Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Assurance Argument
Spoon River College - IL Review date: 3/7/2022
Page 1
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
1 - Mission The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.
1.A - Core Component 1.A The institution’s mission is articulated publicly and operationalized throughout the institution. 1. The mission was developed through a process suited to the context of the institution. 2. The mission and related statements are current and reference the institution’s emphasis on the various aspects of its mission, such as instruction, scholarship, research, application of research, creative works, clinical service, public service, economic development and religious or cultural purpose. 3. The mission and related statements identify the nature, scope and intended constituents of the higher education offerings and services the institution provides. 4. The institution’s academic offerings, student support services and enrollment profile are consistent with its stated mission. 5. The institution clearly articulates its mission through public information, such as statements of purpose, vision, values, goals, plans or institutional priorities.
Argument
1.A.1:Mission Statement: SRC provides innovative learning opportunities that enhance the quality of life in the communities we serve. Illinois state law establishes Board of Trustee duties and responsibilities in the Illinois Public Community College Act Sections 805/3-21 to 3-29.2, which includes “defining the role and mission of the college and approving the college strategic plan.” The Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is the governing and coordinating body for all public two-year higher education institutions in the State of Illinois. All post-secondary institutions in Illinois report goals, performance indicators, and performance outcomes annually to the ICCB. These reports are reviewed and considered in ICCB’s planning and legislative concerns. Through a series of stringent processes, the ICCB reviews and approves changes within the public two-year institutions in Illinois with the goal of keeping SRC’s at the forefront of education by allowing them to develop new programs in response to the trends in technology and employment, by eliminating outdated or overlapping educational programs, and by helping each institution focus on its strengths and regional needs. The Mission of SRC is part of a series of signature statements including Vision, Mission, and Core Values. The Mission documents were developed through an extensive and shared process that reflects the inclusive representative nature and culture of SRC. The Mission formed the development of the Strategic Plan and Core Values: Caring, Respect, Integrity, Fairness, and Responsibility. Page 2
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
In January 2020, SRC began the triannual process of reviewing and updating the institution’s current strategic plan. The strategic planning process is a comprehensive activity that utilizes information gathered from internal and external stakeholders throughout the district. SRC is currently operating on the goals, objectives, and timelines of the 2021-2024 strategic plan which was approved by the SRC Board of Trustees (BOT) in November of 2020. SRC evaluates, and when appropriate, revises mission documents as part of the BOT’s annual planning cycle. (Board Policies, page 3) The current strategic plan was approved by the BOT in November of 2020 (November 2020 Board Minutes – 2.3.1). Workgroups representing all stakeholder parties helped develop the Mission Statement and Strategic Plan. After the groups completed their work, a writing team was organized to compile all the ideas from the constituencies. All of the departments were asked to conduct a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis. The analyses were collected and submitted to the President’s Cabinet. (President’s Cabinet Meeting Agendas, President’s Cabinet Minutes) The College President drafted the final mission documents and submitted them for approval to the BOT. Vision Statement: Spoon River College (SRC) will strengthen its communities by providing a broad range of educational programs, cultural activities, and economic development opportunities in an environment dedicated to success.
The Vision Statement focuses on SRC's status as a gateway to world-class learning opportunities, and this is reflected in SRC's growth in online, hybrid, and off-campus learning with the increased growth in partnerships and a growing college-wide embrace of ongoing assessment. The Vision and Mission statements of SRC are broadly understood by all stakeholders within SRC. The Mission is part of SRC culture and all departments are guided by it. Some illustrations of SRC’s commitment to its mission are demonstrated through: The 614 active course offerings are available in areas of transfer, career and technical, and adult education. (ICCB Course Master List) The partnerships with local high schools to provide dual credit course offerings have grown since the fall of 2016 from 31 to 35, with an increase of students from 256 to 282, and credit hour increase from 820 to 1,252. The wide variety of community education course offerings range from short-term, careerfocused skill development to personal development to social justice topics often reflecting current events and cultural shifts. 1.A.2 SRC's Mission Statement, as a part of the Strategic Planning process, is approved by the BOT and is regularly reviewed. In addition to being articulated publicly (Mission, Vision, & Values, Course Catalog page 11, Master Course Syllabi, Board of Trustee Agenda) to both internal and external stakeholders, the Mission and Strategic Plan goals show the emphasis the college places on its obligations to student success, teaching, and learning, supporting employees, operating excellence and accountability, and strengthening communities. 1.A.3 Two key documents guide the College operations: the Strategic Plan and the College budget. Each document is driven by the College’s Mission Documents. SRC is a public, nonprofit institution of higher learning dedicated to serving the residents of the College district by providing the first two years of a baccalaureate program, career, and technical education, and to meet business and industry’s demand for continuing education and training. The Mission and Vision are inculcated in every program and activity supported by the College. Page 3
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
1.A.4 Academic Programs Student success through engagement in academic excellence is a primary component of the College’s Mission. To highlight further the academic excellence in our academic programs, 13 associate's degrees and 35 certificate programs have sought and achieved accreditation through various national accrediting agencies. (College Catalog pages 75-76 and 121-124) This topic, along with the affiliated evidence, is covered extensively in Criterion Four. Instructional Technology The institution’s academic programs have been greatly enhanced through the improvement and expansion of instructional technology. The technology tools that are currently an integral part of the academic area include technology-enhanced classrooms to allow flexibility to the faculty to accommodate remote students for synchronous classes. Wireless access has been enhanced at all SRC locations, including extended access to the parking lots at the Canton Campus. Canvas is the Learning Management System for SRC. Canvas Studio is an interactive video tool that was added to our existing Canvas license in the spring of 2020. This tool was instrumental in helping faculty move instruction online during the Covid-19 pandemic by providing an easy-to-use integrated video capture solution. Mondopad by Infocus is used to deliver Interactive Video System (IVS) synchronous classes at both campuses and the two centers. Remote learning platforms (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc.) and various other hardware and software have been integrated across campus. In addition, a full-time instructional designer (Director, Academic Support) is available to assist faculty in any area of instructional technology from answering questions about current instructional technology tools to providing help in finding, evaluating, or learning new tools. This position also serves as one of the Canvas administrators. The use and integration of technology have been a focus of SRC not only to assist in engaging students for greater success but also to create a progressive student-centered learning environment. Student Success Coaches are trained to assist students with instructional technologies available at the College. These two positions also have limited administrator access in Canvas to assist students with any questions or issues they might be having. This access helps them monitor a student’s activity in Canvas, enabling them to better coach the student academically. Student Services Student Services further the mission of academic excellence and personal fulfillment by providing support to academic areas, offering professional and personally enriching activities on campus, and offering opportunities for community engagement. Student Services staff provide a variety of services including but not limited to: admission guidance, academic advising, registration assistance, career services, transfer services, disability support services, student activities, counseling services, and financial aid guidance. TRIO - Student Support Services SRC has received federal grant programming to support its TRIO program for 11 years. The TRIO program at SRC serves 140 students annually, motivating and supporting these students in their pursuit of success. SRC's TRIO Program provides eligible students with academic support and personal guidance in completing a program of study at the college and additional assistance in transitioning to a four-year college or university. Page 4
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Student Life SRC provides opportunities for students to get involved with campus and community activities which furthers progress towards providing a well-rounded education to students who can also give back to their communities. Students are encouraged to get involved in campus clubs and organizations, and to run for positions such as student trustee. In addition, students are provided the opportunity to participate in intramural activities, and to take part in campus student activities. Some recent student activities include: a Welcome Week Fair was held on the Canton and Macomb campuses with information on college resources, a FREE Chalk Couture Event was held for students as a stress relief event, a Wellness Fair was hosted in Canton and Macomb (over 20 local social service agencies were represented), and multiple opportunities for students to participate in volunteer initiatives at the Salvation Army in Canton and the McDonough County Humane Society in Macomb. Student Activity Staff have also started a Student Shout-Out Initiative where each month faculty and staff can nominate a student who is exemplifying one of the five core values of SRC (caring, respect, integrity, fairness, and responsibility). The recipient for each month is given a signed certificate from President Oldfield, a photo opportunity with President Oldfield, and a $100 Visa gift card. Lastly, the Athletic Department was expanded with the addition of a Women’s Volleyball program in 2019 as well as Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, and E-sports which started in 2020. Students are encouraged to attend home games and are not charged for admission to these events. Learning Resource Center The Learning Resource Center is designed to be a one-stop shop for help. Students can visit for a place to study, library assistance, and many other services including: Computer Lab with WiFi Books and DVDs Printing/Copying Student IDs Headphones, Calculators, and USB Cords Canvas Support Success Coaching Research Assistance Tutoring Schedule/Take an Exam Emergency Food Pantry Technology Charging Stations Enrollment Profile As a public institution, SRC is committed to meeting the needs of qualified students who are seeking an associate’s degree or certificate. As indicated by the most recent information from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System: 56% of students are part-time and 44% are full-time 59% of students are female and 41% are male 23% of students are age 25 and older, and 77% are 24 and younger Page 5
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
33% are enrolled in distance only education, 30% are enrolled in some distance education, and 37% are not enrolled in any distance education 62% of students receive grants and/or scholarships 39% of students receive Pell Grants 18% of students receive federal loans
The retention rate in the fall of 2020 for first-time, full-time degree or certificate-seeking students was 67%, which is an increase of 5% when compared to 2019. More details are available under the "Reports" tab on SRC's website and the IPEDS website. Adult Education The SRC Adult Education and Family Literacy (AEFL) Program continues to build and expand opportunities for adult education students to transition into college and the workforce. Beyond preparation for the high school equivalency exam or improving English language skills, the AEFL program is dedicated to building on the pathways created to assist students to obtain or improve their employment options and successfully enroll and complete postsecondary education. Expanded bridge and transition programming, integrated models of instructional delivery, alignment of standards with the Common Core State Standards and College and Career Readiness Standards, technology, career development and awareness skills, evidence-based models, and the use of data for decision making are all designed to make the promise a reality for many low skilled adults. In 2018, the AEFL program was recognized by the Illinois Community College Board for performing in the top 10% of programs in the State of Illinois for 2017, ranking 6th out of 81 programs. 1.A.5 This Mission Statement was adapted from the previous Vision Statement as key stakeholders believed this to be a comprehensive view of SRC. The Mission takes into account the numerous venues in which learning can take place, formally or informally. This Mission Statement is at the top of every BOTs'' agenda, in SRC’s catalog, and on the website, along with the Strategic Plan. SRC carries out this Mission by: Providing pre-baccalaureate education consisting of liberal arts, sciences, and pre-professional courses designed to prepare students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities and/or to meet individual educational goals. Providing career and technical education to prepare students for employment, to upgrade skills, and to enable students to move directly into the workforce. Providing developmental education that prepares students for collegiate study. Providing community education including non-credit, continuing education, vocational skills, high school equivalence exam preparation courses, and lifelong learning needs. Partnering with economic development initiatives in the district. Providing cultural and recreational programs to promote personal growth. Providing student services to support the educational goals of students and assistance for students with special needs. Utilizing existing and emerging technologies to provide flexible and accessible education and service throughout the district.
Page 6
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Sources 1.A.1.3.1 Mission Vision Values 1.A.1.4.1 Strategic Plan 1.A.1.5.1 Board Policies Excerpt 1.A.1.5.2 Board Meeting Minute November 2020 1.A.1.5.3 President Cabinet Meeting Agendas 1.A.1.5.4 President’s Cabinet Meeting Minutes 1.A.1.8.1 ICCB Course Master List 1.A.1.8.2 Community Outreach Course Offerings 1.A.2.1.1 Mission Vision Values Website 1.A.2.1.2 Mission Vision Values Course Catalog 1.A.2.1.3 Master Course Syllabi 1.A.2.1.4 Board of Trustees Agenda 1.A.4.1.1 College Catalog Excerpt 1.A.4.5.1 Student Clubs and Organizations Website 1.A.4.5.2 Student Trustee Website 1.A.4.5.3 Intramural Activities Website 1.A.4.6.1 Student Shout-Out Initiative SRC Website 1.A.4.7.6 Athletic Department
Page 7
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
1.B - Core Component 1.B The institution’s mission demonstrates commitment to the public good. 1. The institution’s actions and decisions demonstrate that its educational role is to serve the public, not solely the institution or any superordinate entity. 2. The institution’s educational responsibilities take primacy over other purposes, such as generating financial returns for investors, contributing to a related or parent organization, or supporting external interests. 3. The institution engages with its external constituencies and responds to their needs as its mission and capacity allow.
Argument 1.B.1 SRC fulfills its Mission by offering annual, public cultural activities such as student participation in a local art show, student drama department productions, student chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a student published literary arts journal called Kaleidoscope, speech and debate team, student government, environmental club, and more. In addition, the Office of Community Outreach and SRC Foundation provides various cultural activities for the College and its communities through the SRC Community Chorus, Life Long Learning Conferences, and speakers/presenters in partnership with Illinois Arts Council. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the SRC Community Chorus offered its annual winter concert - virtually. While the task seemed monumental at first, over 70 performers, musicians, and technicians donated their talents to create the wide-ranging holiday concert. (Home for the Holidays: Virtually Unplugged) The College is also active in the communities it serves and supports staff involvement and volunteerism by providing two hours of paid time off each month to participate in volunteer programs. Several staff serve on economic development boards, chamber of commerce boards, and civic organizations. Also, each Career and Technical Education program collaborates with external constituents through community advisory boards. The Mission of SRC is further carried out through the Office of Community Outreach, the Adult Education Department, and the Foundation by: Providing developmental and basic skills education to prepare students for collegiate study and to meet individual educational goals. Providing community education including high school equivalency (GED) preparation, noncredit and continuing education classes, vocational skills training, and lifelong learning opportunities. Providing workforce training and retraining to meet the needs of employers and employees. Working cooperatively with economic initiatives in the district. Providing cultural and recreational programs to promote personal growth. Offering Innovation Grants to faculty and staff who have ideas on how to enhance students’ educational experiences but for which the budget does not allow. Examples include but are not limited to: Field trips, guest speakers, additional equipment, etc.
1.B.2. SRC is a public, nonprofit institution. SRC is responsible to the citizens of the district for the Page 8
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
efficient use of public funds and for conducting college affairs in a business-like manner. The Trustees are elected at-large and all agendas and board minutes are a matter of public record, subject to the open meetings act. As illustrated by information submitted to IPEDS, the institution prioritizes expenditures in the core processes of teaching and student support services. The SRC Foundation provides educational resources solely to benefit the College and its students as evidenced by its bylaws. The Foundation updates a three-year plan annually, based on needs identified by its Board of Directors in conjunction with College administration and the BOT. Well over $100,000 is offered annually to students in scholarships, a number which has been gradually increasing each year. The Foundation recently launched an Emergency Hardship Grant program, which helps students facing extraordinary financial hardship stay enrolled in college courses and on track for graduation, and has awarded over $25,000 in grants so far. Finally, through gifts it procures, the Foundation also assists with facilities and technology upgrades, student and community programs, and grants to faculty and staff which help to enhance the educational experience. 1.B.3 The Office of Community Outreach staff members, as well as various College employees, regularly engage with members of the district's economic development agencies, Chambers of Commerce, businesses, and community leaders to determine educational, cultural, or community development current or future needs. (Employee Volunteer Information) The Office of Community Outreach also offers a Community Leadership Academy to introduce residents to the services and agencies available. (Community Leadership Academy News Release) SRC also subscribes to EMSI, which is a company that gathers and integrates economic, labor market, demographic, education, profile, and job posting data allowing the college to facilitate efficient program review, grant writing, and environmental scans. In Canton, the College partners with multiple agencies each year to provide a job fair for local job seekers. In Havana, SRC works with the Chamber of Commerce to provide educational opportunities to its members based on the current needs of their membership. In Macomb, SRC educates the public on trending topics like racism and diversity. In Rushville, SRC is a big supporter of the “Grow Rushville” project which has a goal to better the future of the community. SRC has also adapted with COVID-19 and has been offering more online opportunities to the public such as the Dale Carnegie Leadership Series. Because of its wide geographic reach, SRC can respond positively to many requests for collaboration, for example, Graham Health System has donated $500,000 to launch a new scholarship program that could guarantee employment to its recipients upon the completion of their studies at SRC. Beginning in the spring 2022 semester, the Graham Health System Scholarship for the Advancement of Rural Healthcare, administered by the SRC Foundation, will be available to students who plan to pursue certain areas of study at SRC. In exchange for a scholarship that may cover all expenses in the program, the recipient will agree to work for Graham Health System for a while after graduation. Also, SRC has a partnership with Nature’s Grace and Wellness in which they provided $100,000 toward the development of a Cannabis Certificate. The Cannabis Certificate program will help students build a foundation of cannabis production skills from growing techniques to classification to physiology to production management to prepare for jobs in the quickly-growing cannabis industry. The Career and Technical Education Programs utilize advisory committees which are made up of volunteers who agree to serve as advisors to one or more career and technical programs. Members include representatives from business, labor, and community agencies. Additional information about advisory committees is covered in assurance argument 3.A.1
Page 9
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
In May of 2018, the Office of Community Outreach sent out a Constant Contact survey to gauge community interest in personal and professional educational needs. A total of 77 businesses responded. Staff followed up with in-person interviews with key businesses. In May of 2020, the Office of Community Outreach utilized a Constant Contact survey to gauge if any COVID-specific training was needed in our business and industry community. Very few businesses responded, and those who did were most interested in Strategic Planning after a Pandemic, Attracting and Retaining Great Employees, Microsoft Excel, and Communication skills were also popular areas of training. (Business Survey, Community Outreach Survey)
Sources 1.B.1.1.1 Art on Main 1.B.1.1.10 Home for the Holidays - Virtually Unplugged 1.B.1.1.11 Employee Volunteerism Guidelines 1.B.1.1.2 SRC Drama Department 1.B.1.1.3 Habitat for Humanity 1.B.1.1.4 Kaleidoscope 1.B.1.1.5 Speech and Debate Team 1.B.1.1.6 Student Government 1.B.1.1.7 PEEPS 1.B.1.1.8 Community Chorus 1.B.1.1.9 Life Long Learning Conferences 1.B.1.2.12 Office of Community Outreach 1.B.1.2.13 Adult Education 1.B.1.2.14 SRC Foundation 1.B.2.1.1 IPEDS Fiscal Survey Reported Expenditures 1.B.2.3.1 SRC Foundation Bylaws 1.B.2.3.2 SRC Foundation Three Year Plan 1.B.3.1.1 Employee Volunteer Information Page 10
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
1.B.3.1.2. Community Leadership Academy News Release 1.B.3.2.1 Job Fair Flyer 1.B.3.2.2 Havana Chamber Course Offerings 1.B.3.2.3 Blinided by the White 1.B.3.2.4 Grow Rushville 1.B.3.2.5 Dale Carnegie Series 1.B.3.4.1 Business Survey 1.B.3.4.2 Community Outreach Survey
Page 11
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
1.C - Core Component 1.C The institution provides opportunities for civic engagement in a diverse, multicultural society and globally connected world, as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves. 1. The institution encourages curricular or cocurricular activities that prepare students for informed citizenship and workplace success. 2. The institution’s processes and activities demonstrate inclusive and equitable treatment of diverse populations. 3. The institution fosters a climate of respect among all students, faculty, staff and administrators from a range of diverse backgrounds, ideas and perspectives.
Argument 1.C.1 SRC prepares students for informed citizenship through curriculum, student life, and the annual college theme. As listed in the course catalog, the General Education Competencies focus on the development and integration of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes necessary for all students to experience lifelong learning and to lead productive lives. All degree programs have a core of general education courses and/or integrate general education objectives into the curriculum. Students completing a degree at SRC can demonstrate the following: 1. Communicate effectively to achieve individual and organizational goals. 2. Use critical, mathematical, and scientific methods to solve problems. 3. Make responsible choices in a diverse world. 4. Exhibit human empathy through appreciation of arts and creativity. 5. Obtain and use information to make sound decisions. 6. Work collaboratively with others to solve problems and achieve common goals. Consistent with the mission and goals of SRC, students have opportunities to develop a multitude of different skills while finding new interests, developing life-long friendships, and stepping out of their comfort zones. Student clubs and organizations help provide opportunities that create a well-rounded education and allow students to be better citizens in their communities. The purpose of the college theme is to highlight the similarities and uniqueness of academic disciplines and career fields so that our students may better understand and appreciate the importance and value of general education coursework. Instead of perceiving different academic disciplines/career & technical programs as disconnected or competing with one another, the college theme encourages students to see the overlap in academic disciplines and appreciate the contributions that various fields make. The way faculty members apply the theme in their courses is entirely up to them, but the general use of the theme acts as a bridge between academic disciplines and career fields. The college theme reinforces the importance of a comprehensive understanding of issues and encourages students to carefully consider the various arguments and evidence from different areas. In addition to faculty members applying the theme within the courses, each semester various faculty members offer college-wide presentations on the theme. Page 12
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
1.C.2 HR guarantees that SRC complies with regulations assuring equitable treatment of employees and students. As stated in the Policies and Procedures Manual of Spoon River College, “It is the policy of Spoon River College to provide an environment that values the uniqueness and diversity of all individuals by effectively serving students from all backgrounds, encouraging the growth of all employees, and embracing and celebrating the diversity of our communities.” (Policies and Procedures Manual, Section 4.5, page 155) SRC recognizes the value of diversity in students, employees, and other constituencies connected with the institution. All persons enrolled with and/or working for the College are expected to abide by all regulations and policies related to equal opportunity, non-discrimination, and anti-harassment. There is a limited diversity factor in the area of race and ethnicity due to the geographic location and native population of the SRC district. However, the student body of the College, when compared to the district, has slightly more diversity. (2020 Ethnicity-Cultural Percentages) The Macomb Campus has a higher percentage of non-White student enrollment due to the proximity of Western Illinois University. At the other sites of SRC (the Canton Campus and the Centers in Havana and Rushville), there is a lesser presence of racial and/or ethnic population diversity, but there is a significant multigenerational presence. While multi-generational diversity is a common rural element, it is often overlooked and underutilized in terms of diversity awareness and opportunity to build on personal and professional development. As an institution of higher education, SRC recognizes its role and responsibility to foster diversity through instruction, student services, and all operations and functions of the institution. Emphasizing the willingness and ability to understand others and their beliefs and characteristics cultivates empathy through the prism of diversity. Curriculum: Multicultural awareness is encouraged throughout SRC's academic programs, including in general education, by inclusion in select courses. A small selection of such courses includes the following: ABM 190 and 200, with components on the psychology of ag sales and human relations ART 122 and 123, with components on the relationship between art and cultures/geographies ART 224, with an emphasis on religion, culture, politics, and geography BIO 140, with components of human cultures, economics, and politics BUS 104, which explores economic, geographic, political, and cultural differences affecting trade DRM 110, with components including theatre across cultures ED 201, with a variety of perspectives "in a diverse society" ED 206, with learner-centered instruction and diversity ED 230 ("Diversity in Schools and Society") ENG 141, a component on cultural impact of visual communication ENG 216 ("Literature of the African Experience") GEO 100 Human Geography GEO 200 World Regional Geography HIS 151 History of the Middle East HS 104, with component of sociological aspects of human sexuality NUR 225, with component of social and ethical issues in nursing PHI 115 Ethics PSY 240 Social Psychology REL 101 World Religions SBM 122, with skills to better understand and relate to others Page 13
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
SOC 100 and others in sociology Student Life: Students have the opportunity to participate in various aspects of student life outside the classroom, with student organizations such as Kaleidoscope Journal of Art & Literature, SRC Theatre Artists Group for Education (STAGE), Habitat for Humanity, Phi Theta Kappa, and the Speech and Debate Team, each of which encourages students to experience college life in diverse ways and sample cultures other than their own. In addition, SRC's library frequently creates themed displays of items in the collection related to a given celebration, such as books about the African American experience during Black History Month. Recognizing the educational opportunity to increase dialogue about cultural issues impacting all of our students and staff, SRC formed a Diversity Committee to facilitate a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are respected and intentionally valued by implementing thoughtful, practical, iterative, and innovative strategies that can serve as a model for our constituents. The Diversity Committee develops informational campaigns designed to increase awareness about these issues across the SRC community. The centerpiece of their efforts is a large, rotating signage display that highlights key events and figures corresponding with specific, seasonal clusters of federallyrecognized diversity months (e.g., Asian-Pacific Heritage, Older Americans, Jewish-American Heritage, etc.). They also provide literature and other assorted handouts to keep these conversations going at SRC's satellite facilities. In keeping with its earliest commitment to access to all qualified students, SRC promotes the full engagement of students with disabilities. For students with documented disabilities, it is the goal of SRC to provide an environment encouraging full participation in and equal access to its programs and services through the provision of reasonable accommodations in compliance with the ADA. Examples of reasonable accommodations include extended time for the taking of examinations, the provision of note-takers, access to tutors in most subjects, alterations to testing formats, and the utilization of assistive technology. 1.C.3 SRC fosters a climate of respect among all constituent groups through policy and procedure, college programs, student organizations, faculty and staff organizations, and HR training. HR and Student Services Department lead institutional efforts aimed at ensuring fair and equal treatment for all employees and students. SRC demonstrates its commitment to embracing and growing an environment of diversity in several ways. Examples of evidence include the Students Rights section of the Student Code of Conduct located in the College Catalog pages 54-60, and also, for employees, in the College Policies and Procedures Manual. SRC, an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator, complies with applicable federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination, including Title VII, Title IX, Section 504, Age Discrimination Act, and Title II of the ADA. It is the policy of SRC that no person, based on race, color, religion, gender (sex), sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or veteran's status, shall be discriminated against in employment, in educational programs and activities, or admissions. SRC incorporates several measures to ensure that ethical and legal hiring practices are employed. The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statement is posted as a link on SRC website in the employment section, on the Job Application, and in the Job Postings. Further, SRC has a policy that all printed publications must include the EEO statement. SRC also has a comprehensive EEO policy in its Policies and Procedures Manual, Section 3.1.1, page 15. HR offers enrollment in short-term, online courses to enhance employees' knowledge and skills Page 14
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
through Ed2Go, Diversity and Inclusion training, Preventing Discrimination and Harassment, and Title IX Training through Thomson Reuters, and various courses through the Community Outreach Department. Through SRC’s membership with AAIM Employers Association, employees are offered the opportunity to participate in classes focusing on key leadership skills, customer service, and communication. During the summer of 2019, all regularly scheduled employees participated in small group personality type and communication style training (Power Point Presentation). During the summer of 2021, the HR partnered with Community Outreach to offer a professional development series focusing on understanding race and racial injustice, sex and the social construction of gender, and Power Differences, and the Benefit of Diversity. SRC also offers a tuition reimbursement program for full-time and regularly scheduled part-time employees pursuing further education. (Education Assistance Policy, Policies and Procedures Manual, Section 3.3.3)
Sources 1.C.1.2.1 General Education Competencies 1.C.1.3.1 Student Clubs and Organizations 1.C.1.4.1 College Theme 1.C.2.1.1 Diversity Policy 1.C.2.3.1 2020 Ethnicity-Cultural Population Percentages 1.C.3.2.1 Student Code of Conduct 1.C.3.3.1 Discrimination and Harassment Policy 1.C.3.4.1 Ed2Go 1.C.3.4.2 Personality Type Presentation 1.C.3.4.3 Professional Devlopment Series - Diversity 1.C.3.4.4 Education Assistance Policy
Page 15
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
1.S - Criterion 1 - Summary The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.
