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Southeast Arkansas College |
Chapter One |
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1999-2000 NCA Self-Study for |
Southeast Arkansas College is seeking reaffirmation of accreditation by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Through Legislative Act 1244, on July 1, 1991, Pines Vocational Technical School became Pines Technical College (name changed July 8, 1998, to Southeast Arkansas College) as part of the state's higher education community and became a member of the Arkansas Community and Technical College System. As a provision of the legislative act, all newly formed community and technical colleges were required to achieve North Central Association accreditation within five (5) years.
The first official NCA self-study process at Southeast Arkansas College began in June of 1992 and concluded in August of 1993. The initial NCA visit of October 1993 resulted in a recommendation of "Candidate for Accreditation," which was confirmed by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in February of 1994. On April 29, 1994, the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board authorized the College to award the Associate of Arts degree. This advancement initiated a focused visit on the College's general education program by NCA in May of 1994, which reaffirmed the College's Candidate for Accreditation status at the comprehensive, associate degree level.
The second official NCA self-study began in August of 1994 and concluded in August of 1995. The 1995 Self-Study provided Southeast Arkansas College faculty, students, administrators, and staff an opportunity to analyze and continue to improve all areas of the College. The 1995 Self-Study extended the work of the 1993 initial Self-Study with special attention given to the Team Reports and Recommendations from the 1993 and 1994 NCA evaluation visits.
In October of 1995, the College underwent an on-site evaluation for initial accreditation. At the conclusion of this review, the NCA visiting team recommended full accreditation status for the College. On February 23, 1996, the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools awarded Southeast Arkansas College full accreditation status with no required progress, monitoring, or contingency reports or other visits. The 1995 Self-Study visiting team's recommendations provided direction for the continuous improvement efforts of the faculty, staff, and administration. Southeast Arkansas College was among the first in the NCA Region to conduct a self-study and to be evaluated on the newly revised North Central Association General Institutional Requirements (GIRs), Criteria, and Assessment Plan provisions. These standards are now common to all institutions seeking candidacy and accreditation.
Current 2000 Response to the 1995 NCA Visit
Four NCA consultant-evaluators visited Southeast Arkansas College in October of 1995 to determine if the College met the requirements for initial accreditation. The College immediately addressed the six (6) recommendations or concerns from their report. A full copy of the NCA Evaluation Team Report and the College's response to the report are available for review in the Resource Room.
Concerning Criterion I: Mission and Purposes, the Evaluation Team stated, "Southeast Arkansas College's philosophy, Mission statement, and Purposes have the support of the students, the Board of Trustees, the administration, the faculty and staff, and the citizens of the College's service region. The Institution is achieving this statement of Mission and Purposes at a high level of competency as indicated by assessment, follow-up, and outcome investigations. The evaluation team also believes that the College's Mission and Purposes statement are appropriate to a comprehensive community college functioning as a public technical college in the state of Arkansas. In the opinion of the team members, Southeast Arkansas College is satisfying Criterion I as a comprehensive technical community college." (1995 NCA Accreditation Team Report, p. 13)
CONCERN I: PTC (Southeast Arkansas College) needs to plan, to organize, and to fully implement a long-range planning process to guide its future development. The college needs to formalize its strategic planning processes, clearly integrating all major initiatives such as assessment, institutional effectiveness, institutional research and studies, marketing, and professional development.
RESPONSE: Southeast Arkansas College uses the following major planning processes: (a) Systematic Planning for the Future: Goals and Objectives and Long Range Strategic Themes (annual operating plan consisting of problem-solving and innovative objectives), (b) Assessment Plan for Student Academic Achievement and Institutional Effectiveness, (c) Facilities Master Plan, and (d) J. M. Lord & Associates marketing plan. An Institutional Research Officer position was filled in January of 2000. The College has enhanced its research capabilities with the purchase of a computerized, comprehensive, student database management program. The College will use these new aids to facilitate the planning processes.
CONCERN II: PTC (Southeast Arkansas College) needs to plan and implement a comprehensive internal and external marketing program. This marketing program should focus on recruitment and retention of students from the college's service area and be coordinated through a single office. The total college community needs to be involved in the planning and implementing of this comprehensive marketing program.
