volume 3, issue 1 accreditation newsletter - Southwestern Indian ...

SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN
POLYTECHNC INSTITUTE
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 10146; Albuquerque, NM 87184
Street Address:
9169 Coors Blvd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120
Phone:
800-586-7474
Website:
http://www.sipi.edu
SIPI is located in the heart
of Indian Country, in the
center of New Mexico’s
high-tech corridor. The
College was established by
a consortium of tribes including
the All-Indian Pueblo
Council (19 New Mexico
tribes), the Navajo Nation,
the Jicarilla Apache Nation,
the Mescalero Apache
Tribe, the Southern Ute
Tribes and other southwestern
tribes. On September
16, 1971, SIPI officially
opened its doors for classes.
Today, the College as a
federally-operated institution
offers advanced technical
education and a university
transfer degree to
students who are members
of federally recognized
tribes.
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
A N A T I O N A L I N D I A N C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E T H A T P R E P A R E S
N A T I V E A M E R I C A N S T U D E N T S T O B E P R O D U C T I V E L I F E -
L O N G L E A R N E R S , A S T R I B A L M E M B E R S , I N A N E V E R -
C H A N G I N G G L O B A L E N V I R O N M E N T .
A QUICK SNAPSHOT (CONT. FROM PG. 4)
Benchmark Project). A survey
of SIPI students who left the
college (without graduating)
after the Fall 2010 and Spring
2011 trimesters revealed that
84.40% of non-returners were
satisfied with progress toward
their educational goals. This
places SIPI in the 82 nd percentile
of community colleges nationally
(according to the 2012 Nationally
Community College Benchmark
Project). Students generally
felt like SIPI met their college
expectations, according to
the Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction
Survey, administered in the
Summer 2012 trimester. SIPI’s
satisfaction score for “college
experience met my expectations”
placed the College in the
60 th percentile among community
colleges nationally. Measuring
and acting on student satisupon
leaving SIPI (whether they
graduate or not). Until now, SIPI
has been unable to effectively
track its graduates, but the college
is in the process of joining
the National Student Clearinghouse,
which will allow us to track
our former students (graduates
and non-graduating leavers) to
other colleges and universities.
Student Satisfaction with Progress
Through surveys of graduates and
non-returners, SIPI has measured
satisfaction with goal attainment.
A survey of SIPI graduates in the
spring 2011 trimester revealed
that 97.70% of graduates were
satisfied with their goal attainment.
This places SIPI in the 74 th
percentile of community colleges
nationally (according to the 2012
Nationally Community College
faction measures are now part
of the assessment processes
at SIPI.
Student success results are
mixed at the moment; however,
the college’s leadership has
identified areas of greatest
concern and is developing strategic
initiatives to address these
issues. Some measures
have shown marked improvement
over the prior year, and
higher targets have been formally
established for all student
success measures.
SO WHAT IS NEXT?
As noted in our mission statement,
an ENDURING commitment
to student success is the
hallmark of
SIPI’s operations. SIPI is committed
to continuous improvement,
which is basically a belief
that “whatever we do, we can
always do it better.” Academic
and non-academic assessment
have required all programs and
departments to refocus on their
role in contributing to student
success. SIPI has used those
processes to feed directly into
institutional planning and budgeting.
New initiatives are being
developed and incorporated
into strategic planning. As we
continue to collect, analyze and
share more data on student
success, the concept becomes
increasingly clear, and our opportunities
to make meaningful
improvements become just as
clear.