in
the Foundations of Excellence Final Report, and is charged by the College Learning Council
with organizing the development of a coordinated new student experience, starting in 2010-11.
Supplemental Learning (SL) - Developed as one of our strategies for Achieving the
Dream, SL continues to grow, with 341 sections in 09-10.
LinC (Learning in Community) - Two courses are “linked” together, enrolling the same
cohort of students who are taught collaboratively by faculty from different disciplines. Fortyone LinC pairs were offered in 2009-10, and the number is planned to increase in 10-11.
48
Writing - Faculty who teach General Education Composition courses and Developmental
Education courses are developing common assessments of writing and results will be available
in 2010-11.
Withdrawal policy – As a new policy is fully implemented in fall 2010, the college will
explore what is known and can be learned about why students withdraw.
Scholarships - The Office of Financial Aid brought about significant increases in the
dollar amount of financial aid awarded as well as the number and percentage of students
receiving aid in 2009-10. Total awards grew from $90 million in 2008-09 to $115 million in
2009-10.
Closing Achievement Gaps
The New Student Experience and Developmental Education Initiatives include a focus on
closing gaps among students from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds,
incorporated into many of the strategies named above. Research on gaps is underway by the
College Learning Council and its Data Team.
49
Attachment L – Full Draft Report from Goal Team 2 - 2009-10
Updated Oct 17, 2010 – edits by Goal Team requiring further action are in red font
Goal 2: Learning Assured



Implement optimal learning environments for students.
Integrate individual student effort with the learning process.
Establish learning and learning support systems and techniques designed to reduce
achievement gaps among groups of learners from diverse backgrounds.
Objective 2.1: Learning Outcomes
Develop, align, and review program learning outcomes to assure a cohesive curricular and co-curricular
experience that enhances student learning.
Objective 2.2: College-level Writing
Increase the percentage of students writing at the college level.
Objective 2.3: Completion of Mathematics
Increase the percentage of students who complete the math sequence within two years.
(Completion is defined as successfully completing the highest level math course required for a program
of study. The two-year measurement period begins upon entrance to the College.) CLC recommends a
change to: “Completion is defined as successfully completing the highest level math course
required for the student’s declared major or as defined by the certificate program in which they
are enrolled.” Note that developmental education is not a program.
Objective 2.4: Completion of 15 college credits
Increase the percentage of students mandated into developmental courses who complete within three
years the first 15 college level hours of their programs of study. (Developmental courses are defined to
include MAT1033C.)
Objective 2.5: Close achievement gaps
Close achievement gaps among students from diverse backgrounds in completing six key courses,
leading to increased persistence and program completion rates. (MAT 0012C, MAT0024C, MAT1033,
ENC1101, POS 2041, MAC 1105)
2009-10 Goal Team Members
Remy Ansiello, Alys Arceneux, Julie Balassa, Nicholas Bekas, Roberta Brown, Suzette Dohany, Lynn
Dorn, Kurt Ewen, Kimberly Foster, Jean Marie Fuhrman, Jill Geraghty, Randall Gordon, Jared Graber,
Lisa Macon, Nemir Matos-Contron, James May, John Niss, Allison Noe, Geroge Rausch, Gerald Reed,
Cheryl Robinson, Landon Shepherd, Felecia Smith, Chanda Torres, Kaye Walter, Falecia Williams,
CPC Co-chairs Susan Kelley and Amy Bosley.
50
Objective 2.1: Learning Outcomes
Develop, align, and review program learning outcomes to assure a cohesive curricular and cocurricular experience that enhances student learning.
Long-Term Target: (Identify “where do we want to go, ultimately.”)
All programs will have and follow a continuous improvement process that includes learning outcomes
assessed on an on-going basis.
Short Term Targets 1, 2, and 3: (Identify the “What can we bite off in the next three years?”)
1. Define the list of programs for which learning outcomes will be assessed on an on-going basis.
2. Complete the development of the process for learning outcomes for the General Education and the
Associate in Science programs and carry out one cycle of assessment, refinement and readiness for the
subsequent cycle.
3. Design and implement the improvement cycle for the Associate in Arts programs.
How will we accomplish this? (Current college programs aligned with this target contained in the
goal team report on initiatives.)
Learning outcomes are under development, led by the Office of Institutional Assessment.
Suggested Measures for Short Term Targets 1, 2, 3: (Identify “How will we know?”)
1. A list will have been defined by 2013.
2. A report will be completed detailing the first cycle of the process for General Education and the
Associate in Science programs.
3. A design will be recorded and implementation will be underway for the Associate in Arts program.
Will the current activities and plans at the college move the needle on this goal?
Yes.
51
Illustrative List of activities and indicators of progress on Objective 2.1 during 2009-10
Curriculum Mapping –Work began on mapping the introduction, reinforcement and assessment of the
General Education outcomes within the five General Education discipline areas (Communications,
Humanities, Math, Science, and Social Science) and within co-curricular student experience. During the
Destinations 2010 faculty development program, a definition of mapping and alignment was developed.
