During the Spring and Fall of 2010, and Spring of 2011, the North Lake College community embarked on the achievement of a Wildly Important Goal. It was a new venture designed to guide the college toward very specific desired results. To achieve these goals the campus utilized The Four Disciplines of Execution, a strategy of measurement and accountability developed by the Franklin Covey Institute for carrying out organizational goals. This strategy amplifies components of strategic planning and institutional effectiveness. It was developed based on research with public companies and employees and is designed to address the execution gap - the gap between setting a goal and achieving it. According to Covey, there are four reasons for the execution gap: 1. People don t know the goal. 2. People don t know what to do to achieve the goal. 3. People don t keep score. 4. People are not held accountable for progress on the goal. The remedy for the four breakdowns in execution is a set of disciplines: 1. Focus on the Wildly Important: Everyone on the team is crystal clear about and committed to the absolute top priorities that define success. The Wildly Important Goal (WIG) is the one that must be achieved or nothing else matters. 2. Act on the Lead Measures: Everyone knows and commits to a few select activities that will have the most impact on achieving the desired result; then they use lead measures to track those activities. 3. Keep a Compelling Scoreboard: Everyone knows the measures of success and can see if they are winning (achieving the intended result) or not. The compelling scoreboard motivates people to win. 4. Create a Cadence of Accountability: Everyone accounts frequently and regularly for progress toward the goals. Weekly workgroup meetings are held to track progress using lead and lag measures, and renew commitment to the goal. The college s Wildly Important Goal (WIG) and sub-goals that would contribute to the accomplishment of the WIG were determined by a leadership group including the president of the college, the president s team, the student services leadership council and the instructional leadership council. The WIG was then refined by the deans and faculty from the instructional divisions and lead measures were developed for achieving the WIG. North Lake College s WIG and sub-goals were designed to increase in-course retention. Faculty, together with instructional deans, designed the assessment measure. The goal was the reduction of student withdrawals as a measure of in-course retention. Significance These goals and sub-goals became college planning priorities to be addressed in the development of unit plans. As part of this process, every unit of the college developed a measureable outcome objective to address the college s Wildly Important Goal of in-course retention, or one of the
sub-goals as appropriate to their function. Every unit developed and tracked lead measures on a scoreboard. Every unit met regularly to discuss their progress. The instructional divisions tracked faculty interventions with students considered to be at-risk. Interventions were determined by the faculty and included such strategies as personal phone calls, emails, and meetings with students. While the faculty has direct contact with students in the classroom, the initiative involves every workgroup on campus. The cashiers have chosen to conduct interventions and referrals with students who come to the cashier window by asking students direct questions as they handle their financial transaction How are things going? Anything I can do to help? The library and learning resource center have chosen to track meaningful conversations with students. The IT department focused on increasing the number of faculty who are proficient in using the technology in the smart classrooms. All of these activities are documented in the unit plans as WIG objectives. Spring 2010 College Level Wildly Important Goal (WIG) Spring 2010: To reduce the number of W s by 5% while maintaining excellence in teaching and learning. Projected Ws 5% Goal WIG Actual % Reduction of North Lake College 3968 3770 3479 12.32% 7.32% better than 5% goal Liberal Arts 1342 1275 1319 1.72% 3.28% less than 5% goal Math/Science 1525 1449 1391 8.8% 3.8% better than 5% goal ABST 762 724 723 5.2% 0.2% better than 5% goal Construction 36 34 27 25% 20% better than 5% goal The Sub-goals Teaching and Learning that Engages. Faculty will document the number of interventions with at-risk students as the lead measure for decreasing the number of W s. Advising that Engages: To increase the number of students receiving case management advising from 2,200 to 3,000 by December 31, 2010. Early Intervention through Journey to Success: To increase the number of students receiving early intervention from 0 to 70. Quality Services: To attain >75% satisfaction with services on a college-wide quality services student survey.
