IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW TEMPLATE

IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW TEMPLATE 1. Please complete the following sections of the attached template in reviewing your program. Enter your information into the template provided. Please do NOT use a separate Word document. 2. A preliminary draft of your program review is due in the Dean s Office, December 4, 2009. 3. The Dean will submit the final document in digital and hard copy to the Office of Instruction on or before February 4, 2010. a. The Signature of a Learning Outcomes Co-chair is required prior to submitting the final document to the Office of Instruction. Please seek assistance from the Learning Outcomes Co-chairs during the development of learning outcomes and assessment plans. Please complete the online four column SLO matrix. Do NOT use a separate Word document. b. The Dean s signature certifies that the appropriate School or Department has reviewed and discussed the program review document. c. The Vice President of Instruction s signature and the President s signature certifies that the Program Review Recommendations, Objectives, and Strategies have been forwarded to the appropriate Strategic Planning Committee in accordance with the adopted procedures. Proposed Revisions: Academic Senate Cabinet 8-3-06 Revised: Instructional Council 8-8-06 Adopted: College 8-28-06 ProposedRevisions: Academic Senate Cabinet 7-11-07 Reviewed: Strategic Planning Steering Team 7-11-07 Reviewed: Academic Senate Cabinet 8-1-07 Adopted: Instructional Council & College 8-7-07 Updated: Academic Senate/Office Instruction 10-8-08 Updated: Academic Senate/Office of Student Services 7-29-09 1

ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW TEMPLATE A. Accounting Program: PROGRAM MISSION, PURPOSE OR GOALS 1. Explain the mission, purpose or goals of the program. The mission of the IVC Accounting Department is to provide accounting instruction to identifiable student populations where there is sufficient demand or synergy with other programs to justify class offerings. These offerings are intended to enable students to transfer, obtain degrees and certificates, improve marketable skills, life skills, and pursue lifelong learning while also learning technologies relevant to accounting. The program will strive to provide support services necessary to help students succeed and grow as professionals and citizens. It is also our mission to inform students about the nature of careers in accounting, the opportunities that exist, and how they may benefit themselves and their community with the skills they develop in the accounting program. 2. Discuss how the mission, purpose or goals of the program is consistent with the overall mission and/or goals of the institution. (The College Mission Statement and the College Goals are attached in Appendix A.) The mission, purpose or goals of the accounting program are, for the most part, identical with the overall college goals. Accounting students come from all walks of life and all cultures and the mission and goals of the program are all designed to support the intellectual and professional and personal success of all individuals, constructive interaction with the community, and effective delivery of education in an academic environment that supports all participants. 3. Describe how the mission, purpose or goals of the program meets the needs of the students and the needs of the community (if applicable). (Discussion could include the following topics: scheduling, laboratory classes offered in appropriate disciplines, field trips, public recitals/performances if applicable, co-curricular clubs/activities, and professional development activities.) The mission sets the goal of enabling students to obtain degrees and certificates. Previously that included associate degrees in accounting and one certificate of achievement. Recent approval of five new certificates of proficiency has only now attracted applications so no data yet exists on those. The granting of approval for IVC to award certificates in taxation under the auspices of the California Tax Education Council is also recent and will result in approximately forty certificates being awarded at the end of the 2009 Fall Semester. Those awardees will then posses the requisite credentials to practice tax preparation in California. Completion of IVC s three spreadsheet courses results in a certificate of proficiency in that discipline. The mission also sets a goal of helping students learn technologies relevant to accounting. These are taught in various classrooms such as the professional tax software in Accounting 206 and Accounting 207, QuickBooks Pro Accounting Software in Accounting 204, and Excel Spreadsheets in Accounting 212.1, 212.2, and 212.3. Another goal is to meet the needs of the community. The Accounting Society is a relatively new student club on campus that attempts to serve the needs of students and the community at the same time. Students learn about the nature of an accounting career on trips to tour CPA firms, factories, or other useful locations. Participation has been robust in the IRS supervised Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program which provides income tax preparation for community members at no charge. This activity, done under the supervision of IRS personnel, also benefits the student participants by providing valuable work experience. Transfer students are the customers for our Financial Accounting 1A and Managerial Accounting 1B courses. Addressing the goal of assisting their success has been addressed, in part, by creating three audiovisual tutorial modules for each chapter in the single book used for both courses. Each chapter has a short introductory module introducing the main concepts. A second module gives a 15 to 30 minute 2

