College Action Project Worksheet UPDATE
DUE:
September 1, 2012
CAP Academic Alignment #1.2.1
Directions:
UPDATE this worksheet (electronic) for each College Action Project. Email to Donna at
dkragt@grcc.edu
1. Give a short identifying title (under 10 words) to this Action Project. (NOTE: Consider changing the title
to directly relate to student success)
Programs of Study: A program of study is a sequence of instruction (based on recommended standards
and knowledge and skills) consisting of coursework, co-curricular activities, work-site learning, service
learning and other learning experiences. This sequence of instruction provides preparation for a career.
2. Project Champion: Fiona Hert, Dean, School of Workforce Development
3. CAP Team Members: Mike Kiss, Chad Lodenstein, Bethann Talsma, Ann Alexander, Jodi Richhart, Nikki
Banks, Don Steeby and Szymon Machejewski, Judy Stark, consultant, Lynnae Selberg, and Yolanda
Duncan.
4. Describe the purpose of this project including a description of the associated activities. (100 words or
fewer)
Continue and complete the Programs of Study initiative to map curriculum between high school and
college in all academic areas including curriculum alignment in Arts and Sciences.
5. Describe the goals of this Action Project (in 100 words or fewer)
a. To increase student success and completion of occupational and liberal arts programs and courses.
b. To clearly delineate course content, skills and competencies required in occupational and liberal arts
programs and degrees.
c. To continue work in several of the ten previously completed Programs of Study: Accounting, Welding,
Law Enforcement, Automotive, HVAC, Web Design, Juvenile Services, Marketing and Management,
Networking, Sciences, English, Math, and Social Studies by informing and consulting with Advisory
Committees and area employers of skills, knowledge and competencies.
d. Create POS course sequence templates for parents and students that will assist high school to college
transition.
6. Attach summaries of data collected to date. What is this data telling us?
As of June 2012, nine programs of study have been completed in occupational programs and four in
general education. Individual Program of Study documents for Year One and Year Two are posted on
www.grcc.edu/programsofstudy
Findings for each program, Math, HVAC, and Web Design, Year One programs and Year Two, Juvenile
Services, Law Enforcement, and Marketing that were completed in 2011-2012 include:
Year One Programs of Study:
1) Math:
Summary and Findings:
1. Freshman level courses examined:
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MA 098 Elementary Algebra
MA 107 Intermediate Algebra
MA 110 College Algebra
MA 131 Precalculus
MA 133 Calculus I
2. These classes were chosen by process of elimination. The other courses we offer are either at a level
that is not considered high school equivalent (e.g. MA 095, 096, 097) or because they cover material that
is not directly part of a high school curriculum (e.g. MA 124, 210, 211, etc.). In the future, we predict that
the topic of statistics will become a greater part of the math curriculum at both the high school and
college level. At that time, we should consider adding MA 215 to this list. In addition, these courses
account for approximately 55% of the classes offered and 60% of the enrollment each semester in the
math dept.
3. The topics covered in our courses are determined to some extent by transferability to four-year
colleges and universities.
4. Some courses cover topics to greater depth and detail than others, although in the alignment
document both would be marked “D” for “Develop Depth.”
5. Statistics and probability are not covered much in the five selected classes. These topics are covered in
detail in MA 215 – Statistics.
6. An analysis such as this has potential to assist in college retention levels. Selecting the right class for a
student to start with, will inherently lend to greater achievement and consequent higher completion
rates, which is a key success indicator used by many if not all community colleges.
7. While aligning topics is a good first step, it is apparent from current placement tests and student
success in our college courses that just taking a course that covers the same material in high school is not
enough to imply that the student is ready to move on to the next level class. As a result, we believe that a
placement test at the time of potential enrollment is a more reliable way of determining a student’s
preparation for a class. We may need a better placement test (such as ALEKS) than the one we currently
use. Although it may be more expensive, it gives us more and better information, enabling us to better
place our students into the correct class.
8. It may be beneficial to go through these findings in a gathering of high school and college teachers.
Next Steps:
It is recommended that:
1. The crosswalks be presented to the entire full-time faculty of the math department.
2. The crosswalks be presented to the Dean’s council.
3. Findings of the study should be shared and implications discussed at the department, school, and
college level (admissions, counseling, etc.).
