1. Organizational Environment

Main Educational Programs/Services. Grand Rapids Junior College was founded in 1914 by the Grand Rapids Board of Education following a resolution passed by the University of Michigan faculty encouraging the establishment of junior colleges in the state of Michigan. Subsequently, in the 1950-60’s constitutional language and legislative acts by the state of Michigan clearly stated the nature of community colleges in Michigan, under which constitutional language and legislative acts we exist. Under the 1966 Community College Act, the state of Michigan included postsecondary vocational-technical education in the definition of the community college program. As a result, GRCC now offers more than 45 occupational curricula.

In 1991, citizens of the Kent Intermediate School District (KISD) voted to redistrict GRJC, which became Grand Rapids Community College. For the first time in the College’s history, its own Board of Trustees governed GRCC with boundaries extended beyond the Grand Rapids Public School District to include the 20 districts within the KISD. Today, GRCC’s eight-block downtown urban campus serves a primarily urban and commuter population. During academic year 2000-2001, GRCC enrolled over 16,000 students studying in more than 1,600 liberal arts and occupational courses. Nearly 9000 clients are served in non-credit instruction. In addition to traditional classroom environments, students may also receive instruction through community service offerings, seminars, workshops, training classes, distance learning and other educational programs.

Vision: Grand Rapids Community College is a vibrant institution of higher education dedicated to enriching people's lives and contributing to the vitality of the community.

Mission: Our mission is to provide the community with learning opportunities that enable people to meet their goals.

Ends: We fulfill our mission by accomplishing these significant strategic outcomes (ends):

• Developmental Education
• Transfer and Articulation
• Community Outreach
• Lifelong Learning
• Diversity
• Flexible Learning
• Workforce Development
• Community Partnerships

Values: As a college community working to support learners, we value:

• R Responsiveness
• A Accountability
• I Innovation
• D Diversity
• E Excellence
• R Respectfulness
• S Service

The GRCC mission, vision, strategic outcomes (ends), and values create the framework that shapes all college services, programs, initiatives, and partnerships. The primacy of these core cultural elements permeates throughout the organization.

Faculty and Staff Profile. Grand Rapids Community College employs nearly 650 people fulltime and another 300 part-time adjunct faculty. Full time employees include 67 administrative appointments, 244 faculty, 81 technical and professional staff, 47 contract training employees, 117 maintenance, facility, and food service staff, 90 office personnel staff, and 10 campus police officers. Eighty-six percent of faculty hold Master’s degrees or earned Ph.D.s. Bargaining organizations represent three of the seven employee groups, including the faculty. Fifty-one percent of all employees are female and 19% are minorities, matching exactly the demographics of the Kent County service region. GRCC has positive relations with all employee groups as evidenced by the recent adoption of a single employee handbook covering non-union groups as well as successful contract negotiations with the others.

Major Technologies, Equipment, and Facilities. GRCC’s downtown campus includes a new Spectrum Theater; the Applied Technology Center; several classroom buildings; two parking ramps; a learning center and library; a remodeled music center; field house with natatorium; student center; Bostwick Commons, GRCC’s new pedestrian mall; and the newly constructed Calkins Science Center. The Thompson Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC) opened in Fall 2000. This is a partnership with the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District and provides open entry/open exit instruction in a variety of manufacturing and industry-related occupational areas. The Tassell Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC) is under construction and scheduled to open in August 2002. This facility will offer training in manufacturing, auto service, and building and construction trades. In addition, GRCC recently completed a $6 million renovation of our historic Main Building. GRCC also offers instruction at other off-site facilities throughout the metropolitan area.

Special facilities allow for lab experiences in culinary arts, nursing and dental programs, preschool, manufacturing, science and the arts. In addition to instructional facilities, the college operates a full service health and wellness facility, theater, library and learning resources center, and administrative offices. All buildings provide students and staff with access to computer and information technology. As an extension to the College campus, the GRCC Foundation owns and operates the McCabe-Marlowe House, providing additional meeting space and dining facilities.

The college strives to maintain leading edge technology in all its facilities and instructional programs, and employs state-of-the-art applications in support of its business operations and administrative functions. The college's infrastructure consists of an integrated voice and data network using a Giga-speed backbone supporting 2400 computers across campus. Administrative and instructional applications used trough vendor partnerships with Peoplesoft, Oracle, IBM, and Blackboard to support integrated services accessible via the network in every building on campus and in more than 70 computer classrooms and labs.

The legal service region for GRCC encompasses the Kent Intermediate School District, however, there are no legal restrictions regarding enrollment from other counties, regions, or countries. Students residing within the KISD service region have the benefit of reduced tuition rates.