Program Outcomes and Assessment Plans for AA, AS, AAS and BS
Significant work has been completed on the development of program learning outcomes for all associate
degree and certificate programs including all AA pre-majors, the seven articulated pre-majors. Also,
work has been completed on outcomes for all AAS/AS degrees and all certificate programs.
In December 2009, letters of intent were submitted to the State for two baccalaureate degrees including:
(1) a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology with sub-specializations in Computer
Systems, Electrical/Electronic Systems, Laser and Photonics and (2) a BS in Radiologic Science were
forwarded to the state, including program outcomes, which were created by faculty and approved by the
Curriculum Committee in June 2010. Work began in preparing applications to SACS for approval for
these degrees, once state approval is received.
General Education Student Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Curricular Alignment
The General Education Student Learning Outcomes were developed during 2007 and approved by
faculty, the College Curriculum Committee and College Learning Council. These include Cultural and
Historical Understanding, Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning, Communication Skills, Ethical
Responsibility, Information Literacy, and Critical Thinking. Work is now underway to map the
introduction, reinforcement and assessment of the outcomes within the five General Education discipline
areas (Communications, Humanities, Math, Science, and Social Science) and within co-curricular
student experience. Assessment plans connected to the General Education Student learning Outcomes
were developed during Destinations 2009, and again in 2010, for implementation in Spring 2010 and in
10-11. In2009, General Education assessment plans were developed in the following: ENC1101 –
Comp1; SPC1608 – Speech; Gordon Rule Humanities; POS2041 – Political Science; MAC1105 –
College Algebra; New Student Orientation.
New Student Experience
A new standing committee, recommended in the Foundations of Excellence Final Report, was
established and reports to the College Learning Council. It addresses issues raised in the Final Report.
The New Student Experience Committee (NSEC) is co-chaired by representatives of Student Affairs and
Academic Affairs and is charged with organizing the development of a coordinated new student
experience. The membership of the committee is primarily drawn from those teaching and program
areas with the greatest interaction with new students (faculty from the top 10 high enrollment courses,
New Student Orientation staff, staff from Learning Success Centers, etc.).
Course Outlines to be Produced through a Second Round of Outcomes Review
Over the last several years, as part of Valencia’s commitment to maintaining a current curriculum and
satisfying Florida statute, course outlines have been developed for the vast majority of courses at the
college. Many of the first outlines authored have been in place for two years and thus must be reviewed
and updated. Deans were notified of the courses with outlines in need of review.
52
Illustrative List of 2009-10 Activities (Continued)
Data Model Development
A core team discussed the development of a model for collecting and processing data related to learning
and learning assessment. The team will continue to meet to clarify and solidify a solid foundation for an
expanded dialogue with other members of the College that will need to be involved in this conversation.
List of Major Activities Planned for Objective 2.1 during 2010-11
Program Outcomes and Assessment Plans for AA, AS, AAS and BS (Contacts: Kurt Ewen and
Falecia Williams)
The design, content and placement of specific learning assessments for each degree and certificate
program will continue to evolve as part of the complete institutional effectiveness cycle required by
SACS Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.1 and the college’s Learning Assured strategic goal.
Pending approval by the state, the development of baccalaureate degrees will continue with completion
of a SACS Substantive Change application. This involves change from Level I to Level II status based
on 12 months advance notice, prior approval from the SACS Commission on Colleges and submission of
formal application materials.
Assessment coordinators will be appointed for 10-11 to assist faculty with assessment of outcomes,
rather than concentrating this work in the Destinations faculty development program.
General Education Student Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Curricular Alignment (Contact:
Kurt Ewen)
Student learning outcomes have been articulated for General Education and for the AA pre-majors. We
have not yet started work on developing student learning outcomes for the 24 hours of the AA program
beyond the 36 hours of General Education.
The faculty development program, Destinations, in summer 2010 brought General Education faculty
together again to fine tune their plans developed in 2009, and to identify a second General Education
outcome to which they contribute, since all General Education disciplines will need to measurably
contribute to at least two General Education Student Learning Outcomes.
The NSEC will develop a set of measurable / observable student outcomes that would serve as a way of
measuring the success of our efforts. These will be shared with appropriate groups within the college for
feedback, and presented to the College Learning Council.
New Student Experience (Contact: Kurt Ewen and Sonya Joseph)
The New Student Experience Committee established in 2009-10 will address selected issues raised in the
Foundations of Excellence Report, and will share recommendations with the College Learning Council
during 2010-11. Kurt Ewen and Sonya Joseph are co-chairs. Feedback from targeted groups on
measurable/observable student outcomes will be gathered and the outcomes finalized. The new student is
defined as any student with less than 15 college-level credits at Valencia. A report and plan for the year
ahead will be developed and shared in August 2010.
