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

Board Policy Manual
College Catalog
Assessment of Student Learning Handbook
Policy and Procedure Manual of the Athletic Department
Health Occupations Student Handbook
Faculty and Staff Handbook
Adjunct Instructor Handbook
Handouts posted in the institution
The Board Policy Manual is available publicly in both hard-copy format and online through the
WNCC website at this link (RR 4).
The practice of the assessment of student learning at WNCC is directed by the role and mission
that defines the institution as a student-centered and open access institution committed to teaching
and learning for a diverse population; therefore, the Assessment of Student Learning Handbook
provides a philosophy and purpose for assessment, echoing the institution’s philosophy in
emphasizing student learning and improving academic achievement (RR 5).
The institution’s commitment to and reliance upon its role and mission is also seen in the
documents published by a variety of its programs. For instance, The Policy and Procedure Manual
of the Athletic Department, in addition to publishing policies and procedures set forth by the
National Junior College Athletic Association, also lists WNCC’s Philosophy and Role and Mission
Statement (RR 6).
Likewise, The Health Occupations Student Handbook refers students to the College Catalog as the
“primary contract between the student and WNCC” (RR 7). It further reproduces the mission
statement and provides a division-level mission statement that reflects WNCC’s overall values and
practices.
Mission statements from various academic support units reflect WNCC’s core mission, including
ones created by these service areas:
Registrar’s Office
Financial Aid Office
Counseling Center
Library
Tutoring Services at the Independent Learning and Assessment Center
TRIO programs: Student Support Services, Supplemental Instruction, Upward Bound
Veterans Upward Bound
Career Assistance Office
Although the College’s mission statement and the full-length vision and philosophy statements are
meaningful and articulate positively the underlying intention and attitude of the College, the length
of those documents may make them somewhat unwieldy. There is certainly no intention nor need
for WNCC to veer from the mission, philosophy, or vision encapsulated in those documents, but a
shorter, more memorable text would be both more powerful for reading and more readily
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Western Nebraska Community College