lecture to accompany some power point slides that explain in greater detail the important concepts. A third module shows the instructor working out a problem either by hand as the camera watches or using a spreadsheet. These are made available to both the live classroom students and the online students. B. PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS 1. Based on program effectiveness data provided, describe the student population served by the program. (Who are the students enrolling in the program; what do the students intend to do with the knowledge gained from the program; identify any special student needs such as scheduling, support services etc and whether the college is addressing those needs.) The three primary segments of the accounting student population identified and served by the accounting department program are: 1. Degree oriented students These are generally younger students beginning their education at a community college with the intention of completing an associate s degree and/or transferring to a university for a higher degree. These include accounting majors and general business majors. These students are a significant part of the population in our Accounting 1A Financial Accounting, Accounting 1B Managerial Accounting, and Accounting 114 Business Math classes. Day and distance education classes generally serve their needs. Those wishing more challenge are offered an honors section of Accounting 1B - Managerial Accounting. 2. Vocational students These are students of all ages wishing to develop, maintain, or enhance specific business-related skill sets. They may wish to obtain a certificate or degree if there is a perceived benefit in the job market. Many came recently from shrinking segments of the economy and are seeking new opportunities. These students may often be found in our vocationally oriented accounting, payroll, and income tax courses. These students often work days and prefer evening or Saturday classes. 3. Students wishing to take the CPA exam These are a varied group of students who usually possess a bachelor s or master s degree, sometimes in non-accounting subjects, e.g., statistics, economics, engineering, or even the sciences. This is the case because the CPA exam requires a bachelor's degree but it doesn't specify a major for that degree. California Universities don t allow second bachelor s degrees so these students must acquire the necessary units to sit for the exam by either enrolling in a master s degree program or finding the necessary courses in a community college or private college. The accounting department chairs of CSUF and CSULB confirmed during the 2009 accounting advisory committee meeting that they personally speak to students each week in this category who cannot be served by the state run universities due to the one bachelor's degree limit. These students populate every accounting course offered by IVC. It should be noted with an eye on the future that the Governer of California recently signed into law a requirement, effective January 1, 2014, that all CPA candidates have 150 semester hours of education as part of the qualification to become a CPA versus the current 120 hours. Apparently there is no specific course subject matter mandated so opportunities to provide more accounting instruction at the community college level appear likely. Based on a recent accounting student survey performed by the IVC Accounting Department, approximately 60% of respondents are currently working, 15% of them on a part time basis. To accommodate these students, many accounting classes are offered evenings or weekends. Based on the same survey, half of accounting students are full time students and half are part time. The 45% who work full time approximately correlates with the 50% who attend college part time and both validate the need to offer adequate evening and weekend sections. Of the current (fall 2009) semester accounting class sections, 45% are evening classes, 16% are online, 6% are on Saturday mornings, and the remaining 33% are in traditional daytime slots. Several sections are offered at the ATEP campus, which is more convenient for some students. One interesting survey result was the predominance of existing degree holders, i.e., 16% hold associate degrees, 39% hold bachelor s degrees and 13% hold master s degrees. Assuming the survey sample was reasonably representative of the IVC accounting student population, that means that 68% of IVC accounting students have already achieved a level of education that exceeds that of our basic community college mission of providing lower division instruction. 3