53
Course Outlines to be Produced through a Second Round of Outcomes Review (Contact: Provosts)
In 2010-11, review and faculty teams, working through many initiatives and groups, will review all noncurrent course outlines and update them. Any missing outlines will be completed as part of the ongoing
process. These updates may be impacted by curriculum mapping.
Conversations about Support Services Needed (Contacts: Provosts, Nick Bekas, Kurt Ewen, Brad
Honious) Conversations about needed support services will continue through the Developmental Education
Initiative (DEI), college Data Team, and the Foundations of Excellence work. The next formal conversation
will take place at a college DEI summit in fall 2010. Financial literacy will be developed via the FLIRT
project, addressed in Goal One. Considerations of parental involvement will also be addressed in work
reported in Goal One.
LINC/SL Expansion (Contact: Karen Borglum and Nick Bekas)
A multi-year plan has been developed to expand both Supplemental Learning and LINC and to use technology in
support of this approach. There were 8,525 students served by SL sections, and 894 students served by LinC. There
are plans to expand the SL courses to Reading, English, and Introduction to the Humanitiies.Plans will be finalized
for a proposed new pilot project on Learning Communities, called REACH. A full-time Collegewide LinC
Coordinator will be hired in 2010-11.
Pilot Test of Withdrawal Policy involving Interaction with Faculty/Advisors (Contact: Lisa Macon and
Donna Kosloski)
We will explore gathering data useful to evaluate the impact of required student interactions with
faculty/advisors during 2010-11 as the new withdrawal policy is implemented. A conversation is needed to
explore what we know and can learn about why students withdraw. Faculty Council will explore this as it
reviews the implementation of the new withdrawal policy in 2010.
Curriculum Mapping
A third of the curriculum mapping for General Education is completed based on contributions for the Gen
Ed Student Learning Outcomes identified by faculty participating in Destination 2009 and 2010. Work
during the coming year may include a summit for General Education Faculty to further clarify Discipline
contributions to the Learning Outcomes.
The new Statway initiative, described in more detail in 2.3, addresses curriculum mapping as well.
Data Model Development
Conversation will continue led by a core team in order to clarify what we mean by a “data model for
learning,” and to identify artifacts of student learning.
54
List of Significant Challenges or Opportunities Anticipated Related to this Objective
The college needs to arrive at an accepted definition of mapping and alignment so that all are clear on what
these terms mean and involve. Destinations 2010 developed a definition that can be vetted with others.
There are several challenges in implementing this objective:
-
Remaining current – this requires continuous update and completing the large number of course outlines can
be difficult
Reaching diverse students, including those with disabilities
Involving students
Including all faculty (including part-time)
Encouraging more cross disciplinary collaboration and conversation.
It was noted that while a measure for this objective projects completion by 2013 of the list of programs for which
learning outcomes will be assessed, the work is expected to be completed much earlier.
Links to data that support the report on Objective 2.1
The learning outcomes for all programs have been developed, approved and are listed in the 2010-2011
College Catalog. The Office of Assessment has a spreadsheet indicating the disciplines / programs that have
developed assessment plans.
55
Objective 2.2: College-level Writing
Increase the percentage of students writing at the college level.
Long-Term Target: (Identify “where do we want to go, ultimately.”)
All students will write at a level appropriate to their educational goals.
Short Term Targets 1, 2 and 3: (Identify the “What can we bite off in the next three years?”)
1. Determine the appropriate level of writing for all students.
2. Develop and implement common assessments for written communication.
3. Develop and implement a plan to provide appropriate support services to enable students to meet
their objectives.
How will we accomplish this? (Current college programs aligned with this target contained in the
goal team report on initiatives.)
No efforts currently identified for the certificate programs. Faculty who teach General Education
Composition courses and Developmental Education courses are developing common assessments
appropriate for students.
Suggested Measures for Short Term Targets 1, 2, 3: (Identify “How will we know?”)
1. A list of writing levels will have been established.
2. Assessments will have been implemented in General Education and Developmental Composition
courses.
3. A plan to offer appropriate support services will be made available and will have been implemented.
Will the current activities and plans at the college move the needle on this goal?
Yes.
56
Illustrative List of activities and indicators of progress on Objective 2.2 during 2009-10
Humanities and Communications Disciplines
The first phase of addressing writing levels appropriate for college-level courses began with all Gordon
Rule writing faculty from Humanities, English, and Social Science in 2006. They agreed to a definition
and an assessment tool for college-level writing. The assessment process (in the Division Action Plans)
for “Communicate” in all the Gordon Rule courses can be used both to strengthen the writing outcome
for humanities general education courses and to create a college wide rubric for writing assignments and
assessments. Kurt Ewen and Karen Borglum led this effort. Work to establish learning outcomes in
Humanities and English in 2009-10 built on the earlier efforts.
