City College of San Francisco - California Competes

THEME VI
III. Case Studies
Assessment of Policies, Practices, and Procedures
Continual assessment of the fairness, relevance, and usefulness of our policies, practices, and procedures
is necessary and never-ending given the enormity of CCSF’s programs and services and the infrastructure
that supports them. We seek answers to basic questions: Do our policies and practices reflect the intent
of state and federal regulations Do they reflect current realities Can students access their curriculum of
choice at CCSF without having to jump unreasonable hurdles At times, the answers appear to conflict
with each other, and, when they do, we attempt to find solutions that balance the different concerns.
Operational practices and procedures. While District policies do not undergo regular major changes,
operational practices and procedures of individual departments or divisions are reviewed and updated
regularly as their frequent use quickly and clearly points out what works and what does not, leading to
more relevant, streamlined processes. Such assessment often occurs informally, based on discussion within
and between departments. When problems and solutions are not easily identified, data are collected and
analyzed to arrive at strategies for improvement. Such was the case in 1999, when Student Development
offices were concerned by the large numbers of students who participated in English/ESL and Math placement
testing, but did not follow up with enrollment in courses. Of particular interest was whether the
Matriculation process itself (placement assessment, orientation, counseling) somehow deterred enrollment.
Earlier studies conducted by the Office of Research, Planning and Grants, however, had demonstrated
that students who had participated in the Matriculation components experienced higher rates of success
in their first-semester basic skills coursework than students who had chosen not to participate in the
services. In addition, retention and persistence rates of matriculated students were higher than those of
non-matriculants. It was suspected, then, that enrollment had less to do with the delivery of the services
than it did with the lack of follow-through. To investigate the issue, Matriculation went directly to the
source of information—the very students who had participated in placement testing (and possibly other
Matriculation components), but had not enrolled. In structured phone interviews, staff asked why students
did not enroll, if they had experienced any problems during each of the steps of the Matriculation process,
and what the College could do to make it easier for them to enroll next time. Survey results revealed that
lack of enrollment was primarily due to personal issues (e.g., scheduling conflicts or change of life plans)
and lack of availability of classes. Very few students complained of negative experiences at the College,
though many students complained that having to return to campus several days after testing in order to
complete the remainder of the Matriculation activities was inconvenient, if not difficult. This issue was
further explored during the Student Services Systems Review in 2000 and then later taken up during the
Enhanced Self-Study process, from which a recommendation was generated for the development of a
technology-enhanced Matriculation process to enable same-day delivery of services. Today, computerized
delivery of placement testing and online delivery of orientation enables most students to complete the
Matriculation process in one visit to the campus.
On another, related front, the Student Services Systems Review (SSSR) was an impressive and ambitious
examination of institutional operations; an evaluation process that catalyzed important changes that
would be discussed and implemented through subsequent processes. This comprehensive review of the
student intake process and student support services examined the operations of the Offices of Admissions
and Records, Matriculation and Assessment, Counseling, Registration, and other student support offices
“from the perspective of the student clientele.” The purpose of the review was to analyze the clarity and
cohesion of the student services operations with attention to: (1) student-centered delivery of services;
(2) accessibility and accuracy of information and assistance; and (3) the quality and availability of
resources needed to adequately provide services. The SSSR was completed in two phases—first, the
evaluation of the Matriculation intake services (admissions, placement testing, orientation, counseling,
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