4. Findings of the study should be shared and implications for its utility discussed with larger Michigan
initiatives including:
-Michigan Works
-MichMATYC
5. Any curriculum revisions or new course development resulting from this process will occur within
the college’s course revision process.
6. There should be a planned dialogue between curriculum specialists in math from area high schools
and the GRCC math department to engage in a conversation around:
-prerequisites for GRCC coursework
-covering topics vs. “learning” topics
-ways to strengthen the continuity of students’ high school experiences with their college
experiences
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2) HVAC:
Upon completing the curriculum crosswalk and gap analysis, it was suggested that an additional course,
ER121 – Metallic Joining Techniques should be added to the articulation agreement. An additional SARP
form will need to be created to articulate the objectives of the class. Students from the KCTC have two
years in which they can apply for the articulated credit. It is highly recommended that they apply for the
credit upon their high school graduation.
The most visible certification available in the HVAC industry is the EPA 608 Refrigerant Handling
Certification. Most employers require this certification for all entry level employees. GRCC offers testing
for this certification to all students enrolled in the HVAC program at the end of every fall and winter
semester.
Another opportunity offered to all students is in completing the Industry Competency Exams at
the end of both fall and winter semesters. These exams are sanctioned by AHRI and are given in the areas
of Commercial Refrigeration, Residential Heating & Cooling, and Light Commercial Heating & Cooling.
Although not mandatory, completion of these exams proves to be a resume builder.
With regard to our studying the relationship between low reading comprehension scores and
below average grades, it is suggested that entry level requirements be reviewed and that foundation
reading courses be recommended if scores reflect this requirement. Furthermore, the HVAC department
would consider partnering with the English and Math departments to conduct testing for math and
reading comprehension levels for incoming students. The HVAC department firmly believes that
proficiency in these areas will lead to more successful student outcomes. The timeline for implementation
of this process should begin in FY 2013.
As a result of this research and planning, the HVAC program faculty was able to make personal
contact with our skill center partners and initiate a plan to increase the number of articulated courses to
the secondary schools by adding ER121 – Metallic Joining Techniques. This will help to eliminate some of
the barriers to completion. We are planning on reviewing this articulation process beginning next year.
The program of study will be reviewed by the administration of the college. A presentation of the study
will be shared with the HVAC advisory committee next year. The program of study will serve as a guideline
as the HVAC faculty undertakes a curriculum revision during the next two years in consultation with the
advisory committee. The faculty will continue to monitor student success in the HVAC program, including
follow up with transfer students in Baccalaureate programs.
3) Web Design:
The goals of this study are:
1. To give students, counselors and faculty a point of reference in terms of student readiness for a college
curriculum
2. To allow appropriate placement of students in courses that are academically challenging
3. To develop a reasonable timeline for student graduations and career paths
The team consisted of Szymon Machajewski, Computer Applications Assistant Professor, Kristen Roberts,
Computer Applications Professor, Anne Meilof, Research Analyst. Both Kristen Roberts and Szymon
Machajewski teach courses in the Web Design program at Grand Rapids Community College in the one
year certificate and associate degree curriculum. Gap analysis documents were originally evaluated at the
post secondary level by Hilaski and Kaye Kenyon.
ACADEMIC STANDARDS.
a. There are no special academic standards enforced by the college nor by the program itself.
b. Textbook report for “HTML and CSS3 Chapter One Readability Evaluation”
c. The readability assessment for this chapter is written at an elementary level. The evaluations used
showed this chapter to be written somewhere between fourth and fifth grade level. This chapter
has no extensive vocabulary that would hinder lower level readers. The range of grade levels in
this chapter varied from second grade to fifth grade comprehension and vocabulary level, which
will give a fluency level of 4.4 for the entire chapter
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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
 Students who would like to pursue the Web Design certificate program or the associate degree at
Grand Rapids Community College should focus on academic fields of Mathematics and English. The
Accuplacer data shows a correlation between ARITH, ALGEB, READING scores and measurable success
in the gateway course. The Web Design program also includes a number of design/visual courses,
which call for an artistic and creative capacity.
 The recommended ARITH and ALBEG score range is 50. The Accuplacer READING score should be at
least 75.