Holistic Grading of ENC 1101 Essays
The Comp I Assessment Project, initially designed to assess college writing skills for Comp I students, is
now serving as a valuable pilot project for other General Education courses (ex. HUM 2220, HUM 2250,
and MAC 1105).The Comp I Project is now a part of Initiative 7 (General Education Student Learning
Outcomes, Assessment and Curricular Alignment). A report being issued by the Office of Institutional
Assessment in Fall 2010 will provide additional information.
List of Major Activities Planned for Objective 2.2 during 2010-11
Humanities and Communications Disciplines (Contact: Kaye Walter)
Faculty will complete the first phase of addressing writing levels appropriate for college-level courses in
Humanities and Communications Departments, as part of the work on program outcomes. Provosts and
deans will lead efforts to complete this work and to tackle defining the appropriate writing levels in
certificate and other programs.
Holistic Grading of ENC 1101 Essays – A plan developed during Destinations 2010 will be
implemented. The newly appointed assessment coordinators may assist.
List of Significant Challenges or Opportunities Anticipated Related to this Objective
We need to establish levels for writing in various programs, but also have a need to address writing across
the curriculum, including defining writing levels in college level work.
Support is needed for full-time and adjunct faculty in teaching writing skills. (Links to Goal 3.)
We should consider whether we need to develop discipline based writing outcomes. There is a possible
need for this, in part due to the increase in certificate completers.
57
Links to data that support the report on Objective 2.2
An evolving list of appropriate writing levels for our programs will be available through the offices of
the deans.
Results from assessments implemented in General Education and Developmental Composition courses
will be available in 2010-11.
58
Objective 2.3: Completion of Mathematics
Increase the percentage of students who complete the math sequence within two years.
(Completion is defined as successfully completing the highest level math course required for a
program of study. The two-year measurement period begins upon entrance to the College.”
College Learning Council was consulted by the Goal Team, and the following recommendation
was offered at their July meeting. Change the objective language to: “Completion is defined as
successfully completing the highest level math course required for the student’s declared major
or as defined by the certificate program in which they are enrolled.”
Long-Term Target: (Identify “where do we want to go, ultimately.”)
All students will complete at least the mathematics courses that satisfy Gordon Rule or the highest
program requirement for their program of study within two years of entrance.
Short Term Targets 1 and 2: (Identify the “What can we bite off in the next three years?”)
1. Accelerate student progress-to-completion of the Developmental Mathematics sequence.
2. Develop and implement a plan to provide appropriate support services to enable students to meet
their mathematics program objectives.
How will we accomplish this? (Current college programs aligned with this target contained in the
goal team report on initiatives.)
The Developmental Education Initiative, a revision of support services currently underway in the Office
of the CLO, the establishment of outcomes and assessment for the developmental mathematics
sequence via the Destinations efforts.
Suggested Measures for Short Term Targets 1 and 2: (Identify “How will we know?”)
1. Compare student progress to that of students in the 2009 cohort being used in the Developmental
Education Initiative. (Note that some students have greater challenges than others in moving rapidly.
Some have challenges that make this difficult to do within two years.)
2. A plan for appropriate student support services will be made available and will have been
implemented.
Will the current activities and plans at the college move the needle on this goal?
Yes.
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Illustrative List of activities and indicators of progress on Objective 2.3 during 2009-10
MAT0012C Updating
A college-wide task force met for over a year and has produced an updated curriculum for MAT0012C,
including selection of a common textbook and a set of study-skills activities, and the creation of a
student portfolio, two hands-on student activities, a common final exit exam and faculty training
materials. All Valencia faculty teaching the course have been through a three-hour training session, and
all sections of the course for Fall 2009 used the new curriculum.
Developmental Education Initiative (DEI)
Developmental mathematics courses are a major focus of the DEI. See information under Objective 2.4.
List of Major Activities Planned for Objective 2.3 during 2010-11
Defining “Program of Study” for this Objective (Contact: College Learning Council)
College Learning Council was consulted by the Goal Team, and the following recommendation was
offered at their July meeting. Change the objective language to: Completion is defined as successfully
completing the highest level math course required for the student’s declared major or as defined by the
certificate program in which they are enrolled”. (Note: Developmental Studies is not a program.)
MAT0024C Updating (Contact: Math deans)
As was done in 2009-10 for MAT-0012C (see information above), a college-wide task force will update
MAT0024C during 2010-11. It is anticipated that the new curriculum to be developed will be used by all
faculty teaching the course by Fall 2011.
Statway Project – (Contact: Lisa Armour)
Valencia is one of 18 college nationally invited to participate in this project, which will support students
in moving from developmental mathematics into a statistics as their highest level course in the associate
degree program, rather than college algebra. Valencia sent a team of five in July 2010 to the Carnegie
Foundation's Summer Institute to begin our association with the Collaboratory designing Statway.