RESPONSE: College credit enrollment at the College has shown consistent and impressive increases from 440 students in the fall of 1993 to 1,962 students in the fall of 1999. Since 1995, the College has taken several measures to fortify its marketing and recruitment initiatives. An Admissions and Enrollment Management Coordinator was employed. The Office of Student Services transitioned from a paper student-record system to a computerized database (Champlain). The Board of Trustees authorized the College to enter a one-year contract with J. M. Lord & Associates for developing and implementing a comprehensive marketing program. The College began offering its first off-campus courses at Great Rivers Technical Institute in McGehee to further serve the needs of its six-county service area. In 1998, Southeast Arkansas College purchased the technology required to disseminate courses through compressed interactive video, allowing the College to address the enrollment potential of its six-county service area. To improve the admissions and enrollment management process, a new networked computer software system for student records (POISE) was purchased and implemented during 1999-2000. Southeast Arkansas College is developing cooperative agreements with secondary schools and other institutions of higher education (e.g., Southeast Arkansas Educational Service Cooperative, Arkansas Department of Corrections School System, Great Rivers Technical Institute, University of Arkansas at Monticello, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff). These partnerships and technological capability will allow the College to reach an increased number of potential students throughout its service area.
CONCERN III: PTC (Southeast Arkansas College) needs to plan, to develop, and to implement a long-term staff development program. The college needs to improve the recruitment and the staff development of part-time faculty members.
RESPONSE: The Vice President for Instruction and Assessment, in consultation with the division deans, coordinates and oversees faculty and staff development activities. Particular emphasis on part-time faculty members resulted in the implementation of bi-annual training sessions. The College's faculty and staff annual evaluation system serves as the basis for the development of professional development activities. The institutional research officer collects data regarding staff development needs to align with training opportunities. The College expects to allocate approximately 1% ($62,500) of its 2000-2001 budget to staff development in all its varying forms.
CONCERN IV: PTC (Southeast Arkansas College) needs to continue to carefully monitor its sources of revenue and search for new revenues by fully implementing a comprehensive college development program and considering the possibility of securing local tax revenues.
RESPONSE: Since incorporation, the Southeast Arkansas College Foundation has raised $450,000 on behalf of the College for capital improvements. In addition, $1,286,000, matched by the State, was provided in 1999 by another private foundation. By state law, the College has the opportunity to pursue the creation of a local tax district. Meetings were held and opinion surveys conducted to determine public support for a local tax levy, perhaps within Jefferson County. The results of these efforts have been mixed and inconclusive. However, as the College's enrollment, service, and positive image within the community continue to develop, the Board of Trustees is expected to consider requesting a referendum on the issue.
CONCERN V: PTC (Southeast Arkansas College) needs additional physical plant space, especially classroom and laboratory facilities. The college needs to complete its master plan. PTC should acquire additional acres for future expansion.
RESPONSE: In March of 1998, the College completed Phases IV and V (Library and Nursing & Allied Health Center) of the Facilities Master Plan. The College requested funds from the 1997 Arkansas Legislature for the completion of Phases VI and VII and the purchase of additional acres for campus expansion. Funding for a new $5.6 million Advanced/Emerging Technology Center has been secured with construction scheduled to begin in the fall of 2000. These projects were successfully funded through state allocations, private grants, and matching funds from a private philanthropic foundation. The College has since purchased an additional 19 acres of adjacent property. The demolition and construction plans associated with Phase VI of the master plan commenced in the fall of 2000. The existing Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Building will be demolished and the program moved to an area renovated from the existing Auto Mechanics laboratory. This renovation is also the relocation site for the Electrical/Electronics program. The Advanced and Emerging Technologies Building, 43,800-sq. ft. structure housing Biotechnology, CAD-CAM, Industrial Mechanics, and Computer Network Technologies will be constructed during 2000-2001. The College plans to continue to use its resources wisely and complete its long-range facilities master plan. In November of 1999, the College Board of Trustees adopted the Facilities Master Plan II for 2000-2005.
CONCERN VI: PTC (Southeast Arkansas College) needs to plan, to organize, and to put in place an institutional research and studies process that will guide its academic assessment activities and processes. The college needs to fully implement its plan for assessment of student academic achievement.
RESPONSE: In January of 2000, the College employed an Institutional Research Officer. In consultation with the College Council, this position is charged with the development and implementation of an institutional research and studies system. The College's purchase of a computerized, comprehensive, student database management program in 1999 will provide a consolidated information storehouse from which the research officer may draw. This advancement will allow the College to make better use of the results from assessment activities and improve the assessment process.
Arkansas Quality Award: Quality Principles
Southeast Arkansas College was the first educational institution in the state to apply for and to receive the Arkansas Quality Award, a program endorsed by the Governor of the State as an avenue for successful businesses and industries to share best practices embodying continuous improvement principles. The College's involvement in the program began in 1997. Chapter Three of the College's 1999-2000 North Central Association Self-Study Report discusses the AQA program intent and purposes, the College's 1999 AQA On-Site Evaluation Feedback Report, and benefits of participation to the College.