Summary SRC is a public not-for-profit institution that serves the people of west-central Illinois. The language in the SRC mission statement, values, and vision directly addresses the institution's role in serving the public good, and the Assurance Argument provides examples of how the institution implements its mission in the public, its offerings, and its services. Documentation illustrates the alignment of the mission to the strategic direction of the institution. SRC excels in programs, services, and activities for its students, employees, and community members. Documentation demonstrated the participation of the college community in activities that promote civic engagement and educate its constituents about diversity. Notable examples include activities through the college's course offerings, clubs, organization affiliates, and class offerings through the Outreach department.
Sources There are no sources.
Page 16
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
2 - Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct The institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.
2.A - Core Component 2.A The institution establishes and follows policies and processes to ensure fair and ethical behavior on the part of its governing board, administration, faculty and staff. 1. The institution develops and the governing board adopts the mission. 2. The institution operates with integrity in its financial, academic, human resources and auxiliary functions.
Argument 2A1 Operating with integrity and upholding ethical and responsible conduct in its operations is the foundation to SRC’s mission, vision, and core values. The process of the Mission Statement was facilitated through the creation of workgroups comprised of faculty, students, staff, administrators, and community members. The BOT first approved the current College Mission, Vision, and Core Values at its December 2005 regular, public monthly meeting. The mission is included in print materials, posted on various sites throughout the four college locations, and cited on the BOT agendas. More information on the Mission Statement is in 1A. The 2021-2024 Strategic Plan, which supports the mission statement, was developed with input from all employees and board members. The strategic plan was approved at the November 2020 BOT meeting. 2A2 SRC operates with integrity and follows fair and ethical practices in all its endeavors. SRC maintains a high standard of institutional integrity across all areas of the campus including its governing board and employees. All College employees are subject to the ethical practices delineated in SRC’s Policies and Procedures as stated in Policy 1.2, Purpose of the Policies and Procedures Manual. The Policies and Procedures Manual follows all policies of the Illinois Community College Statutes and applies to all employees SRC. The Policies and Procedures Manual of SRC is enforceable under the Board Policies. Both sets of policies are available electronically to all SRC employees. The Human Resources Director is responsible for maintaining the electronic version of the Policies and Procedures Manual. SRC maintains transparency by communicating all policies and practices to its various constituents by: providing audited budget information; making SRC academic personnel policies and the non-academic personnel policies available on the College website; providing monthly salary and sick leave records to each employee on ADP Workforce Now, a cloud-based Human Capital Management solutions that unite HR, payroll, talent, time, tax and Page 17
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
benefits administration; and publishing on the website the Policies and Procedures Manual and the Student Handbook that outline responsibilities and conduct. Financial Annually, the BOT appoints the Vice President to serve as treasurer of SRC. The VP is responsible for the supervision of financial and business affairs of SRC. SRC complies with State and College policies and procedures to ensure the ethical handling of its financial resources. These policies and procedures include but are not limited to the College Policies and Procedures Manual, Section 6, and the Illinois Public Community College Act. SRC undergoes an annual external audit of its finances per The Illinois Public Community College Act and OMB-Circular A-133 (Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-profit Organizations) and the results of this audit are available to the public, via our website. Other annual reporting includes our annual budget, which is posted in a public hearing notice and approved by the Board, and our annual financial report, which is published in newspapers. The Business Office staff also submit various reports throughout the year to the Illinois Community College Board and Federal government, including uniform financial statements, the budget, tax revenue information, tax levies, grant reporting, and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). SRC uses college funds ethically and responsibly under the standards outlined in the Illinois Public Community College Act. SRC follows Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act. Purchase requisitions and approvals are handled through an automated system that ensures purchases are pre-authorized. Section 6.6 in the Policies and Procedures Manual outlines regulations to be followed in the spending of College funds. Requisition and purchasing training is offered to new and current employees on an ongoing basis. Budget preparation is initiated four to five months before each fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30. The VP presents a budget review and budget process review to the BOT at board Retreats held in January and July of each year. The VP provides a budget presentation annually to the faculty and staff during Professional Development Day which reviews the budget process. This presentation is also available to employees on the network, shared drive. SRC’s internal budget process begins at the department level. Each budget manager submits a budget request based on an analysis of the department's strategic plan and discussions with faculty and/or staff. After departments have submitted their budget requests to their administrator (Dean or VP, as appropriate), each department is provided the opportunity to discuss in detail its budget requests and how those relate to the Strategic Plan and pre-established goals at a budget hearing. President's Cabinet reviews all budget requests and drafts a preliminary revenue estimate, including: anticipated State funding increases/decreases and estimated tuition/fee changes; staffing changes, if any; estimated mandatory cost increases; and department requests that have been identified as priorities to be funded during the hearing process. As the projected cash reserves and next year's revenue outlook is confirmed, towards the end of the budget cycle, priorities to be funded are adjusted as needed to match revenues. Based upon this information, the President and VP carefully evaluate all requests and allocate available funds accordingly. Before BOT approval, the proposed budget is posted for public viewing and review in the Patricia Russell Learning Resource Center no less than 30 days before presentation to the BOT for consideration and approval. The finalized budget is then submitted to the BOT for consideration and approval at its August Board Meeting. The budgeting process meets the expectation of responsible
Page 18
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
conduct with involvement of faculty and staff, the President, VP, and the BOT. Academic SRC operates with a qualified, professional faculty that follow ethical policies, and processes for students attending any of the following locations/sites: Canton and Macomb campuses, online, and attendance centers. All full-time and part-time faculty design their course syllabi from a Master Course Syllabus to ensure all students have a consistent and understandable syllabus, which includes outcomes for the course. All faculty are required to maintain eight (8) on-campus hours reasonably distributed in a workweek in addition to their assigned classroom responsibilities, according to the Spoon River College Faculty Contract. The on-campus hours are posted, clearly defining virtual availability and campus presence, as part of the faculty member's schedule. All faculty members keep student records online, making this information transparent and available to students. The Higher Education Opportunity Act (Public Law 110-315) (HEOA) was enacted on August 14, 2008, and reauthorizes the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). SRC follows the Higher Education Opportunity Act. All required textbooks and materials for a course must be made available to the students before registration. The bookstore ensures that textbook adoptions are completed before the schedule is released to meet this requirement. All textbooks and materials are listed by course/section number on the SRC Bookstore’s website. Additionally, the Bookstore site includes an “Ordering guide” that references new and used textbooks, book buyback dates, and the rental agreement and return dates. To support ethical treatment of students, all employees must complete online training to meet their obligations under Title IX and the Clery Act. In addition, SRC regularly offers training to faculty through the Community Outreach Department on issues of diversity and inclusion and best pedagogical practices. Students at SRC are provided opportunities to raise issues or concerns with grades or teaching practices through the Instructional Dean. A grade appeal process is developed and available to students and can be found on page 38 of the Student Handbook. SRC provides access to public records under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and also provides a structure to support the process of FOIA inquiries. The Coordinator, Public Information is responsible for receiving and distributing requests under FOIA as well as monitoring the timeframe for a response. SRC receives on average 10 requests per year and to date has remained fully compliant. Human Resources It is the Mission of the SRC HR Office to support the operation of the institution in meeting its goals through its most valuable resource: its people. To that end, SRC strives to maintain fairness, equity, and transparency in all of its employment practices while aligning business strategy with strategic goals of the institution. The HR Director oversees personnel issues at SRC. SRC has in place hiring procedures that are consistent and fair. Job descriptions are created for full and part-time positions in all classifications – faculty, administration, professional support, and classified staff. Minimum qualifications are established for each position. Procedures for posting job Page 19
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
descriptions, setting up interview teams, interviewing candidates, and recommending candidates are in place. All teams are comprised of individuals who represent a diverse workplace environment. Job vacancies are advertised in places that will reach a diverse pool of candidates. All postings include the Notice of Nondiscrimination approved by the Office for Civil Rights. The HR Department endeavors to conduct hiring practices in a defined and transparent manner through ADP Workforce Now. An Employee Checklist form is completed upon hire of a new employee. These forms ensure that all required policy reviews, required trainings, and background checks have been completed. New employees are required to complete the New Employee Orientation through HR. The BOT and the Administration recognize two collective-bargaining units at SRC. These are the Spoon River College Faculty Association for full-time faculty and the Spoon River College Classified Personnel Association for both full and part-time classified positions. They are represented by delegates from their respective employee groups. Both are governed by their contracts which employees can access on the SRC website. Both contracts cover hiring and dismissal procedures, as well as grievance procedures, and prohibit unlawful strikes or lockouts. SRC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and educator and complies with applicable federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination. Annually, SRC conducts employee satisfaction surveys which are available to all employees. Staff and faculty satisfaction surveys assess perceptions of fairness regarding policies and channels for complaints. Auxiliary Functions In a commitment to the highest ethical standards, SRC Auxiliary Services functions under all federal, state, and local laws. All operations are conducted in compliance with the Policies and Procedures Manual. The Auxiliary Services area of SRC is externally audited as part of the overall College audit annually. The auxiliary functions at SRC include a bookstore, cafeteria, and coffee shop. Students can purchase books, other course materials, and SRC merchandise in person at any SRC location or online for instore pickup or shipping. The cafeteria serves breakfast and lunch daily and even offers to-go meals for students to take home for dinner. The coffee shop serves a full range of coffee and other drinks plus grab-and-go breakfast and lunch items. The Director of Business and Auxiliary Services oversees and supervises these departments. SRC participates in intercollegiate sports. As a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and Midwest Athletic Conference (MWAC), SRC students participate in five intercollegiate sports, including baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, softball, and volleyball. The Athletic Department routinely checks the eligibility status of all student-athletes. Eligibility requirements are established by the National Junior College Athletic Association. The Director of Athletics and Intramurals submits athletic data for the Equity in Athletics Data Analysis annually. This submission is required by all co-educational postsecondary institutions that receive Title IV funding and that have an intercollegiate athletics program. Policies and Procedures: In March 1997, the BOT adopted the Resolution Regarding Adoption of New Board Policies. The Resolution states that the Board Policies were adopted according to Section 3-25 of the Illinois Community College Act as the rules of the Board. The BOT reviews its policies Page 20
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
during Board Retreats that are held in January and July of each year. Policies may be adopted, revised, added to, or amended at a regular meeting of the BOT by a majority vote of the members. The operation of any section or sections of the Board’s policies not established by law may be suspended by a majority vote of the Board at a regular or special meeting. Minutes of the Board will reflect review, revisions, additions, amendments, or deletions to Board Policies. The Board Policies, Governance Process, include a policy specific to Code of Conduct. The policy states that the Board requires ethical conduct collectively and from its members. This commitment includes proper use of authority and appropriate decorum in group and individual behavior when acting as a Trustee of SRC. The policy also addresses the following: conflicts of interest, authority, privileged information, and non-discriminatory and cooperative atmosphere. SRC establishes and follows policies and processes for fair and ethical behavior on the part of its administration. The President’s Cabinet meets bi-monthly to discuss key issues as an administrative group. The Cabinet agendas are accessible for all College employees to view. The Cabinet reviews policies and procedures, strategic plan documents, and other institutional issues. Members of the Cabinet communicate the results from Cabinet meetings with their direct reports. The administration at SRC receives information on the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) and is expected to follow the guidelines as outlined in Policy 9.1.4. Training on FERPA is conducted at the department level by the Dean of Student Services and the Registrar. Multiple policies and procedures govern ethical and responsible actions, and HR is responsible for overseeing and/or implementing these policies and procedures. These policies and procedures are implemented consistently and are communicated college-wide. SRC’s fair employment practices include all aspects of hiring, promotion, assignment, discharge, and other terms and conditions of employment and are communicated in numerous documents. Equal Employment and Non-Discrimination, Discrimination, and Harassment Compliance with Title IX Employment Eligibility Open Door Policy Diversity Ethics Progressive Discipline Whistle Blower Spoon River College Classified Personnel Association Contract Spoon River College Faculty Association Contract The Board and SRC have developed and published policies and procedures governing the academic and non-academic activities of SRC. The academic processes, which originate with the faculty, are well-defined by the Policies and Procedures Manual and are approved by SRC administration and the Board. SRC’s website contains extensive information regarding SRC, programs, requirements, faculty, and staff, tuition, financial aid, and accreditation. SRC’s President can receive input from College administration, faculty, staff, and students. Both the BOT and College administration allows/expect the faculty to have oversight on academic matters. Page 21
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Sources 2.A.1.1.1 Excerpt from December 2005 Board Minutes.Vision Mission Goals Values 2.A.1.2.1 Strategic Plan 2.A.1.2.2 Excerpt from November 2020 Board Minutes.StrategicPlanApproval 2.A.2.1.1 Policies and Procedures 1.2 2.A.2.1.2 Governance Process Board Policy 2.A.2.10.1 Faculty Contract On-Campus Hours 2.A.2.12.1 SRC Website Bookstore Page 2.A.2.15.1 Illinois Freedom of Information Act 2.A.2.20.1 SRC Faculty Association Contract 2.A.2.20.2 SRC Classified Personnel Association Contract 2.A.2.22.1 Auxiliary Services Audit 2.A.2.25.1 Equity in Athletics Data Analysis 2.A.2.26.1 3-25 Illinois Community College Public Act 2.A.2.26.2 January 2021 Board Retreat Agenda 2.A.2.26.3 July 2021 Board Retreat Agenda 2.A.2.27.1 Board Policies Code of Conduct 2.A.2.28.1 Presidents Cabinet Meeting Agenda 92321 2.A.2.29.1 College Policies FERPA 2.A.2.3.1 SRC Policies and Procedures Section 6 2.A.2.3.2 Excerpt from IL Public Community College Act - Treasurer 2.A.2.4.1 Excerpt from IL Public Community College Act - Audit 2.A.2.4.2 OMB Circular A-133 2.A.2.4.3 IPEDS 2.A.2.5.1 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Grant Accountability and Transparency Act 2.A.2.5.2 Section 6.6 SRC Policies and Procedures 2.A.2.6.1 January 2021 Board Retreat Agenda 2.A.2.6.2 July 2021 Board Retreat Agenda 2.A.2.6.3 SRC FY22 Budget Presentation July 2021 2.A.2.6.4 2020 Professional Development Day Agenda 2.A.2.7.1 August 2021 Board Agenda 2.A.2.9.1 Master Course Syllabus
Page 22
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
2.B - Core Component 2.B The institution presents itself clearly and completely to its students and to the public. 1. The institution ensures the accuracy of any representations it makes regarding academic offerings, requirements, faculty and staff, costs to students, governance structure and accreditation relationships. 2. The institution ensures evidence is available to support any claims it makes regarding its contributions to the educational experience through research, community engagement, experiential learning, religious or spiritual purpose and economic development.
Argument 2.B.1 SRC presents itself clearly and completely to prospective students, current students, and the public through several communication and media methods. SRC makes every effort to ensure accuracy and transparency in all forms of communications and interactions with those it serves. SRC accomplishes this through a variety of face-to-face, print, and electronic resources. The College Catalog is the main document to communicate College program offerings and requirements, academic policies, course descriptions, and tuition and fees. The Catalog is reviewed and edited on an annual basis. The Catalog review process begins in March with a published date on or around July 1 every year. The Dean of Student Services oversees the review process, which includes distribution of Catalog sections to appropriate departments for editing. All curricula or program changes are approved by the College Senate and assigned a College Senate Bulletin (CSB) number. Review of the CSBs is an important part of the Catalog editing process and led by the Registrar. The catalog also provides a list of administrators, full-time faculty, and staff. Print and electronic versions of the catalog are available. The SRC website houses an archive of past catalogs publicly available to search and/or download. Course schedules are published each term on the website. Online search navigation tools for course offerings provide for a user/friendly, interactive, searchable method of identifying courses available for registering. The Student Handbook, which resides on the website, is updated annually through the Office of Dean of Student Services. It provides students with clear guidance on the academic and disciplinary policies related to their rights and responsibilities as SRC students. The Student Handbook also details the disciplinary policies concerning student rights and responsibilities. Policies are checked for accuracy from the various College committee minutes. Departmental information is updated by the individual department. The Student Handbook is available on the website, and printed copies are available by request. The SRC website is the primary source of information for the public. It is widely used by internal audiences as well. Web pages are managed by Marketing (content) and IT (programming). Gainful employment information is available on the src.edu website. Page 23
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
The Marketing Director is responsible for keeping the website current (with input of team members). To ensure accuracy, policies, facts, figures, and reports are updated as needed, and pages are reviewed annually with the Office of Institutional Research, faculty division chairs, and staff office directors. Each department is included in updating the text of departmental web pages to ensure that content is accurate. Throughout the year, all departments are encouraged to request content changes be made by the IT department as needed. Our current website, src.edu, was designed in 2016. Administration, marketing, and IT decided in 2021 that our site is due for a redesign. The goals of a website redesign include: enhancing user experience simplifying content management providing better information and customer service to prospects and visitors meeting high standards for design quality, visual appeal, and ease of navigation The Office of Marketing also manages SRC’s Facebook page, Twitter account, and Instagram account, which are used to communicate with both internal and external audiences. Posts on these platforms include: weather-related closings, event announcements, event photos, and campus life photos. All sites are monitored to ensure timely, accurate responses to questions or comments posted. Various departments also have Facebook sites to communicate with internal and external folks. SRC also maintains a YouTube page, where enrollment promotion videos are posted, as well as event videos, such as Commencement and College Theme presentations, and informational videos, such as online orientation. SRC students are notified of events, opportunities, and deadlines through student email accounts. Emails are drafted by Marketing, Student Services, or other departments. All campus-wide emails are proofread by Marketing or Student Services before being distributed. The President provides a weekly College Update to the BOT, employees, retirees, alumni, and the Foundation Board. The College Updates include updates and information from all departments at SRC as well as a section for upcoming events, to keep everyone informed. All of SRC’s marketing materials are proofread for content accuracy by Student Services. When necessary, content experts are included in the proofing process. Each marketing piece aims to communicate the benefits of attending SRC, inform of opportunities, demonstrate the scope of each academic program, and represent the culture, mission, and values of SRC. The process for creating and updating marketing materials at SRC involves a team effort, combining the work of at least two departments. For example, a two-page brochure for each academic program communicates: a brief description of the program, what credentials students can earn, what skills are necessary to be successful in the program, what jobs are available in the field, and what types of classes would be taken in the program. To create these brochures, the Office of Marketing works closely with the Office of Instruction to ensure accuracy through drafting, editing, design, and final proofreading stages. The SRC newsletter is published annually and mailed to more than 33,000 residents (all mailboxes within the district). The newsletter, The Bridge, is a sixteen-page magazine published in April of each year. The Bridge shares students’ stories, facts, and program information. Articles spotlight stories of how alumni, current students, and employees reflect SRC’s Mission, Vision, and Core Page 24
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Values. Because the newsletters are mailed to all boxes within SRC district, the publication is also treated as a report to the community. A message from the President of SRC is included, and through stories, SRC demonstrates its positive impact on the lives of its students. The project timeline for The Bridge involves a four-month process of planning, interviewing, photographing, writing, editing, designing, proofreading by several departments, print production, and distribution. A campus resource for an easily accessible location of reliable facts and figures is located within the reports section of the SRC website. The report's data is an annual compilation of our fall enrollment, graduation, and retention statistics put together by the Institutional Research Coordinator. It provides comparative data and reinforces transparency throughout SRC. This publication is available on the SRC website to be shared with the student body, board members, and campus community as a resource for anyone who would like an overview of SRC. SRC’s accreditation status is listed on its website as well as in the Catalog. The nursing program is fully approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). The additional program accreditations are posted on the website and within the program descriptions in the Catalog. Tuition and fees are reported in the Catalog along with the fees that are assessed for program-specific costs or standard credit hour fees. Tuition and fee information also can be found on the website and in marketing materials. Students are provided access to a net price calculator to help calculate any various forms of institutional, state, and federal aid for which they may be eligible. 2.B.2 SRC has a strong commitment to the communities we serve. SRC employees are engaged in the community through service in various municipal opportunities. For example, employees serve on chamber boards, economic development groups, and social service agency boards. Through these engagement opportunities, SRC employees build relationships with community partners. These collaborations and partnerships can lead to a continuous review of programs and services to further student completion. More information on SRC and its approach to continuous improvement, benchmarking, and data-informed decision making is in Criterion 5.
Sources 2.B.1.10.1 SRC Instagram 2.B.1.11.1 College Update 809 2.B.1.14.1 Bridge Newsletter 2021 2.B.1.16.1 SRC Accreditation Status 2.B.1.16.2 SRC ACEN Status 2.B.1.17.1 SRC Tuition and Fees 2.B.1.17.2 Net Price Calculator 2.B.1.5.1 SRC Website.docx 2.B.1.5.2 Gainful Employment Website.docx 2.B.1.9.1 SRC Facebook 2.B.1.9.2 SRC Twitter 2.B.1.9.3 SRC Instagram
Page 25
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
2.C - Core Component 2.C The governing board of the institution is autonomous to make decisions in the best interest of the institution in compliance with board policies and to ensure the institution’s integrity. 1. The governing board is trained and knowledgeable so that it makes informed decisions with respect to the institution’s financial and academic policies and practices; the board meets its legal and fiduciary responsibilities. 2. The governing board’s deliberations reflect priorities to preserve and enhance the institution. 3. The governing board reviews the reasonable and relevant interests of the institution’s internal and external constituencies during its decision-making deliberations. 4. The governing board preserves its independence from undue influence on the part of donors, elected officials, ownership interests or other external parties. 5. The governing board delegates day-to-day management of the institution to the institution’s administration and expects the institution’s faculty to oversee academic matters.