Sixteen of the 18 colleges, including Valencia, will receive funding from the Carnegie Foundation. The
Dana Foundation is also a partner, and will provide leadership for the development of instructional
materials associated with the project. Lisa Armour will serve as the Valencia team's administrator and
point of contact. Faculty members Roberta Brown, James Lang, Allison Sloan and Russell Takashima
will participate in the project.
List of Significant Challenges or Opportunities Anticipated Related to this Objective
We
need to develop
a plan that
includes
tactics.
How can we
help
students maintain momentum?
Developmental
Education
Initiative
(DEI)
– (Contact:
Nick
Bekas)
We
to define
and provide
academic
support.”
Thisneed
initiative,
reported
under“appropriate
objective 2.4,
will continue
to address success in mathematics.
We need related faculty development and advising. (Relates to Goal 3.)
60
Links to data that support the report on Objective 2.3
The DEI office will have information on the 2009 cohort for use in tracking progress.
Data on the MAT0012C revisions launched in fall 2009 will be available through the deans.
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Objective 2.4: Completion of 15 college credits
Increase the percentage of students mandated into developmental courses who complete within
three years the first 15 college level hours of their programs of study. (Developmental courses are
defined to include MAT1033C.)
Long-Term Target: (Identify “where do we want to go, ultimately.”)
All students mandated into developmental courses will complete within three years the first 15 college
level hours of their programs of study.
Short Term Targets 1, 2 and 3: (Identify the “What can we bite off in the next three years?”)
1. Increase the number of students enrolled in courses offered with SL/LinC options.
2. Increase the number and percentage of students receiving financial aid and the dollar amount awarded.
3. Implement the revised withdrawal policy in 2010-11.
How will we accomplish this? (Current college programs aligned with this target contained in the goal
team report on initiatives.)
The Developmental Education Initiative, efforts to raise funds for scholarships, and full implementation
of the withdrawal policy in fall 2010.
Suggested Measures for Short Term Targets 1, 2, and 3:
1. Current SL/LinC sections and students as compared to future numbers.
2. Current percentage and number of student receiving financial aid, and dollar amount, compared to
future numbers.
3. Cohort measures of withdrawal rates.
Will the current activities and plans at the college move the needle on this goal?
Yes.
Note, however, that uniform training of advisors is needed to help students schedule courses
appropriately. Goal 3 should reflect this.
Suggested Measures 1: (Identify “How will we know?”)
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Illustrative List of activities and indicators of progress on Objective 2.4 during 2009-10
Enrollment Plan
We have planned increased section capacity for each term by 6-8% and built a stronger schedule of high
enrollment courses to maximize student registrations in scheduled sections. Overall capacity utilization
has increased from 88% in Fall 2008 to 92% in Fall 2009, and according to the 2/2/10 mirror report,
Spring 2010 capacity utilization increased to 89.1% compared to 88% in Spring 2009 and registration is
ongoing. Spring 2010 registration saw an increase in returning student registration compared to new
student enrollments. Thus, marketing messages supported brand reinforcement but did not focus on new
student recruitment as we try to serve our current students. The regularly scheduled detailed analysis of
registration processes was conducted after the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 registrations, and a plan for
improving specific registration processes has been developed and will be implemented over the next
year. Lastly, we hold a Bookstore textbook sale in the Summer term.
Developmental Education Initiative
Supplemental Learning:
Valencia is continuing and growing our Supplemental Learning (SL) program, developed as one of
our strategies for Achieving the Dream. SL sections totaled 341 in 09-10.
LinC (Learning in Community):
Valencia is also continuing and growing our Learning in Community (LinC) program. In LinC, two
courses are “linked” together, enrolling the same cohort of students who are taught collaboratively by
faculty from different disciplines. The faculty created and implemented three integrated lesson plans.
(Forty-one LinC pairs were offered in 2009-10.)
Bridges to Success (BTS) Program:
As part of DEI, Valencia is expanding the Bridges to Success program. The Bridges Program is a
Learning Community that targets at-risk students from a low socio-economic background, and which
involved 300 students in 09-10.
Curriculum Mapping, Alignment and College Readiness Infusion:
Valencia has committed to aligning and mapping our developmental education courses. As part of
the process, faculty are looking at places where College Readiness Skills, skills that change the
learning behaviors of students, can be infused into developmental education course curricula. Our
focus is on five College Readiness Skills: critical thinking, reading, motivation, study skills, and goal
setting. In 2010-2011, the revised curricula will be re-examined and revised if necessary. (See 201011 plans below.)
Financial Aid
The Office of Financial Aid brought about significant increases in the dollar amount of financial aid
awarded and the number and percentage of students receiving aid in 2009-10. Total awards grew from
$90 million in 2008-09 to $115 million in 2009-10. Details are provided in the Goal One report.