The eventual goals of the students are many, as shown in the department survey. The survey was emailed to every currently enrolled accounting student. Of the respondents, 31% sought a general career in accounting or finance, 21% wished to own their own business, 39% are seeking their CPA, and the remaining had other goals such as lawyer, teacher and, in one case, a United States Marine Corps F-35 Pilot. Support services are provided in the form of computer access in the multiple computer labs on campus. This is important for a technology intensive subject like accounting. Students can access online resources such as the Proquest Online Searchable Database. Through Proquest, a student could access articles published in the Wall Street Journal since 1984. Software programs are an important component of support. The computer labs offer spreadsheet, word processing, database and slide presentation software. Tax, accounting, and other software is also made available to students outside normal class hours. Another important area of support is tutoring. In order to maintain or improve success and retention rates, the accounting tutoring efforts will be enhanced in future semesters under the so called Beacon Program through the IVC Tutorial Center. This entails more tutors who are more closely supervised and who will be assigned student groups so students benefit from continuity of care. 2. Based on program effectiveness data, discuss how students are being effectively served by the program. (Discussion could include enrollment data, student retention rates, course completion rates, persistence rates, and institutional effectiveness data.) (Please consult with the Dean for assistance.) Overall assessment - Comparing the period beginning with the 2004-2005 academic year and ending with the 2008-2009 academic year, enrollment in accounting classes has increased by 59% using census day count as the measure. FTES numbers are up 53% over the same period. This growth has been achieved while improving success rates from 72% to 75%. Full time equivalent faculty measures have risen more slowly with an increase of 24% while weekly student contact hours increased 49%. This increase in efficiency is quantified as a 20% increase in weekly student contact hours per full time faculty equivalent. During this time frame, the census percent filled increased from 88% to 110%. Based on the above, efficiency and effectiveness have improved simultaneously. Serving specific populations The three populations identified in B-1 are quite different in composition but have needs in common. The vocational needs of IVC accounting students are significant. One doesn t need a survey to know that obtaining immediate employment is a major concern of many accounting students. Teaching in business today is almost like teaching science after Sputnik was launched. A December 2, 2009 Wall Street Journal analysis of the current unemployment rates in several categories shows that the current rates of unemployment for each category studied (high school dropouts, all workers over 25 years of age and college graduates) are higher than in the recession of the early 1980 s. The accounting program has addressed this obvious need for employment, in part, by creating five new low unit certificates of proficiency to compliment the higher unit certificate of achievement and the accounting associate s degree. The proficiency certificates became available for the first time for the fall 2009 semester. Forty six certificates were created for qualifying students who applied. These certificates are intended to provide a possible advantage to IVC students in landing jobs. Another example of increasing marketable skills for our students would be the twenty one California Tax Education Council Certificates that were awarded to qualifying IVC tax course graduates, immediately making them registered tax return preparers in California. 3. Student Learning Outcomes: Open the student learning outcomes matrix (click here to open) and complete as follows: Identify three program and/or course and/or degree/certificate level student learning outcomes and enter into Column I. For each student learning outcome, identify an assessment plan and enter in Column II. If your program has assessed learning outcomes, enter the data in Column III (if assessment has not been completed, enter the estimated date of completion and responsible parties in Column III). If your program has modified instruction based on the assessment results, record a brief description in Column IV (if this step has not been 4

completed, enter the estimated date of completion and responsible parties in Column IV). See appendix B for a completed example. Once completed, electronically submit the matrix by clicking on the submit button. Please note: The Dean will not accept your program review without the approval/signature of the learning outcomes co-chair. 5

4. Discuss the resources (human, physical, and technological) used to promote student progress and success. (Does this program have sufficient resources/services such as library services, student services, and technological resources to meet program needs and to promote student learning? If not, identify additional resources necessary to meet program goals and promote student learning?) (The Strategic Planning Oversight and Budget Development Committee will direct all recommendations for new facilities to the Academic, Facilities and Technology Planning Committee for disposition; all recommendations for additional equipment will be directed to the Dean to be incorporated into a budget proposal from your school, if appropriate; and all recommendations for additional full-time faculty positions will be directed to the Dean for consideration in the development of Tier 3 of the Deans hiring priority proposal; all requests for new/replacement classified positions will be directed to the Dean for consideration in the development of the classified hiring priority list development process.) Consider purchasing a license for online tax research by IVC's growing body of income tax students. As more students complete the two tax classes and become CTEC certified, they will need to maintain that certification through continuing education. A tax research class would be an example of a potential new offering in the future and the research service would also benefit students in existing tax classes. It would be cutting edge use of technology in a program such as ours. The cost could be as high as $10,000 per year. Consideration should be given to purchasing marketing lists from firms such as Dun & Bradstreet. A $500 purchase would yield the names and contact information for all 1,361 CPA firms in Orange County, for example. This would enable a thorough and systematic marketing of courses of interest not only to the CPA candidate employees of those firms but, with efficiency in mind, if the advertised courses were offered online, no classroom space need be offered. Nothing breeds success like success and if the school could establish a reputation, a niche if you will, then follow-up offerings might be more successeful. C. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES (See Appendix C) 1. Identify Program Objectives below. (Program Objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time related.) (If applicable, relate the Program Objective to one or more of the IVC Goals. (See Appendix C) Objective 1 - to better service the large contingent of accounting students seeking their CPA. additional courses necessary to these students could be introduced. Cost Accounting, Intermediate Accounting I, Intermediate Accounting II, and Advanced Accounting are possibilities. Other courses will be evaluated based on student demand in order to better serve this segement. Other possible new courses include Internal Controls under Sarbanes- Oxley (always important to public companies), Forensic Accounting (could possibly be cross listed as accounting, criminal justice, and CIS). Both of the latter courses would likely be offered online. Short classes in small subjects such as governmental accounting and partnership accounting are also possible new courses. Objective 2 - As appropriate, re-evaluate the courses comprising the Accounting Certificate of Achievement and the courses that comprise the Associates Degree in Accounting to better align themwith program goals, current needs, student feedback, and also to incorporate new courses into the requirements. Objective 3 - (a) Increase the enrollment consistent with prior growth while maintaining retention and success percentages. This should be done within any budget constraints but some growth should be anticipated if new courses are added. (b) Given the likelihood of continuing financial constraints in the district, coordination with the Saddleback Accounting Program may result in additional efficiencies. Each of the two colleges could specialize in areas of strength and, for certain courses, become the only 6