Federal regulations affecting the College include ADA, ADEA, OSHA, FLSA, COBRA, HIPPA, Civil Rights Act, Drug Free Workplace, EO 11246, US Constitution, 14th Amendment, Equal Pay Act, Rehabilitation Act, Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Higher Education Act of 1965 (Student-Right-To-Know), Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, and Copyright Act of 1973. State of Michigan regulations include: MIOSHA, PERA, Wage and Hour, Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act, Bullard Plawecki

A variety of accreditation agencies require ongoing assessments to assure our community that GRCC is able to achieve its mission and strategic objectives.

Student Characteristics. Principal student types include: those seeking degrees; transfer students; high school students pursuing dual enrollment/early college; adults seeking job training or re-training; apprentices; guest students; international students; developmental students; students pursuing personal interest; older learners; and students who are members of special populations, including academically disadvantaged, economically disadvantaged, displaced homemaker, single parent, handicapped, nontraditional, and limited English proficiency.

In Fall 2001, 62% of GRCC students were part-time and 38% were full-time; the average age was 30 years old. During academic year 2000-2001, of the total 24,720 students, 77.4% enrolled for credit, 17.0% enrolled in noncredit, customized training, 1.2% enrolled in noncredit occupational training, and 4.4% attended noncredit workshops. Among credit-seeking students, 81.3% were White, 8.0% African American, 3.7% Hispanic, and 2.9% Asian.

Key Student Requirements. Our students need the education and training necessary to meet their educational goals. These goals may include transfer to a four-year college, securing a good job, building personal life skills, or developing talents for personal enrichment. Students look to GRCC to eliminate the barriers that prohibit them from achieving their personal goals. Existing institutional barriers the college recognizes and is working to correct include policies and processes that inhibit access to the college or to college success. Recruitment and marketing must provide accurate information about the college and its programs. Tuition must be affordable; and admissions, financial aid, and registration processes must be clear, streamlined, and well designed. Assessment, advising, and counseling must be readily available to help students make choices that will enable them to succeed. Students expect classes to be available when they are needed with optional course formats. Situational barriers include personal life limitations and disadvantaged circumstances. Students, coming with a variety of needs, look to GRCC to work as a partner with them to help build the skills they need. Some need adaptations because of physical disabilities; some come with academic weaknesses that require remediation. Dispositional barriers involve a student’s negative perceptions about his or her own ability to succeed. Support systems must be in place for counseling, tutoring, career planning, and childcare. Students need access to teachers, to technology, to classes at times they can attend, and to diverse role models. The faculty and staff are required to be competent, confident, friendly, and student-centered. Students expect to learn in a clean facility and an environment that is safe. All students expect to be treated as adults and have a voice in their education so their learning experiences add value to their lives.

Stakeholder Requirements. Other stakeholders are the general community, business and industry, and the college’s employees. For the past five years, the Board of Trustees has hosted nine Strategic and Community Conversations, soliciting community input and feedback about the direction of the college. The community requires GRCC to provide leadership, activities and service. Community agencies and schools partner with GRCC to meet community needs. The community expects us to support diversity, provide a variety of learning opportunities, offer programs that meet existing employment market demands and provide the opportunity for an affordable college education. The community expects to have a voice in the work of the college and expects the college to provide information about its work to the community. The business community requires GRCC to provide job training to help current workers gain new skills and to train new workers as needed. It expects flexibility, responsiveness to changing needs, and accountability. Business and industry expect to have a voice in the planning and operation of the college through participation in advisory committees, program development, and workforce development planning.

Finally, GRCC employees expect fair and equitable working conditions, a collective voice in the planning and operation of the college, and opportunities for personal and professional growth so that their work at GRCC adds value to their lives. Results from a 2001 campus climate survey indicate that overall employees believe the college operates under a consultative management style where leaders are seen as having substantial confidence and trust in employees; and employees are significantly involved in the decision-making process.

Key Supplier and Partnering Relationships

Feeder High Schools. The local KISD district includes 20 public school districts with 42 public high schools and nine private high schools. In addition, there are 25 high schools in adjacent counties where GRCC offers outreach operations. The college communicates its expectations for incoming students through recruiting visits to high schools, through its catalog and other publications, and through its orientation program and its web site.

Higher Education Institutions. GRCC has expanded its role as a "premier" transfer institution by partnering with Ferris State University (FSU) in the operation of the Applied Technology Center. This facility on GRCC’s campus also houses FSU staff and programs and makes it possible for a student to obtain a full four-year degree on the GRCC campus. In addition, concurrent enrollment agreements have been signed with both Ferris State University and Grand Valley State University (GVSU). Three plus one (3+1) agreements with Ferris State, Davenport, and Central Michigan Universities allow students to spend the first three years of a 4-year degree at GRCC. GRCC also participates with 26 Michigan colleges and universities using the MACRAO agreement to facilitate the transfer of students from community colleges to senior colleges and universities.

Key Constituents: College Advancement efforts develop and maintain relationships with alumni, retirees, donors and friends for the purpose of awareness building, creating opportunities for students, raising money for student scholarships, and identifying alternative sources of revenue to expand academic programs and support professional development efforts.