Argument 2C1 SRC is governed by a seven-member, publicly elected, BOT and one Student Trustee elected by the student body. Each publicly elected board member serves a six-year term. The Student Trustee is elected in March and is seated at the April board meeting. Student Trustees are elected to serve one year and serve as the representative of the student body and have the same rights as elected Board members, except for a vote. The Student Trustee vote is advisory and is recorded the same as an elected member, but does not count towards the majority. The Student Trustee can make motions and second motions and engage in all Board discussions. The BOT meets monthly. During its April meeting, newly elected trustees are seated, and officers of the board are appointed. Board policies identify the scope and duties of the BOT at SRC, including significant areas of oversight related to the development of policy, education, finance and business, personnel, and students. On the fourth Wednesday of each month, unless otherwise noticed and scheduled, the Board meets in open session to conduct the business of SRC. SRC publicly publishes agendas and minutes of the Board meetings on the SRC website. Upon election, all Trustees are required to attend orientation sessions where they learn about their specific duties, responsibilities, and SRC. During the orientation sessions, the board reviews significant policies, including the ethics policy. In addition, Trustees are required to complete The Open Meetings Act training, Sexual Harassment, and Discrimination training, as well as Leadership Training that is noted on the BOT page on the SRC website. SRC is an institutional member of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA) and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). Board policies encourage trustees to attend regional, state, and national functions to enhance their knowledge and understanding of community college issues, to represent SRC, and to advocate for community college interests. 2c2 SRC has established clear policies and procedures that outline the board’s responsibility to focus on educational areas without inhibiting the president or taking over faculty responsibilities for curriculum development. Page 26
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Examples that demonstrate the commitment, integrity, and responsibility of SRC’s board members can be found in the Board minutes: Board Minutes February 2021 and Board Minutes February 2018. In March 1997, the SRC BOT adopted the Resolution Regarding Adoption of New Board Policies. The Resolution states that the Board Policies were adopted under Section 3-25 of the Illinois Community College Act as the rules of the Board. The Board reviews its Board Policies as a part of Board Retreats held in January and July of each year. Board agendas and minutes will reflect revisions, additions, amendments, or deletions to the Board Policies. The Board Policies, Governance Process, include a policy specific to Code of Conduct. The policy states that the Board requires ethical conduct collectively and from its members. This commitment includes proper use of authority and appropriate decorum in group and individual behavior when acting as a trustee of SRC. The Board Policies, Governance Process, also includes a policy specific to Attributes of a Spoon River College Trustee. In addition, in April 2004, the BOT adopted the Ethics Resolution in cooperation with the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, Public Act 93-615, effective November 19, 2003, as amended by Public Act 93-617, effective December 9, 2003, codified at 5 ILCS 403/1-1. 2c3 The BOT receives regular reports during board meetings from internal constituents of SRC. Fiscal, Instructional, and Student Services reports are provided both orally and in writing at the Board Meetings. In addition, the Board receives reports on student assessment, faculty and staff recognition, as well as advisory committee meeting updates. In addition to twelve-monthly meetings each calendar year, the Board meets twice a year (January and July) for Planning Retreats. During the Retreats, significant time is devoted to self-evaluation and the budget process. The Board Policies, Governance Process, also includes a policy specific to Annual Board Planning Cycle that includes a review of its policies and performance. In addition, Board Policies were updated to include the Title IX policy. The Board Planning Cycle was updated following review at the July 2021 Board Retreat. The BOT has established the following committees to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibilities: Executive Committee Finance Committee Human Resources Committee Advocates for College Enrollment Committee Curriculum Committee Closed Session Minutes Review Committee The Board and the Foundation Board hold an annual joint meeting to review College priorities. In addition, one Trustee serves on the Foundation Board and provides monthly reports to the BOT. The Board solicits input from internal and external constituents that includes appointed Foundation Board members, elected local and state officials, district educational institutions, and the public. The Board strives to differentiate between external and internal processes in the exercise of its authority, focusing on long-term strategic planning and not on day-to-day operations. Reports and information that the BOT receive help guide the decision-making process. The Page 27
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
community also has the opportunity to provide comments and input to the trustees through the public comment section on the board agenda. As stated in 1.B.3, external constituencies, including businesses, are surveyed through the Community Outreach Office. These surveys provide valuable insight when determining the needs and interests of SRC’s external constituencies. 2c4 BOT members are not compensated for serving on the board and must comply with policy that indicates their ethical responsibility to govern SRC. Board Policy Type: Governance Process; Policy Title: Board Job Description identifies the Board’s responsibilities. College Board Policies also address the Board’s responsibilities for governing style, structure, Code of Conduct, training, as well as Attributes of a Spoon River College Trustee. BOT members are required to engage in ethics training as well as comply with the State of Illinois “statement of economic interest.” As a part of the State election process, candidates for the BOT complete and file with the local County Clerk a Statement of Economic Interest as a part of their election packet. Following election to the Board, Trustees annually file a Statement of Economic Interest form. In addition, SRC administrators also file the annual Statement of Economic Interest form with the local County Clerk. 2c5 The Board Policies, Board-President Relationship, Delegation to the President states that the President is accountable to the full Board. The Board establishes the broadest policies, delegating implementation and more detailed policy development to the President. The Board delegates authority to the staff through the President, so that the President is ultimately accountable. The President is authorized by the Board to establish all further policies and procedures, make all decisions, take all actions, and develop all activities as long as they are consistent with any reasonable interpretation of the Board’s Policies. The President’s job contributions are listed in Board Policies, Policy Type Board-President Relationship, President’s Responsibilities. Faculty have the responsibility to keep course content current, rigorous, and relevant. Full-time faculty, in particular, control the curriculum at several stages: Creation and design of programs and courses. Vetting of programs and courses through shared governance, in which faculty hold voting majorities and chairs of committees and SRC Senate itself. Adaptation of Master Syllabi to individual working syllabi for specific offerings of courses. Leadership in review of programs on a five-year rotation. Implementation of course objectives in classrooms. Most recently, oversight of the curriculum--including part-time faculty--through the faculty-led academic division structure. Review of CTE programs in conjunction with advisory committees. In addition, some transfer faculty have input beyond SRC's campuses by participating in Illinois Articulation Initiative panels.
Sources 2.C.2.2.1 Excerpt from February 2021 Board Minutes Page 28
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
2.C.2.2.2 Excerpt from February 2018 Board Minutes 2.C.2.3.1 Excerpt from March 1997 Board Minutes 2.C.2.4.1 Attributes of a Spoon River College Trustee 2.C.2.4.2 Ethics Resolution 2.C.3.1.1 Excerpt from November 2019 Board Minutes 2.C.3.2.1 Excerpt from July 2021 Board Retreat Minutes 2.C.3.4.1 September 2021 Joint Boards Meeting Agenda 2.C.4.1.1 Board Policy Board Job Description 2.C.5.1.1 Board Policy Delegation to the President 2.C.5.1.2 Board Policy Presidents Responsibilities
Page 29
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
2.D - Core Component 2.D The institution is committed to academic freedom and freedom of expression in the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning.
Argument Argument SRC is committed to academic freedom and freedom of expression in the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning. Commitment to freedom of expression can be found in the Policies and Procedures Manual. Policy 8.1.4 addresses Freedom of Inquiry and Academic Freedom. Further evidence of this commitment includes policy 4.17 Copyrighted Materials states SRC will effectively combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material by users of SRC's network without unduly interfering with the educational and research use of the network. Policy 9.1.11 Student Responsibilities states that SRC provides students information related to academic and student services policies in the catalog, student handbook, website, and/or in other formats. The policy applies to all enrolled students and states that students are responsible for compliance with all college policies. SRC exhibits its interest in encouraging the best possible educational environment for SRC community by providing programs and activities that support and encourage freedom of expression. For example, The Speech and Debate Team, formed in 2017, provides students with a variety of ways to freely express their voices at speech tournaments throughout the year. Students can share their creative interpretations of poetry, drama, and prose; advocate for issues they care strongly about via public address; and debate other collegiate teams on a variety of timely and controversial issues. Additional examples include: The displays of artwork by the art department demonstrate the students’ responses to, interactions with, and expressions of historical and contemporary issues in art. The Kaleidoscope is SRC’s student-published literary magazine, published each spring. This publication provides a venue for students' creative work and free expression. Students have an opportunity to have short stories, poems, essays, and artwork published. The Theatre program allows theatre artists, both students and the broader community, the opportunity for artistic expression in the areas of acting, design, visual art, and technical theatre. Each academic year, performance opportunities are available with planned productions in both fall and spring semesters. SRC maintains a Peer Assistance Committee (PAC) for non-tenured full-time faculty. Mentoring new faculty about College policies about the protection of academic freedom ensures faculty have an awareness and understanding of the commitment SRC exhibits towards freedom of expression and academic freedom. Page 30
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
SRC’s Division Chair program facilitates this mentorship beyond full-time faculty. SRC employs three Division Chair positions filled by tenured faculty. Partial responsibility of Division Chair duties includes mentoring part-time faculty within each division. Part-time faculty gain an awareness and understanding of the master syllabus as well as the academic freedom they retain within their teaching of a course. The Division Chair program also facilitates communication between part-time faculty and full-time faculty in their respective areas and produces an understanding among all faculty regarding the proper channels for course development/proposals for our internal governance system. Continuous development and improvement of courses are encouraged through the Faculty Evaluation Process listed below. Beyond the tenure process, full-time faculty receive feedback from students each semester through student evaluations and every four years by administrative course observation. Parttime faculty receive feedback from student evaluations every semester they teach for SRC, as well as regular administrative observations and evaluations. Reflections and plans for improvement are then compiled and reviewed with the faculty administrator. SRCFA 2021-2024 Contract – Section VI Employee Evaluation P&P 3.6.1 Evaluation of Instruction – Part-time faculty The tenure process provides guidelines for faculty review. As stated in Policy 3.6.1, improvement of the instructional program is the overall goal of the evaluation process at SRC. The focus of the process is to identify strengths and areas needing improvement related to instruction and to plan improvement strategies for areas of concern. Found in the Student Handbook, the SRC Student Code of Conduct serves two purposes: (1) to serve as a guide for student behavior; and (2) to outline the procedures to be followed, both by students and College officials, should violations of the Code occur. Faculty members may request funds for professional development through the Instructional Resources Committee. The Instructional Resources Committee is a standing committee of the College Senate. The functions of the Instructional Resources Committee are noted in the College Senate Bylaws.
Sources 2.D 3.1 Policy 4.17 Copyrighted Materials Policy 2.D.10.1 Student Code of Conduct 2.D.10.2 Student Code of Conduct Disciplinary and Appeals Procedures 2.D.11.1 College Senate Bylaws IR Committee Functions Page 5 2.D.2.1 Policy 8.1.4 Freedom of Inquiry and Academic Freedom 2.D.4.1 Policy 9.1.11 Student Responsibility 2.D.5.1 Speech and Debate Team Website 2.D.5.2 Kaleidoscope Website 2.D.5.3 Theatre Department Website 2.D.6.1 SRCFA Contract Section 6.4 Peer Assistance Committee Page 31
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
2.D.7.1 Division Chair Job Description 2.D.8.1 SRCFA Contract Section VI Employee Evaluation 2.D.8.2 Policy 3.6.1 Evaluation of Instruction Part-time faculty
Page 32
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
2.E - Core Component 2.E The institution’s policies and procedures call for responsible acquisition, discovery and application of knowledge by its faculty, staff and students. 1. Institutions supporting basic and applied research maintain professional standards and provide oversight ensuring regulatory compliance, ethical behavior and fiscal accountability. 2. The institution provides effective support services to ensure the integrity of research and scholarly practice conducted by its faculty, staff and students. 3. The institution provides students guidance in the ethics of research and use of information resources. 4. The institution enforces policies on academic honesty and integrity.
Argument 2.E.1 SRC takes very seriously its obligation to provide instruction on and oversight monitoring responsible use of information. Many resources and guidance policies are in place to secure the integrity of such research and knowledge. Numerous policies, approved through the SRC governance system, reflect SRC’s commitment to ethical and appropriate acquisition and dissemination of research and information. 2E.2 The Information Services (IS) Department provides support and assistance to all college employees for use while conducting research and scholarly practices. IS works with a variety of departments across SRC to develop and administer surveys to students and employees on a variety of topics. Survey results are analyzed and aid in revisions and enhancements to programs and processes. SRC engages the assistance of an external grant consultant to seek out opportunities for external funding to support programs and services. The Dean of Career and Workforce Education recently collaborated with the external grant consultant to write a grant from the FY2022 Equity-Driven Continuous Improvement Funds from the Illinois Community College Board. SRC was subsequently awarded $50,976 to assist in closing the gender gap in healthcare programs. Funds will be used to attract more males into healthcare programs. This gender gap was identified by our Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment completed in 2020. 2E.3 Many instructors include additional verbiage in their syllabi further emphasizing the importance of academic integrity. Here is one example from ENG 101 Composition I course syllabus: Plagiarism: Essays are to be submitted to the anti-plagiarism software before submission. Students who plagiarize will earn a zero for the assignment, an unpleasant conversation with me, and an academic misconduct report. English faculty include citation instruction in their Composition Sequence (ENG101 and ENG102) courses. Students receive instruction in the ethical use of information and additional guidance is provided to ensure that students understand and use information properly. Research assistance is available from Page 33
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
the Learning Resource Center where the Library is housed. The Librarian provides in-person or online instruction on research, citations, plagiarism, the use and evaluation of all types of information and provides students help with research projects for SRC classes and assignments. The Library also offers a variety of resources as well as individual or group instruction on the Canton Campus on a walk-in basis or by appointment, via phone, email, or online Research Guides on the library website provide links to articles, video tutorials, online videos, and websites for researching and writing in various disciplines. Several specific documents are available in support of ethical and appropriate use of information and research. SRC purchases a yearly site license for Turnitin plagiarism detection software. The version we use is called “SimCheck” and is integrated with the Learning Management System, Canvas. Faculty use this service not only to deter cheating but also as a teaching tool to show students how they might unknowingly plagiarize. Many faculty use this service for both rough drafts and final papers. Faculty can access instructions and/or training through the Faculty Support site in Canvas. The Learning Resource Center provides both professional and peer tutors who are available to meet with students for in-person tutoring or online tutoring using Google Meet. In addition to the librarian, these tutors can also help educate students on the common pitfalls associated with plagiarism. Tutor.com is also available to students 24/7 where students can receive live tutoring or submit papers for review. The Academic Success Center employs a professional writing tutor who is available to review online submissions as well as meet with students for in-person tutoring. This tutor can also help educate students on the common pitfalls associated with plagiarism. 2E4 As part of developing students, the Dean of Student Services guides students to adhere to the student code of conduct. The Dean of Student Services also serves as the focal point for student complaints. Data on conduct violations and complaints are kept on file in the office of the Dean of Student Services. Academic integrity expectations are stated on every academic master syllabus.
Sources 2.E.1.1 Student Code of Conduct 2.E.2.1 Master Syllabus Template 2.E.2.2 FY22 Equity Driven Continuous Improvement Funds From ICCB 2.E.2.2.3 Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment 2.E1.2.1 Policies Research 2.E3.1.1 ENG 101 Course Syllabus 2.E3.4.1 Documents Supporting Ethical and Appropriate Use of Information and Research 2.E3.6.1 Learning Resource Center Website
Page 34
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
2.S - Criterion 2 - Summary The institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.
Summary Spoon River College acts with integrity in its financial, academic, personnel, and auxiliary functions. SRC has policies and processes that ensure fair and ethical behavior on the part of its Board, administration, faculty, staff, and students. SRC presents itself clearly and completely to its students and the public regarding programs, requirements, faculty and staff, costs to students, and accreditation. This is supported in the College’s website, catalog, student handbook, and policies and procedures manual. The College’s Board maintains a clear role of institutional oversight and its autonomous decisionmaking process, allowing it to deliberate and provide vision for the College in an environment of integrity and creativity. The board reviews and considers the interests of internal and external constituents, delegates day-to-day decision making to the administrations, and empowers faculty to oversee academic matters. The institution’s policies and procedures call for responsible acquisition, discovery and application of knowledge by its faculty, students and staff. The College’s operations are guided by compliance with established policies and procedures concerning ethical standards and behaviors.
Sources There are no sources.
Page 35
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
3 - Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources and Support The institution provides quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.
3.A - Core Component 3.A The rigor of the institution’s academic offerings is appropriate to higher education. 1. Courses and programs are current and require levels of student performance appropriate to the credential awarded. 2. The institution articulates and differentiates learning goals for its undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, post-graduate and certificate programs. 3. The institution’s program quality and learning goals are consistent across all modes of delivery and all locations (on the main campus, at additional locations, by distance delivery, as dual credit, through contractual or consortial arrangements, or any other modality).
Argument 3.A.1. Illinois public two-year community colleges are required to follow the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) administrative rules which provides guidelines for courses and programs. ICCB approves all curriculum offered at SRC. The SRC Senate includes a Curriculum Committee charged with reviewing curriculum, courses, and programs, and ensuring academic standards. Specific duties of the Curriculum Committee are outlined in the College’s College Senate Bylaws. New curriculum and curriculum changes must go through the College’s Curriculum Committee and involve the completion of SRC’s Curricular Change Proposal Final approval of any curricular changes requires College Senate approval prior to submission for ICCB approval. Further, the College works to align curriculum with the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) to help facilitate student transfer to other colleges and universities. The IAI is a consortium of faculty subject matter experts and administrators from two- and four-year institutions who review course curriculum on a five-year cycle to ensure relevance and consistency. Upon College Senate approval, SRC sends courses to several four-year institutions that our students transfer to to ensure articulation. When SRC receives three “yes” articulation responses, the transfer courses are sent to ICCB for approval. Program reviews (2020 Review) are conducted every five years for each program, as required by the ICCB. The purpose is to support all aspects of each program. The 2020 program review for Agriculture indicated student enrollment had dropped from 29 students in 2016 to 15 students in 2020. With a faculty retirement in the future, it was determined important to search for a candidate with a strong background in recruiting. That individual has been hired and has already began strong recruiting initiatives. Future enrollment will indicate the effectiveness of this change. Career and technical education (CTE) programs have active advisory committees. SRC ensures that curriculum is current through participation with advisory committees. These committees provide invaluable feedback on CTE offerings. (Advisory Committee Meeting minutes) During the linked Agriculture AC meeting, the need for more education on precision technology was discussed. This is currently being taken into consideration by the AG department. We are currently working on ways to Page 36
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
incorporate more practical experience into our precision technology classes. The Nursing program is fully approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (http://www.src.edu/academics/career/nursing/Pages/default.aspx). In 2020, the SRC Associate Degree Nursing Program was accredited by ACEN (Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing) (Link). The SRC Medical Laboratory Technician program has received recognition for achieving “Serious Applicant Status” for initial accreditation with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) (Link) In addition to degrees, the College also offers many certificates in its CTE programs. All degree and certificate requirements are outlined in the College catalog. For each new degree and certificate program offered, an application process is followed for approval by ICCB before any course or programs can be offered. The approval process ensures curricula are current and require levels of student performance appropriate for the credential awarded. 3.A.2. The College offers many certificate programs and Associate degree programs including Associate in Applied Science, Associate Degree in Nursing, Associate in General Studies, and Associate in Arts, and Associate in Science. Details of goals and requirements for different certificates and degrees are outlined in the College catalog. Departments at the College have developed course objectives and program outcomes, (link) summarizing goal expectations of students completing degrees and certificates in that program. Each course syllabus contains course objectives and program outcomes aligned with the course description. The objectives and outcomes for career and technical education degrees and certificates are determined in conjunction with input from advisory committees. Course objectives and program outcomes are guided by best practices using industry recommendations and external accreditation requirements. Course objectives and program outcomes serve as a guide for faculty, ensuring that students are provided with the necessary information needed to succeed in the course regardless of method of delivery. 3.A.3. Master course objectives for each course offered at the College are consistent across sections and are outlined in Master Syllabi. Use of the master syllabus template ensures consistency across all courses and disciplines. Course learning objectives are not based on instructional delivery method but on expected and desired outcomes from the learning experience. The objectives are the same for all locations and delivery modes offered by the College: face-to-face, intelligent video system (IVS), hybrid, online, and dual credit. It is the goal of the College to ensure that quality of instruction is consistent in all delivery modes. Faculty create working syllabi for a course from the course’s master syllabus template. Link Full-time faculty members participate in campus-based staff development which recently focused on assessment strategies and General Education Competencies. August PDD. Part-time faculty have opportunities for similar training during the part-time faculty kickoff each fall. August Agenda The Director of Academic Support provides faculty support in the areas of course design, best practices for hybrid and online teaching formats, Learning Management System (Canvas) training, and instructional technology implementation. In further attempts to ensure consistency, all sections of a course are generally required to use the same textbook or material. The College adheres to the requirements of the Dual Credit Quality Act). Qualified high school instructors are required to use the same SRC Master Course Syllabus so that course content and learning outcomes are consistent. Dual credit faculty are invited to attend the part-time faculty Page 37
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
kickoff each fall. Dual credit faculty use the same course outline as well as the same SmartEval process for student evaluation of instruction. SmartEval is an online evaluation system which gives every student the opportunity to evaluate the class and the instructor at semester's end. These quality standards ensure that the college courses taught as dual credit by a high school faculty member are consistent with those courses taught by an adjunct instructor on campus.
Sources 3.A.1.1.1 Senate By-laws excerpt 3.A.1.1.2 Curricular Change Proposal Form 3.A.1.2.1 FY20 Program Review 3.A.1.3.1 Advisory Committee Minutes 3.A.1.3.2 ACEN Accreditation Letter 3.A.1.3.3 NAACLS 3.A.1.3.4 College Catalog Degrees and Certificates 3.A.2.1.1 Goals and Requirements 3.A.2.2.1 Master Syllabus 3.A.3.1.1 Master Syllabus 3.A.3.1.2 Working Syllabus 3.A.3.2.1 Professional Development Day Agenda 2020 3.A.3.2.2 Part-Time Faculty Kickoff Agenda 3.A.3.3.1 DCQA
Page 38
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
3.B - Core Component 3.B The institution offers programs that engage students in collecting, analyzing and communicating information; in mastering modes of intellectual inquiry or creative work; and in developing skills adaptable to changing environments. 1. The general education program is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings and degree levels of the institution. The institution articulates the purposes, content and intended learning outcomes of its undergraduate general education requirements. 2. The program of general education is grounded in a philosophy or framework developed by the institution or adopted from an established framework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to students and develops skills and attitudes that the institution believes every college-educated person should possess. 3. The education offered by the institution recognizes the human and cultural diversity and provides students with growth opportunities and lifelong skills to live and work in a multicultural world. 4. The faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work and the discovery of knowledge to the extent appropriate to their offerings and the institution’s mission.
