2009 Accountability Report - Aiken Technical College

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in a variety of educational areas such as general education; academic majors; academic advising; retention;
minority student and faculty access and equity, etc. Act 255 requires predominantly quantitative comparative
data, displayed in table format, which provides additional information on such things as student graduation
rates; percent of courses taught by full-time faculty, part-time faculty and graduate assistants; results of
professional examinations, etc. One combined annual report is published and submitted to the South Carolina
Legislature on January 15th of each year. The College prepares an annual Institutional Effectiveness Report
and submits the report to the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education and to the Commission
on Higher Education for inclusion in the report to the Governor and the General Assembly. The College’s
annual reports are also distributed internally and posted on the ATC Web page. Copies of the statewide report
Indications of Productivity and Quality in South Carolina’s Public Colleges and Universities (Minding Our P’s
and Q’s) are maintained by the Director of Planning and Research.
All institutional effectiveness results performance outcomes from Acts 359, 255 and 629 feed directly into the
overall planning and budgeting process. Closing the loop between planning, assessment, and budgeting
provides a context for all three activities and allows the College to better focus on improvement in all programs,
services, and operations.
Academic Program Evaluation and Review: The College conducts an annual evaluation of all approved
associate degree, diploma, and certificate programs as required by the SBTCE using productivity standards
based on enrollment, number of graduates, and placement. The evaluation utilizes Integrated Post-Secondary
Education Data System definitions, timeframes, and data. Program productivity is measured in quantitative
terms – enrollment (headcount and full-time equivalent), number of graduates, and job placement. The process
allows for programs to be phased out when new technology or changing economic conditions render them
obsolete. This flexibility allows the College to reset priorities and reallocate resources to insure effective
delivery of instruction to meet the most pressing needs of the College and the employers and students we serve.
Academic Program Evaluation and Review results are published annually and distributed to target audiences
within the College.
The College uses state, regional and national data available through a variety of sources for comparative studies.
The Southern Region Education Board and the Integrated Post-secondary Education Data System Peer Analysis
tools along with the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education Management Information System
database provide additional comparative data.
III.4.5. How do you make needed data and information available How do you make them accessible to your
workforce, students, and stakeholders
The Office of Information Systems Management (ISM) provides a secure network where all institutional data
and electronic information is housed. The Office of Planning and Research maintains secure files for all
institutional research, surveys and performance reporting.
ISM ensures a secure network by providing multiple layers of protection, including filtering at the Internet
router, separate firewalls for the administration and the student networks, antivirus network filtering, antivirus