Key communication mechanisms between GRCC and its students and stakeholder groups are listed below.

1. Competitive Environment

a.(1) What is your competitive position? Include your relative size and growth in the education sector and the numbers and types of your competitors.

a.(2) What are the principal factors that determine your success relative to the success of your competitors and other organizations delivering similar services? Include any changes taking place that affect your competitive situation.

Competitive Position. Grand Rapids Community College has three major sources of competition: other institutions of higher education, private business and industry training providers, and distance learning providers.

Higher Education. Within the domain of higher education, the primary state-funded university serving the Greater Grand Rapids area is Grand Valley State University (GVSU). GVSU is the fastest growing university in the state with a 2000-2001 student count of over 18,000. GVSU has a main campus approximately 20 minutes away from Grand Rapids and a growing campus inside the city. In addition to GVSU and FSU, other state-funded universities have established service centers in the Grand Rapids area. The largest university in the state, Michigan State University, has an office in town and offers a small number of upper-level classes. Western Michigan University and Central Michigan University both have local presence and offer several dozen classes each semester. There are also several small, private colleges within the Grand Rapids area, offering primarily bachelor’s degrees. Recently the University of Phoenix established a campus in Grand Rapids.

Business and Industry. In the area of business and industry training, GRCC's most significant competition are two of the local colleges, FSU and Davenport; the local intermediate school district; the Employers Association; The Right Place Program; Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center; and private training consultants. Western Michigan’s largest business sector is manufacturing, and these service providers offer the business and manufacturing community numerous competitive options in the areas of customized, hands-on, noncredit training specifically for the business sector.

Distance Learning Providers. Lastly, competition comes no longer just from those in geographic proximity. The access to learning via technology, primarily through the Internet, continues to expand. GRCC is beginning to experience an infiltration of its market by national organizations such as AT&T, Disney, and Lucent Technologies through their distance learning offerings, as well as colleges and universities throughout the world. In addition, GRCC faces competition from other community colleges in the state via local access to all Michigan community college Internet classes through a state-coordinated program, the Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative (MCCVLC). Our locally developed Internet courses are also offered to others in the state through MCCVLC.

Principle Factors That Determine GRCC Success

GRCC’s primary market advantages are location, cost, services, unique programs, reputation, technology and access.

Location. GRCC is centrally located within the city of Grand Rapids and is equally accessible to residents in the surrounding area.

Cost. With multiple funding sources, tuition for students at GRCC is less than half the cost of tuition at its closest competitor and only slightly more than one-sixth the cost of others in the market. Small class size, with an average of less than 22 students per section, provides a close student-to-instructor ratio.

Services. Although GRCC is a commuter college, numerous "college life" activities are available for students. Opportunities exist for participation in Student Congress, specialty organizations, service learning, print/television media, and competitive athletic sports teams.

Unique Programs. GRCC offers several programs unique to the area. The health programs offer several two-year, state-certified degrees not available at any other college in the area. This is also the case for many occupational programs, such as criminal justice, CAD/CAM, child development, computer applications, and recording technology. In addition, GRCC has a nationally recognized Hospitality Education program that trains students for this growing service industry, as well as placing chefs in restaurants all over the world. Three new programs in 2001 include Associate Degrees in Chemical Technology and Recording Technology and a Network Specialist Certificate.

Reputation. Many professionals in the community began their college educations at GRCC. In addition, GRCC has been the primary local provider of education for skilled-trade apprentices and technicians for decades. This rich legacy of over 85 years adds to GRCC's unique position in the market.

Technology. As a local institution of higher education, GRCC provides a high level of hands-on technology to its students. Every building is equipped with one or more computer labs. Each occupational program at the college has current, workplace relevant equipment that is fully utilized within the curriculum. GRCC students graduate with firsthand knowledge of the tools they will use in the workplace.

Access. The last and most powerful asset to the college's competitive success is access. With an open-door admissions policy, GRCC welcomes everyone. GRCC pledges to partner with students, providing the services and support they need to optimize their success in meeting their educational goals. The growing Greater Grand Rapids area increasingly depends on a knowledge-based economy. GRCC will continue to provide the advanced skills needed by those not served by other institutions of higher education.

2. Strategic Challenges

GRCC faces strategic challenges in both the short and long term. In the area of learning, our key challenges include decisions about alternative instructional delivery systems – what methods to use, how to fund the decisions made, measuring the effectiveness of these new systems, and determining the most appropriate opportunities for their use. GRCC has followed the developments in alternative learning systems and has adopted some methods such as telecourses fairly extensively. We have moved cautiously into Internet delivery systems gradually increasing our offerings. We are especially interested in using Internet options in a "blended" mode across the campus. Besides the short-term challenges of equipment and delivery costs, we also face the challenge of contractual agreements with faculty - what will be the rate of pay, and the enrollment, in these courses.