Argument 3.B.1 SRC’s general education program provides students the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities which are vital to success in education, careers, and lifelong learning. Consistent with the institutional mission and vision, SRC is committed to offering education, both inside and outside of the classroom that allows students to acquire, develop, and demonstrate growth within our general education program. The general education program is the foundation of all associate degrees awarded. SRC offers several degrees and certificate options to meet the diverse needs of our district residents. All associate degrees require at least sixty credit hours to complete. Students confer with their advisor to ensure they are taking the appropriate courses for their program of study. The Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree is designed for specialized career and technical training and preparation for full-time employment. The Associate in General Studies (AGS) degree is for students who wish to “tailor” a course of study to meet their individual needs. The Associate in Arts (AA) is for students who plan to transfer to a four-year university and major in areas of social science, humanities, fine arts, and similar disciplines. The Associate in Science (AS) is structured for transfer to a four-year university in STEMrelated fields. The Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) is designed for nursing training to prepare for the NCLEX-RN examination for licensure. General education and academic requirements for the AAS, AGS, AA, and AS degrees are outlined in the College Catalog along with SRC’s website. Page 39
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
3.B.2 SRC’s General Education Competencies (GEC’s) reflect a foundation in classic liberal learning as well as an acknowledgment of current career, personal and civic demands made upon an educated citizen. The GEC’s were extensively revised in 2015 by a faculty-led Assessment Committee and have recently been “branded” to bring the competencies to the forefront of all college activities. The GEC’s are as follows: Communication: Communicate effectively to achieve individual and organizational goals. Problem-solving: Use critical, mathematical, and scientific methods to solve problems. Empathy: Make responsible choices in a diverse world. Creativity: Exhibit human empathy through appreciation of arts and creativity. Decision-making: Obtain and use information to make sound decisions. Collaboration: Work collaboratively with others to solve problems and achieve common goals. The GEC’s are embedded in all courses and course objectives are designed to meet the GEC’s along with the discipline requirements. The course objectives are approved by SRC’s faculty-led college senate. 3.B.3 Students are provided opportunities to grow in respect to human and cultural issues both in and out of the classroom. Topics addressing multicultural issues are woven throughout SRC’s general education curriculum. Beginning Fall 2021, HIS 155 – African American History was added to our course offerings. Other courses include: ED 205 – Student with disabilities in Schools, ED 230 – Diversity in Schools and Society, GEO 100 Human Geography, REL 101 – World Religions, SOC 215 – Racial and Ethnic Relations, and SOC 225 – Sociology of Sex and Gender. SRC promotes awareness of diversity through a variety of instructional and supporting programs/initiatives. Two of the six General Education Competencies ("Equity: Make responsible choices in a diverse world, and Collaboration: Work collaboratively with others to solve problems and achieve common goals”) call upon students to recognize human and cultural diversity and to work collaboratively together, weaving human and cultural diversity into all curriculum. In other ways as well, SRC encourages student engagement with diverse points of view. The annual College Theme seeks to promote a broad view of a central topic from multiple viewpoints, covering individual classes in which faculty choose to integrate it, as well as outside the classroom as in the 2020-2021 presentation series addressing the "Beyond Your Comfort Zone: The Courage to Learn" theme. “Spoon River College recognizes the importance of multicultural engagement as it allows us to acknowledge and celebrate the rich, vibrant lives and histories of not only our students and staff but of our diverse friends and neighbors as well”. This mission statement of our Diversity Committee formed in 2019 guided members of the committee to develop a display that fosters education of diversity issues. The rotating collection shares information highlighting key figures, events, and backgrounds that correspond with federally recognized diversity months, such as: January – March highlights African-American History, Women’s History, and Irish-American Heritage April – May focuses on Asian-Pacific Heritage, Older Americans, and Jewish-American Heritage Page 40
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
June – September focuses on LGBT Pride and National Hispanic-Latino Heritage October – December features National Disability Awareness, National Italian-American Heritage, and National American Indian Heritage. SRC's extracurricular programs promote a diversity of human viewpoints through such activities as the Kaleidoscope Journal of Art & Literature, an annual publication of student creative work, and theatre program. 3.B.4 SRC offers annual professional development opportunities for faculty who wish to pursue training opportunities that are particular to their disciplines or are generally applicable to higher education, leadership, or service-learning endeavors. In addition, faculty may apply for sabbatical leave to expand professional growth while sharing disciplinary expertise. One such example is the ongoing work by faculty member Dr. Win Htwe, who used sabbatical as well as personal time to cultivate relationships and create a successful learning environment in his native country of Myanmar (Burma). Scholarship: SRC sponsors the very active Nu Delta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the world’s largest honor society for two-year colleges. In 2020-21, there were 82 members of the chapter, which includes separate groups on both the Canton and Macomb campuses. Phi Theta Kappans participate in scholarly as well as campus and community service activities. Examples have included the annual school supply restocking event to benefit local elementary students; food pantry collection; campus clean-up; Purses of Hope which collects items to donate to area women’s shelters; and raising funds to support the Ashley McCloud Scholarship, established in memory of an SRC graduate and PTK member. Creative Work: Kaleidoscope Journal of Art & Literature, SRC’s student-run literary magazine, is produced annually and features written and artistic selections submitted and juried by students. Each spring, in conjunction with the release of the magazine, both the Canton and Macomb campuses host the “Coffee Spoon,” an open forum for the reading and display of these works. In 2019, the “Coffee Spoon” celebrated its 20th anniversary. In 2020 Kaleidoscope was combined with the 2021 edition and made available virtually through our website and social media accounts. The Department of Drama and Theatre includes an academic curriculum in theatre appreciation, acting, text analysis, and basic stagecraft. It also hosts SRC’s program of theatre productions in combination with the STAGE (SRC Theatre Artists Group for Education) student organization. The SRC Community Chorus which operates under the auspices of the SRC Foundation and is entirely self-funded produces multiple shows annually to consistently sold-out audiences and was developed to “provide music education through rehearsal and performance of specific genres of music.” Many faculty and staff, as well as students, have participated in these productions since their inception in 2005. Students enrolled in art classes at SRC have the opportunity not only to create and display their work on campus, but they often host or participate in community shows such as the “Prairieland Art Conference and Canton’s “Art on Main Fine Arts Festival”. In addition, many faculty members contribute creative talents to their communities. For instance, English Faculty member Laura Bandy published Hack a book of poetry, and received notoriety in the 14th annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition for her poem, “Knockout.” Page 41
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Discovery of Knowledge College Theme. Annually a faculty sub-committee develops a college theme, which is then offered to all faculty as an opportunity for interdisciplinary instruction, discussion, and discovery. Beginning 2017-2018, the college theme is used as the basis of “TED-talk” type presentations by our faculty in which students and all college employees are invited to attend at various times throughout the academic year. In 2019-2020, a student also requested to present for the first time. Workshops. Several faculty members present workshops within our Community Outreach program. For instance, Michael Maher, Sociology Faculty Member, presented a series of workshops on Diversity and Inclusion for the City of Macomb and SRC employees, as well as for the general public. Biology Instructor Tom Vogel is also working diligently with Community Outreach Center to offer a series of workshops across our district on Cannabis, the use of CBD products, and the growing industry needs. Poster Board Presentations. Beginning in 2014 and continuing each semester, students from several disciplines present information learned from their research on various topics during poster presentations. As many as 133 students from seven different courses presented their research in Fall 2019. Faculty, staff, students, and trustees are invited to review the posters and talk with students regarding their research.
Sources 3.B.1.2.1 Associate in Applied Science (AAS) Degrees 3.B.1.2.2 Associate in General Studies (AGS) Degree 3.B.1.2.3 Associate of Arts (AA) Degree 3.B.1.2.4 Associate in Science (AS) Degree 3.B.1.2.5 Associate of Nursing (ADN) Degree 3.B.1.4.1 General Education Program and Requirements 3.B.2.1.1 Assessment Committee Meeting Minutes 3.B.2.1.2 SRC Assessment Bylaws 3.B.2.1.3 GEC Branding Poster 3.B.2.2.1 College Senate Bylaws 3.B.3.1.1 HIS155 - African American History syllabus 3.B.3.2.1 College Theme Poster 3.B.3.3.1 Diversity Committee Announcement 3.B.3.4.1 Kaleidoscope Journal Webpage 3.B.4.2.1 Phi Kappa Theta - Nu Delta Chapter Webpage 3.B.4.2.2 PTK ACDC Event Flyer 2019 3.B.4.2.3 PTK Purses of Hope Event Flyer 2020 3.B.4.3.1 Kaleidoscope Journal Webpage 3.B.4.4.1 SRC Theater Production of Silent Sky - Fall 2021 3.B.4.5.1 SRC Community Chorus 3.B.4.7.1 College Theme Poster 2020-2021 3.B.4.8.1 Professional Development Series Flyer 3.B.4.8.2 Cannibis Workshops - Fall 2021 Page 42
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
3.B.4.9.1 SRC Poster Presentations
Page 43
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
3.C - Core Component 3.C The institution has the faculty and staff needed for effective, high-quality programs and student services. 1. The institution strives to ensure that the overall composition of its faculty and staff reflects human diversity as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves. 2. The institution has sufficient numbers and continuity of faculty members to carry out both the classroom and the non-classroom roles of faculty, including oversight of the curriculum and expectations for student performance, assessment of student learning, and establishment of academic credentials for instructional staff. 3. All instructors are appropriately qualified, including those in dual credit, contractual and consortial offerings. 4. Instructors are evaluated regularly in accordance with established institutional policies and procedures. 5. The institution has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are current in their disciplines and adept in their teaching roles; it supports their professional development. 6. Instructors are accessible for student inquiry. 7. Staff members providing student support services, such as tutoring, financial aid advising, academic advising and cocurricular activities, are appropriately qualified, trained and supported in their professional development.
Argument 3.C.1 SRC strives to ensure that the overall composition of its faculty and staff reflects human diversity consistent with their mission and constituents and in alignment with college policies on Equal Opportunity, Civil Rights, Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation. It is the policy of the SRC to provide an educational, employment, and business environment free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on protected criteria. Policy 3.1.3 The HR Department uses multiple tools to extend our reach to diverse applicant pools of underrepresented populations for SRC. These populations are considered to be by race, gender, and generational. Positions are posted on a variety of sources including but not limited to: Indeed, HigherEdJobs.com, Local Agencies, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Hiring managers then develop a screening and interview committee for each open position. The HR Department continues to develop strategies to improve recruitment of underrepresented populations. 3.C.2 SRC currently employs 32 full-time faculty members and 40 part-time faculty members as reported on IPED's for fall 2020. Full-time faculty members are expected to teach 30 load hours per year (15 load hours per semester). The ratio of students to faculty is 16:1. This ratio encourages more relationship-building between students and faculty as well as smaller class sizes. The SRC Faculty Support Site in the Canvas platform is replacing the Faculty Handbook to provide employee information related to human resources, expectations for teaching, instructional support, professional development, performance evaluations, and student resources. All full-time faculty are involved in the oversight of the curriculum in their program or transfer area. Page 44
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
SRC has three full-time faculty serving as Division Chairs, an Allied Health Coordinator, and a Truck Driver Training Coordinator. These positions provide further consistency among the departments including improved communication with part-time faculty. Student expectations are communicated via course objectives and grading policies stated on each course syllabus as well as the use of assignment rubrics. Master Syllabus Template Additionally, SRC’s grading system information can be found in the 2021-2022 College Catalog, p. 65-67. All full-time faculty are encouraged to participate in non-classroom activities at SRC. Faculty will serve as advisors for various student organizations. Faculty are invited to participate in the college theme initiative. 2022 College theme. Many faculty participate by presenting and or expanding on college theme presentations by engaging students in discussions and assignments as it relates to their course. SRC’s Assessment Committee is a standing committee that operates under the direction of the faculty of SRC, including a faculty Assessment Coordinator on partial release. The Committee develops and monitors processes to assess student learning with the overall goal of continuous improvement. The Committee has worked diligently to implement new and revised assessment processes, including revision and branding of the general education competencies. Gen Ed Competencies document. The overarching framework that guides the assessment process at SRC is the Assessment Plan. Developed by the Assessment Committee, this document provides a strategy for development of processes and yearly rotation schedule for general education, program outcomes, and course-level assessment. 3.C.3 SRC specifically defines the employment relationship of instructional employees in its Employment Relationship and Employment of Part-Time Instructors policies and has established the academic credentials for instructional staff, which comply with the educational requirements of the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) and SRC’s Recruitment and Employment Eligibility Policy. Generally, transfer education programs require a master’s degree in the subject matter the instructor will teach. Career and technical education (CTE) programs require a minimum 2,000 hours’ work experience in addition to certification with a degree preferred unless the CTE program requires specific credentials. In addition, under State Statutes, SRC assesses and verifies during the hiring process the oral English proficiency of applicants considered for a classroom instruction position. Those assessed as not being proficient by the hiring supervisor will attain proficiency before providing classroom instruction. The credentials for full-time faculty are given in the job descriptions listed Faculty (Transfer) Faculty (CTE) Faculty (Nursing - CNA) Part-time Instructors (Adult Education) Part-time Instructors (CTE - Nursing Assistant) Part-time Instructors (CTE) Part-time Instructors (Developmental) Part-time Instructors (Transfer) Part-time faculty are expected to have the same credentials as their full-time colleagues, although job responsibilities may differ. In addition, any applicant meeting the required criteria for a position
Page 45
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
must complete a pre-employment criminal background check authorization form. As a condition of employment, satisfactory results of a criminal background check are required. The HR Department performs employment eligibility verification via the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on all new hires. All faculty members are properly credentialed including those in dual credit, contractual, and consortia programs. All applications for College instructional positions are screened by the hiring supervisor and may include faculty on screening committees to ensure that all credential requirements are met. Job applicants are required to provide a listing of their degrees and official transcripts. The SRC dual credit program allows high school students to earn high school credit and college credit simultaneously. The high school teachers who teach these courses are required to have the appropriate credentials and meet the same requirements as part-time faculty teaching in those programs. 3.C.4 Under the SRC Faculty Association Contract, (pg 22-25) full-time tenured faculty receive an administrative evaluation at least once every four years. The evaluation consists of classroom observations and a review of instructional planning. Students have the opportunity to complete a student evaluation of the instructor every semester through the Canvas learning management system. Results of student evaluations for full-time tenured faculty are analyzed and discussed with their respective dean every other spring. Full-time non-tenured faculty will receive an administrative evaluation at least once each semester during their first year. Administrative evaluations will be conducted on full-time non-tenured faculty at least once but not more than twice during their second and third years. They also are evaluated by two peers on their Peer Advisory Committee with in-class visits at least once per year for three years. There is a meeting with the Peer Advisory Committee at least once per year for these three years. Per college policy, part-time faculty evaluations are conducted by the instructional supervisor or his/her designee upon request by either party. P&P policy 3.6.1 A student evaluation is conducted every semester the part-time faculty member teaches for SRC. 3.C.5 An instructor’s professional development begins at SRC upon their hiring with a new faculty orientation completed by the HR Department. SRC provides funding for faculty professional development. Requests are funneled through the Instructional Resources Committee for consideration and approval. College Senate By-laws P.5 Instructors can submit a request to take sabbatical SRCFA contract 3.9 p.10 for furthering their education or project work that will benefit their teaching as well as requests to attend a job-related conference or workshop. Every August, faculty are required to attend Professional Development Day, which includes institutional updates and training sessions that may include an outside speaker or knowledge sharing among faculty members. PDD Agenda, In addition, part-time faculty fall kick-offs are held in August each year to update faculty on the instructional processes at SRC and answer any questions they may have. Kickoff Agenda. Data indicated that a low percentage of part-time faculty had been attending the kickoff in the past. For various reasons, the kickoff was done virtually in 2021. The result was more engagement of our parttime faculty. We will continue this process in the future to identify if this increased engagement continues. Increasingly, time is set aside on professional development days for advancing SRC's assessment of student learning. The Director of Academic Support provides faculty support in the areas of course design, best Page 46
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
practices for hybrid and online teaching formats, Learning Management System (Canvas) training, and instructional technology implementation. Support includes meeting with faculty one-on-one and sending necessary communications (i.e. submission of financial aid and midterm rosters, student evaluation instructions, and orientation materials for new faculty). The Faculty Support Site within Canvas provides a large percentage of support materials for faculty including tip sheets, general teaching resources, institutional resources, and accessibility guidelines. A self-paced accessibility course is also available in Canvas and can be used as a just-in-time resource when accessibility issues or questions arise. Additionally, a Summer Innovation Series is provided each year in June and July. This training course is also self-paced and typically includes 4-6 modules. Topics vary from year to year based on faculty needs and interests. SRC is committed to providing faculty with the instructional technology resources necessary to achieve student success. 3.C.6 Full-time faculty members are required to hold eight regularly scheduled on-campus hours per week as stated in the current SRCFA contract 4.3, page 13. Knowledge of these hours is made available to students on each course syllabus, are posted outside of faculty offices, are available through a shared drive accessible to all college employees, and are posted on the Learning Management System, Canvas. Faculty teaching online courses may provide online availability to their students. Part-time faculty are available by telephone or email outside of regular class time as per the P&P Manual 3.5.10 page 3. 3.C.7 At SRC, all positions have detailed job descriptions. These job descriptions state minimum requirements for eligibility including education and experience. Minimum requirements vary depending on the position and type of work to be performed. Student Services staff members provide student support in areas such as advising, financial aid, testing, career placement, and Veteran's Services. SRC Student Success Coaches work with students and faculty to provide academic, personal, and technological support. Success Coaches serve as advocates for students and work to make sure that students are aware of all available services, including both campus and community resources. Peer tutors are recommended by faculty, and professional tutors are posted positions where credentials are reviewed and candidates are interviewed before selecting the appropriate person. All tutors complete tutor training when they are first hired. Tutor training includes: documentation regarding the job description and student expectations. discussion of different types of tutoring scenarios. an overview of learning styles. ways to give various types of feedback. possible student issues. common anxieties associated with tutoring. Student Services staff members and Student Success Coaches are encouraged to participate in professional development. Membership opportunities often exist in State and Federal associations, for example, the Illinois Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Such associations educate members and promote professional development for their members.
Sources 3.C.1.1.1 P and P 3.1.3 Discrimination and Harassment Page 47
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
3.C.2.1.1 Canvas Faculty Support Page 3.C.2.2.1 Master Syllabus Template 3.C.2.3.1 College Theme 3.C.2.4.1 Assessment Committee By-laws 3.C.2.4.2 GEC Branding 3.C.2.4.3 Assessment Plan 3.C.3.1.1 P and P Employment Relationships and Types 3.C.3.1.2 P and P Recruitment and Employment Eligibility 3.C.3.2.1 Job Descriptions 3.C.3.3.1 P and P 3.5.4 Background Checks 3.C.4.1.1 SRCFA Contract Faculty Evaluation 3.C.4.3.1 P and P 3.6.1 Evaluation of Instruction Part-time Faculty 3.C.5.1.1 Senate By-laws page 5 3.C.5.1.2 SRCFA Contract Sabbaticals 3.C.5.1.3 Professional Development Day Agenda 3.C.5.1.4 Part-Time Faculty Kick Off Agenda FY21 3.C.6.1.1 SRCFA Contract Faculty Office Hours 3.C.6.1.2 P and P 3.5.10 Employment of Part-Time Faculty
Page 48
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
3.D - Core Component 3.D The institution provides support for student learning and resources for effective teaching. 1. The institution provides student support services suited to the needs of its student populations. 2. The institution provides for learning support and preparatory instruction to address the academic needs of its students. It has a process for directing entering students to courses and programs for which the students are adequately prepared. 3. The institution provides academic advising suited to its offerings and the needs of its students. 4. The institution provides to students and instructors the infrastructure and resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (technological infrastructure, scientific laboratories, libraries, performance spaces, clinical practice sites and museum collections, as appropriate to the institution’s offerings).
Argument 3.D.1 SRC supports student learning and effective teaching through a variety of academic support services. Student Services at SRC is a one-stop-shop and offers services to assist students. Services are available to students during business hours and also extended hours during peak registration times. Academic advisors and other College employees are available at all four College sites and are also able to assist students via email, phone, or video conference if an in-person appointment is not an option. SRC offers several approaches in support of student learning and effective teaching. Each site provides or connects students with support in: Academic advising Admissions Assessment and testing services Career exploration Disability support services Registration Financial aid Job placement Retention Student activities Veteran's Services These services are appropriate to meet the needs of all groups and demographics that make up SRC's student body, including dual credit students. The admission and registration process is critical to the access and retention of each student at SRC. The process starts with careful monitoring of course descriptions and prerequisites that are listed in the College Catalog. The catalog is available in print or online format. Page 49
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
SRC is committed to admitting and assisting through completion of first-generation and low-income students. TRiO-Student Support Services (SSS) is a grant program funded by the Department of Education available to students on both the Canton and Macomb Campus. SRC’s Career Services webpage includes information on career exploration, resources for individuals with disabilities, labor market information, and application/resume/interviewing resources. The webpage also includes popular, local job listing sites to aid students in their job search along with information regarding student employment at SRC. The newest addition to SRC’s Career Services is “Career Coach” which is an interactive career information tool that aids in career exploration and resume-building. Career workshops and job fairs are also offered through Student Services, TRIOSSS, and Community Outreach Departments. SRC strives to ensure awareness of mental health issues and resources. The SRC website provides students with resources for general health, nutrition, drug and alcohol, and other community resources. Suicide hotline posters are displayed throughout all campus sites. Canton and Macomb campuses display various health topics, including mental health topics, on bulletin boards in areas with high student traffic. The monthly newsletter, Snapper Chatter, contains a mental health topic each month and includes related contact information. In 2016, SRC began offering confidential counseling services by a licensed clinical social worker through a solution-based approach to therapy free of charge to students. According to their Mission Statement, the Financial Aid Office at SRC is committed to educating students and families about the resources available to help fund their education and guide them through the process from application to payment of aid each year. The Financial Aid Office assists with federal and state grants, scholarships, loans, and student work opportunities to new and returning students. The Financial Aid Office follows the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Statement of Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct. The Disability Services Office ensures that students with documented disabilities are afforded equal access to all college programs, activities, and services as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Disability Services Advisor reviews and evaluates disability documentation meets with students to discuss services and accommodations coordinates accommodations with the appropriate faculty members and provides general information regarding services to students, parents, high schools, and social service agencies. Review of the course schedule occurs before its release for fall and spring terms. The Academic Deans and Division Chairs along with support staff in the Instructional Department work to identify potential conflicts and ensure that needed courses are available to students and that delivery modes, course times, and usage of rooms are optimized. The course schedule is available on the SRC website in both printable and searchable formats. The SRC Bookstore provides options for students to buy textbooks in-store or online, as well as pickup or shipping options. Students may purchase books new or used and can also rent a majority of textbooks. All supply items, including book bags and laptops, can be charged against eligible financial aid during the posted charging period. 3.D.2 SRC has established testing and placement criteria to assess reading level, math proficiency, and writing skills. This is done to ensure students are placed in courses where they can reach their Page 50
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
potential and achieve their educational goals. SRC accepts ACT, SAT, GED-College Ready Scores, PWR Act-Transitional Codes, Accuplacer, and previous college course credit to determine placement. SRC will also review high school GPA and math courses to assist in placement determination. If a student's prior standardized test scores, high school GPA/math courses, or previous college coursework do not meet placement requirements, completion of the Accuplacer test will be required before registration. Students who have participated in the Advanced Placement (AP) program at their high school may also be eligible to receive college credit and placement into advanced courses at SRC by demonstrating proficiency in various subject areas. SRC also recognizes learning may occur during various life and work experiences and may grant credit for knowledge learned outside of the classroom as described in Policy 8.2.5 – Credit for Prior Learning. Students who do not place into college-level courses are offered an opportunity to increase their skills through our Developmental Education program. These courses include: RDG099 – Strategies and Tools for Reading, ENG 090 – Basic Writing, ENG 099 – Composition I Companion (Co-requisite course to ENG 101 Composition I, MAT 011 – Module-based Developmental Mathematics with Geometry MAT 015 – Module-based Beginning Algebra with Geometry MAT 060 – Module-based Intermediate Algebra with Geometry MAT 061 – Intermediate Algebra with Geometry The first Canvas Student Orientation was launched during the fall 2019 semester as a requirement to access spring 2020 courses in Canvas. This mandatory orientation is designed to help prepare students to successfully navigate any course, regardless of modality, in the learning management system, Canvas. The goal is to better prepare students before the start of class so they are more focused on course content rather than technical issues. Additionally, this would prevent more students from dropping a course and in turn, promote better retention. Once students complete the orientation, it is removed from their Canvas Dashboard. However, all of the orientation content can be found on our Learning Resource Center site within Canvas. All students are enrolled in this site at the beginning of each semester. To help students to prepare for their first semester in college, a New Student Orientation is offered on the Canton and Macomb campuses every fall semester. In response to students needing an alternative to coming to campus in the fall of 2020, the Canvas Student Orientation was expanded to include videos from various staff members as well as links to additional information about student services and academic support. This version has become the official online orientation and provides an option for students who are either unable to come to campus or are taking their first course in the spring semester. 3.D.3 Student Services develops and implements several retention initiatives to assist students in accomplishing their educational goals. Once admitted to SRC, each full-time student is assigned an academic advisor. Students are encouraged to meet with an academic advisor to develop an educational plan that meets the goals and requirements of their chosen curriculum and program. Part-time students are also encouraged to meet with an academic advisor before registering each Page 51
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
semester. The TRiO program piloted the use of Calendly, an online scheduling tool, to provide students with easy access to schedule an appointment with their TRiO advisor. Calendly provides efficiency by eliminating the back and forth of email communications with students when trying to find a mutually agreeable time to meet. The student receives a link and can click on open appointments in a calendar view. The Learning Resource Center soon followed and set up various avenues for students to schedule appointments with either Student Success Coach or the Library Services Coordinator. Student Services also recently implemented Calendly to assist students with scheduling advising appointments. Under the direction of the Student Services Department, all degree- or certificate-seeking students meet with academic advisors to establish an educational plan. Advisors meet with a majority of the student body even if the student is a returning student to SRC or plans to register via the web. During advising appointments, advisors and advisees work together on course selection, individualized longterm planning, transfer options, and career exploration. Instructional Deans, Division Chairs, and/or faculty members meet with advisors as needed to keep them abreast of changes with their programs and career areas. To provide both advisors and students the planning tools needed to effectively monitor academic progress, SRC has recently implemented a degree audit within Jenzabar, our student information system. Students now have the online tools to pre-plan for courses they need to complete degree requirements. Utilizing degree audits will positively impact academic performance and student retention while facilitating a stronger relationship between students and advisors. Students can view the degree audit summary which displays a high-level view of what the student has completed as well as what remains to be completed. 3.D.4 SRC provides a feature-rich, student-focused, centralized Learning Management System (Canvas). Within Canvas, all scheduled courses are provided a course site in which faculty must provide (at a minimum) a course syllabus, maintained gradebook, student evaluation, and student communications that utilize Canvas tools such as course mail or announcements. This provides consistency to students in knowing where to find course information, assignments, and grades and students can access Canvas from any location where internet service is available including a mobile app. (Policy 8.1.2 – General Operations - Instruction) All student evaluations are conducted online via the SmartEvals system. Every course in Canvas has a Course Evaluations link listed in the course menu. Evaluations become available to students when 80% of the course is complete. Two weeks before the evaluation start, faculty receive an email from the SmartEvals system that notifies them on what date the evaluation will begin and that they can add up to five questions to the evaluation form before that date. Students evaluate instructors for every course every semester. This provides faculty with valuable data to uncover trends within the feedback and where instructional changes might be needed. A Learning Resource Center (LRC) is located on each of our campuses in Canton and Macomb. The Canton LRC also serves as the physical library for SRC. The Learning Resource Center integrates academic support services and resources for students, faculty, and the SRC community to promote teaching effectiveness, student success, learning opportunities, and student retention. Page 52
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
In addition, the Library Services Coordinator is a master’s prepared librarian and can assist and support students with research and library literacy skills in the main library or the classroom on any of the four sites. Upon faculty request, the Library Services Coordinator will prepare a customized research and search tool (LibGuide Example) for students in any class on any campus, create a presentation on library sources and their use for any class on any campus, and will travel to the class on any of the four sites to teach research and database usage in the classroom. The Library Services Coordinator makes sure that students, faculty, and staff are aware of library resources and can access these resources on campus with a valid and up-to-date SRC Library Card/ID or at home with a valid my.src.edu student email address by accessing the LRC webpage to utilize the following: 1. Access and search the library’s online catalog as well as 23-25 (varies somewhat with each year) online databases of scholarly resources. Databases may also be searched from off-campus with a my.src.edu email address. The LRC has a written Collection Development Policy that directs accession of materials based on what is being taught at SRC. The Policy also contains copyright and library bill of rights language. 2. Special Collections may also be accessed through the catalog. Some of these special collections may only be used within the LRC. This includes a print Reference Collection and an extensive collection of illustrated art books, a collection of plays, and other print collections that support the curricula at SRC. Students and faculty on all campuses may request items through an Interlibrary Loan. The LRC receives daily deliveries through ILDS and this increases services to SRC’s students, faculty, and staff. The LRC is a member of the Resource Sharing Alliance (RSA) consortia. Students, faculty, and staff can place an ILL request on member libraries’ circulating materials. For other materials, requests can be made using the online ILL form on the LRC website. Once the LRC has received the item, LRC staff will notify the student or staff member that the requested item is available for pickup and/or route the item for pickup. The Learning Resource Centers also house two Student Success Coaches who are trained specialists that serve as an advocate for students. Services provided include general academic support and tutoring, managing early alert referrals submitted by faculty, and overall student consultation and communication of college and community resources. The Student Success Coaches also teach LA 100 Student Opportunity for Success. This course is designed to assist students in their transition into the college environment, to encourage their success and attainment of goals, and to foster relationships that will help facilitate their success. Students who are enrolled full-time at SRC and are on academic probation are required to take LA 100. The LRC provides tutoring services to students who are experiencing difficulty keeping up with coursework in the classroom. Students may receive tutoring from a peer tutor or online tutoring via Tutor.com. Beginning Spring 2020, peer tutors also offer online tutoring via Google Meet. Peer tutors are carefully selected students who are faculty-recommended and have completed the courses in which they tutor. Additionally, two professional tutors are available for students in the nursing program. The Director of Academic Support is a master’s prepared instructional designer. The Director provides training to full-time and part-time faculty for our Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas in the areas of functionality, course management, and course design consultation. Additionally, the Director assists in the use of instructional technologies that may or may not be used in conjunction with the LMS. The Faculty Support Site within Canvas provides a large percentage of
Page 53
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
support materials for faculty including tip sheets, general teaching resources, institutional resources, and accessibility guidelines. Additionally, a Summer Innovation Series is provided each year in June and July. This training course is self-paced and typically includes 4-6 modules. Topics vary from year to year based on faculty needs and interests. SRC has several well-equipped science laboratories on each campus. On the Canton Campus, four science labs are utilized for physics, biology, and chemistry courses. In the past three years, significant updates to the Chemistry Lab and two Biology Labs have been completed. On the Macomb Campus, two science labs meet the needs of biology and chemistry courses. The most recent science lab was added in 2018 to further specifically meet the growing needs of our Anatomy/Physiology courses. These labs are managed, supplied, and scheduled to support all lab courses under the direction of our faculty and division chair within the science area. In addition, SRC offers online biology courses in which students purchase a biology lab kit and/or everyday household supplies to complete laboratory experiments at a location of their choosing. In addition to laboratory settings on campuses, SRC faculty and staff work with local agencies and workforce partners to provide opportunities for internships and clinical practice. This allows for work-based learning to take place in actual workplace settings. SRC has almost 1000 desktop computers for staff, faculty, students, and the community at five locations that include two campuses, two centers, and an outreach center. Technology infrastructure includes a total of 95 technology-enhanced classrooms. This includes 54 standard classrooms with 41 computer labs as well as open labs that are available to students to use at any time of the day. SRC has recently transformed 15 standard classrooms to flex classrooms. These classrooms have dual capability with a streaming option along with face-to-face instruction. SRC also has two cyber cafés with computers for social computing that include power outlets with USB ports for mobile devices. Every technology-enhanced classroom has a similar setup for ease of use and typically includes desktop projection, sound system, document camera, and a DVD player. Faculty, students, and staff have access to services on the SRC portal (My SRC). The services are available based on their roles. Faculty have access to their class roster and can submit their financial aid and midterm rosters as well as final student grades. Students can add or drop classes, lookup course, and fee statements, grades, unofficial transcripts, and sign up for a payment schedule. During the summer of 2015, the College upgraded the Interactive Video System (IVS) that’s used for synchronous distance learning classes to a highly collaborative system called Mondopad. These flexible classrooms are equipped with two touchscreen monitors – one for video transmission and the other is used as a whiteboard. This system is capable of allowing students to join the class remotely if they are not able to make it to the campus due to unforeseen situations. The remote user can join using the ConX app and it also supports Google Meet and Zoom. Multiple distance learning classes with an instructor at one location and students at multiple locations have been regularly scheduled every semester. Dual credit students also utilize the system. One of our instructors teaches from an SRC campus to students located at one of the district high schools. The average number of classes scheduled on the IVS system is around 18 classes with a total of 230 students and at an average of 750 credit hours annually. There was a significant increase in distance learning classes scheduled (23) during 2019 and 2020. This system has been extensively used for College committee meetings like College Senate, Curriculum, Instructional Resources, and Foundation meetings. President’s council and faculty Page 54
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
meetings are conducted over the IVS system.
