City College of San Francisco - California Competes

THEME I
College), and refined the Mission Statement based on that review. The Strategic Plan articulates objectives
that focus on each of the elements of the Mission Statement and specifically addresses each of the
commitments articulated in the Vision Statement. To ensure that the Strategic Plan became a living
and driving force in the annual planning and budgeting process, Strategic Plan Implementation Schedules
were developed that describe the timetable and identify the key staff members responsible for ensuring
implementation of the Plan.
Short- and long-term planning and decision making is supported by a Decision Support System (DSS)
that provides a broad range of data on institutional effectiveness and student outcomes, including demand
for courses, student demographics, productivity analyses, and student persistence and success rates. It is a
web-based system, interfacing with the Banner student information database, that permits the review of
current data on specific student groups and characteristics (i.e., demographics) or program characteristics
(e.g., student goals, educational backgrounds, etc.), as well as data on each of the College’s departments,
schools, and campuses.
Using the DSS as a vehicle for harvesting data, the College uses various forms of assessment to evaluate
its effectiveness in meeting its Mission. College Performance Indicators have been established that address
such areas as student access, retention, skills development, graduation, and job placement. These College
Performance Indicators are rooted in the Strategic Plan, and an annual report is generated that tracks the
College’s performance using the indicators. The College also initiates comprehensive studies related to
specific strategic priorities, making available qualitative and quantitative data for planning, budgeting,
and developing new initiatives. In addition, the College has a systematic process for Program Review
(for a qualitative analysis of Program Review, please refer to the Standards Reports). Academic and
student services departments complete these reviews within a six-year cycle.
Institutional Commitment to Basic Skills: Rationale for the Case Study. Of the eight Strategic Priorities
set forth in the Strategic Plan, one entire priority is dedicated to basic skills instruction and support based
on the College’s recognition that mastery of basic skills is critical for college success, in essence serving as
a gateway to further education. The aim of this strategic priority is: “To ensure student access, progress,
success and transfer readiness through an effective and expanded approach to improving basic skills,
remediation, and transitional studies including instruction, academic and student support services, and
other services as necessary.” Moreover, references to the needs of basic skills students, both direct and
indirect, appear throughout the remaining Strategic Priorities. Indirect references include, but are not
limited to: sharing data with local high schools about student needs (such that, in particular, students
entering from high school are better prepared for college-level work); identifying and publicizing practices
that promote student success (including contextual and experiential learning strategies); assuring a full
range of student support services across all campuses; expanding retention programs for historically underserved
and underrepresented students; recognizing and teaching to diverse learning styles; incorporating
multicultural perspectives into the curriculum where appropriate; and exploring high-pay, high-skill jobs
in communities such as Mission Bay and the Third Street Corridor (both areas in which residents tend to
be historically underserved and underrepresented and of low socioeconomic status).
As this summary implies, issues of diversity and student support are critical to the success of basic skills
students given that students who place into the pre-collegiate basic skills course sequence are more likely
to be historically underserved and underrepresented and are more likely to succeed with additional support,
whether financial or academic, as substantiated in the “Pre-Collegiate Basic Skills Accountability
Reports” issued by CCSF’s Office of Research, Planning and Grants. This summary also underscores the
CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO
247