Another key issue is the increased need for developmental education for our incoming students. We need to develop the appropriate learning opportunities for these students, help them develop strategies for success in college, and measure the effectiveness of our developmental offerings. Efforts taken to this point include the appointments of a Academic Foundations Program (AFP) Coordinator and new English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor, the ongoing work of the AFP team, the complete revision of our ESL curriculum, the formation of a team to study the idea of an "Introduction to College" course or workshop experience for students, and the implementation of the Champion program - an in classroom counseling and advising experience for AFP students.

Key operational challenges include developing a better system to serve our evening, weekend, and off-campus students as well as developing a year-round college system that offers the same level of educational experience at all times (365/24/7). In addition we need to continue to develop our internal processes in the area of professional development for our faculty and staff. A third operational concern links back to our instructional challenge of new instructional delivery systems. How can we develop and maintain our information technology system to meet our developing needs? This need includes the technology for delivery, the infrastructure that supports these systems, and the need to build, or remodel buildings on campus.

Linked to our operational needs are our human resource needs. We must continue to train our faculty and staff to keep them abreast of the latest technological developments. Adjunct faculty is a significant challenge since they tend to have the fewest opportunities to be involved with college-wide developments. Staff challenges exist as well. Our Human Resources area works to meet staffing and training needs by keeping its own staff trained in the best means of communicating and listening to employees, while supporting the College’s short-term and long-term goals. We also face the problem of contractual limitations making it difficult to change or eliminate existing programs, reassign staff, and alter schedules to meet the needs of our students and stakeholders.

Organizational focus on performance improvement is attained using a variety of methods including the establishment of the Quality Leadership Team, the strategic use of college-wide learning days to focus attention on organizational development and improvement, and the selection of three "vital few" quality action projects with an expected completion date of August, 2004.

Using the Course Approval and Review Process (CARP), faculty will revise courses, clearly identifying learner outcomes specific to the course and general learner outcomes addressed in the course. The syllabus will be generated from this document and the learning activities will follow from the outcomes. Outcomes will later be assessed and the results used in improving the course. This represents an integrated system of course development from planning, to carrying out the learning activities, to assessing the effectiveness of the course, back to planning course improvements.

The purpose of the Street-to-Seat project is to make the entire intake experience for students as smooth as possible while eliminating waste in the processes. The primary goal is to coordinate efforts across departments to streamline the intake processes from the time of first student contact with the college to the first day of class. Specific desired outcomes include: (1) improved efficiency and elimination of waste within our processes, (2) learning of quality principles and lean, (3) empowerment of staff to make quality improvements, and (4) data for long term planning.

The purpose of the Raider Pride: GRCC Values in Action campaign is to anchor employees in the values of the college by demonstrating their application in the day-to-day interactions with students and each other. The initial goal of the project is to instill in employees a sense of pride in the College and to use the value statements as a unifying force for improvement in a fun and entertaining manner. A secondary goal is the introduction and implementation of a department and team level planning process to connect department and team level improvement projects to the overall college mission and vision.

ACT - former American College Testing Program

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act

ADE - Automatic defibrillator equipment

AFP - Academic Foundations Program

ALT - Academic Leadership Team

AQIP - Academic Quality Improvement Project

AT&T - former American Telephone and Telegraph Company

AUA - Acceptable Use Agreement

B&TT - Business and Technical Training

BOT - Board of Trustees

CAD/CAM - Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing

CARP - Course Approval and Review Process

CCOT - Grand Rapids Community College Occupational Training

CEO - Chief Executive Officer

CLC – College Leadership Council

COO – Chief Operating Officer

CPR - Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation

CQI – Continuous Quality Improvement

CQIN - Continuous Quality Improvement Network

CTAT - Campus Technology Advisory Team

CTL - Center for Teaching and Learning

CWIS - Campus Wide Information System

EBCO - Executive Budget Control Officers

EEOC - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

eGRCC - GRCC's internet connection serving students and faculty

ESL - English as a Second Language

FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
K-12 - Kindergarten through 12^th grade

FGIP – Faculty Goals and Improvement Plan

FIT - Fitness Improvement Team

FSU - Ferris State University

GLO's - General Learner Outcomes

GPA - grade point average

GR - Grand Rapids

GRAD1 - instrument used to survey recent GRCC graduates

GRCC - Grand Rapids Community College

GRJC - Grand Rapids Junior College

GVSU - Grand Valley State University

HAZMAT - Hazardous Materials

IDIT - Instructional Design and Information Technology

IIPD - Instructional Improvement and Professional Development

IPEDS - Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

IS - Information Systems

ISO - International Organization for Standardization

IT- Information Technologies

KISD - Kent Intermediate School District

LPN - Licensed Practical Nurse

MCCA - Michigan Community College Association

MCCVLC - Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative

MCOLES - Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards

MI-OSHA - Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration

M-TEC - Michigan Technical Education Center

NCA - North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

NETg - online training resource of the Michigan Information Technology Training Initiative

