Kaua‘i community college

Planning Agenda

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  It is recommended that the COMPASS Brush-Up Program for reading, writing and math be implemented as a regular service through the College Success Center and the Learning Center.
  

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  Campus-wide dialogues should continue to be scheduled to determine the role of the College Success Center in creating new programs and services in concert with student services, academic support services, and instruction.
  

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  Faculty from Instruction, Student Services, and Academic Support, working with the Institutional Researcher, should systematically analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of courses and programs developed to serve the needs of under-prepared students.
  

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  The College Success team should include the Institutional Researcher as a standing member.
  

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  Training for additional faculty in the use of the writing rubric is recommended.
  

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  The college will develop a clear process for assessing the campus-level SLOs.
  

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  It is recommended that the Assessment Committee work with the Faculty Senate to develop and implement a process to collect and analyze data on each campus-wide SLO, beginning with the Communication and Information Technology SLOs.
  

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  Assessment Committee will plan workshops and/or other strategies to help programs develop program-level SLOs.
  

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  The On Course Coordinator will work with faculty, staff, and students, particularly in first year classes, to implement life skills and learning skills development.
  

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  SLOs for campus, programs, and courses will be electronically disseminated to all lecturers and new faculty.
  

II.A.1.b. The institution utilizes delivery systems and modes of instruction compatible with the objectives of the curriculum and appropriate to the current and future needs of students.

Descriptive Summary

Structurally and in practice Kaua‘i Community College (KCC) relies heavily on the faculty to determine that the delivery of instruction fits the objectives and content of its courses. In division meetings, faculty members discuss delivery systems and modes of instruction. During the new-course proposal process there is significant discussion on what type of delivery system the course will employ and how such a system will fit the objectives and content. An instructor proposing a new course completes a Course Action Form (CAF). The CAF form requires instructors to explain the delivery method, modes of instruction, course objectives, and content, and how the delivery method will help students achieve Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs). Each SLO is connected to an assessment/evaluation.

Instructors discuss how they plan to assess students to determine whether the students have achieved the outcomes (CAF Handbook). In addition, over a five-year period all existing courses, except for inactive ones not being offered, will be reviewed and transferred to this new CAF.
In addition to on-campus courses, KCC offers distance courses. KCC, as part of the UH System, adheres to standards or best practices when offering distance courses. The KCC Distance Learning Committee encourages and supports faculty willing to offer distance courses. In division meetings, the faculty discusses appropriateness of delivery and the Distance Learning Committee approves all courses and forwards recommendations to the Curriculum Committee. Further, the college has an instructional technologist whose primary job is to help faculty instill technology into delivery. He has been on sabbatical during 2005-2006, but has been used by faculty in Nursing, Spanish, and other areas in getting assistance to develop distance delivery systems.
KCC faculty have been actively engaged in professional development to help them ensure that delivery systems and modes of instruction are compatible with curriculum objectives and are appropriate to the needs of students. The University of Hawai‘i Foundation, a nonprofit fundraising organization, is one source of funds for faculty professional development. Instructors travel to professional conferences where they learn from presenters and consult with other faculty. In addition to professional conferences, the college regularly sponsors day- and week-long workshops during which dialogue about delivery systems and modes of instruction takes place. In these workshops new technology is introduced. This might include technology to help track grades, post assignments and readings, and create power-point presentations. At the college, faculty members have participated in Skip Downing’s “On Course” workshops. This program helps instructors to develop collaborative/interactive learning. The program advocates, for example, small-group activities. The workshop is grounded in the idea that students learn best by taking responsibility for their own learning to help facilitate student success. The college’s chancellor extended an invitation to all faculty members to attend this year’s (2006) “On Course” workshop.
The college has recently hired a full-time “On Course Coordinator” under a Title III grant (through September 2010) to work with faculty and staff to improve instruction and to improve student success (Exhibit II-7: On Course Coordinator Job Description).
KCC also supports faculty attendance at Hawai‘i Great Teachers Seminar typically held on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, usually sending one or two faculty each summer. Other examples of recent professional development include the attendance of the college’s financial aid coordinators at this year’s Orlando Banner Summit workshop on the student registration system. Financial aid personnel also attended a Reno, Nevada workshop on financial aid administration.
Currently, the college solicits recommendations for workshops from all faculty members, staff, administration, and the Professional Development Committee. The decision as to which workshop will be made available is based on benefit, cost, and availability of faculty and staff. When the Professional Development Committee starts planning a workshop, division chairs are contacted first to identify which of their instructors would most benefit from the workshop. Invitations for a workshop are then sent via email, published in the campus bulletin, and offered through telephone calls to individuals.