WNCC 2010 Self-Study Report - Western Nebraska Community ...

Criterion 5: Engagement and Service
As called for by its mission, the organization identifies its constituencies
and serves them in ways both value.
Criterion 5a: WNCC learns from the constituencies it serves and analyzes its
capacity to serve their needs and expectations.
Western Nebraska Community College clearly identifies its constituents and listens to them to
discern their needs by convening Program Advisory committees, by building regional
collaborations, and by organizing and producing campus and community events.
Program Advisory Committees
WNCC has a number of Advisory Committees in place to guide the direction of various programs
within the College. Vocational and grant programs within the College annually use advisory
committees to provide feedback and recommendations regarding training and equipment to help
the College’s programs stay current with the demands of the workplace. College Advisory
Committees are valuable primarily because they are relevant to student and area needs. For
example, Advisory Committees are used in the following areas:
Table 9-49 Advisory Committees
Emergency Medical Tech
Auto Body Technology
Welding Technology
Adult Education
Perkins Consortium Grant
Nursing
Powerline Technology
Auto Technology
Entrepreneurship
Health Academy
Business
Health Information Technology
Regional Collaborations
The College offers secondary education institutions, health facilities, corporations, non-profit
organizations, and public entities a combination of traditional educational offerings and customized
courses. Once underway, activities are analyzed to determine the scope and quality of service, as
well as whether student needs are being met, the monitoring done to help determine future needs
or areas for expansion of services. The number of students served through these partnerships can
be found in the discussion under Core Component 5c, page 168. A sampling of regional
partnerships includes the following collaborative ventures.
1. In collaboration with regional high schools, dual-credit instruction has been offered by the
College for over 25 years, at WNCC campuses, on-site at high schools by certified
adjuncts, and via the ITV system. In 2007, for instance, dual-credit instruction accounted
for 68 courses, just over 6% of total courses and 308 students (see chart page 163).
Western Nebraska Community College Page 157