RVCC 2019 NECHE Self-Study

pass rates, and employment rates.
Appraisal of Integrity, Transparency & Public Disclosure
River Valley prides itself on being a transparent institution which follows best practices for
public disclosure. The College has long subscribed to the idea of “shared governance.”
Employees take a vested interest in the success of the College and work to create an
atmosphere where all voices are welcomed. The All-College Staff Meeting is a place where
anyone can add an agenda item, and open dialog on agenda items is encouraged.
All Standing Teams at River Valley are responsible for self-governance and adhering to
their Team’s by-laws. The team is also responsible for posting of meeting minutes to
inform the college community at large about the discussions and activities that the group
engages in. The posting of meeting minutes has been an area of inconsistency at the
College. Some groups are very good about taking minutes and posting minutes in Canvas.
Other groups take paper notes which are not posted, or do not take notes at all. This is an
area that needs to be clarified for the College and a standard operating procedure related
to meeting minutes would be helpful.
River Valley has a number of policies that guide the free pursuit of knowledge, privacy
rights for students and employees, and codes of conduct for students and employees. The
College follows standard practice and national and state law with regards to equity and
student privacy.
The College posts all relevant information on programmatic outcomes and student success
on its website and also releases pertinent information via press releases to local news
organizations. As of this writing, the College is actively exploring options for a website redesign
to make the site more attractive, easier to use and search, and mobile-friendly.
Strengths
CCSNH and RVCC Leadership has fostered an atmosphere where issues can be
discussed openly.
River Valley Community College follows a “shared governance” model where
multiple constituencies have input into college wide issues.
RVCC and the CCSNH System have established clear policies ensuring institutional
integrity related to grievance policies for faculty, staff, and students.
The RVCC website contains all information that a prospective and current student
may need to make informed decisions about their education.
RVCC is responsive to reasonable requests for information and informs the public
about how inquiries may be made through the College’s website.
Challenges
The RVCC website layout can make it difficult to find information.
There is no standard policy for taking meeting minutes and posting them for the
College community.
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