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Plans for 2010-11
Enrollment Plan
A plan to improve specific registration processes developed in 2009-10 will be implemented. We will hold
the next Bookstore textbook sale in the Summer term 2011. We are continuing to send the message to
students that they need to register early and pay by the deadlines or they may not be able to make (or remake) a schedule. Marketing is working with the Provosts and Deans on the “Programs that need
marketing” list prepared in October 2009, and will implement new strategies to specifically target messages
and use internet and social networking strategies to reach students.
Developmental Education Initiative
SL Expansion – Sections will grow in number from 341 in 2009/10, to 410 in 2010/11.
LINC Expansion – Sections will grow from 40 pairs in 2009/10 to 49 pairs in 2010/11.
Bridges Expansion – Number served will increase from 300 students in 2009/10 to 350 students in 2010/11.
Curriculum Alignment, Mapping and Infusion of College Readiness – In 2010-11 we will focus on the
following courses: REA 0001, REA 0002, ENC 0010, ENC 0012, MAT 0012, MAT 0024C, MAT 1033C,
HUM 1020, SLS 1122, SPC 1608, ENC 1101, MAC 1105. Teams of faculty will map and align curricula
for math, reading, and writing sequence.
In 2010-2011, the revised curricula developed during 2009-10 efforts will be re-examined and revised if
necessary. Faculty who work on the re-design will be re-convened in spring of 2011 and based on
qualitative and quantitative data from the fall, an action plan for improving the curricula will be developed,
worked on in the summer, and implemented in the fall.
Developmental Learning Community – The annual summit of faculty and staff who comprise a
professional learning community that serves developmental students will be held in fall 2010.
Reading Skills (Contact: Nick Bekas)
As part of DEI, reading skills are being infused into college prep courses, ENC 1101, and MAC 1105.
List of Significant Challenges or Opportunities Anticipated Related to this Objective
We need to address who is not being served. This ties back to Goal One, and encompasses Goals One and
Two, since it addresses questions of access, the creation of pathways, and service to students once enrolled.
On related notes, we need to address the use of new technology in pursuing this objective, the use of
universal design standards, and offering extended campus hours for library and offering adequate support
services.
Additional research is needed for the development and expansion of LINC courses. The Student Success
course might be the core class for LINC. A longer-term pairing of the Success Coaches with faculty should
create a bond.
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Significant Challenges and Opportunities (continued)
Are we being too specific in focusing on lab courses and college level courses with labs? Reading impacts
student performance in ALL courses. Should we be a bit broader?
Links to data that support the report on Objective 2.4
Enrollment Plan - Copies of the Enrollment Plan, enrollment registration reports, and the Student Affairs
2009-10 registration action plans will be available. Marketing can provide data on the re-launch of
LifeMap. Distance Learning data will be available from IR.
DEI - Reports are available from Nick Bekas on the various DEI activities and the results, including the
SL/LinC sections and students.
Financial Aid – The Financial Aid Office will provide data on students receiving financial aid and dollar
amount.
Withdrawal rates - IR will provide cohort measures of withdrawal rates.
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Objective 2.5: Close achievement gaps
Close achievement gaps among students from diverse backgrounds in completing six key courses,
leading to increased persistence and program completion rates. (MAT 0012C, MAT0024C, MAT1033,
ENC1101, POS 2041, MAC 1105)
Long-Term Target: (Identify “where do we want to go, ultimately.”)
There will be no gaps in performance on these six courses among cohorts of students from diverse
backgrounds.
Short Term Targets 1, 2 and 3: (Identify the “What can we bite off in the next three years?”)
1. Conduct research and identify reasons for the recent widening gaps that had narrowed under
Achieving the Dream.
2. Develop a means of identifying socio-economic status in order to study students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
3. Expand the definition of diverse beyond the initial Achieving the Dream definition in order to be
more inclusive of Valencia’s values and students.
4. Examine pre-requisites and/or infuse reading skills in lab courses and others in which reading levels
are shown to be impediments for some students.
How will we accomplish this? (Current college programs aligned with this target contained in the
goal team report on initiatives.)
The New Student Experience and Developmental Education Initiatives, research underway by the
College Learning Council and Data Team. No current initiative is underway to address an expanded
understanding of diversity.
Suggested Measures for Short Term Targets 1, 2, 3 and 4:
1. and 2. Data analysis will reveal issues that influence performance, including performance for
students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, and those measures will become a part of our
routine monitoring and reporting.
3. An expanded definition will provide a richer set of cohort studies.
4. Introductory college-level courses with labs will be examined for reading levels required for success
in the courses and a report issues on any changes recommended to embed reading skills into the courses
and/or to adjust pre-requisites.
Will the current activities and plans at the college move the needle on this goal?
A cautious and hopeful “yes.” For consideration in the “Issues Bin:” Is it possible to close these gaps?