The College's involvement in the Academic Quality Improvement Project (AQIP) undertaken by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools was a natural progression. The College has formed a cross-functional team of volunteers to work under the direction of an employee who is trained and knowledgeable in continuous quality improvement systems.
The purposes of this self-study were as follows:
Southeast Arkansas College elected to conduct the self-study using a dual comprehensive and issues-oriented approach. Both the process and report focused on describing institutional procedures and the results of implementation. The self-study process provided documented evidence of the strengths and commendations as well as challenges and opportunities for improvement in all programs and services. Inconsistencies, misconceptions, and ineffective procedures were discovered when measuring the results of processes and policy implementation. The College pursued the findings and selected issues of major importance that would affect the Institution's fulfillment of its Mission. These issues were identified using survey results, student data, and day-to-day interaction with students, employees, and community members. Because of this inclusive, full-participation self-study process, the committees prepared a draft of action plans to resolve such issues. These documents are available for review in the Resource Room.
The College organized the self-study process to maximize faculty and staff involvement and ownership in the changes resulting from the study. During the spring of 1999, the President and College Council agreed to use the existing council, committee, and senate structure in organizing the 1999-2000 Self-Study Committees. This arrangement provided a natural division of self-study responsibilities, as all faculty, administrative, professional, and representative support staff are included on at least one council or committee.
The College Council, the most representative of all internal constituents, served as the Self-Study Steering Committee. The other committees' responsibilities were as follows: the President's Cabinet (Executive Committee) was charged with Criterion One - Purposes. The Business Affairs Council was assigned Criterion Two - Resources. Criterion Three - Educational Programs - was assigned to the Instructional Affairs Council. The Student Affairs Council was responsible for Criterion Four - Planning and Effectiveness, and Criterion Five - Integrity, was a task for the Faculty Senate. Each Council (Criterion Committee) Chair served on the College Council (NCA Steering Committee).
The Joint Assessment Committee, a subcommittee of the Instructional Affairs Council, made recommendations regarding both the assessment of student academic achievement and institutional effectiveness. The committee's responsibilities included conducting the annual review of the Assessment Plan for Student Academic Achievement. This review determines the feasibility of accomplishing the measurable goals, facilitates the collection and interpretation of data, and oversees the use of results to improve learning, instruction, and work processes in all college units.
A major initial task of the Steering and Criterion Committees was the development of comprehensive survey and data collection instruments related to the patterns of evidence. A survey instrument was administered in October of 1999 to a significant population of the College's internal and external constituents. Two additional survey instruments were administered to all faculty in January of 2000. Data collection was an on-going activity of the various committees, continuing in some cases through June 30, 2000, with special attention given to the recommendations resulting from the 1995 Self-Study and the subsequent NCA Focused Visit Team Report. This data was analyzed and provided the basis for the narrative report and recommendations found in this 1999-2000 Self-Study.
Southeast Arkansas College organized its 1999-2000 institutional self-study report in the following manner. Chapter One introduces the College as an institution of higher education and discusses the self-study process. Chapter Two indicates that the College meets the General Institutional Requirements of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Chapter Three provides an overview of the College's participation in the Arkansas Quality Award program and the quality initiative upon which the College is embarking through NCA's Academic Quality Improvement Project. Chapter Four provides evidence to meet Criterion One " . . . has clear and publicly stated Purposes consistent with its Mission and appropriate to an institution of higher education." Chapter Five provides evidence to support Criterion Two " . . . has effectively organized the human, financial, and physical resources necessary to accomplish its Purposes." Chapter Six provides evidence that the College meets Criterion Three, " . . . is accomplishing its educational and other Purposes." Chapter Seven addresses the evidence that the College " . . . can continue to accomplish its Purposes and strengthen its educational effectiveness." Chapter Eight provides evidence that the College meets Criterion Five, " . . . demonstrates integrity in its practices and relationships." Chapter Nine contains a summary of the institutional self-study and the College's request for reaffirmation of accreditation.
College Service Area: Geographic Region and Demographics
Southeast Arkansas College is the only public, two-year community or technical college in Southeast Arkansas; therefore, the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board identified the following six (6) counties in Southeast Arkansas as the primary service area for the College: Jefferson, Cleveland, Desha, Drew, Grant and Lincoln. The 1990 United States Census Report indicated a total population for this service area as 155,000 of whom 36% are minorities. A map of the College's service area is available in the Resource Room.
The nearest two-year colleges are Pulaski Technical College - North Little Rock, 45 miles north; Ouachita Technical College - Malvern, 50 miles west; Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas - Helena, 103 miles east; and South Arkansas Community College - El Dorado, 90 miles south.
