City College of San Francisco - California Competes

INTRODUCTION | ABSTRACT
improvement. While the District has adopted
and publishes policies and procedures on
academic freedom and honesty, the Faculty
Handbook should be revised to include information
regarding academic freedom and
theguidelines for course syllabi should include
specific expectations for academic honesty and
the sanctions for violation of the academic
honesty policy.
The College has developed several recent initiatives
related to student learning outcomes
including the addition of student learning outcomes
statements for some departments in the
2005-06 College Catalog. Institutional dialog
has occurred among many Shared Governance
bodies regarding the student learning outcome
paradigm. However, support from the institution’s
leadership, significant training and
resources, and additional institutional discussion
regarding all aspects of this paradigm will be
essential if a paradigm shift is to occur. Since the
last accreditation review, the College has raised
both the Mathematics and English graduation
requirements. In addition, the College has
adopted a Transfer Associate Degree designed to
promote degree completion by students transferring
to the California State University system.
The College has engaged in a number of successful
efforts to address student learning styles,
although the dissemination of information
about these efforts needs improvement to ensure
as many faculty and students as possible can
benefit from these initiatives. The College’s vocational
programs have historically used student
learning outcomes assessment in many programs,
collaborate with advisory committees in
the development and revision of curricula, and
have a strong record of successfully preparing
students for employment. However, the College
needs to improve the tracking of vocational students
once they leave the institution in order to
ensure the curriculum reflects the needs of the
labor market.
The College has a well-articulated procedure for
academic Program Review. Yet the Standard II.A
Committee found that the completion rates for
programs scheduled for review were just over 70
percent for the period between 1999 and 2005.
In addition, there is no systematic process for
the review and revision of curricula when programs
go through Program Review. The College
needs to improve the completion rates and the
effectiveness of its Program Review procedures
by clearly defining and disseminating the goals,
expectations, and benefits for Program Review.
A process for institutional follow-up should be
instituted to ensure that action plans are implemented.
The Program Review procedures should
include a systematic review of the curricula to
assess the quality and currency of the course
outlines and the programs that support those
courses. The development of the Decision
Support System has had a significant positive
impact on the use of data in short- and longterm
decision making at all levels of the
institution.
Standard II.B: Student Support Services
Since the last accreditation review in 2000, the
Student Development Division has undergone
significant change. First and foremost, the
Division was defined as an organizational unit
and provided with leadership in the form of a
Vice Chancellor of Student Development; this
initiative resulted in the collaborative identification
of a common mandate and the creation of
the Division’s first Educational Plan describing
a three-year program of development. Second,
a comprehensive analysis of the unit resulted in
a significant restructuring with particular attention
to the area of student support services, an
undertaking that provided the opportunity for
increased leadership and collaboration, as well
as enhanced innovation, and led to improved
access and service delivery. Third, the Division
collaborated on the development and implementation
of its first Technology Plan, addressing
eight critical priorities ranging from improvements
in Banner to the development of an
electronic educational plan linked with degree
audit and web-based admissions and registration.
Fourth, the Division embarked on the
development of a comprehensive professional
development program, resulting in the implementation
of the student learning outcomes
initiative as well as improved training and
development at the departmental and divisional
levels focusing, in particular, on Student Support
Services. Lastly, the Division participated in the
72 CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO