Accreditation - Hartnell College!!

Institutional Self Evaluation – 12-05-12
flex day. The campus climate is richer because that inquiry is praised, and curiosity can be fueled
by new resources that allow for better data collection.
Recommendation 2
The team recommends that college constituencies agree upon and implement an ongoing,
systematic, integrated process for program review, planning, budgeting and hiring, and that a
means be developed to communicate decisions made in those arenas back to the campus at large.
(Standards I.B.3; I.B.5; III.A.6; III.B.2.b; III.C.2; III.D.1.a; III.D.2; III.D.2.b)
Resolution of Recommendation 2: The Evaluation Team from April 2009 sited the use of the
Salinas Valley 2020 report, the use of a 2016 fiscal plan and an education master plan as
evidence that this recommendation was resolved.
Ongoing Actions Related to Recommendation 2: The Salinas Valley 2020 Vision report
identifying community educational needs is still relevant, some of the first tier items identified
were the ESL courses, and looking at basic skills outcomes in basic skills courses. The Basic
Skills Initiative (BSI) Committee was formed. In the 2011-12 academic year, the Academic
Senate revised the shared governance handbook page describing the work of this committee to
reflect the expanding, responsive nature of their work. The BSI Committee also wrote a report
with best practice recommendations that was presented to the Academic Senate. Eighty percent
of our students test at the basic skills level either in Math or English when they come to our
doors. This awareness made the endorsement of the paper by the Academic Senate an essential
statement about the priority actions needed to support the success of the Hartnell College
student. The report and recommendations were also used to guide the budget process for Basic
Skill Initiative funds. In this way, using the broad picture of the 2020 report, the college linked
Board of Trustee goals seeking increased evidence of student success to appropriate funding
through shared governance involvement in planning and faculty efforts in assessing student
outcomes.
Although much has changed with state funding (workload reduction versus growth funds), the
principles of sound financial management have remained constant. One-time funds are saved or
spent on one-time costs. Money is not spent until earned. Funding cycles are leveled by putting
money aside annually for items that will consistently need replacing (e.g., athletic fields). Even
in the midst of state budget crises, Hartnell is growing programs and improving student
outcomes while maintaining a healthy reserve. This is a significant change from the 2007
Hartnell College. Although our Education Master Plan technically ended in 2011, the goals in the
plan are still relevant as reflected in ongoing program review. There is enhanced sustainability as
the college has recently moved to annual internal reporting of some program data, supplemented
by a five year cycle of in depth program review. All programs have successfully completed the
five year report at least once. In every way, the college continues to take the lessons learned from
looking at the community needs in Vision 2020, seeking ways to add or enhance programs to
meet those needs, and then seeking funding to support goals followed by gathering data about the
success of programs.
Recommendation 3
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