Sources 3.D.1.3.1 Course Descriptions and Prerequisites 3.D.1.5.1 Trio Student Support Services Webpage 3.D.1.6.1 Career Services Webpage 3.D.1.6.2 Career Coach Access Web Page 3.D.1.6.3 Career Coach Workshop Series Flyer 3.D.1.6.4 Job Fair 2021 3.D.1.7.1 Snapper Chatter - Canton 3.D.2.1.1 Testing and Placement Criteria 3.D.2.3.1 Policy 8.2.5 Credit for Prior Learning 3.D.2.4.1 RDG 099 Strategies and Tools for Reading Syllabus 3.D.2.4.2 ENG 090 Basic Writing Syllabus 3.D.2.4.3 ENG 099 Composition 1 Companion Syllabus 3.D.2.4.4 MAT 011 Module-Based Developmental Mathematics with Geometry Syllabus 3.D.2.4.5 MAT 015 Module-Based Beginning Algebra with Geometry Syllabus 3.D.2.4.6 MAT 060 Module-Based Intermediate Algebra with Geometry Syllabus 3.D.2.4.7 MAT 061 Intermediate Algebra with Geometry Syllabus 3.D.2.5.1 Canvas Student Orientation Modules 3.D.2.5.2 Learning Resource Center Canvas Site 3.D.4.1.1 Policy 8.1.2 General Operations - Instruction 3.D.4.11.1 FacultySupportSite Modules in Canvas 3.D.4.11.2 Summer Innovation Series - Faculty Professional Development 3.D.4.3.1 Learning Resource Center Website 3.D.4.4.1 LibGuide Example - PSY239 3.D.4.5.1 SRC Collection Development Policy 3.D.4.6.1 Learning Resource Center Catalog 3.D.4.8.1 Student Success Coach Job Description 3.D.4.9.1 LA 100 -Student Opportunity for Success Syllabus
Page 55
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
3.S - Criterion 3 - Summary The institution provides quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.
Summary Committed faculty and staff at SRC work to ensure that SRC provides high-quality education regardless of the modes in which education is delivered. Robust program reviews, advisory committee meetings, and additional program accrediting agencies assist in ensuring that SRC programs are current and rigorous. Our system of master syllabi including course objectives and program outcomes ensures quality and consistency across all modes of delivery and locations of SRC. SRC’s general education program is the foundation of all associate degrees awarded. SRC offers a number of degree and certificate options to meet the diverse needs of the district residents. In addition, SRC promotes awareness of diversity through a variety of instructional and supporting programs/initiatives. SRC offers quality programs and student services thanks to our qualified faculty and staff. All job descriptions state minimum requirements, education and experience. SRC has the policies and processes in place to ensure that faculty remain current in their disciplines. SRC supports student learning and effective teaching through a variety of academic support services including student advising, TRIO Student Support Services, Learning Resource Center, and our student-focused LMS. The infrastructure and resources at SRC support effective teaching and learning through technology advances and updated facilities within classrooms, labs, and clinical spaces.
Sources There are no sources.
Page 56
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
4 - Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.
4.A - Core Component 4.A The institution ensures the quality of its educational offerings. 1. The institution maintains a practice of regular program reviews and acts upon the findings. 2. The institution evaluates all the credit that it transcripts, including what it awards for experiential learning or other forms of prior learning, or relies on the evaluation of responsible third parties. 3. The institution has policies that ensure the quality of the credit it accepts in transfer. 4. The institution maintains and exercises authority over the prerequisites for courses, rigor of courses, expectations for student learning, access to learning resources, and faculty qualifications for all its programs, including dual credit programs. It ensures that its dual credit courses or programs for high school students are equivalent in learning outcomes and levels of achievement to its higher education curriculum. 5. The institution maintains specialized accreditation for its programs as appropriate to its educational purposes. 6. The institution evaluates the success of its graduates. The institution ensures that the credentials it represents as preparation for advanced study or employment accomplish these purposes. For all programs, the institution looks to indicators it deems appropriate to its mission.
Argument 4.A.1 Per Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) requirements, SRC periodically conducts program reviews to maintain the highest quality of education. Reviews are held on a five-year rotational basis for career/technical programs and general education/academic discipline areas. (Program Reviews from 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 are provided.) Program reviews include a comprehensive evaluation of each program/academic discipline that may include objectives, occupational demand, employment outlook, costs as compared to state and college averages, review of facilities and equipment, transferability/articulation of courses, review of syllabi, appropriateness of delivery systems, strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations for change. The Chief Academic Officer is responsible for the supervision and completion of regular program reviews and reports the findings to the BOT, the Curriculum Committee, and the College Senate to aid in datadriven decision-making. Program reviews are available to the public upon request. Program reviews have effected such changes as the implementation of Open Education Resources (OER) where possible to reduce textbook costs for students, the deletion of nonoperational courses Page 57
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
from the College Catalog, changes to existing syllabi of current courses, and facility improvements such as new science labs on the Canton and Macomb campuses as can be seen in a tour of SRC facilities. Program reviews have also drawn attention to the lack of review in certain concentration areas such as our Criminal Justice concentration, prompting a new rotational review of concentration areas. This will assure that any area not expressly reviewed for ICCB will be reviewed by and for the College. 4.A.2 As per the College Catalog, academic credit is accepted only from regionally accredited institutions. College transfer credit, credit for the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), International Baccalaureate, (IB), academic credit for military service, and credit for prior learning are all considered upon receipt of documentation and verification that identified performance requirements have been met. This information can be accessed on the College website. Credit is only considered for transfer upon receipt of official transcripts or exam scores and must meet performance levels as established by SRC; coursework from other colleges must be 100-level or above with a grade of C or better; CLEP/AP test scores must meet minimum standards and score levels depending on the type of credit being sought. Experiential learning opportunities at SRC include internships and coop experiences that are supervised by faculty within the program for which credit will be granted as well as by an on-site supervisor. As stated in the College Catalog, most of our Allied Healthcare Career students participate in a supervised internship course as part of the curriculum for their field of study near the end of the student’s curriculum. It is our goal that this course will provide students with an opportunity to transfer their knowledge of healthcare-related practices learned in the classroom to a real work situation. When all internships are done, the student is then responsible for working a minimum of 100 unpaid hours for the Phlebotomy Certificate and 225 unpaid hours for the Health Information Management Degree and all other Certificates (except Medical Transcription). SRC grants credit through a proficiency exam process as outlined in the College catalog and the Proficiency Exam Protocol. The Protocol is updated every year by the Division Chairs. Proficiency exams are available for a select group of courses, and students may be granted credit upon demonstration of competency (70%) in these subject areas. 4.A.3 SRC’s transfer credit policy is outlined in the current College Catalog and details the type of coursework that may be accepted for transfer credit, as well as the steps a student must take to have such coursework evaluated for credit. All credit awarded is audited by the College Registrar. Upon completion of the evaluation, courses accepted as transfer credit are entered on the student’s SRC transcript by the Record Office. SRC’s graduation policy, as stated in the current College Catalog and the Policy and Procedures Manual, limits the number of transfer credits that may be used to earn a degree or certificate. Specifically, students earning an Associate’s Degree must meet the residency requirements with a minimum of 15 completed credit hours at SRC. One-third of the total credit hours completed must be in-residence for all other programs and certificates. Page 58
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
4.A.4 SRC designates prerequisites for courses that are stated in the course description of the College Catalog. Prerequisites are also displayed on the course schedule and in course syllabi. All prerequisites must be in the initial course proposal for consideration and approval by the College governance system. Any changes made thereafter to a prerequisite must also be approved through the College governance system. SRC believes in maintaining a high level of standards for academic success, and the rigor and levelappropriateness of courses are assured through the College governance system. New course proposals must include detailed information including course number, credit hour, objectives, and a proposed course syllabus. Rigor is assured through the expectations of time spent inside and outside the classroom, tasks to be completed, and level of performance associated with each letter grade. All working syllabi contain the same basic information as outlined in this example. As seen in the example, also listed in each syllabus are the Master Course Objectives, Program Outcomes, and General Education Competencies which help lay the foundation for the expectations for student learning. As mentioned previously, SRC participates in the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI). This statewide agreement requires review of a course to ensure that the expectations of the General Education Core Curriculum are being met before a course receives IAI approval. Regular review of courses is required to maintain the IAI designation. SRC currently offers 65 IAI General Education courses and 29 IAI Major courses. Learning resources are provided via several areas of SRC: Learning Resource Centers TRIO – Student Support Services Athlete Study Times Faculty support is provided via the Director, Academic Support. This position also oversees the Learning Resource Center on both the Canton and Macomb campuses, which includes student success and library services. The Director of Academic Support reports to the Dean of Instruction. The Learning Resource Centers (LRC) provide an effective and inviting learning environment where students can find support from Student Success Coaches, receive peer or professional tutoring, receive information for online tutoring, a quiet place to study, and resources for other life issues such as transportation, child care, food insecurity, etc. The LRC annual reports from 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 are provided. The College Library, found within the Learning Resource Center, contains resources in print, media, and online, and it assists with research and inter-library loan. This information is found within the same LRC reports referenced above. The TRIO-SSS program is a grant-funded, student-centered resource open to students who meet specific criteria: first-generation college student, low-income college student (with specific guidelines), or a student with documented disability. For these students, TRIO provides many services such as advising, tutoring, laptop lending, cultural trips, scholarships, transfer support, etc. The TRIO program has recently expanded to all four of our campuses with services available at the Macomb and Canton campuses under the supervision of the Director of Student Support Services Page 59
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Grant. SRC provides a feature-rich, student-focused, centralized Learning Management System (Canvas). Within Canvas, all scheduled courses are provided a course site in which faculty must provide (at a minimum) a course syllabus, maintained gradebook, student evaluation, and student communications that utilize Canvas tools such as course mail or announcements. This provides consistency to students in knowing where to find course information, assignments, and grades and students can access Canvas from any location where internet service is available including a mobile app. Beginning Spring 2020, all SRC students are required to complete a Canvas student orientation to better prepare themselves to use Canvas and consequently increase retention. The qualifications required for full-time and part-time faculty positions within program areas are outlined in the SRC faculty job descriptions. The job descriptions identify the general qualifications associated with each faculty rank, which include Faculty (FT) in Career & Technical Education (CTE), CTE-Nursing, CTE-CNA, Transfer Education, and Developmental Education along with Adjunct Instructors in Adult Education, CTE-Nursing Assistant CNA, Career & Technical Education (CTE), Developmental Education, and Transfer Education. All qualifications align with regulations outlined by the Illinois Community College Board Program Approval Manual. Per the Illinois Dual Credit Quality Act, all learning outcomes and levels of achievement must be the same for dual credit courses as those courses taught by on-campus delivery methods. A side-by-side comparison of the Statistics working syllabus from a full-time faculty member and a dual credit instructor illustrates that the same outcomes and levels of achievement are used in both courses. Per the Illinois Dual Credit Act, “Approved instructors of dual credit courses shall meet any of the faculty credential standards allowed by the Higher Learning Commission to determine minimally qualified faculty.” SRC applies this standard to all dual credit courses including CTE and Developmental Education courses. Dual credit instructors must have the same qualifications as outlined in the Adjunct Instructor job descriptions referenced above. 4.A.5 SRC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association with two of our programs maintaining specialized accreditation. The SRC Associate Degree Nursing Program is accredited by ACEN (Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing). Students passing licensure exams for ADN and LPN have been consistently high, often at the 100% pass rate during the past several years. The SRC nursing program is approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, IDFPR, as a state nursing education ladder program. The SRC Medical Laboratory Technician program has received recognition for achieving “Serious Applicant Status” for initial accreditation with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). Once our Healthcare Career students have completed the supervised internship course, they are then eligible to take a national certification exam through National Healthcareer Association (NHA). If students are pursuing the Phlebotomy Technician Certificate, they take the Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) exam, and other students that are pursuing the HIM Degree or other certificates choose either the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) exam and/or the Certified Medical Page 60
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Administrative Assistant (CMAA) exam, depending upon their interest in clinical or administrative work. Our pass rate over the last few years with NHA has consistently been around 95%. 4.A.6 SRC evaluates graduates of the various programs in several ways. For each of SRC’s CTE Programs, an Advisory Committee is in operation. One of the roles of the Advisory Committees is to report on the general level of student success in employment post-graduation. In many of the SRC’s CTE Programs, internships are a required part of the curriculum. Part of the internship process is reporting on the student’s preparedness for employment. During the fall advisory meetings of the Diesel and Power Systems Technology program, faculty members discuss sophomore students currently on internships, freshman students’ skills and areas of interest, and graduates' successes. Each year, the Illinois Community College Board asks each Illinois community college to research college CTE graduates to determine their employment status, as well as levels of annual income. As stated earlier, SRC participates in the Illinois Articulation Initiative as a method to ensure transferability of college graduates. In working with the Illinois Articulation Institute and partnering universities, SRC continues to enter agreements to ensure transferability of credits to baccalaureate institutions. SRC participates in several degree completion partnerships to facilitate successful transfer to a senior institution. This listing of partnerships can be found in the College Catalog.
Sources 4A.1.1.1 Program Review 2016-2017 4A.1.1.2 Program Review 2017-2018 4A.1.1.3 Program Review 2018-2019 4A.1.1.4 Program Review 2019-2020 4A.1.1.5 Program Review 2020-2021 4A.1.2.1 Syllabus showing use of OER 4A.1.2.2 Senate Minutes Course Deletion 4A.1.2.3 Senate Minutes Syllabus Changes 4A.1.2.4 Concentration Review 4A.2.1.1 College Catalog Academic Credit 4A.2.1.2 Credit for Prior Learning 4A.2.5.1 Experiential Learning Example 4A.2.6.1 Proficiency Exams Catalog 4A.2.6.2 Proficiency Exam Division Chair 4A.3.1.1 Transfer Credit Catalog 4A.3.2.1 Graduation Requirements Catalog 4A.3.2.2 Graduation Requirement Policy and Procedure 4A.4.1.1 Prerequisites in Course Proposal 4A.4.1.2 Prerequisite Changes and College Senate 4A.4.10.1 FT CTE Job Description 4A.4.10.2 Nursing Faculty Job Description 4A.4.10.3 CNA Job Description 4A.4.10.4 Transfer Education Job Description
Page 61
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
4A.4.10.5 Developmental Education Job Description 4A.4.10.6 Adjunct Adult Ed Job Description 4A.4.10.7 Nursing Assistant Job Decscription 4A.4.10.8 Adjunct Instructor Dev Ed Job Description 4A.4.10.9 Adjunct Instuctor Transfer Ed Job Description 4A.4.11.1 FT Faculty Syllabus 4A.4.11.2 Dual Credit Syllabus 4A.4.2.1 Rigor in Working Syllabi 4A.4.2.1 Rigor shown in syllabus 4A.4.3.1 Dual Credit Working Syllabus 4A.4.3.1 IAI General Education Courses 4A.4.3.2 IAI Major Courses 4A.4.7.1 LRC Report 2018-2019 4A.4.7.2 LRC Report 2019-2020 4A.4.8.1 TRIO-SSS Full Narrative 4A.5.2.1 ACEN Email 4A.5.2.2 Nursing Pass Rates 4A.5.2.3 IDFPR 4A.5.3.1 Serious Applicant Status 4A.5.4.1 NHA 4A.5.4.2 NHA Pass Rates 4A.6.1.1 Advisory Meeting 4A.6.3.1 Degree Partnerships
Page 62
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
4.B - Core Component 4.B The institution engages in ongoing assessment of student learning as part of its commitment to the educational outcomes of its students. 1. The institution has effective processes for assessment of student learning and for achievement of learning goals in academic and cocurricular offerings. 2. The institution uses the information gained from assessment to improve student learning. 3. The institution’s processes and methodologies to assess student learning reflect good practice, including the substantial participation of faculty, instructional and other relevant staff members.
