City College of San Francisco - California Competes

THEME IV
The Chair says he was initially “very blunt coming in,” when he was interviewed for a faculty position in
2002. He was very frank in stating that there was a great deal of room for improvement in the Department
at that time and was pleasantly surprised not to be sent packing forthwith, but instead to have his enthusiasm
for change warmly received by long-time department faculty and the Department Chair at that
time.
Needs assessment. The many changes that followed were deemed necessary based on various types of
needs assessments. For example, a student survey in Spring 2004 found that only 1 percent of students
were interested in Design Firm Management. As a result, that program was eliminated. In spite of its s
mall size, the Department still offers three programs: Architecture, Interior Design, and Construction
Management.
In September 2004, the Department completed a Program Review, and the “Discussion of Working
Environment” section of that Review provided an excellent summary needs assessment (personnel, facilities,
equipment, networking support). In addition, this review, as is the case with all Program Reviews,
included relevant data on student demand, student success (GPA, course success percentage, term persist 6 )
relative to School and College, demographics, and productivity. The 2004 Program Review evaluated
progress since the last review and also contained an evaluation of current functioning. The Department
Chair has found the departmental Program Review to be essential to him as a planning guide and
continues to refer to it weekly. He describes multiple changes as having been set in motion by faculty
in the Department, with administration saying, “How can we help” The Chair has found the School
Dean to be quite supportive. In fact, the Chair’s experience has been that people at CCSF have “moved
the world to make whatever you asked for happen.”
Planning. To facilitate its internal planning activities, the Architecture Department looked for models
from outside, posing in its Program Review the following questions, “What are others thinking and doing
How are others achieving student success What are the related needs of others and how are they being
satisfied How can we better integrate with others through our classroom instruction and pedagogy to
increase student success” In order to ensure that students succeeded in transitioning to universities,
Architecture has also paid close attention to the curriculum of universities to which its students transfer.
In the Program Review, the Department set 18 goals under the College priorities related to (1) improving
teaching and learning and improving the transfer rate; (2) continuing to improve community networks;
(3) improving facilities and equipment; and (4) acquiring and managing resources. From these, they
developed 62 action plans.
Funding and collaboration. The Architecture Department makes use of alternative funding, purchasing
most equipment through Instructional Block Grants. 7 The Department did a VTEA 8 -funded DACUM 9
review of its Interior Design program, completing phases one and two in March 2004. The Department
is constantly applying for grants, and hopes to obtain alternative funding to set up a photo studio so
that students can create portfolios.
6 “term persist” is the variable for term persistence, i.e., retention of students from one semester to the next.
7 Instructional Block Grants are State grant funding for equipment. The funding is allocated among CCSF
departments based on proposals submitted.
8 Vocational and Technical Education Act.
9 DACUM stands for Designing A CurriculUM and is a structured brainstorming process that has been used to conduct job
and educational program analysis. Experts from the workplace are asked to discuss the skills, competencies and knowledge
needed for specific jobs in the workplace.
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