location where such courses could be taken in the district. To facilitate this we might want to cross list selected courses on the schedules of both colleges. A course that only one college teaches per agreement between the colleges that, for instance, is part of the other college's certificate would be effectively communicated to students at both campuses. Saddleback and IVC will undertake to synchronize course names and numbers to improve clarity of articulation between the two colleges for purposes of satisfying certificate requrements. 2. For each Program Objective listed in Section C 1, identify the corresponding strategy or strategies for achieving the Program Objective. (A strategy is an action taken to achieve the program objective. For each program objective, specify (a) what action will be taken; (b) the responsible party, (c) the date of completion; (d) the rationale based on the data provided for your program; and (e) fiscal impact.) (See Appendix C) Strategy for objective 1 - in addition to writing the above-mentioned courses, additional recruitment of part time or full time instructors will be necessary as new courses are added to the schedule. Strategy for objective 2 - meet with business and accounting faculty to confer and make changes. Changes will be submitted through the curriculum committee. Strategy for objective 3 - If under (a) the decision is to proceed with new courses, then successfully launch the three new courses (Cost Accounting and Intermediate Accounting I and II). If under (b) the decision is to coordinate with Saddleback then, to begin with, additional class sections of taxation could be added to meet demand from Saddleback students and the significant excess demand we have witnessed for three semesters. Additionally under (b) create courses not offered by Saddleback that complete the group of courses CPA candidates need, e.g., Advanced Accounting and Internal Controls courses. D. FOR CAREER, TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS ONLY. (This section applies only to Career, Technical Education or Certificate Programs only.) 1. Career, Technical Education and Certificate Programs are reviewed through input by Advisory Committees. Provide a summary of the recommendations of the Advisory Committees. Describe how the program has implemented and/or reviewed the recommendations. Several points were stressed during the recent Accounting Advisory Forum. One was the phenomenon of students transferring to universities with poor oral presentation skills. A majority of those with difficulty are speaking English as a second language and have benefited from traditional ESL classes. In particular, the representative from UCI was insistent that even (some) students in graduate programs performed dismally when asked to present orally to classes. This is one area that could be addressed in business communication classes in ways that may not be addressed in standard ESL classes or public speaking classes, i.e., some intensive coaching intended to improve diction. This recommendation wasn't specific to the subject of accounting but since it was made during an accounting advisory committee meeting, it is mentioned here. Changes to the business communications class to address this point are being considered and would certainly benefit many of the accounting students. An IVC course called Voice and Diction might be incorporated into the accounting program somehow for students who could benefit. Another area brought up in the meeting by the state universities was the need for community colleges to service the needs of existing degree holders wishing to study for the CPA exam. The state universities are turning those students away if they aren't willing to enter a master's degree program. We have already made strides in that area by offering the tax courses and there are more potential courses IVC could consider. Software training was brought up in the advisory meeting by all participants, including those from the CPA firm. Software mentioned was Word, Excel, Power Point, Adobe Acrobat, QuickBooks Accounting Software, Other Accounting Software, and Tax Software. We 7

currently offer courses in these areas and are reviewing those courses to evaluate any need to improve them. CSUF often sends students back to community colleges to take an accounting software class because the university doesn't offer that but they want every one of their students to have some experience or instruction in that subject. 8

PROGRAM REVIEW TEAM SIGNATURES: Name Name Name Date Date Date LEARNING OUTCOMES CO-CHAIR Name Date SCHOOL DEAN Name Date VICE PRESIDENT OF INSTRUCTION Name Date OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT Name Date 9