NISOD - National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development

NJCAA - National Junior College Athletic Association

OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration

PACE - Personal Assessment of the College Environment (NILIE)

PROE - Program Review of Occupational Programs
QLT – Quality Leadership Team

RN - Registered Nurse
SODA - Strategic Opportunity Development Analysis

SOFA - Strategic Opportunity Fit Analysis

UCB – Urban Cooperation Board

The mission, vision, values, and strategic outcomes (ends) are the guiding principles for GRCC’s quality improvement initiatives (See Organizational Profile – Page i). We designed our leadership system to facilitate broad staff participation and collaboration in the development of our comprehensive strategic plan. A combination of organizational units and cross-functional teams are given the responsibility to refine and implement the strategies. GRCC’s strategic focus, as set by senior leaders, overarches the entire strategic plan to build an organization that is learner-centered, collaborative, and flexible. Our strategic focus and corresponding strategic plan not only guide the direction of the College but are also used to analyze and justify budget and funding initiatives. (An in-depth discussion of the strategic planning process is found in Section 2).

GRCC’s President, Juan R. Olivarez, Ph.D., receives authority from the Board of Trustees and the Michigan Department of Career Development as representatives of the State of Michigan legislature and GRCC service region tax holders. Since 1997, GRCC has operated under a policy governance model. GRCC’s policy governance model is based on the principle that the Board of Trustees provides vision for the College. It is an approach to governance that emphasizes values, empowerment of both the Board and staff, and the strategic ability to guide leaders. Following the principles of policy governance, the Board crafts its values into policies of four types. See Figure 1.1.

1. Ends: The Board defines which human needs are to be met, for whom, and at what cost. Written with a long-term perspective, these mission-related policies embody most of the Board’s part of long-range planning.
2. Executive Limitations: The Board establishes the boundaries of acceptability within which staff methods and activities can responsibly be left to staff. These limiting policies, therefore, apply to staff means rather than to ends.
3. Governance Process: The Board determines its philosophy, its accountability, and specifics of its own job.
4. Board-Executive Linkage: The Board clarifies the manner in which it delegates authority to staff as well as how it evaluates staff performance on provisions of the ends and executive limitations policies.

Within GRCC, the traditional organizational structure includes three divisions, each under a Vice President, and a number of cross-functional teams with operational authority. In 2001 a major reorganization of the college administrative structure was implemented to better support the accomplishment of the College’s mission strategic outcomes

and the continuous improvement of college-wide processes and programs. To support this improvement, the President appointed a 17-person College Leadership Council (CLC) to replace the traditional President’s Cabinet. His vision for the new team is to reduce department silo thinking, improve cross-college communication, increase efficiency in decision-making and action plan implementation, and strengthen the use of data-based decision-making. Members of the CLC include the vice-presidents and key leaders from across the college. The CLC distributes the shared responsibility for accomplishing the college’s mission, vision, and strategic outcomes throughout the entirety of the college. In its first meetings, the CLC had extensive discussion about leadership’s role in living the college mission, vision, and values. This continuing dialogue builds a common understanding and support for leadership behavior that models and supports the values and direction of the college.

a. (1) How do senior leaders set and deploy your organizational values, short-and longer-term directions, and performance expectations, including a focus on creating and balancing value for students and stakeholders? Include how senior leaders communicate values, directions, and expectations through your leadership system and to all faculty and staff.

Daily operations and improvement strategies are carried out by a number of college operational units or teams, whose direction is provided by the College Leadership Council. These units represent all employees of the College. Each College Leadership Council member communicates regularly with members of all operational teams through active participation on the team or by way of the teams’ leadership. Such communication provides CLC members the opportunity to monitor team activities as well as the opportunity to exchange information vital to the College’s day-to-day operation. In addition, each of the 24 academic departments is led by a department head or program director who facilitates communication and cooperation within the department, between departments, and between the faculty and staff. Department Heads and Program Directors meet regularly with the Dean and Assistant Deans for their School in order to communicate activities and discuss issues. They also meet as the Academic Leadership Team (ALT), which brings the Department Heads and Program Directors from both Schools together monthly with the Provost, Deans of both Schools, Dean of Instructional Design and Learning Technologies, Academic Deans, and assistant deans.

In Winter 2002, the Academic Senate began meeting. This group represents the faculty and academic administration in the formation of policies and procedures on academic and professional matters. It was formed to assure that faculty had a stronger a voice and responsibility in governing the academic area of the college.

