Kaua‘i community college

ACCJC Response: 1- 4 Focused Recommendations administered, placed on warning status

2003 Midterm Report: Addressed 1-7 and 1- 4 Focused

ACCJC Response: Met Focus Rec. 3 and Rec. 1 and 7 but 4 and 6 must be addressed further
2004 Progress Report: Addressed 4 and 6

ACCJC Response: Must still address 2, 4, and 6 for KCC, and 2, 4-7 administered for UHCC

April 2005 Progress Report: Addressed 2, 4, and 6 for KCC and 2, 4-7 UHCC,

ACCJC Response: Warning status dropped for KCC but 2, 6, and 7 for UHCC must still be addressed

October 2005 Progress Report: Addressed 2, 6, and 7 for UHCC


2000 Self Study Recommendation #1 (Institutional Mission)
The team recommends that the college set up a systematic process and timeline for regular review of the college mission statement and its influence on planning. It notes that the college’s own planning agenda items suggest that the “open door” and “basic education” concepts be included in the revised mission statement. In that light, the college should re-examine the current remedial education strategy to assure that students lacking basic skills have a clear, accessible path for building the skills needed to achieve success in college-level courses or occupational programs and certificates.

2002 Interim Report Focus Recommendation #1

It is therefore recommended that the college, at the time of this next mission review, amend the current statement by specific inclusion of some of the information in its supporting documents, and also reexamine the current statement to bring it into compliance with 1996 as well as the new accreditation standards.

Summary
The entire college reviewed and re-wrote the mission statement in the 2001 academic year. That new mission statement was subsequently revised to align with Focus Recommendation #1 in response to the Interim Visit. The idea of “open access” is now clearly stated as part of the mission. Since review of the mission statement is set for every two years, it was brought up to the College Council in Fall 2005. The council decided to keep the current statement and to more thoroughly review the mission statement in conjunction with the review of the systemwide strategic plan.
Since 2003, the remedial education strategy was re-assessed and several initiatives were promulgated under the ABE/Remediation Systemwide Task Force and Kaua‘i Community College: expansion of remedial courses in the campuses’ curriculum, legislative implementation of a Running Start program for dual credit for high school students, and focused funding for teacher education/certification and adult basic education. A Case Management coordinator was hired under Perkins funding and worked with a design team in Spring 2004 to research and write up recommendations for a Case Management System. Elements of that system have been implemented in the past two years: a vacant position was redescribed as a College Success Center Coordinator, a Summer Bridge program was expanded, pre-program cohorts have been established for some programs, an early alert system is being initiated, focus labs for Focus Lab study groups have been created for high-risk courses, and a more useable information management system purchased with Title III funding. The continuing challenge is to evaluate, streamline, and coordinate these services to further facilitate student success.


2000 Self Study Recommendation #2 (Institutional Integrity)
The college should ensure that program information, including course frequency and anticipated time for program completion, is widely disseminated to students in multiple written and verbal forms that are consistent.
2002 Interim Report Focus Recommendation #2
Develop a multi-year schedule of classes to ensure all courses needed for program completion are offered within a reasonable period of time.
Summary
A Multi-Year Plan of Offerings (MYPO) was developed for each program. This plan is updated annually as part of the program review process, so that each program has a constant two-year plan of offerings to guide schedule building and student advising. The development of the MYPO involved a review of each program’s Student Advising Sheet, Catalog and website program description, and Catalog course descriptions. Now that this chart is available, the college can consistently inform students when program courses will be offered so students can plan which courses to take and form a realistic picture of the time it will take them to complete the program. The college will know what program courses and general education or other courses are needed each semester.
In order to improve the movement of students toward their educational goals, the college implemented a new scheduling process. The process includes both faculty and counselor input and considers the many variables involved in scheduling, including enrollments, evening enrollments, program direction, two-year cycles, etc.


2000 Self Study Recommendation #3 (Institutional Effectiveness)
The team finds that the planning recommendation made by the 1994 team has not been adequately addressed. Therefore, it is the recommendation of this team that the college should clearly define its institutional planning processes, make the processes participative, and establish implementation priorities. This should be done using local and system institutional research data that has been analyzed to provide clear external and internal information on community needs, student outcomes, and institutional effectiveness and program review. This data should be used to support and enhance planning, decision making, and institutional improvement. This information should be broadly disseminated to staff and students, with appropriate training, so that staff and students understand its usefulness.