Kaua‘i community college

Planning Agenda

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  The college needs to make sure the process for coordinating the Multi-Year Plan of Offerings and the Student Advising Sheets is institutionalized.
  

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  The new coordinator position for educational courses and programs should be defined and the hiring should be completed by Fall 2006.
  
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  The Curriculum Committee should provide workshops to assist faculty on how to properly complete the required CAF form.
  

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  Information on the progress on the review and revision of the CAF forms should be provided to all faculty with clear instructions provided on any changes in the form.
  

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  The Course Tracking Form should be completed each semester and its use in determining curriculum actions documented, evaluated and disseminated to appropriate faculty and programs to assist future planning efforts. The most current form should be made available on the college website and updated regularly.
  

II.A.6.a. The institution makes available to its students clearly stated transfer-of-credit policies in order to facilitate the mobility of students without penalty. In accepting transfer credits to fulfill degree requirements, the institution certifies that the expected learning outcomes for transferred courses are comparable to the learning outcomes of its own courses. Where patterns of student enrollment between institutions are identified, the institution develops articulation agreements as appropriate to its mission.

Descriptive Summary

Transfer issues within the UH System are covered in general in the Board of Regents’ (BOR Policies and Bylaws, Chapter 5), Academic Affairs, Section 5-13.

Section 5-13, a. notes that, as a comprehensive statewide system, it is important that coordination and cooperation amongst campus instructional units occurs permitting students to start their education at one campus and, through productive study in a planned program, succeed in achieving their educational objective by graduating from another campus.
Students wishing to transfer should be assisted through appropriate counseling and advising, and efficient student and course transfer procedures. This process should be “as simple and predictable as possible” and “Unreasonable institutional barriers to transfer should be eliminated” (Section 5-13, b). Section 5-13,c. mandates that “All university and campus policies and practices affecting student and course transfer shall be periodically reviewed to ensure that they are founded on sound academic principles and designed and implemented in a manner which facilitates the smooth flow of students towards successful completion of their postsecondary educational goals.”
The specific executive policy covering articulation within the UH System is E5.209. The University Council on Articulation (UCA) reviews UH System articulation policies, such as E5.209 (UCA policies).
The latest revision of Executive Policy E5.209 - Student Transfer and Inter-campus Articulation was finalized on March 13, 2006 and contains the updated executive policy and the transfer and articulation policy guidelines for the UH System.  This document includes general principles and assumptions, transfer of courses and credits, transfer of students, lead responsibilities and procedures, and appendices covering the web sites for the Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit, Procedure for Articulation to UH-Manoa's General Education Foundations Requirement, and Kapi‘olani Community College Foundation Board Portfolio.
In addition to articulation agreements within the UH System, KCC also has articulation agreements with other colleges, such as Hawai‘i Pacific University and Chaminade University.

Self Evaluation

The KCC Catalog provides general information about Kaua‘i Community College, its programs and services, and summarizes those major policies and procedures of relevance to the student. A caveat warns the students that the “information contained in the catalog is not necessarily complete. For further information, students should consult with the appropriate unit.” (page 3). A summary description of the programs, as well as the degrees and certificates, can be found on page 17 of the online catalog. A more definitive description of the different types of certificates and degrees offered at KCC is found on page 57. The matrix on page 56 allows the students to relate the type of certificate and degree with each instructional program. A complete description of each instructional program and certificate/program course requirements follows on pages 58 to 77. The procedure and requirements for transferring credits from other institutions is discussed on page 22 of the online version of the college catalog. Additional information on programs is available by clicking on the “Program” link on KCC’s Website.

The University of Hawai‘i System has created a website that is devoted to transferring within the system (Transfer to a UH Campus). A number of Career/Technical Education programs are undergoing articulation across the UHCC or UH System (Hospitality and Touring (HOST) articulation agreement, Business Technology (BT) articulation agreement, and Information and Computer Science (ICS) articulation agreements). Kaua‘i Community College Curriculum Committee processes have been developed for reviewing and incorporating these articulation agreements into the Kaua‘i Community College curriculum (Exhibit II-30: Curriculum Committee Process for Handling System Articulation Agreements). There are a number of specific details requiring attention to ensure that students are informed. Course elements such as alpha number, description, and pre-requisites may need to be changed in the Catalog, Student Advising Sheets, and campus brochures.
Transfer and articulation information to UH Manoa is available via the Kaua‘i schedule web page at the UH Manoa website (Articulated Courses).
Faculty and program counselors have also developed articulation agreements with non-UH campuses in several disciplines, such as in the Business Division (Business Articulation Agreements).