To accomplish its mission, values, ends, and strategies, senior leaders create new structures in the forms of cross-functional teams and councils to increase staff commitment to the vision and to provide for additional opportunities for shared participation in decision-making. To achieve these objectives, the senior leaders commissioned a number of cross-functional teams designed to increase communication, better organize to accomplish organizational mission, create and implement action plans, and evaluate accomplishments. These teams, organized around significant college processes, championed by the President or a member of the College Leadership Council, are given policy and decision-making authority as appropriate to their charter. Work on these teams represents important aspects of the deployment of our mission (Strategy Team), values (Diversity Team), performance expectations (Joint Executive Evaluation Team, Academic Performance Review Team, Program Review Team), and a focus on student learning and development (Assessment in the Discipline Team, General Education Assessment Team, Student Satisfaction Team).

Of particular note is the work of the recently formed Quality Leadership Team. Designed as a team representing the leaders of other teams as well as CLC members, its role is to (1) focus campus attention on quality improvement practices, (2) increase communication and collaboration among functional units and teams, and (3) set College direction, review progress, and recommend priorities that can be communicated, understood, accepted, and effectively implemented throughout the campus.

It is through the structure of traditional senior leadership combined with the work of the cross-functional teams that leaders set, communicate, and deploy organizational vision, mission, values, performance expectations, and a focus on student learning and development.

We have four all-college Learning Days during the school year where the entire staff comes together. Leadership has used these days to communicate values and direction to the entire college. In the past year, the focus was on what it means to be the community’s college. The RAIDERS values were introduced and discussed, as was our strategic direction (learner-centered, flexible, and collaborative), the three quality action projects, and the importance of collaboration and teamwork to the success of our common efforts. Small group activities provide opportunities for cross-functional conversation and learning about our values and strategic direction.

The mission, vision, values, and strategic outcomes (ends) are posted throughout the campus and integrated into the planning and budgeting process.

a.(2) How do senior leaders create an environment that promotes ethical values, equity for all students, empowerment, innovation, safety, organizational agility, and organizational and faculty/staff learning?

An environment of ethical values with equity for all students and staff is developed and maintained in many ways at GRCC. Senior leadership demonstrates these values in their words and their deeds, and encourages those who report to them to do the same. When a new employee is hired, or when a student enrolls at the college, they are introduced to the Mission, Vision, Values, and Ends of GRCC. Potential employees are asked to provide evidence of how their values are congruent with those of the College. They can do this by sharing evidence of their deeds in their portfolio, by providing verbal explanation of activities (which can be verified with supervisors), or by other means during the interview process.

A College team has recently developed a Faculty Profile Model that helps in the hiring process. The faculty profile is intended to serve as a guide to all individuals who are participating on the faculty screening committees. It is also intended to assist these committees and the Human Resources Unit in the search for quality instructors. Following these guidelines will contribute to the College’s human resource efforts to preserve the immortality of the institution by emphasizing human relationships as well as teaching skills.

Senior leaders demonstrate an ongoing commitment to creating an environment that promotes ethical values, equity for all students, empowerment, innovation, safety, organizational agility, and organizational and faculty/staff learning in three specific ways.

First, is the identification and commitment to our RAIDERS values (See Organizational Profile – Page 1). These values of responsiveness, accountability, innovation, diversity, excellence, respect, and service are communicated and modeled to staff and students in a number of ways. (See Section 2: Strategic Planning regarding Quality Action Project #3 – Raider Pride – GRCC Values in Action.) This action project, with accompanying strategic outcomes (ends) and indicators, was designed specifically to anchor GRCC values in the ongoing behavior and attitudes of staff. As an example, each month the College Leadership Council celebrates one employee nominated by their peers with the Raider Spirit Award.

A second demonstration of senior leader commitment to the empowerment and learning of staff is through the wide-spread use of whole-systems engagement processes throughout the college. Whole-systems engagement enables large numbers of staff from across the college to come together as a microcosm to study data, identify root causes of problems, develop innovation solutions, and identify indicators of progress. In February of 2002, GRCC was honored to receive a Bellwether Finalist Award from the Futures Assembly 2002 for our whole-systems engagement process to attack such issues as strategic planning, faculty evaluation system, incorporation of three employee groups under one employee handbook, and the re-design of the student intake system (see discussion on Quality Action Project #2 in Section 2).

