Itawamba Community College Program/Unit Review Non-Instructional and Service Programs and Units

Transcription

1 Itawamba Community College Program/Unit Review Non-Instructional and Service Programs and Units I. Program/Unit Information 1. Name of Program or Unit Advising Center 2. Submission Date of Program/Unit Review 5/17/2013 (ex. 01/23/2013) 3. Name of Director or Coordinator Mande W. Miller 4. Does the unit have a defined purpose statement (This can be found on CHIEF)? If so, provide the purpose statement below. The Advising Center promotes that academic advising is a teaching and learning process that is dedicated to student success. Academic advising at ICC emphasizes investing in the student by fostering an advisor/advisee relationship committed to student success through degree completion while collaboratively working with advisors through structured professional development programs and promoting career options for all students. 5. How does the purpose of the program support the overall mission/purpose of the College as adopted by the Board of Trustees? (Mention College goals that show a linkage to your program. Mission and Institutional Goals can be found on CHIEF.) The mission of ICC is to "provide students an opportunity to pursue a college/university parallel Associate of Arts degree, a technical Associate of Appied Science degree or an occupational Vocational Certificate" and is fostered through the Advising Center. The Advising Center promotes that advising is teaching by assisting students to formulate academic goals so that the student will graduate timely based on their educational plan. Academic advising is also key to assisting students to select the appropriate courses after reviewing degree audits. Another aspect of the mission statement reinforces the importance of the degree audit review by stating that only a maximum of two years of college work may transfer to the four-year colleges and universities. ICC Program/Unit Five Year Review Page 1 of 7

2 6. List the name and title of all employees in this program/unit. Name Title Mande W. Miller Director of Advising Diann Nichols Advisor Training Specialist Candice Pitts Administrative Assistant 7. State the number of full time employees allocated to this program/unit State the number of part time employees allocated to this program/unit How has the total staffing number (both full and part-time) changed in the past five years? The Advising Center has only existed since July Does the unit have qualified staff with the experience, competence, and capacity to fulfill the mission of the unit? 11. What staffing changes would you recommend to improve future delivery of services? The addition of career services with a counselor focused primarily on undeclared students and career testing. Also, this individual would be responsible for offering career seminars. The addition of three academic advisors (one on each campus) would also enhance the Advising Centers capabilities and support for faculty/staff advisors and all students with full-time assistance and accessibility List and describe the services of this program/unit. The Advising Center is responsible for the proper advisor assignment through analyzation of student's schedule, major, test scores, and primary campus. Also, advisor assignments have to consider advisor numbers so that faculty have a maximum of 25 and academic advisors have a maximum of 300. The Advising Center maintains the Change of Major online form to provide documentation of of reasons individuals are changing majors or changing advisors. Advising Seminars are conducted on a monthly basis concerning different majors, interviewing tips, financial aid, stress, etc. An on-going professional development program is offered to faculty in order to maintain advising excellence at the college. ICC Program/Unit Five Year Review Page 2 of 7

3 14. Provide an overview of significant results, honors, awards, and milestones achieved, as well as enhancements made to this program in the past five years. Prior to the Advising Center, all student's advising files were paper, kept in a file folder, and a plastic crate. Now, the student have an electronic file that may transfer from advisor to advisor. The Advising Center implemented a centralized advising portal that is web-based giving faculty and staff advisors access to the articulation agreement, curriculums, professional development, student portfolios, and advising resources to enhance the advising process. The advisor assignment process was evaluated and the new assignment system created in 2011 eliminated advisor overloading so that each advisor has a manageable number of advisees. A continous professional development program was developed and implemented for faculty and staff coupled with an recongnition and rewards program. Advising Center Rewards and Recongition from 2011 to Current - Awarded Best of Region presentation "Tackling Technology" at the Region IV Conference in Miami, Florida in Spring Presented a Poster session at Region IV conference and won this category but since we were awarded Best of Region on presentation then ICC was just recognized for excellent poster. Presented Best of Region presentation at the National NACADA conference in Nashville, TN in October Selected to present "Bench to MVP presentation on the creation and implementation of the Advising Center at the NISOD convention in Austin, TX and at the National NACADA convention in Nashville, TN. The Advising Center was also selected to present a Poster Session on Students + Success = Success Seminars at the National NACADA convention. In September the ICC Advising Center organized, planned, and hosted the Mississippi Advisor's Meeting. 15. What additional services are currently planned for this program/unit for the next five years? Implement an online reservation system for professional development for faculty and staff. II. Vision 15. State the vision for your program for the next five years or beyond? What goals do you hope to accomplish? The Advising Center's goal is to continously improve the awareness and services offered through the Advising Center on all campuses. Continous development on the web-based advising portal for advisors by adding enhanced features. ICC Program/Unit Five Year Review Page 3 of 7