Argument 4.B.1 The College’s assessment effort has been guided for several years by a College-wide Assessment Committee. The Committee’s work is guided by members of full-time faculty, the Dean of Instruction, the Dean of Career and Workforce Education, a student advisor, and the Director of Academic Support, with a compensated full-time faculty member serving as chair. The faculty members of the committee are selected by their colleagues or recruited by the appropriate dean. The committee operates according to its bylaws and reports regularly to the full faculty and the College Senate. SRC assesses student learning at three levels: General Education Competencies (GECs), Program Assessment, and classroom assessment. General Education Competencies The assessment of SRC’s General Education Competencies (GECs) is overseen by the Assessment Committee. The Assessment Committee recently voted to maintain the current assessment tool but to make participation each semester a requirement for all faculty with a six-semester rotation focusing on one GEC per semester. Each instructor will be enrolled in a Canvas course as a student with one assignment, that being to administer an assessment within their classroom about the highlighted GEC and to provide a report to the committee on that GEC by the date grades are due to the College. The GECs were ‘Branded’ through marketing with our GECs condensed to one word and put on tshirts as though they are a shell for our turtle mascot. On the back of the t-shirt, the GEC and the semester it will be highlighted are printed as though they are tour dates for a rock band. These tshirts were given to all full-time faculty at our fall Professional Development Day along with a poster for faculty member offices listing a single focus word for each GEC accompanied by a full explanation. The branding of the GEC’s and related t-shirts and posters are intended to highlight the need for assessment throughout the academic year. Training was done during both the part-time and full-time faculty Professional Development days providing examples of exemplar works in assessment of the Communication GEC. Faculty were then encouraged to talk among different curricular areas about how communication is important in their given field and how they as instructors can assess the level of communication their students have Page 63
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
attained. When looking over past reports it became apparent that writing APA style was an issue for students in many courses and this was shared with the appropriate department to address the deficit with students. The Assessment Committee hopes that by requiring this assessment from all instructors, areas of strength and weakness will continue to uncover themselves and can continue to be addressed by our faculty. Program Assessment All of our programs become part of the ICCB Program Review process, as stated earlier. The addition of division chairs in this process has greatly increased the effectiveness of the review and the likelihood that needed changes in the program are recognized and addressed promptly. Any changes which need to occur that cause a course syllabus or degree/certification alteration must follow the protocol of College Governance. Further assessment of some of our CTE programs, such as those in healthcare, is evidenced through individual licensure of students that must be completed before employment is granted. Furthermore, 2020 was the fifth straight year of 100% pass rates in our Licensed Practical Nursing classes, as shown earlier. Many different assessments are taken into account including transfer rates and employment rates with compensation rates. Classroom Assessment Individual classrooms are assessed in many ways including the Peer Assistance Committee assessment during the tenure process, administrator assessment during the tenure process and every four years thereafter, student evaluations are conducted after each semester, and Course-Level assessments are completed by each instructor during each academic year. Instructors are required to meet with the appropriate Dean or designee every four years to discuss a classroom observation and every two years to discuss student evaluations. Together the instructor and the Dean identify areas that need improvement and create a plan to make those improvements a reality. The Course-Level Assessment report assesses a learning outcome from an individual course. These reports are reviewed by administration, especially the portion that speaks to budgeting and support needed to make improvements. The Assessment Committee has determined this is an area in which improvement can be made. At present, this information is shared between only the faculty member creating the report and the administrator of record. This information should be shared among Departments to discuss areas and methods of improvement that need to occur. The Assessment Committee will create a form for reporting the assessment of learning outcomes that will automatically generate a report for each department that can be shared and discussed within department meetings. One last assessment is the display of student work. Art students display their artwork at SRC and center their work on a general theme. This year, the College Theme, “Who can? We can! The will to Overcome” was used as the theme with students creating art and a narrative to explain how their art relates to the theme. The science department, and any other instructors who would like to join, have students compete in a poster session on the Macomb and Canton Campuses. 4.B.2 As stated earlier, Program Reviews and feedback are shared with the entire college through the Institutional Effectiveness Committee, and Curriculum Committee and are available for further review upon request. These reviews allow SRC to take an internal look at all courses and programs offered and evaluate the effectiveness of each program and the future needs to sustain the programs Page 64
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
or the appropriateness of discontinuing a program or individual course within said program. These program reviews are required by and critiqued by, the ICCB with recommendations provided from the ICCB. The new concentration reviews will also be shared with the Institutional Effectiveness Committee, Curriculum Committee, and the College Senate. In all cases, any changes in curriculum or processes are managed through the College Governance System. As stated earlier, General Education Competency Assessments from faculty are reviewed by the Assessment Committee. A report is compiled and presented to the part-time and full-time faculty with recommendations for improvement when deficiencies are seen, as was done with improving the citing of sources and APA style writing shared with faculty this fall. As stated earlier, Course-Level Assessment Reports are reviewed by administration, especially the portion that speaks to budgeting and support needed to make improvements. Classroom Assessments, as discussed earlier, allow the faculty member and the Dean or supervisor to create and implement a plan for improvement for the faculty member based on classroom observations and student evaluations. Co-curricular evaluation is a work in progress. Co-curricular programs are assessed in part through administering the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSEE) instrument every three years. Co-curriculars are also assessed through a survey provided to each student with the answers to those surveys coming to the Assessment Committee. The number of students participating in the survey was small, but the feedback was beneficial. A need for more in-person activities for students was a strong theme throughout student responses. the lack of activities was due to Covid protocol, the information that students desire the in-person activities was valuable. This feedback is shared with advisors of our various clubs and more activities, especially intramural events were planned for Fall 2021. Unfortunately, students have been reluctant to participate thus far. 4.B.3 After attending Assessment Conferences, best practice ideas for assessment are shared with the Assessment Committee and decisions are made for our assessment practices throughout SRC. One such change came after an assessment conference in 2019. Those notes highlighted in the document were used to drive the training provided to our faculty in Fall of 2021, as mentioned earlier. Brainstorming on assessment of communication skills as well as collaboration between different subject areas created a fun, non-threatening atmosphere for faculty to talk about assessment and how to accomplish this within their classrooms. SRC also seeks best assessment practices from similar institutions Branding of the General Education Competencies was an idea born after a member of the Assessment Committee attended a conference session outlining branding within a nursing assistant program at a similar institution. The cocurricular assessment tool is under review using, as guidance, a survey given at a similar institution. SRC also seeks best assessment practices from current faculty. At least twice per year, faculty members share their assessment tools at the request of the appropriate Dean. The use of DAQs, or Do Ahead Questions, was shared at a recent faculty meeting. This was especially timely as more and more courses are moving to a hybrid or fully online format. Another faculty member shared her method of assessment for the Communication GEC. SRC believes in the expertise of the faculty and highlights this expertise to help with best practices for all. Page 65
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Assessment information is shared with the Board of Trustees each year. The progression of assessment within SRC is evidenced by the following discussion with the BOT in 2019. Change is ongoing and will continue with the expectations of sustained improvement.
Sources 4B.1.1.1 Assessment Bylaws 4B.1.3.1 GEC Rotation 4B.1.3.2 Branding 4B.1.3.3 Tshirt Design 4B.1.3.4 Tshirt Back 4B.1.3.5 Poster 4B.1.4.1 PDD PowerPoint 4B.1.4.3 PDD FT Faculty 4B.1.5.1 Program and Course Changes 4B.1.5.2 Nursing Pass Rates 4B.1.5.2a 100 Percent 4B.1.5.2b Nursing Pass Rates 4B.1.6.1 Evaluation 4B.1.6.2 Peer Assistance Committee 4B.1.7.1 Course Level Assessment 4B.1.8.1 Art Display 4B.1.8.2 Poster Session 4B.2.1.1 IE Minutes Program Review 4B.2.1.2 CC Minutes Program Review 4B.2.1.3 College Senate Minutes 4B.2.2.1 GEC Improvement 4B.2.5.1 CCSSEE Comparison PowerPoint 2019 4B.2.5.2 Co-Curricular Survey 4B.2.5.3 Co-curricular Survey Results 4B.2.5.4 Co-Curricular Offerings 4B.3.1.1 Assessment Conference Notes 4B.3.2.1 Ideas from Other Institutions 4B.3.3.1 Faculty Share Assessment Tools 4B.3.4.1 Assessment Shared with BOT
Page 66
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
4.C - Core Component 4.C The institution pursues educational improvement through goals and strategies that improve retention, persistence and completion rates in its degree and certificate programs. 1. The institution has defined goals for student retention, persistence and completion that are ambitious, attainable and appropriate to its mission, student populations and educational offerings. 2. The institution collects and analyzes information on student retention, persistence and completion of its programs. 3. The institution uses information on student retention, persistence and completion of programs to make improvements as warranted by the data. 4. The institution’s processes and methodologies for collecting and analyzing information on student retention, persistence and completion of programs reflect good practice. (Institutions are not required to use IPEDS definitions in their determination of persistence or completion rates. Institutions are encouraged to choose measures that are suitable to their student populations, but institutions are accountable for the validity of their measures.)
Argument 4.C.1 SRC has defined goals for student retention, persistence, and completion as stated in the strategic enrollment management plan action items developed by the Advocates for College Enrollment (ACE) team. The goals are based on the IPEDS Fall Enrollment Survey. The goals are also benchmarked with other peer institutions and are available for public view and comparison on the reports page of the SRC website. Specifically, SRC’s fall-to-fall persistence/retention rate for full-time students is 67% which exceeds the goal for FY2022 of 62%. The part-time retention rate of 71% also exceeds the FY2022 goal of 70%. The completion metric graduation rate is also based on IPEDS data. The current graduation rate is 38% which exceeds the FY2022 target of 30%. SRC has taken a closer look at performance by gender and ethnicity. At the July 2019 BOT Retreat, research was presented that females of color are succeeding at rates similar to or slightly higher than the average students. The data shows that there are some significant differences in male students of color. SRC will continue to focus on how to provide support for these students. SRC prioritizes improving retention rates in all of its career and technical education programs. All programs consider curriculum review, teaching strategies, and tutoring strategies when addressing retention rates. The early referral system is also beneficial in referring students who are struggling with social or academic progress to academic success coaches. The SRC nursing program was recently granted initial accreditation by the Accreditation Committee for Education in Nursing (ACEN). The ACEN review indicated a need for SRC to continue to implement strategies to improve our program completion rate. These issues and opportunities for improvement are discussed at each monthly nursing faculty meeting. Several areas of SRC have also established goals for student retention, persistence, and completion that reflect our mission across different student populations’ needs. SRC’s Trio Support Services Page 67
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
2020-2025 grant establishes specific and measurable goals for persistence, good academic standing, and graduation/transfer. The grant also documents plans for improving retention of the targeted student populations. While SRC’s current strategic plan does not set specific goals around retention, persistence, and completion, the College has made “student success” a priority. The plan includes strategic objectives that focus on goal attainment, helping students achieve their career goals, and identifying and working to eliminate barriers to student success. The SRC Financial Aid office also assists with persistence goals by following federal and state laws that chart students' progress toward graduation within a specific timeframe and with a minimum G.P.A. Those guidelines include requiring students to enroll only in approved degree-seeking or certificate programs and to graduate within a specific window of time. 4.C.2 SRC collects and analyzes information on student retention, persistence, and completion of its programs. This data is reported to ICCB and available on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, IPEDS website. The Enrollment Management Team (EMT) was dissolved and Advocates of College Enrollment (ACE) was created in the Fall of 2017 because EMT had become too large. Lead members noticed that subcommittees were able to get more accomplished, perhaps because individuals felt more active in a small group setting. Second, EMT consistently gave updates from each department present. Many departments were represented, so many updates were given – in time, members felt the meeting was becoming more about updates and less about action. ACE is smaller, more proactive, and able to support the SRC’s mission and vision. Membership of ACE is comprised of key staff at SRC: Dean of Student Services, Dean of Career Programs, Dean of Instruction, Coordinator of Institutional Research, Director of Enrollment Services, Director of Marketing, and one faculty member. The ACE team developed a strategic enrollment management plan with a focus in the areas of: Marketing, Visibility, and Image Recruitment Enrollment Persistence and Retention By meeting on a bi-monthly basis, the team is positioned to respond to market, programmatic, and enrollment changes, and also able to identify future areas of opportunity. The ACE team uses key data (10-day enrollment reports, high school data reports, IPEDS data) and best practices to develop goals and action items that align with the SRC’s Strategic Plan. The Learning Resource Centers and the Student Success Coaches play a huge role in student retention and persistence. The College’s Early Alert System allows faculty to connect at-risk students with a Student Success Coach or TRIO advisor to help the student navigate issues that may block the road to success. Some examples of trials these students need to overcome are childcare, time management, mental health, technology deficiencies, food insecurity, etc. Food pantries have been established at both the Canton and Macomb campuses and transportation from the Canton Campus to Page 68
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Canton proper has been launched to ensure access to food and stores for necessary items. When the Student Success Coach does not have an answer, a referral to an appropriate resource is made. The College Theme is in the twelfth year overall and the fifth year for presentations. Faculty members, as well as one student, provide a short talk on how the college theme relates to their field of study. The purpose of the college theme is to highlight the similarities and uniqueness of academic disciplines and career fields so that our students may better understand and appreciate the importance and value of general education coursework. Instead of seeing different academic disciplines/career & technical programs as disconnected or competing with one another, the college theme encourages students to see the overlap in academic disciplines and appreciate the contributions that various fields make. Students are encouraged to attend these talks simply for the sake of learning. Before COVID, attendance was 80-90 in Canton and 30-40 in Macomb. The numbers this year have been closer to 40-50 in Canton and 15-25 in Macomb. SRC feels this contributes to student retention in that it engages the students in activities outside of the regular classroom. The TRIO program affects student retention, persistence, and completion in a profound manner. Careful statistics on retention, persistence, and completion are gathered to maintain the grant funding behind this program. Before fall of 2020, only the Macomb Campus received the TRIO funding with Canton then being added to the funding and TRIO services at that time. Students receiving these services are typically at-risk students due to being first-generation college students, having low socioeconomic status, or having a documented disability. The retention, persistence, and completion of TRIO students are on par with the rest of the SRC students due in large part to this support the program can provide and is evidenced in the TRIO Summary Results for the Standard Objectives Report. 4.C.3 The College uses data to make necessary changes to enhance student retention, persistence, and completion of programs. A partial list of recent changes includes the following: Development of the Mandatory Canvas Student Orientation: To help students prepare for their first semester in college, SRC developed a mandatory Canvas Student Orientation based on positive results of a similar implementation at a sister institution. Since the implementation at SRC, a survey conducted each semester has shown students have felt more prepared after taking the online orientation. Implementation of OpenAthens Single-Sign-On for easier access to library resources by all students both on and off-campus: While the transfer to the OpenAthens systems was based on more anecdotal information regarding the number of library card requests received outside of library hours, OpenAthens can track usage statistics that the old system could not provide as seen in the OpenAthens Spring 2021 report. Transition to Open Education Resources (OER) where feasible to save on the cost of college for students: Research was conducted by the Director of Academic Support and Library Services Coordinator utilizing articles and papers from various sources and attending workshops. While an OER pilot began with just a few sections, cost-saving results have been realized and reported to ICCB. Addition of the TRIO Program to the Canton Campus to support students at an additional location: The 2020 SRC TRIO-SSS Student Needs Narrative from the grant application outlines data collected and reviewed to determine the broadened need across both campuses. Addition of the early alert system to connect at-risk students with Student Success Coaches, Page 69
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
TRIO Advisors, and Athletic Coaches: Evidence of this can be found in the LRC Annual Report. Establishment of the student needs committee along with four sub-committees which include Food Insecurity, Financial Awareness, Mental Health, and Childcare, Housing, and Transportation: The establishment of the committee was based on the Student Needs Survey completed in Fall 2019. 4.C.4 SRC submits reports to the State governing board, ICCB, on an annual basis. These reports include all student information, course and section information, and instructor information. Overall completion and graduation rates are noted for students graduating within 150% and 200% of their allotted time for a degree to correspond with our report submissions to IPEDS. The reports generated for ICCB and IPEDS include enrollment, retention, persistence, and graduation data for individual academic programs as well. This allows the SRC the ability of all academic programs to gather timely and consistent information to include in the in-house annual reviews and state-mandated five-year program reviews referenced in 4.A.1.
Sources 4C.1.1.1 Strategic Enrollment Action Plan 4C.1.1.2 Graduation Transfer and Retention Rates 4C.1.2.1 Retention_Graduation by Ethnicity 4C.1.2.2 Gender Ethnicity Retention_Graduation 4C.1.3.1 Nursing Meeting Minutes 4C.1.4.1 TRIO_SSS Grant 4C.1.5.1 Strategic Plan 4C.1.6.1 Financial Aid 4C.2.4.1 Strategic Enrollment Plan 4C.2.5.1 10_day Enrollment Reports 4C.2.5.2 High School Data Reports 4C.2.7.1 College Theme 4C.2.8.1 TRIO Summary 4C.3.1.1 Positive Results at a Sister Institution 4C.3.1.2 Student Survey 4C.3.3.1 Open Athens Report 4C.3.4.1 Canvas Blog Post OER 4C.3.4.2 Impact of OER 4C.3.4.3 OER Savings 4C.3.5.1 2020 TRIO_SSS Student Needs Narrative 4C.3.6.1 LRC Annual Report 2020 4C.3.7.1 Student Needs Survey
Page 70
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
4.S - Criterion 4 - Summary The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.
Summary Spoon River College maintains regular review of programs, concentrations, credit accepted and credit given, course rigor, assessment in the classroom, of programs and of General Education Competencies. Spoon River College recurrently shares the outcomes of these assessments and continues to allow these to drive improvements of both the assessments themselves and the areas which they are designed to address. Spoon River College also maintains a watchful eye on trends in enrollment, retention and graduation and works to make changes whenever downward trends are seen. There is a strong sense of teamwork seen through our robust College Governance System which allows for checks and balances and evolution in our assessment practices.
Sources There are no sources.
Page 71
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
5 - Institutional Effectiveness, Resources and Planning The institution’s resources, structures, processes and planning are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.
5.A - Core Component 5.A Through its administrative structures and collaborative processes, the institution’s leadership demonstrates that it is effective and enables the institution to fulfill its mission. 1. Shared governance at the institution engages its internal constituencies—including its governing board, administration, faculty, staff and students—through planning, policies and procedures. 2. The institution’s administration uses data to reach informed decisions in the best interests of the institution and its constituents. 3. The institution’s administration ensures that faculty and, when appropriate, staff and students are involved in setting academic requirements, policy and processes through effective collaborative structures.
Argument 5.A.1 . Governing Board The main governing board of SRC is the Board of Trustees (BOT), which is a seven-member board elected at large by our five represented districts, as well as one student trustee who is elected by the student body of SRC. The Board is knowledgeable about the institution and provides oversight for SRC's financial and academic policies and practices. The Board employs legal counsel to ensure it meets all legal and fiduciary responsibilities. The Board reviews the SRC budget monthly. Actions by the Board related to increases in tuition and fees often have significant deliberation and discussions, and they review the impact of no increase or percentages of increase with administration before reaching a decision that will impact the cost of education. February 2021 Board Agenda February 2021 Board Minutes, Budget Presentation Retreat agenda Retreat Minutes Page 72
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
The Board is engaged in the budget process as well as the acceptance of the annual financial audit. The BOT permits SRC’s administrative team to make decisions on operational functions needed for routine business. Board Policy authorizes the President to establish further policies and procedures, make decisions, take actions and develop activities as long as they are consistent with reasonable interpretation of the Board’s policies. The President regularly updates Board Members to keep them abreast of decisions. Regular communication is key to an engaged and informed Board. President The President is the leader of SRC whose executive team, the President’s Cabinet, consists of the Vice President, Dean of Instruction, Dean of Career and Workforce, Dean of Student Services, HR Director, Foundation Director, CIO, and President’s Executive Assistant. The organizational chart segments the operations of SRC into seven key areas. President's Cabinet meets regularly to discuss College matters, plan initiatives, and respond to issues of concern. College Senate SRC allows for shared governance and collaborative policy-making by having an active College Senate. College Senate has 18 voting members consisting of eight faculty, four administrators, two classified staff, and two professional support staff. The two remaining members are the Student Government Association Presidents, one from the Canton Campus and one from the Macomb Campus. Ten members of the Senate are “Ex-Officio Members,” and eight are “Elected Members.” Annually, the officers of College Senate are voted on and the appointments to serve on College Senate are made by the three standing committees of College Senate. The SRC President, SRC Faculty Association President, Professional Support President, and Classified Staff President all serve as Ex-Officio Members. The College Senate Bylaws and current membership list are stored on the shared drive and are accessible to the College community. The College Senate Bylaws are also accessible to the public on the employment page of SRC’s website. Shared governance provides all employees access to a formal, multi-level process to develop policies and curriculums needing to be created, updated, or eliminated. The structure of the standing committees and College Senate includes employees from each of the four employment groups. This diversification of committee composition provides all employment groups representation and helps ensure that policy and curriculum changes have been thoroughly vetted for any unintended impact on departments within SRC. This inclusive and collaborative shared governance system provides all employees the opportunity to contribute to the construction of policies that govern employees and students as well as curriculum and program development. The objectives of College Senate are listed in Article II of the College Senate Bylaws. The three standing committees of College Senate are Curriculum Committee, Instructional Resources, and Student & Academic Affairs. Membership in each standing committee is described in the College Senate Bylaws. Standing committee meetings are held monthly. Any employee of SRC may submit an agenda item that falls under the purview of each committee as outlined below. Formal action taken by a standing committee creates a College Senate Bulletin (CSB). College Senate Bulletins are distributed college-wide by email for any employee of SRC who wishes to appeal a CSB. Additionally, the College Senate Bylaws outline the number of days a CSB must be posted before the CSB may be considered for approval by College Senate. Page 73
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
The duties of each standing committee are also outlined in the Senate Bylaws. CSB’s that receive approval from College Senate must also receive dual concurrence from the President of the college. If dual concurrence is not obtained after the action of the Senate, options for final resolution are described in Article VI Section 5 of the Senate Bylaws. College Policies SRC has established policies and procedures to govern its operations. These policies are established by administration with input from employees and approved by the BOT. College employees are represented by union and non-union employee groups that support their constituents' participation in the governance of the institution. Unionized groups, namely the SRC Faculty Association (SRCFA) and the SRC Classified Personnel Association (SRCCPA), also engage in the development of the institution’s policy and procedures through the Interest-Based Bargaining process: a form of negotiations where the conversation is focused on achieving a win-win scenario and developing mutually beneficial agreements based on interests of the disputants. This strategy was implemented in 2014 during faculty negotiations and was viewed as a success by both parties involved. Faculty Involvement Faculty participate in governance through committee membership, new hire screening and selection committees, serving as Division Chairs, College Council, and informal processes such as feedback and recommendations. The SRCFA is the exclusive bargaining group for all full-time faculty members regarding salaries, benefits, and working conditions. SRC faculty are actively engaged in the budget process of SRC through Interest-Based Bargaining. Staff Involvement Classified staff and professional support staff participate in governance through committee membership, screening and selection committees, college council, and through informal processes. The SRCCPA is the bargaining group for all classified staff. SRCCPA and College leadership also utilize Interest Based Bargaining and meet annually to make decisions about the budget, benefits, working conditions and discuss the impact of the State of Illinois minimum wage increases. During the 2021 bargaining process, the group discussed the need for an avenue for employees to share health and safety concerns. A section for Safety and Health was added to the SRCCPA collective bargaining agreement. Student Involvement Two mechanisms that serve to strengthen student representation at SRC are College Senate and the Student Trustee. The Student Trustee is elected by the student body. The Student Trustee is a nonvoting member of the BOT. The election is held during the spring and the student serves a one-year term. Students are included on College committees to provide student input and opinions. SRC's students have numerous opportunities to get involved with the life of SRC, through formal groups and organizations, including those that promote academic interests and those that are more focused on shaping the culture of SRC. Groups like Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) have a strong community service component while students who are more interested in what occurs around SRC itself may be more interested in something like Student Government Association (SGA), which is a student-driven organization that acts on behalf of the entire student body from all College locations and centers. Additionally, students have seats on all standing committees. Page 74
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Student concerns (as well as parent or community) can also be shared using the Student Complaint Form which is available via the SRC website. Committees and Teams SRC utilizes multiple committees and teams to engage employees to better SRC. Committees include Wellness, Insurance, Institutional Effectiveness, Student Needs, and ACE. These committees have driven numerous changes at SRC. For example, in response to the concerns over healthcare costs, SRC formally agreed to form and maintain an Insurance Committee. A charge of this committee is to monitor, evaluate, and if appropriate, recommend changes concerning SRC's health insurance programs. The Insurance Committee meets regularly to review and address insurance issues. Planning Collaborative planning is a vital process to the success of SRC. The foundation of planning at SRC is the Strategic Plan. All faculty and staff at SRC are invited to participate in the planning process through meetings and professional development day (agenda), and current students are invited to participate in planning sessions. Feedback gathered from constituents is discussed at President’s Cabinet and final recommendations are made to the BOT for their feedback and approval. Annual Employee Satisfaction Survey As stated earlier, SRC conducts annual employee satisfaction surveys. The comments and results are analyzed by the Institutional Effectiveness Committee and President’s Cabinet. One positive result from these surveys is the noticeable changes to the quality of our cleaning services after several concerns were voiced on the survey and shared with our cleaning vendor. Another example of how SRC makes changes based on the feedback received occurred in 2019, one survey respondent indicated that faculty are not always recognized for the work they do in and out of the classroom. To help recognize employees for their work on and off-campus the HR office featured employees and their special projects in the Employee Quarterly Newsletter. Engagement In the process of overall institutional improvement, engagement encourages employee innovation and allows for meaningful communication to occur. The HR Department plans events to engage, reward, and recognize employees, further establishing connection and community outside of the routine daily work environment. The Wellness Committee, chaired by HR, offers multiple educational sessions, team challenges, health screenings, and immunizations. Annually the President’s Office recognizes employees for years of service and excellence. Employee volunteerism at SRC events and in the communities we support is encouraged. 5.A.2 Break-Even Analysis SRC regularly uses data to make informed decisions about programs and services. SRC developed a break-even analysis for course sections to determine if it was in the best interest of Page 75
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
SRC to run the class in question. For full-time faculty, we take the overload rate (since it is a universal rate for all faculty) and multiply that by the number of credit hours in the course. For FY22, the faculty overload rate is $748 per credit hour. For a three-credit class, the faculty would generate an expense of $2,245. Tuition is $149 per credit hour or $447 for a three-credit class. We divide the faculty expense ($2,245) by the revenue generated per student ($447) and we calculate that we need 5 students in the course to make it break even with the full-time faculty. For part-time faculty, we take the higher rate on the part-time faculty pay scale (to make sure we cover worst-case scenarios) and multiply that by the number of credit hours in the course. For FY22, the higher part-time faculty rate is $825 per credit hour. For a three-credit class, the faculty would generate an expense of $2,475. Tuition is $149 per credit hour or $447 for a three-credit class. We divide the faculty expense ($2,475) by the revenue generated per student ($447) and we calculate that we need 6 students in the course to make it break even with the full-time faculty. Therefore, SRC typically only offers a class taught by a full-time faculty if it has five (5) or more students enrolled and a part-time faculty class with six (6) or more students enrolled. However, there are times with SRC allows classes with fewer students than those limits if the course is a requirement for a degree or we are trying to build the program. Property Tax Data The SRC BOT approves its annual tax levy at their December board meeting. Preparation for the levy begins in October with the VP working with the County Clerks to determine an estimate of what expected changes in Equalized Assessed Values for the district could be. This estimate is entered into a spreadsheet that the VP uses to develop the next levy. The VP works with the spreadsheet to adjust all of the individual levies to make sure there are enough funds in each category. It is always the goal of SRC to have as small as possible change in the levy to not affect our taxpayers. While there is no limit on the actual tax rate increase, if SRC were to increase the actual tax receipts by over 5%, then we would have to hold a Truth-in-Taxation hearing to let the taxpayers of our district have a say in the increase. SRC has not had to hold a Truth-in-Taxation hearing for over twenty years. Once the levy is developed, it's presented to the BOT at their December meeting for their approval. Once approved, the levy is sent to the five-county clerks in our district and the Illinois Community College Board. Tuition Decisions The SRC BOT decides on tuition increases at its February board meeting. February Board Agenda February Board Minutes In preparation for that meeting, the VP develops a preliminary budget for the following fiscal year in early December. By estimating State of Illinois funding, property tax funding, possible changes in credit hour generation, and possible increases in expenses due to health insurance cost and employee salary increases, we determine the shortfall of revenue with no change in tuition rates. Typically at this point in the year, we have not heard from the State of Illinois as to what our funding levels will be for the following year, so we estimate level funding for the time being. The property tax estimates are generated as noted in the above paragraph. When trying to estimate changes in credit hour generation, we review the last several years of trend data of actual credit hour generation. At this time, we typically estimate a 5% increase in health insurance costs (which is very conservative since our increases have been averaging less than that for several years) and a 2% increase in employee salaries. Page 76
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