For consideration in the “Issues Bin:” Should we monitor the progress of students with disabilities
as a cohort?
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Illustrative List of activities and indicators of progress on Objective 2.5 during 2009-10
See Developmental Education Initiative under objective 2.4 above, and the New Student Experience
under objective 2.1 above. Closing achievement gaps is a major focus of the work of both of these
initiatives.
The New Student Experience Committee was established in 2009-10, and will address selected issues
raised in the Foundations of Excellence Report, and will share recommendations with the College
Learning Council during 2010-11. Kurt Ewen and Sonya Joseph are co-chairs. Feedback from targeted
groups on measurable/observable student outcomes will be gathered and the outcomes finalized. The
new student is defined as any student with less than 15 college-level credits at Valencia. A report and
plan for the year ahead will be developed and shared in August 2010.
List of Major Activities Planned for Objective 2.5 during 2010-11
Work underway in Objectives 2.1 – 2.4 is expected to help to achieve this objective. (Contact: Nick
Bekas and Kurt Ewen.)
See the description of the Developmental Education Initiative under objective 2.4 above, and the New
Student Experience under objective 2.1 above. Closing achievement gaps is a major focus of the work of
both of these broad initiatives. A New Student Experience plan draft will be shared in August 2010.
Analyzing Achievement Gaps (Contact: Jeff Cornett.)
The College Data Team will analyze changes in the achievement gaps over time, and assist the college in
learning more about the gaps and the fluctuations.
List of Significant Challenges or Opportunities Anticipated Related to this Objective
Greater understanding is needed about achievement gaps and about the needs of the lowest scoring
group of students. This group may merit a special plan in future years. This conversation links to the
Goal One conversation about who is being served, who is not being served, and why. This is not just an
issue of demographics, but also of the way in which our systems may create barriers to access.
Conversation should address how we are defining diversity, and how the definition can be expanded to
include factors such as socio-economic status in order to yield richer cohort analysis and plans.
Coordinated, intentional research is needed, to include affective assessment, and to share the results and
use it to shape strategies. These strategies, in turn, will generate more data. We need to use the
information generated to evolve our culture. What are our limitations in capturing this information? We
should have a plan to consider and use what we capture, or else why capture it?
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Links to data that support the report on Objective 2.5
The Developmental Education Initiative reports include data about closing the gaps targeted in this
objective, including completion rates for MAT 0012C, MAT0024C, MAT1033, ENC1101, POS 2041,
MAC 1105.
Data analysis in 2010-11 will reveal issues that influence performance, including performance for
students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, and those measures are projected to become a part
of our routine monitoring and reporting. Expanding the definition of diversity will provide a richer set of
cohort studies.
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Attachment M – Weave Online Report on 2 – November 10, 2010
A print out of a PDF file containing all entries into the WEAVE Online system that have
been linked to goal 2 is attached.
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Attachment N –
Report on Progress and Available Baseline Data for 2.1 and 2.2
Objective 2.1 - Develop, align, and review program learning outcomes to assure a
cohesive curricular and co-curricular experience that enhances student learning.
Progress on Objective 2.1
1. Program learning outcomes1 have been developed and approved for all academic
programs with the exception of the Associate of Arts Degree (the Curriculum
Committee has established a taskforce to develop a set of proposed outcomes for
the A.A. Degree which will then be presented to the Curriculum Committee,
Faculty Council and the College Learning Council).
2. In Destination 2009, 11 program learning outcome assessment plans were
developed and implemented in the Spring of 2010. Student artifacts were
collected and assessed on May 6, 2010. The academic programs or General
Education discipline areas involved in this work include:
 Speech (General Education)
 Comp 1 (General Education)
 Humanities (General Education)
 Mathematics (General education)
 Science (General Education)
 U.S. Government (General Education)
 Accounting Technology (A.S. Degree)
 Medical Office Administration (A.S. Degree)
 Office Administration (A.S. Degree)
 Building Construction and Technology (A.S. Degree)
 Computer Information Technology (A.S. Degree)
 Architecture (A.A. Pre-Major)
Faculty Assessment Coordinators representing General Education
Disciplines and A.S. Program areas are currently working with the
Learning Evidence Team to support the implementation of these plans in
Spring 2011. The implementation process will include the documentation
of the assessment process in WEAVEonline.
3. In Destination 2010, 27 program learning outcomes assessment plans were
developed and will be implemented in the Spring of 2011 – additional program
areas or disciplines are working on revised assessment plans based on lessons
1
Program Learning Outcomes - The measurable behaviors or performances that students will be able to
demonstrate at the completion of an academic program of study. (Program Learning Outcomes are often
confused with Program Outcomes – Program Outcomes maybe indirect measures of student learning but
they are primarily measures of program effectiveness such as completion or graduation rates, academic
performance at transfer institutions, job placement rates, etc.)
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learned from the implementation and assessment of plans in the Spring of 2010.