4 Additional topics and settings of professional development and student seminars. Development of 2+2 agreements with four-year colleges and universities. III. SWOT Analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats) 16. What are the program/unit s strengths or strong points? (Strengths are documented with data such as information on number of customers served, program/unit s performance, staff credentials or other factors that contribute to the success of the unit.) The web-based student portfolio has allowed for tracking and the ability ensure accurate course selection in order for student to graduate in a timely manner. Provides accurate and timely information concerning curriculums and College's policies, procedures and resources. Student survey that is a gatekeeper to early registration. 17. What are the weaknesses of the program? (Any problems that the program/unit may have encountered in the past are appropriate for this section.) The lack of proper facilities on the Fulton campus - currently housed in Technical Education building in cubicles. 18. What opportunities are available for the program/unit? (Any opportunities for improving the program/unit should be included in this section.) Continued improvement of services offered through the Advising portal for faculty/staff and students. 19. What are the threats or difficulties that the program/unit must overcome in the next five years? What is your plan for addressing these threats or difficulties? (If there are changes in the near future that are foreseen as negatively affecting this unit/program, these should be mentioned.) Students not taking the advisor's academic planning advice. ICC Program/Unit Five Year Review Page 4 of 7

5 IV. SACS Principles Compliance Survey Institutional Effectiveness 15. Are research-based evaluation processes (e.g., surveys, interviews, analysis of data) used for assessing this service program/unit? If yes, list all program-specific survey instruments and other processes used by the program/unit for evaluating effectiveness. 1. Advisor Survey for Students 2. Survey for Advisors on evaluation of the Advising process and Advising Center 3. Change of Major form Does the use of evaluation processes result in continuous improvement in the program/unit? If yes, describe some of the recent improvements that have come about in response to needs identified through these evaluation processes: 1. Additonal web-based resources 2. Professional Development topics 3. Documentation of Advisors not adequately serving students 4. Rewards and Recognition Program If an outcome is not achieved, are documented modifications or improvements made in the unit? ICC Program/Unit Five Year Review Page 5 of 7

6 Financial Support 18. Is adequate financial support available to support the scope of services offered through the unit? 19. Does the institution operate and maintain physical facilities that are adequate to serve the needs of this unit? 20. Are the physical facilities for this unit accessible to disabled students? N/A 21. Is the budget information accessible on-line to the unit supervisor? Security 22. Are administrators and staff members in this unit/program careful in protecting the security, confidentiality, and integrity of student/staff records? N/A If yes, provide a brief description of measures taken by the unit/program to insure the protection of privacy of its customers and the unit s adherence to FERPA guidelines. Every effort is made to insure confidentiality in reference to student/staff records but the office is currently sharing a space with a work room and the center is set up in cubicles. 23. Does the institution take reasonable steps to provide a healthy, safe, and secure working environment for this service unit ICC Program/Unit Five Year Review Page 6 of 7

7 SACS PRINCIPLES COMPLIANCE SURVEY (Action Plan) ANY ITEMS ANSWERED WITH A NEGATIVE RESPONSE INDICATE THAT THE INSTITUTION IS OUT OF COMPLIANCE AND MUST BE ACCOMPANIED WITH A WRITTEN PLAN FOR COMPLIANCE ON EACH ISSUE. Provide discussion below for any questions that was assigned a NO answer on the Principles Compliance Survey, and then provide a plan of improvement for each of those questions in the space below. Indicate the question number, your discussion, and the plan of action. #19- The College currently houses the Advising Center in the Academic Suite of the Technical Education Building on the Fulton campus. The Advising Center is currently set up in cubicles making it very difficult to have privacy and optimal production. On the Tupelo campus, after renovations are complete the Advising Center will have one office and work/seminar room located in the Health Occupations building. The Advising Center requests that consideration be given to renovating current work space on the Fulton campus to better serve students, faculty and staff. ICC Program/Unit Five Year Review Page 7 of 7