After entering all of the data into a spreadsheet, the VP develops multiple scenarios that are provided to the Board for their review at their semi-annual retreat that is held the day of their January board meeting. These scenarios take into account multiple variations/combinations of tuition increases and credit hour change scenarios. The Board members discuss the various scenarios and determine which option they will likely adopt at the February board meeting. Between the January and February Board Meetings, the VP continues to monitor all of the assumptions that went into the scenarios discussed at the January Retreat. If none of the assumptions changes drastically, the option the Board selected at the Retreat will be presented at the February Board Meeting for adoption as the tuition change for the following year. If, however, something drastically changes, (for example the State says they are going to cut our funding), then the VP develops new scenarios with this new data for the Board to review at the February Board Meeting. After discussion, the Board will adopt a tuition change for the following year. TRIO-Student Support Services (SSS) The Federal TRIO Programs (TRIO) are student services programs aimed to identify and provide services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. TRIO includes eight programs directed to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs. SRC received its first TRIO grant in 2010. In 2020, funding expanded to serve students attending any campus. This expansion came as a result of greater student need, as 72% of SRC’s students were eligible for services at that time. TRIO has office locations at the Macomb and Canton campuses. This project strengthens awareness of issues that at-risk student populations face in attaining their educational goals. Retention initiatives and program updates are regularly shared with faculty and staff. Local Partnerships SRC frequently works with local employers to develop avenues for collaboration. Beginning in 2021, SRC and the SRC Foundation worked together with Graham Health System, one of our district’s largest employers, to identify a need for more healthcare workers. While the healthcare field has a greater number of employment openings than perhaps any other industry, unfortunately, the cost for required education and licensure can be a significant barrier. With a significant gift to the SRC Foundation, a new scholarship program was launched for students interested in several programs of study at SRC. In exchange for a commitment to work for Graham Health System, eligible students may earn a scholarship to cover part or all of their education costs at SRC. The result is mutually beneficial to all: students benefit from the scholarship and guaranteed employment upon completion; Graham Health System benefits by replenishing their employee base; SRC benefits from increased enrollment; and the local economy benefits with trained, skilled employees to fill open positions. More information on the partnership can be found at Graham Health System Scholarship for the Advancement of Rural Healthcare _ SRC.edu.pdf. Another new local partnership was formed with Nature’s Grace and Wellness. There is a growing demand locally for jobs in the cannabis industry. SRC is working with Nature's Grace to offer Cannabis Education. Nature's Grace donated money to develop a curriculum and certificate program at SRC, to begin in the spring of 2022. Informational workshops were held in the fall of 2021 to give Page 77
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
an introduction to Cannabis and to gauge the interest in the certificate program. The Certificate Program will include classes on Horticulture, Harvesting & Production, and Logistics & Inventory. The Cannabis Industry is growing fast so being able to offer this kind of training locally is a great opportunity for all involved. SRC has program-specific configurations in place as well. For example, all CTE programs have advisory committees. These committees are made up of industry partners, SRC administrators, faculty, workforce development partners, and students. The purpose of the advisory committees is to meet the workforce requirements of the community while addressing student needs. Advisory committees assist SRC in curriculum development and updating, program review, community awareness, and recruitment. Advisory Committee Minutes show that the Diesel and Power Systems Technology program discussed several issues at their fall 2018 meeting. The committee modified the questions on the Student Financial Need Form and Interview Sheet for the scholarships that will be awarded in the spring. The committee also agreed that it was in the best interest of SRC to move forward with offering the certificate in cooperation with the National Association of Railroad Sciences in the spring of 2019. Student Needs In December of 2019, a cross-sectional survey assessing student needs was administered to SRC students on all four SRC campuses. The survey was online via Google forms and was advertised through our LMS, Canvas, which provided the survey link. We had 168 total participants, 60% from our Canton campus, 35% from our Macomb campus, 13% were online students and about 1% from our Havana and Rushville campuses. 75% of the students that responded were female and 25% were male, and the majority of both groups were between the ages of 18-25. From this survey, we were able to understand the depth of the student needs on each separate campus and also come up with a plan moving forward to help us address issues to increase student satisfaction and retention. Based on the information gathered from the survey, in the late spring and summer of 2020, SRC decided to form a Student Needs Committee, consisting of 4 sub-groups: Food Insecurity, Transportation, Childcare & Housing, Mental Health & Self-Care, and Financial Issues. Between all four sub-groups, there are over 30 members which include faculty, staff, and administration. Each sub-group has a leader and the leaders of the four sub-groups meet periodically with SRC President to share the individual sub-groups' ideas and progress. The goals of the Student Needs Committee include identifying challenges, barriers, issues, and needs that our students currently have. Also to find ways to work toward identifying the students that need our help, looking for solutions to common issues, and finding and providing access to resources that we as a College can make readily available. This fall (2021) the committee began emailing a monthly Student Solutions Newsletter to all students campus-wide. For each month of the semester, the newsletter will focus on a different sub-group area, and the newsletter will provide links, phone numbers, and contact information for available local and state resources. Our sub-groups continue to meet to assess the changing needs of our students and, update and maintain our lists of resources, while our Student Needs Leaders continue to share all information and brainstorm new ideas and suggestions. Learning Management System (Canvas) In the Learning Resource Center, staff recognized a trend where students were struggling their first week of class to learn Canvas as well as complete assignments (and may drop the course as a result). In reviewing the success that Richland Community College had with a mandatory student orientation as a way to better prepare students to use Canvas, as well as increase retention, the Director of
Page 78
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Academic Support, worked with IT to program a Canvas Student Orientation that would be required for all new SRC students. The requirement specifies that students must complete the orientation to have access to their other courses in Canvas. A survey is provided at the end of the orientation so students have a way to provide feedback, and necessary edits can be made to the orientation each term. The first Canvas Student Orientation was launched the fall 2019 semester as a requirement to access spring 2020 courses in Canvas. This was good timing in helping students be more prepared once the pandemic hit in March when courses went completely online. For the fall 2020 semester, the Canvas Student Orientation was expanded to include videos from the president and various staff to present college services information. This expansion changed the orientation name to Canvas New Student Orientation since it was serving in place of a face-to-face orientation. This resource to provides information to students who may not be able to attend or choose not to attend the face-toface orientation. Existing Programs Academic deans make informed decisions about scheduling and program resources. SRC utilizes a report request form to make an inquiry and receive data on their respective interests. Every five years SRC is mandated by the Illinois Community College Board to participate in program review. The Statewide Program Review process is designed to complement college-level planning and decisionmaking. The process examines the need, cost, and quality of individual programs. Developing New Programs During the research and investigation stage for adding new career programs, SRC collects current labor market information from several sources. These include the Illinois Department of Employment Security, The Bureau of Labor and Statistics, and EMSI labor market data for education. These sources provide labor demand and job openings for the program in question. SRC also reviews data from ICCB to account for supply/completers in related programs in our neighboring college districts as appropriate. The need versus the supply is then evaluated to determine the feasibility of developing a program. This data is reported to ICCB on Form 20 Developmental Education Redesign The Developmental Education Department began an initiative to redesign its course curriculum and sequence. For example, developmental English faculty developed and implemented an accelerated learning program (ALP), which uses a concurrent placement model to pair ENG099 Composition I Companion with a designated section of ENG101 Composition I. The newly designed ALP was piloted on a small student population. Once determined successful by retention, completion, and persistence rates, the pilot was expanded to a larger student population and is now included in our curriculum offerings. Similar initiatives continue within our developmental math discipline. Detailed results of this redesign can be viewed per a presentation given to the BOT in 2017. Early Alert Process The Learning Resource Center utilizes a software tool called TutorTrac to track student visits and house the “early alert” student referral system. By logging in to the system, an instructor can create a referral and specify the areas of concern, the grade, and recommendations for the student. Once the Student Success Coach receives the referral, s/he schedules an appointment with the student. S/he then counsels those referred students in their specific areas of need. Finally, the Student Success Coach sends a follow-up correspondence to the referring instructor through the system. Page 79
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
TutorTrac reports allow staff to analyze faculty participation in the early alert process and review the number of referrals by grade, campus, or course. While evidence of student success that results from early alert referrals can be a tricky thing to measure, data have consistently shown that at least 75% of early alert referrals result in a passing grade or withdrawal (considering this may have been the student’s best option at the time). Two different data projects were conducted during the spring 2019 semester that provided more insight as to the effectiveness of the early alert process. The first project analyzed the group of students receiving a final grade of D, F, FA, or W in the fall of 2018. Specifically, how many students were referred via the early alert process, and of those, how many were recommended to withdraw. Additionally, how many of those were first-time early alert referrals (i.e. did we receive a referral before the recommendation to withdraw)? The second data project looked at the impact of early alert referrals on retention. We wanted to know if students who were not retained from fall 2018 to spring 2019 had been referred via the early alert process. We were able to generate a report with students who were both retained and not retained (excluding those who graduated) from fall to spring. The results of both data projects suggested that early alert referrals do play a part in successful retention of students, but it also suggested that we needed more faculty participation to increase retention moving forward. These results were presented to the faculty and as a result, early alert participation increased. Detailed results of both data projects can be found in the 2018-2019 LRC Annual Report. Additionally, it was important to ask faculty members about their experience using the early alert system to improve the process and provide a better overall user experience. In the fall of 2021, faculty were sent an Early Alert Survey. As a result, LRC staff were able to identify some areas of the process that could be changed to help provide more efficiency for faculty. We will continue to survey faculty periodically in order to promote continuous improvement. 5.A.3. There are three standing committees that makeup SRC’s shared governance system: Curriculum Committee Student & Academic Affairs Instructional Resources All four employment groups are represented on each of the standing committees, as well as one student representative appointed by the Student Government Association. Each standing committee membership is described in the Senate Bylaws. A full-time faculty member must chair all standing committees and College Senate. Faculty, professional support, and classified staff each hold their own annual elections to appoint their representatives to the standing committees. The President of SRC appoints administrators to serve. Duties of College Senate and each standing committee are outlined in the Senate Bylaws. Any College Senate Bulletin approved by a standing committee may be appealed by any member of SRC. Specific timelines for the posting of College Senate Bulletins and appeals are outlined in SRC Senate Bylaws. Agendas and minutes of all three standing committees and College Senate are distributed by email to the entire college and stored on the shared drive along with all College Senate Bulletins and action items pending approval of College Senate. Page 80
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
The primary avenue for setting academic standards and processes is through the curriculum committee. The functions of the Curriculum Committee are described in the Senate Bylaws. The administration also engages in collaborative processes with course scheduling and academic planning that involves faculty, staff, and administration. The faculty collective bargaining agreement includes language regarding the consultation that occurs between the dean and faculty in determining course schedules and load assignments.
Sources 5.A.1.1 Board of Trustees 5.A.1.10 Membership List 5.A.1.11 Health and Safety 5.A.1.12 Student Complaint Form 5.A.1.13 Insurance Committee 5.A.1.14 Strategic Plan 5.A.1.15 PDD Agenda 5.A.1.16 Employee Satisfaction Survey 5.A.1.17 Employee Newsletters 5.A.1.18 Volunteerism 5.A.1.2 February 2021 Board Agenda 5.A.1.3 February 2021 Board Minutes 5.A.1.4 Budget Presentation 5.A.1.5 Retreat Agenda 5.A.1.6 Retreat Minutes 5.A.1.7 Board Policy Excerpt 5.A.1.8 Organizational Chart 5.A.1.9 Senate Bylaws 5.A.2.1 February 2021 Board Agenda 5.A.2.10 Early Alert Survey Results 5.A.2.2 February 2021 Board Minutes 5.A.2.3 Graham Health System Scholarship 5.A.2.4 Natures Grace and Wellness 5.A.2.5 Advisory Committee Minutes 5.A.2.6 Statewide Program Review 5.A.2.7Developmental English Redesign 5.A.2.8 LRC Annual Report 5.A.3.1 Senate Bylaws 5.A.3.2 SRFCA Faculty Load
Page 81
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
5.B - Core Component 5.B The institution’s resource base supports its educational offerings and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future. 1. The institution has qualified and trained operational staff and infrastructure sufficient to support its operations wherever and however programs are delivered. 2. The goals incorporated into the mission and any related statements are realistic in light of the institution’s organization, resources and opportunities. 3. The institution has a well-developed process in place for budgeting and for monitoring its finances. 4. The institution’s fiscal allocations ensure that its educational purposes are achieved.
Argument 5.B.1. Human Resources SRC recognizes the significance of investing in faculty and staff to increase the ability of SRC to provide education and training. SRC has pursued strategies to fund education opportunities necessary for full-time and part-time faculty and staff, especially those involved in the delivery of student services. The HR department uses several strategies for recruitment. For example, SRC uses a variety of advertising techniques, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Illinois Job Link, Chamber Job Boards, College, and University Job Boards, and job fairs to ensure that vacancies posted reach the largest volume of potential job searchers possible. HR also uses SRC’s website for advertising, which includes information about the benefits of employment at SRC as well as employee testimonials. The best advertising for employment at SRC is the positive feedback from its employees. SRC is known as an employer of choice in the district because of the general satisfaction of employees. In 2019 one-hundred percent of survey respondents reported that they enjoy their work at SRC and ninety-six percent would recommend employment at SRC to their friends. This satisfaction results in positive word-of-mouth advertising that is invaluable. Because employees are generally satisfied at SRC, turnover is relatively low. Employees The preparation and qualifications of all faculty and staff are appropriate to the field and level of the position. Qualifications are measured by education level and relevant professional experience, training, and credentials. SRC employs an open and orderly process for recruiting and appointing its faculty and staff. The search process includes participation of the HR Office and the hiring supervisor and may include a screening or interview committee that consists of colleagues offering subject matter expertise. SRC ensures equal employment opportunities consistent with legal requirements and any other requirements chosen that may be compatible with SRC’s Mission and goals, including the Page 82
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
achievement of a diverse workforce. New employees participate in orientation and training through the HR Office as well as the department in which they are hired. All new employees are encouraged to participate in a new employee mentor program or tenure committee. Employees participate in ongoing technology training, training through individual seminars or coursework, professional development days, state-mandated training, and web-based training opportunities. Recently SRC partnered with AAIM employers association to bring a variety of online on-demand professional development courses to its employees. Additionally, employees have the opportunity to participate in Dale Carnegie Leadership training. Racial injustice was nationally spotlighted in 2020 and 2021. The death of George Floyd was not a moment in time but a movement. The HR Department worked with the Community Outreach Department to bring employees together for in-person training to shine light on racial injustice, understanding race, and gender inequality. To fund training opportunities for employees each department is provided with a training budget, the HR Office manages a college-wide professional development budget, and additional funds are available for faculty professional development via the Instructional Resources Committee. College Policy 3.3.3 Education Assistance/Job Related Training and 3.3.15 Variable Tuition Benefit outline some of the formal education assistance available to our employees. Faculty and Staff Development SRC invests in its employees in a variety of ways. SRC offers faculty and staff both internal and external professional development opportunities. SRC also offers its employees a very generous benefits plan (policy 3.3). From 2016 to date, SRC has paid $1,189,620.00 in tuition waivers, tuition reimbursement, and faculty professional development reimbursement. SRC also holds Professional Development Days for all employees of SRC. SRC annually provides a budget item for full-time faculty professional development. Faculty may request consideration of a professional development request through the Dean of Instruction as well as approval through the Instructional Resources Committee. The Director of Academic Support provides faculty support in the areas of course design, best practices for hybrid and online teaching formats, Learning Management System (Canvas) training, and instructional technology implementation. Support includes meeting with faculty one-on-one and sending necessary communications (i.e. submission of financial aid and midterm rosters, student evaluation instructions, and orientation materials for new faculty). The Faculty Support Site within Canvas provides a large percentage of support materials for faculty including tip sheets, general teaching resources, institutional resources, and accessibility guidelines. A self-paced accessibility course is also available in Canvas and can be used as a just-in-time resource when accessibility issues or questions arise. Additionally, a Summer Innovation Series is provided each year in June and July. This training course is also self-paced and typically includes 4-6 modules. Topics vary from year to year based on faculty needs and interests. In addition, SRC is in the process of investigating and developing a new policy to encourage faculty Page 83
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
to get certified in online instruction. Innovative Faculty and Staff Development Opportunities SRC offers continuing education to faculty and staff both internally and externally. Internally, SRC's Office of Community Outreach offers technology classes to College employees. SRC conducts Supervisor Training for all College supervisors, and training topics include: Legal Compliance, Budgeting, Conflict Resolution, and other issues. Staff Professional Development Days are held annually and host a variety of topics from service delivery, volunteerism, winning with people, customer service, and institutional effectiveness. SRC’s Wellness Committee also provides education to employees on a variety of topics like financial wellness, exercise and eating right, mindfulness, and gratefulness. Externally, continuing education opportunities are available through the Ed2Go program. This network consists of more than 1,800 top colleges, universities, and other organizations. Ed2Go offers hundreds of engaging online courses covering topics from accounting to web design. HR has developed a program for employees to enroll in short-term, online courses to enhance their knowledge and skills through Ed2Go.com/spoonriver. Some of the offerings include areas related to diversity such as Building Teams that Work, Achieving Success with Difficult People, Solving Classroom Discipline Problems, and Teaching Students with Disabilities. Employee Evaluations In 2021, the HR Department noticed a steady rapid decline in staff and supervisor participation in the employee evaluation program. A task force of supervisory and non-supervisory employees was deployed to develop a tool that collects and evaluates information that is important to staff, supervisors, and leadership. The new tool focuses on career development and continual growth. Employees have the opportunity to assess their performance, share their successes, tell about future career goals, and create a road map to achieve their goals. Supervisors have the chance to assess the performance of their direct reports, make suggestions on development, and help the employee develop goals that support SRC’s strategic objectives. All employees have the opportunity to provide supervisor feedback. HR reviews all of the assessments and discusses trends and concerns with the President’s Cabinet. An in-depth supervisor training was held before deployment Supervisor Training Evaluation. The completion rate for the 2021 assessment was 99%. In comparison, the 2019 completion rate was 8%, 38% in 2018, and 45% in 2017. Infrastructure SRC is on very solid financial ground as evidenced through the last five years of external audits. 2015-2019 Audit and the 2020 Audit demonstrate the fiscal stability Higher Learning Commission – Composite Financial Indicator. Every year SRC completes the HLC worksheet to calculate the Composite Financial Indicator Score (CFI). The CFIs have ranged from 0.55 in 2016 to 4.74 in 2017. HLC Composite Financial Indicator - 2016 - 2020. SRC’s CFI has been strong the last four years with Net Assets growing 40% in the last three years. SRC recognizes its ongoing budget challenges due to State funding issues, and SRC continues to examine spending and budgets to make the most effective use of the funds entrusted to it. Between holding expenses level or reducing them and increasing revenues, SRC will attempt to continue the Page 84
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
positive trend that the CFI has been on. As part of the budgeting process and tuition-setting process with the BOT, SRC created interactive, long-range financial planning spreadsheets. With these tools, SRC can analyze the last four years of revenue and expenses and then project/trend those out for the next three years. The percentage increase or decrease can be modified for every category of revenue and expense. SRC budgets new anticipated revenues conservatively and presents a balanced budget to the Board for approval. Available Financial Resources The three most significant sources of revenue are local property taxes, state appropriations, and tuition and fees. SRC Revenue 2017-2021 When Illinois Community Colleges were established, the planned revenue sharing was 33% local property taxpayers, 33% State of Illinois, and 33% tuition. As one can see in the chart, the State is far from supplying the funds it is supposed to be contributing. Making up the difference falls to the students with tuition payments. Tuition revenue has been roughly 50% of SRC’s revenue for the last several years. SRC’s annual audits summarize the growth in each of the major revenue sources. Tuition and Fees As noted above, growth in tuition and fee revenue has been only 4% over the past five years. This increased revenue is largely due to higher tuition rates, which increased from $140 per credit hour in FY16 to $170 per credit hour in FY20, an increase of 21.4% over the five-year period. SRC’s BOT is very concerned with the affordability of higher education. SRC’s administration has worked with the Board to keep fee increases at a moderate level, averaging an annual increase of 5.5% over the last ten years. Auxiliary Enterprise Services Auxiliary Enterprise Services include those activities that are designed to be self-supporting. At SRC, this is primarily the self-operated campus bookstore, cafeteria, and coffee shop located on the Canton Campus. In addition to financing store operations, profits from bookstore sales are used for a variety of College initiatives including athletics, intramurals, and student activities. State Appropriations Both the national and state economic downturn has severely affected funding for higher education in the State of Illinois. State appropriations continue to be an important revenue source for SRC and have severely fluctuated over the last few years. In FY16, State funding accounted for 3% (or $0.3M) of SRC’s operating revenue compared to 12% (or $1.3M) in FY20. Fifteen years ago, State appropriations accounted for roughly 30% of SRC’s operating revenue. Resource Support of Educational Programs The process used for strategic planning and resource allocation has provided a stable base to ensure SRC supports its educational programs. An analysis of the breakdown of SRC general education funds demonstrates that 36% goes directly to support instruction with an additional 9% to support student services. Facilities Page 85
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
SRC's Board, in collaboration with senior administration, developed and implemented an innovative approach for needed college facilities. Final Master Plan 2019 Macomb Campus The Macomb Campus is in the building previously home to Macomb High School. As a result of continued enrollment and growing demands, the facility is no longer adequate to provide comprehensive student services. Further, parking is a problem, which has limited the growth of the Macomb Campus. In 2006, the BOT decided to purchase a vacant 80,000 square foot building on the east end of town as the future home of the Macomb Campus. Macomb Outreach Center In 2009, SRC renovated the building on the east end of town and created the Macomb Outreach Center in roughly one-quarter of the building. SRC saw a great unmet need in the Macomb area for community and workforce education. The Macomb Outreach Center has two computer labs, three general classrooms, and a 4,500 square foot conference center that can be split into three separate rooms. There has been steady utilization of the new center. Future Plans All College campuses and sites benefit from the use of the IVS (Interactive Video System). The implementation of the new interactive video system for course delivery has also had a positive impact on student access to courses. Analysis of enrollment data for the 2020-21 academic year indicates that about 4% of credit hours are completed through this instructional delivery method. The use of the technology has allowed SRC to offer more courses at the centers in Havana and Rushville. Plans to Complete the New Campus in Macomb Regional and state economic conditions over the past few years have limited progress for SRC to work toward identifying and acquiring resources necessary to complete the renovation of the new campus in Macomb. In 2020, the State of Illinois announced funding of just over $6M with an expected College match of $2.1M for the completion of the renovation of the remaining portion of the building. A plan to address the capital and operational needs the new Macomb Campus site will be developed soon. This plan will involve the coordination of the SRC Foundation and the SRC BOT. It is anticipated that the plan will include the comprehensive elements of a capital campaign in addition to the continual search for relevant grants and external resources. The estimated completion is Fall 2023. Technology The integration of technology to support educational programs is performed both through the strategic planning process and the annual operation of SRC. Evidence of technology being integrated into instruction for education is seen through the following examples: SRC has implemented the mobile view for the student portal. This is the portal where students register for classes, look up fee statements and class grades. It also has services for potential students to request information and apply for online admissions. Page 86
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
The new self-service payment process was implemented for student payment. This allows students to view term-based account activity. Students now have the option to receive their refunds direct deposited into their bank account. SRC data center has been upgraded to new and improved data storage. The microwave point-to-point interlinking the two campuses and three sites have been upgraded to Fiber optic connections. These fiber optics interlinks improve reliability and efficiency. Implementation of simulation lab for nursing where the student lab can be recorded for comments and evaluation in real-time. College’s 12-year-old network infrastructure upgraded to a newer model of Cisco network gear. The firewall was also upgraded with Cisco Firepower and a new security device called Cisco DNA was implemented to gain network visibility and help analyze network anomalies in realtime. Implementation of Single Sign-On (SSO) for SRC with Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) for convenience and security. This will provide a single location and seamless login to Canvas, My SRC, Office 360, student Google mail, and Outlook for employees. Cybersecurity training has been instituted for last four years. Staff and faculty are required to complete this training every year. College Marketing department and IT are working to improve the SRC website. This also involves upgrade to the Content Management System (CMS). This will provide improved capability in managing the content with a better workflow for approving the content updates. The IT department manages and supports a vast array of software and technology used throughout SRC. The team provides critical support services required to make SRC a premier learning institution. 5.B.2 College Mission: SRC provides innovative learning opportunities that enhance the quality of life in the communities we serve. The goals of SRC support the Mission of SRC. The Mission is achieved by providing pre-baccalaureate education, providing career and technical education, providing developmental and basic skills, providing community education, providing workforce training, working with economic development agencies throughout the district, providing cultural and recreational opportunities, providing student services to support students' educational goals, and utilizing technology. College Vision: Spoon River College will strengthen its communities by providing a broad range of educational programs, cultural activities, and economic development opportunities in an environment dedicated to success. College Core Values: Caring: interest and concern Respect: regard and esteem Integrity: personal honesty Fairness: equity and justice Page 87
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Responsibility: dependability and accountability All of the goals are ingrained in the SRC organization. The goals are continually analyzed and reviewed to determine if improvements are needed. The number-one goal of SRC is student success. SRC develops the goals of its strategic plan (Student Success, Teaching and Learning, Supporting Employees, Operating Excellence and Accountability, and Strengthening Communities) to support the mission and vision of the College. In developing the action plans to achieve the strategic goals, President’s Cabinet ensures those plans are realistic in light of the available resources and opportunities. 5.B.3. Budgets are created each year based on the allocation and use of resources in previous years with a mandate to justify the need and use of all funds. The Vice President provides a presentation to employees annually outlining the budget process and funding sources. Each budget year is usually considered level-funded from the previous year, and any additional funds needed are requested as part of the budget process. Budget Process & Timeline Budget managers receive several budget forms (FY21Budget Instructions). These forms are used to request additional operating funds, salary adjustments, and new employees. This is also the time when budget managers request student workers and tuition reimbursement for their existing employees. Revenue The VP utilizes prior-year statistics based on the number of credit hours and which type (in-district, out-of-district, and out-of-state) to help estimate tuition and fee revenue for next year. SRC also utilizes Board-approved tuition increase information, anticipated state funding from the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), and the current tax levy to determine how much property tax revenue SRC should receive for the next year to determine total revenue for the budget. Budget Monitoring On a monthly basis, the BOT is provided three financial reports detailing the expenses from the prior month (Accounts Payable Detail March 2021, Financial Operations Executive Summary March 2021, Financial Statements & Supplementary Information March 2021). These reports are created by the Director, Business & Auxiliary Services, and reviewed by the VP. 5.B.4 SRC’s budget allocation process incorporates all members of the College community, and the final decisions on how the resources will be allocated rest with President’s Cabinet and the BOT. The entire College community has input into the budget and can request funding for whatever educational purpose it needs. These requests are reviewed and prioritized by President’s Cabinet to ensure that appropriate funding is allocated to ensure the priorities of SRC are well funded. Once the budget is set, no changes can be made without going through the President and the Vice President. Spoon River College Foundation The SRC Foundation exists to support SRC (SRC Foundation Bylaws and Policies and Procedures). Page 88
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Its initial purpose remains valid today, though the mission has simplified to reflect the seeking of resources to provide excellent educational opportunities at SRC. This includes: The awarding of scholarships to SRC students; Upgrades to SRC facilities and technology utilized at SRC; Support of SRC student extracurricular programs and programs associated with SRC’s outreach into the community; Grants to faculty and staff for new, innovative projects which don’t fit into SRC’s budget; Emergency Hardship Grants to students to help keep them enrolled and making academic progress; Other projects as needed. Much of the Foundation’s assets are restricted in how they can be used, based on the wishes of the donors. The Foundation’s realized investment gain is distributed on a pro-rated basis each year to each scholarship fund. The Foundation also has unrestricted funds, which are the only funds the Foundation Board can use however it sees fit with no restrictions. The Foundation’s priorities are commemorated in its Three Year Plan, which is reviewed and updated annually. The Foundation Board meets annually with the SRC BOT to collaborate on priorities and projects. The BOT work in tandem with the Board of Directors (Foundation/BOT MOU) to ensure that proper support and attention are given to the priorities in the SRC Strategic Plan. The Foundation is supported by donations and grants from individuals, businesses, and organizations within the SRC District and beyond – as well as the interest/investment gain that these funds provide. These funds are raised through many methods, including: annual campaign; planned giving (memorials, bequests, etc.); major gifts (including gifts where naming rights are offered in exchange); capital campaigns; regularly scheduled campaigns (employee campaign, joint boards campaign, etc.); special fundraising events. Several major projects were completed by the Foundation since the previous self-study in support of SRC: major upgrades to the Learning Resource Center in Canton; outfitting of Multi-Purpose facility’s workout/exercise area for student, faculty, and staff use; help launch three new athletics programs which attract students from across the region and country; establishment of Emergency Hardship Fund, available to all SRC students who experience a hardship that jeopardizes their ability to remain enrolled and engaged in courses.