Thirdly, senior leaders consider open communication a key strategy to promote a value-based climate as evidenced through a variety of communication vehicles, including:

• Monthly Board of Trustee meetings are open and televised—the Student Government President is included on the agenda of each meeting and given an opportunity to bring issues from the students; in addition, an open microphone is made available at the beginning and at the end of each meeting, providing an opportunity for anyone from the community to address the Trustees.
• Community Conversations are held multiple times each year. Under the leadership of the Board of Trustees, Community Conversations are designed to listen to the needs and expectations of a variety of stakeholder groups including students, KISD educators, employers, and the community-at-large.
• Open forums are frequently held for students—giving them timely opportunities to speak out on issues that directly impact their experiences at Grand Rapids Community College.
• Advisory Committee meetings are held twice each year for each occupational program—giving faculty and staff the opportunity to interact with representatives of business and industry in an effort to ensure the relevancy of occupational programs.
• Community Connections, a direct mail newsletter is sent quarterly to individuals and organizations in the Kent County area
• The College E-mail systems permits open access by all to each Board of Trustee and each College employee.
• Raider Chronicles, an internal newsletter is sent on a monthly basis to college staff
• The GRCC web site is extensively used to communicate with the community and staff
• The College’s television channel broadcasts around the clock and includes announcements, special-interest programming, and the monthly Board of Trustee meeting.
• GRCC Today, a daily electronic email designed to keep staff informed, includes information on significant events on campus and in the lives of staff.
• Shared drive on network directory is used to post information on ongoing work (i.e. budget, curriculum development) as well as to gather and respond to questions and comments.

b.(1) How do senior leaders review organizational performance and capabilities to assess organizational success; performance relative to competitors, comparable schools, and/or other appropriately selected organizations; progress relative to short-and longer-term goals, including student achievement goals; and the ability to address changing organizational needs? Include the key performance measures regularly reviewed by your senior leaders. Also, include your key recent performance review findings.

Grand Rapids Community College uses a variety of devices to gauge how well it is doing and where improvement is necessary. Among the devices used are the following:

• Institutional level assessment includes the use of the GRCC Report Card.
• Assessment teams review student success and program quality.
• BOT Monitoring reports are delivered on a regular basis to the Board of Trustees.
• Employees are surveyed every two years to determine their feelings about the campus climate.
• Graduates are surveyed annually one year after program completion to determine how well the College helped them to achieve their academic and/or employment goals.
• Occupational program advisory committees are consulted annually to verify the relevancy of the instructional programs, including curriculum, equipment and facilities; minutes from all meetings are distributed to faculty and academic administration responsible for the departments.
• Transfer institutions are consulted to determine how well GRCC students have been prepared to continue their academic pursuits at the next level.
• Community Conversations provide CLC and Board of Trustees with information about the needs of the community;
• Environmental scanning is routinely accomplished with information disseminated widely using SCANOTES – an electronic publication of local and regional trend information that is used to guide the actions of the College.

Key recent performance review findings in the areas of diversity, lifelong learning, and developmental education have been used extensively by the CLC and Deans’ Council to plan new actions, prioritize funding initiatives, and focus attention on vital college issues.

b.(2) How are organizational performance review findings translated into priorities for improvement and opportunities for innovation? How are they deployed throughout your organizations and, as appropriate, to your feeder and/or receiving schools and suppliers/partners to ensure organizational alignment?

Senior leaders receive regular reports concerning priorities for improvement from various units throughout the College. For example in the 2000-2001 academic year, the Academic Foundations Program (AFP) team proposed, and the College adopted, a plan for revisions to our foundations program. A primary component of this proposal was the employment of an AFP Director to manage the program and to assess its value to the College.

The College also adopted four new academic programs based on a needs assessment of employment and transfer. The Performing Arts Department added a Recording Technology Program to its offerings that quickly filled with students, making us the only college in Michigan with such a program and one of only a few such programs nationwide.

The Physical Sciences Department has introduced a new Chemical Technology Program that will begin enrolling students for the Fall semester, 2002. Additional programs are also in the development stage.

The primary vehicle for the review of organizational performance results is through the process established for the development and review of the BOT Monitoring Reports. This process includes action plan review, evaluation of progress on indicators, setting of targets, and overall assessment of progress toward goals. Each of the eight strategic outcomes (ends) established by the BOT through the strategic planning process has two CLC members who are responsible to work with appropriate cross-functional teams and departments to prepare a comprehensive report. The iterative process includes multiple reviews by the CLC prior to report dissemination to the Board. The process has recently been improved to include written feedback from the Board to the CLC with subsequent follow-up as needed.

In addition, the Quality Leadership Team identified three short-term quality action projects for special college-wide focus. These projects were selected due to their potential of creating rapid, widespread improvement across several of the strategic outcome areas involving large numbers of staff in their deployment. (See 2.0 for comprehensive discussion of quality action projects.) Both process and outcome performance indicators are monitored on an annual basis by the QLT and CLC beginning in 2002.

The Faculty Goals and Improvement Plan (FGIP) process has been implemented to promote teaching excellence. Deans and Assistant Deans review data collected using student surveys of classroom practice as well as a comprehensive faculty portfolio system. The FGIP process is directly linked to professional development opportunities for faculty.

All monitoring reports with performance data are widely disseminated to staff and are available on the College’s website. Results are discussed in a variety of venues and teams leading to self-assessment and continuous improvement.

b.(3) How do senior leaders use organizational performance review findings to improve both their own leadership effectiveness and your leadership system?