 In addition to skills measured by Accuplacer in ARITH, ALBEG, and READING sections, students should
possess basic computer skills. This includes typing, word processing, and operating system use. Both
CO148 and CO146 require the use of computer software on a PC workstation, therefore computer
literacy is required.
 The numerical sequence of courses in the GRCC certificate and degree program should be updated in
order for the lower level course to have a lower numerical value. Currently CO148 “HTML Essentials”
is a foundation for CO146 “Web Design Fundamentals”. This may be the reason why High School
articulation process includes only the CO146 course. The GRCC web site on High School articulation
agreements posts only Kent and Allegan county districts. Agreements exist also for other schools and
they should be included on the web site.
 The Computer Applications department at GRCC is considering a department name change, which will
lead to a new course code. At that time it will be a great opportunity to re-sequence courses including
CO 148 and CO 146.
 Grand Rapids Community College should pursue the SARP process to create an articulation path for
CO 148 “HTML Essentials” in addition to CO146 “Web Design Fundamentals”.
 The curriculum of the GRCC Web Design program should include objectives tested on the CIW Web
Foundations Associate and CIW Web Design Professional exams. Opportunities exist for GRCC to
become a testing center for CIW to streamline the examination and certification process. This will
ensure external verification of the industry recognized learning outcomes.
Year Two:
4)
Juvenile Services Program of Studies II Team
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Juvenile Services Programs of Study team was made up of Nikki Banks, Associate Professor Criminal
Justice; Lynnell Talbert, adjunct instructor in the Criminal Justice Department at Grand Rapids Community
College and a Probation Officer with the 17th Circuit Court Family Division, and the Corrections and Juvenile
Services Advisory Boards. Other resources for the project included the following persons: Lynnae Selberg,
Assistant Professor/Program Director Counseling and Career Center, Yolanda Duncan, Counselor with
Disability Support Services, Vikki Cooper, Associate Professor English – Reading Instructor, Cathy Green,
GRCC’s High School Program of Study Coordinator, and Lieutenant Scott Merlo – Grand Rapids Community
College Police Department. The GRCC website (www.grcc.edu), the Michigan Correctional Officer’s Training
Council (www.Michigan.gov) and the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center were also resources for these
studies.
Accomplishments over this past year include the following:
• Criminal Background statement of awareness developed for all program materials (final steps of
implementation – approval of Juvenile Services Advisory Board (June 2012).
• Criminal Background Checks fully instituted by fall 2012 (Summer 2012 – implementation specifically
with Juvenile Services courses – CJ 140 Juvenile Delinquency and CJ 145 Juvenile Corrections).
Improvements
*Facilities/Agencies/Programs that deal with minors note their appreciation with the Criminal Justice
Department now conducting background checks specifically on students that will come in contact with
minors over the duration of a course.
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• Course sequencing completed (Prerequisite designations being developed) and now moving on to
Program Mapping which will include the development of new courses: Capstones for Juvenile Services.
• Programs at Kent Career Technical Center and Ottawa County’s Careerline received and will utilize our
POS I information for the advising of current and future students seeking to continue their education at
GRCC – specifically within Juvenile Services and Corrections.
• Creating the first Distance Learning Course in the Corrections and Juvenile services programs CJ 105
introduction to Corrections (summer 2012).
• Academic Service Learning designation for CJ 140 Juvenile Delinquency – “Make A Difference” projects
On-going work
• Continued work on developing a Juvenile Services Residential Care Certificate.
• Exploration of linking GRCC’s Business Departments Entrepreneurship Certificate (1 year program) with
Juvenile Services (and Corrections).
Conclusion
 This work has been most challenging and very much needed and appreciated by all involved. It is not
easy to take an honest look at oneself within the context of the work that we have committed ourselves
to from an evidenced based best practice perspective and be willing to grow (make needed changes and
enhancements and then implement). It is our hope that this current POS II work along with the on-going
task that have been set forth will continue to ensure student success.
 Work must continue with other high school programs as well (Allegan County’s ISD, etc.) in sharing this
information. Connecting the POS Work I and II with my current Academic Program Review work in
Corrections and Juvenile Services has already begun as evidenced by the work that is currently being
done along the lines of developing a Juvenile Services Residential Care Certificate, the implementation of
the sequencing and overall mapping of the Juvenile Services program and ensuring that all Program
Learner Outcomes (Communication skills, Critical Thinking Skills, Social Responsibility, and personal
Responsibility) are being addressed in both programs.
