2009 Performance Accountability Report Vol. 2 - Maryland Higher ...

To help alleviate the nursing shortage, the HCC Nursing and Allied Health program has
developed accelerated programming which provides opportunities for decreasing the amount of
time taken to reach a degree.
To follow-up on Indicator 19f from the 2008 report, (Occupational Program Associate Degrees
and Credit Certificates Awarded in Public Service Areas), only 27 degrees/certificates were
awarded in this area in FY 2008, whereas the benchmark is 43. Since the new A.A. degree in
Arts and Sciences, Option in Criminal Justice, was approved, enrollments in the A.A.S. Legal
Studies-Criminal Justice degree program have dropped precipitously (from 41 to 10). Therefore,
this drop in enrollment has resulted in a parallel decrease in the number of degrees/certificates
awarded. Following this cycle of Accountability Reporting ending in 2010, the benchmark for
this indicator will need to be adjusted to account for the shifting enrollments from A.A.S. to A.A.
degree programs in public service.
Indicator 11c (Graduation-Transfer Rate After Four Years for Developmental Non-
Completers) – Response to Commission Staff Question:
As the title suggests, these are students who fail to complete all developmental coursework
recommended to them based on their Academic Skills Assessment placements. Since these
students do not complete these basic remedial building blocks for success, it is predictable that
these students would not persist, graduate, and transfer as readily as the other cohorts of students.
Further, this year it came to our attention that it is specified in the Guidelines for the 2009
Performance Accountability Report, that “benchmarks are not needed for ‘developmental noncompleters’
in Indicators 10 and 11 nor for Indicator 14b.” Therefore, Harford has removed these
benchmarks.
Indicator 17a (Successful Persistor Rate After Four Years for African American Students)
– Response to Commission Staff Question:
The four-year successful persistor rate for African American students has fluctuated over the past
four years, from 60.5% to 64.7% to 56.3%, to 55.1%. The number of students in the analysis
cohort is relatively small, at 89 students. The 55.1% success and persistence rate represents 49 of
the 89 students. The population in this cohort over the past 4 years has been relatively small each
year, which, in part, can contribute to the fluctuation in success rates from 55.1% to 64.7%
Harford maintains a benchmark of 75%, sustaining the philosophy of the goal to improve the
success and persistence rates of African American students up to a level achieved by all students
in the cohort – thereby closing the nationally recognized “Achievement Gap.” Harford continues
to strive to fulfill this goal and the issues associated with achieving this goal are top priorities at
the College.
The Harford Community College Values, as well as the Strategic Plan, are the College’s
foundational documents and they provide direct guidance to “ensure a learning-centered culture
that fosters student success” and “provide comprehensive support to advance student success,” as
well as to “promote and sustain a welcoming environment that embraces diversity.” To achieve
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