APPENDIX A IVC MISSION STATEMENT Irvine Valley College is dedicated to serving members of the community who seek to transfer, obtain degrees or certificates, acquire career or basic skills, and pursue lifelong learning. The college also provides student support services, opportunities for cultural experiences, and activities promoting partnerships with the community. The college is committed to successful and measureable student learning through hiring exemplary faculty and staff, access to state of the art technologies and facilities, and by providing a variety of traditional and innovative teaching methods. In this era of rapid change in a global economy, the college is guided by a strategic plan based on data regarding changing student needs, evolving community diversity, and a rapidly changing economy. Adopted on 10/16/2006 Proposed Revisions by SPOBDC on 10/01/08 Proposed Revisions by Academic Senate on 10/09/08 Approved by SPOBDC 10/15/08 Reviewed SPOBDC 7-10-09 (Pending final College Review Fall 2009) COLLEGEWIDE GOALS 1. To meet the current and future learning needs of our diverse community. 2. To foster a college environment that is dedicated to attracting and supporting excellent faculty, staff, and students. 3. To develop and implement curricula that prepare students to transfer, obtain degrees and certificates, improve basic skills, and pursue life-long learning and community education. 4. To provide exemplary support services focused on student success and retention. 5. To provide programs and activities that promote economic development and partnerships with the community. 6. To focus college processes on providing programs and services which educate students to think critically and prepare them for making career and academic choices. 10

7. To provide leading edge instructional and administrative technologies to facilitate student success. 8. To promote IVC as an institution of higher education dedicated to student access and success. 9. To ensure institutional effectiveness through systematic assessment, intentional dialogue, and continuous improvement. 10. To continue integrating the strategic planning process with budget development in a systematic cycle of evaluation for effective resource allocation. 11. To promote environmental stewardship in college planning and decision making. Approved by SPOBDC 10/15/08 Revised by SPOBDC 07/10/09 (Pending Final College Review Fall 2009) 11

APPENDIX B STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES MATRIX (EXAMPLE) ***Please consult with the Learning Outcomes Co-chairs, Jerry Rudmann and Kari Tucker, (jrudmann@ivc.edu & ktucker@ivc.edu) in the development of learning outcomes and assessment plans. You must have their signature/approval prior to submitting your program review to the Dean and Office of Instruction. 12

APPENDIX C HOW TO DEVELOP PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES Appendix C describes how to develop Objectives and Strategies as part of Irvine Valley College s Program Review Process. 1. Definitions The language of planning contains specialized terms. Please use the following set of definitions: 1.1. Goals Goals are all-encompassing statements about the general direction of the College. IVC s Goals are included in Appendix A 1.2. Program Objectives If applicable, your Program Objectives should be related to one or more of IVC s Goals. Good objectives are S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timerelated (Drucker, 1954). While this is the ideal, it is possible that a Program Objective will not generate an immediate quantifiable outcome. In this case, please include an estimated date of completion. 1.3. Strategies Program Objectives require an action by which the attainment of the Objective can be determined. This action is called Strategy. A Program Objective can be achieved by one or more Strategies. For each Program Objective, specify at least one Strategy to attain the Program Objective. Strategies need to specify: (a) what action will be taken; (b) the responsible party; (c) the date of completion: when specific actions will be conducted to attain the Program Objective; and 13

(d) rationale: Strategies need to have a rationale grounded in Program Review related research material as discussed in Section B. 1 and 2 of the Program Review Template (e.g., results of program related statistics as provided by the Office of Research, Planning and Accreditation). Adequate documentation and careful analysis is needed for proper understanding, consideration, and in order to direct the Program Objective and related Strategy to the proper strategic planning committee for analysis and planning purposes. (e) fiscal impact: each strategy proposal needs to include a check for one of two fiscal impacts: 1) whether there is preexisting funding and staffing resources or 2) whether additional funding is necessary. 1.4 Example of Program Objectives and related Strategies Program Objective: To develop an online course in Cultural Anthropology by spring 2010. [Related IVC Goals #1 and #3] Strategy: (a) Action: (b) Responsible Party: Research and develop the curriculum for an online course in Cultural Anthropology by spring 2010. W. Gabriella (c) Date of Completion: Spring 2010 (d) Rationale: Based on the program review data, 85% of students indicated that they would enroll in an online course in Cultural Anthropology. 14