5)
Law Enforcement (Police Academy):
The Law Enforcement program of study team was made up of Jodi Richhart from the Police Academy and
John Wittkowski, Criminal Justice Adjunct. Special assistance was given from Thomas Lamica at Kent Career
Technical Center. (KCTC) and Cathy Green, GRCC’s, High school Program of Study coordinator.
In summary, the Law Enforcement program has identified two gaps.
1. Physical Fitness
a. The goal is to have students better prepared for the rigors of the Police academy Physical
fitness program. There are too many students failing the entrance pre assessment test and
therefore do not meet the minimum standards of The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement
standards or the standards of the Police Academy.
b. There are always several injuries that occur in the Physical fitness class and Defensive Tactics
class because the students are not physically prepared for the demands and intensity of the
fitness program. A pre-requisite fitness program would be similar to the Police Academy class but
at a lower intensity to allow the student to work up to the required potential.
c. With assistance from Perkins funding, I was able to attend a certification class titled Law
Enforcement Fitness Specialist. This certification and expertise will assist me in writing a prerequisite class for students entering the Police Academy. The work on this carp will take place in
the summer of 2012 and we hope to have it available by winter of 2013 as a minimum of a pilot
class.
2. Report writing
a. Students are often entering the Police Academy at a lower writing level than we would like to
see. The original goal in POS year 1 was to write a pre-requisite Report writing class to
concentrate on a lower level writing ability and to prepare them for law enforcement report
writing. After many discussions on this topic, it has been determined that the college as a whole is
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going to look at the area of EN 100, EN 101, EN 102 and have a discussion with the English
Department about better ways to address the poor writing skills component. At this time, I would
like to continue with work in this direction. Possibly a POS year 3 project. I believe that this
subject area is much broader than the Police Academy.
b. A new writing rubric was designed in POS year 2 to better access the students writing. This new
rubric will be used by all Police Academy instructors in all classes of the Police Academy. The goal
is to have every instructor evaluating and assessing the students written work report consistency
and cohesiveness.
GRCC Marketing/Marketing Management Program of Study:
Contributors to the Year 2 work of the GRCC Marketing Program of Study included:
• Ann Alexander, GRCC Business Faculty and Year 1 POS Lead
• Kirk Helferich, KCTC Marketing Instructor and GRCC Business Advisory Team Member
• Marlene Koewers, GRCC Adjunct Instructor – Business English
• Jim Landon, GRCC Adjunct Instructor – Business English
• Anne Meilof, GRCC Institutional Research Staff
• Sarah Rose, GRCC Counselor and GRCC Business Advisory Team Member
• Bethann Talsma, GRCC Adjunct Instructor – Business, GRCC Office Administration Advisory Team
Member, and Year 2 POS Lead
• Anton Wishik, GRCC Adjunct Instructor – Business English and English
Ongoing Data Analysis and Curriculum Review
 Six courses were reviewed for continuity between English and Business English courses: EN 097, precollege level English course; EN 101 and EN 102, Basic English composition courses; BA 101 and BA
102, business and technical writing courses; and BA 201, the required Business Communications
course. The business English courses focus on grammar and proofreading as well as writing. There is
very good continuity from BA 101 up through BA 201, and the Course Approval and Revision Process
(CARP) documents will reflect that when updated to reflect current skills and outcomes in BA 201 and
mostly minor, procedural/typographical recommended changes in the other courses. These changes
will make the CARPs more user-friendly and consistent for everyone to follow.
 Enforcing prerequisites, such as completing/testing out of EN 097, is recommended to ensure
students are qualified to take BA 101. The English Department already enforces this prerequisite for
EN 101. Enforcing prerequisites for BA 201 (at least one semester of college-level writing) will ensure
students will take it after their first semester when they will be more likely to succeed.
 Review of the courses led to working with the textbook companies to customize textbooks at no
additional cost to the students, specifically for BA 101, to better align with the CARP. Additional
publisher resources are being reviewed as a low-cost add-on to give students dynamic feedback for
practice writing exercises.