Sources 5.B.1.1 Excerpt From Employee Satisfaction Survey Page 89
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
5.B.1.10 FacultySupportSite_Canvas 5.B.1.11 AccessibilityForInstructors_FacultyCourse 5.B.1.12 SummerInnovationSeries_Canvas 5.B.1.13 ED2GO 5.B.1.14 Employee and Supervisor Evaluation Tool 5.B.1.15 Supervisor Evaluation Training 5.B.1.16 External Audits 2015-2019 5.B.1.17 External Audit 2020 5.B.1.18 HLC Composite Financial Indicator 5.B.1.19 SRC Revenue 2016-2020 5.B.1.2 Turnover Information 5.B.1.20 FInal Master Plan 2019 5.B.1.3 Professional Development Courses 5.B.1.4 Dale Carnegie Leadership Series 5.B.1.5 Racial Injustice and Understanding Race 5.B.1.6 Education Assistance-Job Realted Training 5.B.1.7 Varaible Tuition Benefit 5.B.1.8 Employee Benefit Policies 5.B.1.9 Tuition Waivers etc 5.B.2.1 College Mission 5.B.3.1 Employee Budget Presentation 5.b.3.1.2 SRC Budget Process and Timeline 5.B.3.2 Supervisor Budget Instructions 5.B.3.3 Accounts Payable Detail March 2021 5.B.3.4 Financial Operations Executive Summary March 2021 5.B.3.5 Financial Statements and Supplementary Info 5.B.4.1 SRC Foundation Bylaws 5.B.4.2 SRC Foundation P and P 5.B.4.3 Three Year Plan 5.B.4.4 Foundation-BOT MOU
Page 90
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
5.C - Core Component 5.C The institution engages in systematic and integrated planning and improvement. 1. The institution allocates its resources in alignment with its mission and priorities, including, as applicable, its comprehensive research enterprise, associated institutes and affiliated centers. 2. The institution links its processes for assessment of student learning, evaluation of operations, planning and budgeting. 3. The planning process encompasses the institution as a whole and considers the perspectives of internal and external constituent groups. 4. The institution plans on the basis of a sound understanding of its current capacity, including fluctuations in the institution’s sources of revenue and enrollment. 5. Institutional planning anticipates evolving external factors, such as technology advancements, demographic shifts, globalization, the economy and state support. 6. The institution implements its plans to systematically improve its operations and student outcomes.
Argument 5.C.1. For SRC to effectively carry out its Mission, it is dependent upon SRC’s strategic planning for the future, careful management of resources, and a focus on institutional effectiveness. SRC’s Vision and Mission drive budget allocations, which are decided through a planning process that focuses on creating practical improvements in instructional programs/departments, services, and student activities. A budget request form is utilized every year. Requests can include budget increases, capital equipment requests, or human resource needs. These requests are SRC's means of enacting the Mission, Vision and, Core Values and achieving the intended outcomes of SRC. Every employee has a role in the budget process. For most employees, that role is focused on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of their area and measurably improving the value they provide to the students and other stakeholders. Other employees, notably at the director, dean, vice president, and president levels, are responsible for managing some part of the budget request process. SRC administers the Perkins Grant for Career and Technical Education students and programs and recently completed ICCB’s An Equity-Centered Local Comprehensive Needs Assessment in May 2020. The 2020 Demographic Snapshot shows the distribution of race/ethnicity for SRC’s student body and district. SRC reaches out to its district population to recruit for CTE programs in many ways. Perkins funds have been utilized to target “nontraditional by gender” audiences for specific CTE programs, primarily through digital channels. In FY20 and FY21, the Director of Marketing and the Dean of Career and Workforce Education created materials (print materials, digital ads, etc.) to promote CTE enrollment. Broader recruitment campaigns are currently being developed to help identify first-generation and other underserved populations during their college search, however, those efforts are not exclusive to CTE. 5.C.2. Page 91
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
The Mission and planning documents of SRC guide all aspects of business and operations at SRC including assessment of student learning, evaluation of operations, and budgeting. As described throughout this chapter and this document, the foremost planning document is SRC's Strategic Plan. As stated previously in 4B, assessment of student learning remains a vital part of SRC’s operations. At SRC, the assessment of student learning is faculty-driven, coordinated by the Assessment Committee. Each faculty member is tasked with assessing each GEC, reporting on two General Education Competencies each academic year in the manner in which it fits with their courses and area of instruction, and also assessing and reporting on a course level objective. One component of each of these reports is to identify improvements that can be made and to describe any resources SRC might provide to facilitate these improvements. These reports are analyzed by the Assessment Committee, and the appropriate Dean to look for any areas of improvement that can be addressed by a Department or SRC with a presentation made to both full-time and part-time faculty and the BOT. Faculty Professional Development Day Agenda BOT\Agendas 2019\November2019.BoardAgenda.doc BOT\Minutes 2019\November2019.BoardMinutes.doc SRC continues addressing challenging questions about the institution's effectiveness and using data to make decisions. The organization recognizes the importance of supporting relevant programs, services, activities, partnerships, and adapting standards of performance. Cost data is also included along with assessment data for each program in the Program Review. This cost data allows the department, division chairs, and SRC's administration to review financial information related to each program alongside other pertinent information on each program such as enrollment data and student evaluations. These reviews allow for SRC to make appropriate resource allocations and budget decisions regarding the academic programs of SRC. 5.C.3. The planning of SRC is a vital part of the success and the future of SRC. The BOT and administration work with faculty, staff, students, and the community college district residents to collect information and data to make well-informed, data-driven decisions. The process of developing a new, updated Strategic Plan started in 2012 and included feedback from both the external and internal constituents, which illustrates SRC's commitment to gathering appropriate input from all stakeholders. One important element of Strategic Planning included analyzing external and internal conditions, emerging trends, creating a vision for the future, measuring the gap between the current level of performance and the agreed-upon goals, setting intermediate goals, allocating resources to support the goals, taking action, and measuring results. The foundation of planning at SRC begins with the creation of the Strategic Plan. All employees, student leaders, and community members are invited to participate in the strategic planning process. Many sources were used to guide the planning process in 2020. We utilized employee feedback (employee survey), sought feedback from local employers in advisory committees, analyzed the external threats and opportunities, analyzed national and state trends in community college issues related to higher education, and presented proposed goals publicly before the BOT adopting the goals
Page 92
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
at the next month’s meeting. November Board Agenda November Board Minutes SRC demonstrates its systematic and integrated planning and improvement processes, involving employee stakeholders to fulfill SRC’s mission. Intentional strategies work to improve and transform while balancing responsible stewardship of both time and resources. 5.C.4. The strategic plan drives the budget planning process. There is not an unlimited amount of funds available, but the strategic priorities that are adopted are considered higher when compared to nonstrategic priorities. The budget creation process described in 5.B.3 addresses how fluctuations in sources of revenue and enrollment are handled. For the last eighteen (18) years, the budgets have been flat and any additional funds budget managers desire have to be justified to President’s Cabinet. Because of this, SRC has weathered multiple downturns in the economy without any major budget cuts or major layoffs. SRC has been proactive in always looking for more efficient and productive methods of completing the tasks at hand, and therefore has avoided the major cuts and layoffs that other Colleges have endured. 5.C.5. State support for college operations has been inconsistent and work has been done to reduce expenses and increase recruitment and retention. In the last 13 years, funding from the State of Illinois is down 42%, or almost $1M. Although State support has leveled off in recent years, it is still nowhere near the levels it was 13 years ago. Because of this trend, SRC works diligently to control expenses every year to ensure enough funding for strategic initiatives. As a small community college, we have realized that when the economy gets better our enrollment declines as our students are working instead of taking courses. While the economy from 2016 to 2020 was booming, our enrollment did decline small amounts each year. However, SRC’s efforts to retain our current students and attract new students with new career programs like Computer Information Systems and Health Information Management paid off with lower than expected declines in enrollment. As every other college in the nation experienced in 2020, our enrollment took a major hit because of COVID. However, we increased our efforts to retain our students with personal attention and phone calls to get them to re-enroll for Fall 2021. We also were able to offer scholarships to new and returning students which allowed our enrollment to decline a fraction compared to other Illinois community colleges. SRC also took advantage of the pandemic and the changes in instruction that were forced upon us with stay-at-home orders and social distancing mandates. We developed more online courses and hybrid courses to allow students to come to campus less. We invested in technology that allows the faculty to continue to teach from the classroom and the students have the option to come to class or view it from home via a live stream. SRC implemented the use of Microsoft Teams which allows employees to communicate across departments using chat features, video platforms, and immediate communication. SRC is also starting the planning for the renovation of our Macomb East facility. This building was purchased in 2006 and renovated in 2009 with just a Community Outreach Center in about 20% of the building. We have now received funding from the State of Illinois to renovate the remaining 80% of the building. Expanding SRC’s career and technical (CTE) program and course offerings in Macomb is a driving factor for the renovations. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the renovated space will be dedicated to manufacturing/technical training and health science instruction. A new welding Page 93
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
lab, Computer Information Systems, and Cyber Security classroom and lab, and dedicated space for future CTE programs will enhance SRC’s career programs in the area. In our current building, SRC has only two classrooms available for health-related programs. In the newly renovated building, we will have a dedicated nursing classroom and computer lab, a Nursing Skills lab with six (6) beds, a Certified Nursing Assistant classroom, and four (4) bed lab, an Allied Health and Phlebotomy classroom, and lab, an isolation suite including a mock hospital room and bathroom, and a simulation suite with two (2) simulation rooms/beds and control room. In addition to the CTE space, SRC will be completing the renovation of the entire building to move all of our academic and administrative services from our existing building to this new facility. This will resolve the longstanding space and parking problems we have with our current building. SRC feels this move to a new, expanded facility with additional CTE space and offerings will bring a new college “vibe” to our Macomb campus and will result in more students attending and completing their academic journeys. Internet Bandwidth has been significantly increased at all four locations with anticipation of increased online access and asynchronous video streaming. The Canton Campus has been increased from 60 Mbps to 990 Mbps, Macomb Campus has been increased from 22 Mbps to 125 Mbps, and Rushville shares Macomb and Havana share Canton Internet access. Technology Services proactively monitors the bandwidth usage and acts according to the demand. SRC has a policy in place to block non-academic usages like online movie streaming sites and peer-to-peer file sharing like bit torrent, Gnutella, etc. Wi-Fi availability is another area of expansion planned. SRC has Wi-Fi in place as hot spots for students and faculty with necessary security measures in place. Technology Services has a plan in place to expand Wi-Fi availability throughout SRC at all six locations. Instructional resources continue to be added to support a mobile learning environment. Courses are continually added in an online environment to support learners who may be interested in taking courses from around the world. For those students who reside in-district, course content is being added in courses throughout the Catalog to help foster learning about the global environment in which we live, work, and interact. Demographic shifts have been slow to occur but are part of the environmental scan that will occur with the new Strategic Plan. Goals will be developed to support any changes in demographics that may be occurring in the district. The Diversity Committee has worked to increase awareness of a range of cultural issues impacting our students and staff, providing crucial education designed to foster awareness and acceptance for our ever-changing, increasingly global society. The centerpiece of their efforts is a rotating display of informational signage corresponding to the federally recognized cultural heritage months (e.g., Irish-American Heritage, LGBT Pride, AsianPacific Heritage, etc.). Featured prominently on the Canton campus, the display spotlights people and events that have been central to the histories of those communities. A similar display is in the works for the Macomb campus, and posters and flyers providing additional multicultural material will be routinely dispersed at all four campus locations. These campaigns have successfully enabled conversations about culture both here and abroad to occur beyond the doors of our classrooms, thus bringing greater multicultural awareness to our students, staff, and communities. English as a Second Language Page 94
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
Instruction in the ESL program is a competency-based, participatory, and whole language in nature. The focus is on the application of specific language skills to areas common in daily life which facilitate empowerment, community involvement, and social change within the students. An integrated approach is used utilizing listening, speaking, reading, and writing in thematic context often introduced through learner-generated content. Utilizing such techniques allows literacy tutors to provide strategies for students in all areas including: general basic skills; reading, literacy, and communication skills; computational skills; health and financial literacy; workforce and employability skills; life skills; career exploration and awareness skills, and family literacy. ESL students are assessed utilizing BEST Plus testing and placed at the appropriate ESL literacy level. ABE students are TABE or SORT-R tested. Students are minimally post-tested every 60 hours (ESL) or 40 hours (ABE); however, if students’ progress quickly, they are tested earlier and the progress is documented. Progress is demonstrated by post-testing scores, student work, competency checklist, quizzes, chapter tests, and teacher-developed assessments. A database is created and maintained to assist in the reporting of student-level gains and is used for evaluative purposes for both individual student and program improvement. In addition to the testing outlined above, literacy tutors are encouraged to provide both written and verbal feedback to learners. Some learners like written comments because they can be kept and reread later. But most adult literacy learners have indicated that they prefer verbal feedback because it allows them to ask for further clarity on the points raised by the tutor. Learners often do not understand the written annotations that tutors make on their assignments. Verbal feedback, on the other hand, can become a true dialogue where the tutor is asked to reformulate and clarify points that the learner finds difficult or obscure. 5.C.6 College Theme Beginning in fall of 2010, faculty implemented an annual College Theme. Each year’s theme is developed by faculty and reflects contemporary challenges. For instance, the College Theme for the 2021-2022 academic year is, “Who Can? We Can! The Will to Overcome.” A College Theme poster is developed each year to promote the theme. The College theme mission statement and posters from past years themes are located at this link: College Theme _ SRC.edu.pdf During the 2017-2018 academic year, faculty presentations were added to the College Theme. These presentations have been maintained up to the present academic year. Face-to-face presentations are scheduled on both the Canton and Macomb campuses, with 4-5 presentations held each semester on each campus. During the 2021-2022 academic year, faculty presentations have been recorded and uploaded to SRC’s YouTube channel to increase access for our students and faculty. College Theme presentations can be viewed at this link: 2021-2022 College Theme presentations - YouTube.pdf Faculty encourage students to attend the presentations. Some faculty offer extra-credit for attendance and/or written summaries of the presentations. These summaries often demonstrate an understanding of the overlap and interconnections between academic disciplines. Additionally, individual faculty integrate the theme into their classes in ways that are reflective of their academic Page 95
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
discipline and that further course objectives. The College Theme serves as a common bond that unifies our faculty and compliments our general education competencies. Reporting SRC has a robust reporting system in place to continually develop and regularly report the performance of its operations. This performance can be seen in a variety of ways and at each level of operation. The BOT holds monthly meetings that are open to the public and regularly report all business and operational activities including enrollment numbers and finances. These reports are available through the Board's meeting minutes. The President reports to the Board at each of the monthly meetings the operational work of the President’s Cabinet. All the meetings are driven by an agenda, delivered in advance, and are reported out with minutes. Each operational area reports to the Cabinet at the bimonthly meetings. Each academic program undergoes a rigorous program review every 5 years and an annual review through assessment reporting. College Senate meets monthly and all meetings are open to all employees. An agenda is sent in advance, and the minutes of the previous meeting are sent in advance and also posted on the shared drive. Staff, through an updated evaluation system (2021), set annual performance goals which support the Strategic Plan. Bi-annually, the employee and supervisor review the progress and completion of goals. Faculty receive an administrative evaluation that consists of classroom observation and a review of instructional planning. Student evaluation of instruction is completed after each semester. COVID Task Force. Supervisor Meetings. TRIO-SSS completes a Student Success Plan (SSP) with each TRIO-SSS student in their first semester. Through the SSP, the TRIO-SSS Advisor and student set goals for graduation, transfer, and academic skill-building. The progress of the SSP goals is reviewed each semester with the TRIO-SSS Advisor. Each student is required to complete their degree of study in four years or less to remain in the TRIO-SSS program. TRIO-SSS Advisors and Director follow up on Early Alert Notifications generated by faculty through TutorTrac, for their assigned SSS students consistently. Follow-up meetings discuss individualized strategies for improved academic performance via a proactive coaching approach. The athletic department requires ‘grade checks’ at 4, 8, and 12 weeks into each semester. Faculty submit grades, number of absences, and provide notes on students. The Multi-Purpose Building Coordinator receives and sorts these grade checks by sport, and that information is passed along to the corresponding coach and the athletic director. The athletic department requires supervised study hours for student-athletes which has resulted in increased retention, GPA, and graduation rates. The amount of supervised study hours for each student varies depending on the grades they are receiving at each “grade check.” The Learning Resource Center (LRC) utilizes a tracking software called TutorTrac that tracks student visits to the Canton and Macomb LRC’s, tutoring appointments, test proctoring, and early alert referrals submitted by faculty to the Student Success Coaches. Coaches contact each student to determine the best course of action based on the instructor’s concern. This could Page 96
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
include tutoring, time management, community resources, or setting up a study plan. SRC operational experience is an intricate system of checks and balances. Constant communication between and among the many parts results in a fluid exchange of ideas and improvements. The system constantly improves with changes like technology enhancements, additional resources, better student services, and a relevant curriculum. Delivering that takes constant input and output to improve the system and meet the challenges of post-secondary education and training. At all levels, individuals contribute, seeking a smooth operation to improve efficiency and a deliverable product with services to students. Some procedural changes that have been instituted (or soon will be) include the following: 1. Annually, SRC seeks feedback from the employees in the spring term. Following the completion of that survey, the Institutional Effectiveness Committee discusses the results and how they trend from year to year. The Committee has the responsibility to implement or be the catalyst for change from feedback learned in these surveys and use that information to improve in the upcoming year. 2. Every year during the spring term there is a budget reallocation and/or request for additional funds forum that is held for all of the offices of SRC. These reallocations are used to drive the Mission and Strategic Plan initiatives and better align spending to SRC's objectives that upcoming year. 3. Retention strategies are being implemented due to initiatives that have been developed from a new Retention Committee. This is a subcommittee under an already ongoing committee called the Enrollment Management Team. From these initiatives, SRC has started an Early Alert System, which is driven by faculty. The faculty members, whether full-time or part-time, have access to TutorTrac to identify students from their classes who are falling behind in regards to attendance, grades, or personal struggles. Following these referrals, students will be contacted by a Student Success Coach from SRC's Academic Success Centers in an attempt to assist students with a favorable outcome. 4. A Developmental Task Force has been created within this past year to evaluate the developmental programs at SRC. Changes have been made to the schedule from discussions that have occurred during these meetings regarding the addition of a new math course and restructure of many of the remedial coursework requirements as they relate to the timelines of moving through the levels. 5. Enrollment Management initiatives are developed from suggestions that are discussed during SRC-wide professional development days, and the actions taken are specifically evaluated as to how they link back to the Strategic Plan. 6. Wellness Committee initiatives are developed to address employee health trends discovered during annual health evaluations. 7. All data that is collected is reviewed with continuous quality improvement in mind, needed changes are made, outcomes are remeasured, and feedback is given.
Sources 5.C.2.1 Faculty PDD Agenda 5.C.2.2 November Board Agenda Page 97
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
5.C.2.3 Novemeber Board Minutes 5.C.3.1 November Board Agenda 5.C.3.2 November Board Minutes 5.C.6.1 College Theme Posters 5.C.6.2 College Theme Presentations 5.C.6.3 Wellness Program
Page 98
Spoon River College - IL - Assurance Argument - Exported on 2/7/2022
5.S - Criterion 5 - Summary The institution’s resources, structures, processes and planning are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.
Summary SRC has the financial, technological, facility, and personnel resources in order to fulfill the Mission and strategic goals of the College. The College has maintained all of its resources wisely, and the infrastructure currently in place supports our continuous improvement efforts as well as monitoring future needs of the college and our communities. This section illustrated how the College has invested financial resources and human resources that have been strategically planned for the College. The college's planning and dedication is intentional in order to create a campus culture of improvement, provide state-of-the-art technology, and develop a laser like focus on providing a quality student experience that leads to student success.
Sources There are no sources.
Page 99