The A.S. Programs or General Education disciplines areas involved in this work
include:
 Speech (General Education)
 Comp 1 (General Education)
 Humanities (General Education)
 Mathematics (General Education)
 Science (General Education)
 U.S. Government (General Education)
 Sociology (General Education)
 Librarians (Contributing to General Education)
 Digital Media for Video & Motion Graphics (AS Degree)
 Entertainment Design & Technology (AS Degree)
 Film Production Technology (AS Degree)
 Graphics Technology (AS Degree)
 Music & Sound Technology (AS Degree)
 Accounting Technology (AS Degree)
 Medical Office Administration (AS Degree)
 Office Administration (AS Degree)
 Paralegal Studies (AS Degree)
 Building Construction Technology (AS Degree
 Dental Hygiene (AS Degree)
 Diagnostic Medical Sonography (AS Degree)
 Emergency Medical Services Technology (AS Degree)
 Radiography (AS Degree)
 Respiratory Care (AS Degree)
 Landscape and Horticulture Technology (AS Degree)
 Computer Information Technology (AS Degree)
 Architecture (A.A. Pre Major)
 Dance Performance (A.A. Pre Major)
 Theater, Drama/Dramatic Arts (A.A. Pre Major)
4. The Learning Assessment Committee (under the direction of the College
Learning Council) has developed a Program Learning Outcomes Assessment
Plan Template (attached). The template was tested during Destination 2010 and
is now being considered by the Faculty Council and the College Learning
Council for draft approval. The template is based on best practice literature in
learning outcomes assessment and will bring greater consistency to assessment
planning, implementation and discourse at Valencia. A flow chart has also been
developed for both Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to guide the
development, approval and implementation of assessment plans (attached).
5. The Faculty Council has recently developed, approved and presented for Board
of Trustees approval a new plan for the Institutional Effectiveness component of
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the Faculty Compensation Plan. The new plan (attached) is focused on the
development of program learning outcome assessment plans, plan
implementation and use of results for improvement. The basic language of the
plan is below.
By May 13, 2012, all academic programs (list attached) will have
implemented an assessment plan that has been approved by the
Learning Assessment Committee (LAC). Approval of each
assessment plan will be based on principles of good assessment
practice determined by the Assessment Plan Template developed
by the LAC and approved by the College Learning Council.
In order for the faculty, collectively, to be eligible to receive the
Institutional Effectiveness (IE) component that is in addition to
their normal salaries in Fall 2012, 90% of all of the academic
programs (listed below) must have developed faculty approved
improvement plans. These improvement plans will be based on the
learning assessment data compiled from each academic program’s
assessment plan.
Objective 2.2 - Increase the percentage of students writing at the college level.
No baseline data for this objective are currently available.
Progress on Objective 2.2
1. In the Fall of 2006, Faculty teaching Gordon Rule Writing reinforcement
classes approved a common outcome for the writing component of their
classes – “Students will demonstrate college-level writing.” At the same
time the faculty approved the use of the Learning Evidence Team Rubric for
Written Communication as standard for assessing college level in their
classes (attached).
2. In the Spring of 2007 faculty teaching English agreed to abandon the use of
the exit exam for ENC1101 and replace it with a common assessment of
college-level writing using approved rubric for Written Communication (see
attached). Their articulated rationale for the new process is below.
Based on the premise that discipline based assessment activities at
Valencia should be consistent from one campus to the next, we
have done away with the exit exam for ENC 1101.
In order to promote the continuous improvement of our program,
we propose a college-wide assessment activity in which a pool of
randomly selected papers would be holistically scored once a year
by full and part-time faculty. This process would allow for
substantive conversations among faculty and within departments
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on strategies to improve the quality of the work our students are
doing. Our hope is that this process will serve as a model for a
similar assessment process for Gordon Rule courses and allow us
to better track the progress of our students.
3. The process described above has been attempted over the past 4 years with
varying degrees of success and the process has served as a model for other
disciplines including Gordon Rule Humanities classes. The implementation
of the new process has raised a variety of questions needing further reflection
before agreement can be reached about the nature of student ability. These
questions include:




The relationship between rubric score and grades.
Expectations about student performance at the conclusion of
ENC1101 (the first college writing class a student takes at Valencia).
The kinds of assignments capable of allowing a student to
demonstrate college level writing.
The role of research and appropriate documentation in a college level
paper.
Attachments referenced
Paper copies of the following documents referenced as attachments will be sent to
team members via inter-office mail routing:
- Program learning outcome assessment plan template
- IE Component Goal
- Academic Program Assessment List for IE cycle 2009-12
- Assessing College Level Writing – ENC 1101
- LET Rubric for Written Communications
- Program Outcome Assessment Plan Approval and Improvement Process Diagram
- Program Outcome Assessment Plan Approval and Improvement Process Diagram –
Student Affairs
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