Feedback from Industry Partners:
Based on responses from employer surveys and Business Advisory Team members, excellent written and
oral communication skills continue to be a crucial component of success. Comments included the
following:
• “The entry level worker must be able to express their ideas clearly and accurately in both
written and verbal in a business professional manner.”
• “…regardless of class content it is important that people learn to listen and truly hear the
question(s) being asked and then answer exactly that question. The norm is that a response is
long and general, not short and to the point. At [our company] we call it "hitting the box". The
question is the box; the answer needs to fill the box. More than that is potential waste, or nonvalue-added time.”
Planned outcomes for Year 3 work include:
 Review course-specific transfer agreements with 4-year transfer schools.
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Most business students transfer to Davenport, Central Michigan University, Ferris State University,
Western Michigan University, and Grand Valley State University. Faculty will schedule meetings with
each of these schools during Year 3.
Meet with K-12 representatives to share curriculum and review for relevancy and alignment.
POS results will be shared with partners at Careerline, Ottawa County’s Intermediate School District,
as soon as the Year 1 report reformatting is finalized. Additional meetings will be scheduled
throughout Spring and Fall 2012 with other ISDs and high schools to share the results using the
revised format. Cathy Green will work with the POS team to coordinate/facilitate these meetings.
Share data and request input from industry partners.
POS Team and marketing faculty will contact marketing firms and departments in local businesses to
share POS report and request feedback regarding currency and relevance of curriculum.
Use data from POS to support program review and ACBSP accreditation.
All Business programs, including both the Marketing Degree and Marketing Certificate programs, will
be reviewed during 2012-13. POS work supports the importance of the Communication ILO
(Institutional Learning Outcome) as a critical skill for Marketing students and professionals. Both fulltime and part-time faculty will participate in data collection and analysis for Marketing program
review.
Program-level student outcomes to be assessed in 2012-13 include the following:
• Apply marketing concepts and the 4 P’s: product, pricing, promotion, and placement
(Communication ILO) – to be assessed by performance on a case study and/or marketing plan
in BA 270, Marketing.
• Plan for, promote, and distribute a product or service (Communication ILO) – to be assessed
by performance on a case study and/or advertising/marketing plan in BA 174, Advertising.
In addition, assessment and curriculum review are required for the ACBSP accreditation process. The
ACBSP Preliminary Questionnaire, to be submitted during Summer 2012, includes the following
criteria: 4.1 Student Learning Outcomes Assessment, 6. 1 Curriculum, 6.2 Professional Component,
6.3 General Education Component, and 6.4 Business Major Component.
All faculty will be reporting at Trends on their findings in October 2012 in Traverse City.
Web Based and Template Design: Fiona Hert, and Judy Stark met with Danelle Sedore and Patrick LaPenna to
discuss layout of Programs of Study templates. Printing Services is designing a template that will be compatible
with the web and useful to students and parents.
All documents are available on the Programs of Study website which includes final reports and program course
sequencing templates.
What additional resources will be required to develop and/or sustain the project? No funding will be
required beyond Perkins and State of Michigan funding. A grant from the State of Michigan paid for EOL for
faculty to participate in this work. Travel, copies, and miscellaneous expenses were also covered externally
through this grant. Future work will be paid for from a 2012-2013 grant that was recently awarded to GRCC.
Category
Cost
Explanation (one time or recurring)
Which budget will
cover these costs?
Supplies
Training
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Equipment
Personnel
TOTAL Cost
Estimate
7. Will this project require any additional budget dollars for the 2012-2013 academic year that have not
already been secured?
__X_NO
___ Yes
If yes, please describe briefly:
8. Is this project dependent on or related to any other college action project? (Please explain) It is related
to Workforce Development as the alignment of curriculum with high schools will assist in the secondary
preparation for occupational careers.
9. Project Worksheet and Timeline (Table to include both work already accomplished and work scheduled)
Project Worksheet and Timeline as September 16, 2011
Task
Assigned Date Due
to:
Convene Group of PD/DH’s/faculty
Fiona
September
who have completed POS or who
15
are interested
Receive funding for continued work
Fiona;,
AugustJodi
September
Richhart,
and
other
POS
members
Actions to Date
Date
Completed
In
progress.
