City College of San Francisco - California Competes

STANDARD II.A
III. Strengths & Areas for Improvement
1. City College of San Francisco offers high
quality instructional programs that meet the
needs of a highly diverse student population
leading to degrees, certificates, transfer, and
employment competencies consistent with
its Mission Statement and strategic priorities.
The College has been actively engaged in
improving the developmental and precollegiate
programs and services as well as
continuing to offer a broad range of
continuing, community, and specialized
education courses and programs that meet
community needs. Courses reflect an
appropriate level of rigor, breadth, and
sequencing, and student achievement is
generally measured based on learning
outcomes established in course outlines of
record. Significant emphasis is placed on
addressing the differing learning styles of the
College’s student populations; however, the
College needs to improve the dissemination
of information on effective instructional
pedagogies and evaluation techniques
related to students’ diverse learning styles.
Course outlines are carefully developed
and rigorously reviewed; however, in the
evaluation of faculty, more emphasis
should be placed on the alignment of
course syllabi and instructional materials
with outlines of record. Most departments
that use standardized testing give appropriate
consideration to validity, reliability, and
potential for bias, although some
departments should use the resources
of the Offices of Research, Planning and
Grants and Matriculation to assure
appropriate methodologies.
The assessment of student needs plays a
vital role in the development of courses and
schedules of classes. The Decision Support
System has provided valuable data for faculty,
department chairs, and administrators,
although the institution needs to raise the
awareness among staff of the information
that is available and the ease with which
the data can be accessed. In addition to
assisting with operational decision making,
this information can be particularly useful
in the preparation of program reviews. Under
the leadership of the Office of Technology-
Mediated Instruction, the College has
substantially increased the number of online
and hybrid courses in a variety of disciplines.
2. All degree programs require a well-structured
general education component consistent with
the standards for accreditation. Since the last
reaffirmation of accreditation, the College
has revised and raised both the Mathematics
and Written Composition requirements.
In addition, an Information Competency
requirement has received preliminary approval
and an ad-hoc team is working on the
implementation of the requirement. The
College has adopted a process for the
delineation of study majors by departments
and students may complete a specific major
or select from two clearly defined focused
areas of study to meet degree requirements.
In addition, the College has adopted a Transfer
Associate Degree as an option for students
transferring to the California State University
System. Since the last accreditation review, the
College has substantially improved its ability
to acquire information regarding students’
performance on external vocational
examinations and employer assessments of
students’ readiness for employment. However,
some data is difficult to acquire from external
sources, and a more systematic method of
tracking the employment histories and the
success of students who have completed
vocational programs will require significant
additional resources.
3. The College provides students with clear and
accurate information on programs, courses,
degree and certificate requirements, transfer,
and relevant policies and procedures.
Historically, the College has relied on print
media (e.g., Catalog, Class Schedule, etc.).
While most of the traditional major print
resources are available online, the College
website could be used more effectively to
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