Fall 2010 College Level Wildly Important Goal (WIG) Fall 2010: To reduce the number of W s by 10% while maintaining excellence in teaching and learning. Projected Ws 10% Goal WIG Actual % Reduction of North Lake College 3546 3192 3557 (0.3%) 10.3% less than 10% goal Liberal Arts 1366 1229 1448 (6.0%) 16.0% less than 10% goal Math/Science 1464 1318 1375 6.1% 3.9% less than 10% goal ABST 702 632 656 6.6% 3.4% less than 10% goal Construction 22 20 23 (4.5%) 14.5% less than 10% goal The Sub-goals Teaching and Learning that Engages. Faculty will document the number of interventions with at-risk students as the lead measure for decreasing the number of W s. Advising that Engages: To increase the number of students receiving case management advising from 2,200 to 3,000 by December 31, 2010. Early Intervention through Journey to Success: To increase the number of students receiving early intervention from 0 to 70. Quality Services: To attain >75% satisfaction with services on a college-wide quality services student survey. Spring 2011 College Level Wildly Important Goal (WIG) Spring 2011: To reduce the number of W s by 10% while maintaining excellence in teaching and learning. Spring 2011 Results: Projected Ws 10% Goal WIG Actual % Reduction of North Lake College 3227 2905 3776 (17.0%) 27.0% less than 10% goal Liberal Arts 1318 1187 1504 (14.1%) 24.1% less than 10% goal Math/Science 1391 1252 1442 (3.7%) 13.7% less than 10% goal ABST 702 632 773 (10.0%) 20.0% less than 10% goal Construction 24 22 27 (12.5%) 22.5% less than 10% goal
Sub Goals: 1. Teaching and Learning that Engages Faculty continue to document interventions with at-risk students. 2. Student Services that Engage 3. Quality Services Liberal Arts increased drop rate to 11.99% Math/Science increased drop rate to 21.63% ABST increased drop rate to nearly 13.3%. Construction increased drop rate to 5.52% Teaching and Learning that Engages Student Services that Engage Academic Advising provided case management for 201 Early Alert and Probation 3 Students who have a history of withdrawal or failure. Counseling Services contacted 100% of students who did not keep their counseling appointments within 48 hours, exceeding their goal by 10%. Degree Audit increased the number of visits to upper level classes and provided students with information on filling out a degree plan resulting in a 47% increase in the number of graduates (from 277 to 407). Spring graduates increased by 54% from 347 to 534 and NLC now ranks first in the District. Disability Services contacted 100% of new students in Disability Services Office twice during their first semester, exceeding their goal by 20%. Dual Credit updated their website to provide important information for students, parents, and high school officials. Educational Partnerships increased the number of students receiving case management through the Journey to Success Retention Program by 60. The goal continues in progress through December of 2011 with a target of 100 students. Health Services achieved a 10.37% return rate on the Basic Nutritional Survey for the Community Campuses. International Student Center provided intake services and contacted first time ESOL students a total of 4 times for 194 students, exceeding their goal by 94 students. NLC Student Life exceeded their goal of 100 likes on their newly established Facebook page, recording 123 likes. Outreach G-Force Mentors exceeded their goal of 75% satisfaction with services.
Upward Bound students increased grade performance resulting in 6 graduations, 2 college enrollments, and GPAs above 2.0 for all students. NLC Police exceeded their goal of providing at least 8 First Responder Training sessions. Rising Star exceeded their goal of increasing the number of Progress Reports received from the Class of 2010 by.5%. The goal was set at 50%. TRiO Student Support Services increased the number of students receiving case management from 139 to 191, exceeding their goal by 1. Veteran s Affairs increased communication with currently enrolled VETS by utilizing email blasts to reach 100% of these students, exceeding their goal by 20%. Learning Resources engaged 217 students in meaningful conversations. North Campus reported that 93% of respondents were satisfied with services. South Campus reported that 95% of respondents were satisfied with services. Quality Services Planning and Development reported that 100% of planning units of the college have documented WIGS and use of results. Research, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness provided weekly drop reports to 100% of the Teaching & Learning Centers of the college. Educational and Administrative Technology increased the number of full-time faculty attaining a proficient level of expertise using classroom technology from 0 to 60, exceeding their goal by 30. Facilities Services achieved a 90% satisfaction rating on campus cleanliness standards, exceeding their goal by 15%. Wildfire sustained a collective satisfaction score of 9.8 on a 10 point scale for services including Artwork and Mixed Multimedia, Distance Education, Professional Development, Customized Technology Support and Services, and DODC Support. Marketing and Public Information reported an average satisfaction score to its WIG survey of 9.6 on a 10 point scale. They exceeded their goal by 2.6 points. Marketing and Public Information increased the number of press releases by 60%. Marketing and Public Information increased new college Facebook users by 13% and feedbacks to posts by 119%. Accounting Services has documented 35 student interventions with a goal of 100 by August 31, 2011. Human Resources achieved 100% participation and completion of New Employee Orientation for firstyear employees.
Lessons Learned The early weeks of a semester are critical in terms of retention. The anomaly of a winter snow storm that shut the college down for an entire week had a large effect on the college s effort to meet WIG targets in the Spring of 2011. Faculty expressed concerns about having lost a chance to interact with students at a very key time of the semester, when early relationships are formed between faculty and students and with other students in the course. The Teaching & Learning Centers were serious about the success of students and they raised valid questions about how to best advise students. A grade of W might be the best outcome for some situations and faculty as well as student development staffs are best at assisting students with the decision about whether or not to drop a course. The significance of this initiative and its profound impact on continuous improvement of systems, processes and results cannot be over-stated. This process provides a deployment methodology that ensures every unit in the college is actively working to achieve the same goal, and is collecting and reviewing data to determine their success. The WIG objectives and documentation of lead and lag measures using data have been integrated into the college s strategic and unit planning processes. Creating measures that are specific and meaningful is difficult and important work. It takes focus and continual refinement to determine good measurements. As the college focused on the execution of our goals, the campus community began to focus on results, feedback and the need to work together as a team to achieve our goals. Moving Forward The 2012 WIG is now focused on Student Success and Completion. All Deans and managers have WIG goals in their unit plans.