Committee members have
been recruited. A meeting
will be convened by October
1.
July update: Three meetings
Completed
were held November 2011,
and March and April 2012
with the core team of faculty.
Received MEDC receipt of
September
$90,000 for statewide grant;
15, 2011
Applying for six mini grants for
GRCC (only) programs – new
programs at $7500 each and
$10,000 for Year II programs.
July update: Faculty have
been paid for their work using
the POS grant as the source of
funding.
A new grant for 2012-2013
was submitted to the state in
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Task
Based on the meeting, determine
State II/Year II work and tasks
Assigned
to:
Date Due
October 15
Set meetings with area high schools
for 2012
October
May 2012
Refine new Programs of Study
Nov-Feb
September
Report findings to Departments,
Advisory Committees
Jan-May
2012
Evaluation from Counselors
May
Actions to Date
July 2012 and we have
received notification that we
will be approved to continue
this work for next year here at
GRCC and statewide.
Template for Year II
expectations have been
drafted.
July Update: POS for second
year reports are completed
and are posted on the
Programs of Study website
July update: Meetings with
KISD and OAISD were
coordinated by Cathy Green
and completed with Law
Enforcement and Corrections.
Nikki Banks and Jodi Richhart
met with high school faculty
and staff to discuss their POS
work and future alignment.
Additional meetings are
planned for early Fall 2012 in
Business.
Three new programs have
been identified: HVAC,
Business English, and Web
Design; Arts and Sciences TBD
July update: All SWD
programs were completed as
was Math. The Math
Curriculum Crosswalk is
posted on the POS website.
July Update: Programs of
Study have been incorporated
into all Program Reviews for
2011-2012. For those
programs that completed
their reports in May, their
information will be shared
with Advisory Committees
and departments in the 20122013 academic year.
July 2012: Lynnae Selberg and
Yolanda Duncan, members of
the POS team, have reviewed
each of the POS templates
and will provide the final
Date
Completed
Completed
In progress
Completed.
In progress
In progress
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Task
Assigned
to:
Date Due
Actions to Date
Date
Completed
check before the final printed
versions are distributed.
Test new template of POS for
consumer use
Fiona
Hert
Jan-March
April
through July
Met twice with planning team
in September; Luann Keizer,
Patrick LaPenna, Judy Stark
and Fiona Hert met to revise
current site and determine
future needs.
July Update: Fiona Hert, Judy
Stark, and Patrick LaPenna
met twice in July to discuss
the creation of a paper and
electronic document for
students and counselors.
Contact has been made with
Printing Services and a
meeting was held in July with
Danelle Sedore to discuss
formats. A printed version
will be reviewed by
Counseling in August with a
planned distribution of early
September to Counselors and
Departments.
In
progress.
*Strikethrough indicates revision to timeframe from September 1, 2011 submittal
To be completed: 2012-2013
Task
Send email to PD/DH’s who have
not completed POS to date and
that are eligible using State
guidelines of high enrolled
programs.
Submit grant request for individual
programs by September 7, 2012.
Targeted areas include Dental,
Office Administration.
Review web based and printed
template with Printing Services,
Registrar’s office, and Department
Heads and Program Directors
Assigned
to:
Fiona Hert
Date Due
Actions to Date
Date
Completed
September
7, 2012
Fiona Hert
September
and
7, 2012
Program
Directors
and
Department
Heads
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Task
Assigned
to:
Date Due
Begin work on GRCC Year One and
ear Two new Programs of Study
assignments.
Follow up on 2011-2012 findings
and include in Advisory Committee
meeting agendas.
Faculty
October
Schedule High School meetings
with discipline specific faculty and
staff
Submit Programs of Study Final
reports
Coordinate course sequencing
documents with each program to
align with the catalog and high
school articulation, dual
enrollment, and transfer
information.
Evaluation from Counselors,
Department Heads, and Program
Directors.
Actions to Date
Date
Completed
Department October
Heads and
Program
Directors
Cathy
October –
Green with June
Erin
Busscher
Assigned
March –
Faculty
April
Department May 2013
Heads and
Program
Directors
May
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Task
Assigned
to:
Date Due
Actions to Date
Date
Completed
NOTES:
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