According to the 1990 Census, Jefferson County, where the College is located, has a population of 85,487 with 44,911 persons ranging in age from 20-64 years old. Pine Bluff has a population of 57,150 with 30,583 African-Americans, 26,084 whites, and 473 others. Nineteen (19) public high schools exist within the service area. Approximately 48% of the 1999 graduating seniors in the College's service area entered college as compared to 52% statewide. Statistics indicate that approximately 13% of Southeast Arkansas College's 1999 fall student population were recent high school graduates. The median age of the 1999 fall student population was 30 years with the mean age being 32.9 years as compared to the state average for colleges and universities of 24.7 years. The 1999-2000 fall college credit enrollment of 1,789 students was 44% full-time and 56% part-time and is reflective of the state percentages of 44.4 and 55.6 respectively. These statistics verify Southeast Arkansas College's non-traditional student population.
In Arkansas, 81.5% of the population complete high school according to the Arkansas Department of Education's 1997 Completion Study. The Fall 1998 Student Enrollments Report published by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education reported a cumulative college graduation rate of 45.4% for the 1992-1997 first-time entering freshmen cohort at Arkansas public institutions. Southeast Arkansas College reported a graduation rate of 47.4% for this cohort group. These completion rates indicate improvement over the past five years. Southeast Arkansas College, as stated in its Mission, exists to increase the educational opportunities for current and potential students advancing the educational attainment level for our state.
Students welcome the flexible class schedules and alternate formats the College offers such as 4-, 8-, and 16-week course lengths; day, evening, and weekend classes; compressed interactive video classes; and telecourse and Internet classes. Southeast Arkansas College offers non-traditional age students the opportunity to receive education and training directly related to their current or intended occupation and career field, which includes general education that is needed for career success. Students are also afforded the opportunity to enroll in collegiate level work, including the general education core curriculum, which is transferable toward a baccalaureate degree. The College provides students a quality, cost-effective education.
A goal of the College is to recruit a student body reflective of the total community served. The College values cultural diversity, recognizing and appreciating this as strength. During the 1999 fall semester, the College's full-time and part-time student body was 59% white and 41% minority. Similarly, the College's full-time and part-time employee composition was 70% white and 30% minority. Southeast Arkansas College's six-county service area is 64% white and 36% minority, according to the 1990 Census.
Southeast Arkansas College was created by Act 1244 of the 78th General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, which was signed into law by the Governor on April 17, 1991. The above Act redesignated and redefined the Mission of fourteen (14) existing post-secondary vocational-technical schools located throughout the State to technical colleges. Similarly, state authority for the new institutions was transferred from the Arkansas Board of Vocational-Technical Education to the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The latter serves as the coordinating agency for all-public universities, community colleges, and technical colleges in the State of Arkansas. Programmatically, technical colleges and community colleges in Arkansas have the same mission. They differ, however, in their local taxing authority and board of trustees' composition.
The predecessor of Southeast Arkansas College was Pines Vocational-Technical School, which began offering post-secondary vocational-technical programs as Arkansas Vocational-Technical School on September 21, 1959. With the enactment of Act 1244 of 1991, all land, buildings, equipment, and personnel associated with Pines Vocational-Technical School were transferred to the renamed institution - Pines Technical College. In October of 1991, then State Governor Bill Clinton appointed the Charter members of the Pines Technical College Board of Trustees. On October 14, 1992, the College's Board of Trustees selected Dr. Terry J. Puckett as the first president of the College. He began work at the campus on December 1, 1992.
Pines Technical College changed its name in 1996 to Southeast Arkansas Technical College to publicly differentiate between its collegiate-level offerings and status and its past as a vocational-technical school. This change was also an attempt to better reflect the geographic area served, while retaining a focus on technical education. Later, in 1998, the College's Board of Trustees voted to remove the word Technical from the Institution's name. The College began teaching General Education courses under its own purview in the summer of 1994. Before that time Southeast Arkansas College relied upon a cooperative agreement with the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to conduct general studies/university transfer courses. Six full-time academic faculty members were hired by the College in August of 1994. There are currently thirteen (13) full-time faculty members teaching in the general studies disciplines.
Future of Southeast Arkansas College
In the fall of 1992, the College established a "Vision of the College for the Year 2000." The Vision Statement, published in the Systematic Planning for the Future: Goals and Objectives for 1999-2000 and Long Range Strategic Themes for 1997-2002, provides a qualitative focus toward which all College constituents can aspire and for which accompanying strategic plans for achievement can be developed. The College's annual goals and objectives and long-range plans are guided through this working document encompassing all units of the College. Progress toward goal attainment is measured quarterly and updated annually to reflect institutional accomplishments, changes, and plans. The Systematic Planning for the Future document is available for review in the Resource Room.