Grand Rapids Community College Ends Statement

Community Outreach: We serve the community as a quality educational resource providing leadership in response to the expressed needs of the community.

This Ends statement defines GRCC’s commitment to public responsibility. Our leadership, and our response to the community’s needs, demonstrate how the College actively practices good citizenship within and beyond its immediate service area.

1. Responsibilities to the Public

The College’s Division of Academic Affairs, the Division of College Advancement, and the Office of Human Resources are all responsible for maintaining and improving upon our relationships with the public. The College values strong community relationships and resolving issues through the above-mentioned offices. In addition to the aforementioned divisions, the GRCC value of responsiveness to community needs requires that all employees are accountable for developing and maintaining excellent relationships with the public.

a.(1) How do you address the impacts on society of your operations? Include your key processes, measures, and targets for safety, regulatory, accreditation, and legal requirements and for addressing risks associated with your operations.

Many areas of the College are responsible for safety, regulatory matters, accreditation, and legal requirements. It is the goal of the College to exceed the standards set in all areas of safety, health, legal, and academic standards and regulations. We maintain appropriate records of our compliance with regulations in all areas.

GRCC is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) through its Academic Quality Improvement Project (AQIP). In addition, we maintain separate accreditations for several of our programs, and additional programs are seeking specific accreditation (See Organizational Profile – Figure P-1). Key regulatory and legal requirements are also listed in the Organizational Profile. The development of processes to insure the college meets legal, regulatory, safety, and accreditation requirements is assigned to appropriate divisions and/or teams. For example, the College’s Risk Management Team has established processes and measures to insure compliance and reduction of risk in a number of key areas. The Quality Leadership Team has primary responsibility for implementing all processes required to remain in compliance for the AQIP project. Safety processes fall primarily under the control and direction of the Facilities division and Campus Police.

Although many of the ways in which GRCC addresses its impact on society have been legislated, the institution has always been willing to employ the necessary people and make the necessary adjustments in the structure of the facility to ensure a positive impact on society. For example, many of the safety and accessibility features of the recently constructed Calkins Science Building were specifically designed to exceed Federal/State regulations.

a.(2) How do you anticipate public concerns with current and future services and operations? How do you prepare for these concerns in a proactive manner?

The best example of the commitment by GRCC to provide input for public concerns and the need for future services is the use of Board-initiated Community Conversations. This process has allowed integration of the community voice into mission, vision, and values and continues to affect our ends statements and strategic planning process. In addition, the College works in close collaboration with community and governmental organizations to anticipate public concerns with our current and future operations. The Strategy Team regularly visits area employers to assess the need for future services. Our Labor Relations Department works to assure that we are in compliance with EEOC regulations. Financial Services assures that the College is in compliance with safety and health regulations and that we operate within the confines of governmental laws and regulations.

a.(3) How do you accomplish ethical practices in all transactions and interactions with students and stakeholders?

Grand Rapids Community College accomplishes ethical practices in a variety of ways that positively impact students and other stakeholders. The Board of Trustees has adopted a Policy Governance Model that sets the policy for ethical transactions of senior leaders, department heads, faculty, and staff. This in turn affects the way individual faculty and staff conduct themselves in the classroom and in all dealings with the general public and major constituencies. Accountability processes are being established to ensure that all constituents are dealt with ethically. Faculty convey ethical standards to their students by modeling such behavior in the classroom and imparting the information to students in their programs and in the syllabus they distribute to their students at the beginning of the semester. Departmental professional standards are adhered to based upon College policies and discipline-related organizations.

Grand Rapids Community College is actively involved in partnering with local, regional, and state organizations as well as the appropriate professional entities in order to achieve its core value of strong community connections. Senior leaders, faculty and staff, and our students actively support and strengthen the community in a variety of ways. GRCC collaborates with area K-12 schools in both the academic and occupational arenas within the Kent Intermediate School District.

GRCC is a model for Workforce Development Board collaboration. The College has led the community environmental scan and strategic planning process to determine goals and strategies for a better regional workforce development system.

GRCC’s senior leaders (along with multiple faculty and staff) play a vital role in furthering community goals through holding leadership positions on a variety of community boards and organizations as shown in Figure 1.2 (space does not allow all 17 CLC members and organizations to be listed.)

The institution continues to form partnerships and articulations with Michigan's four-year colleges and universities in order to provide a smooth transition for GRCC's large transfer-out population. For example, in the academic year 2001-2002, GRCC signed concurrent enrollment agreements with Grand Valley State University, Ferris State University, and a 3+1 agreement with Davenport University.

The Delta Strategy community improvement project is an excellent example of GRCC's commitment to making the Greater Grand Rapids area a better place to live. The Delta Strategy has convened community stakeholders around issues such as livable wage, poverty, minority infant health issues, low student achievement levels in the public schools, and others. This project, a collaboration between GRCC and several other community organizations, is housed at GRCC, which is also the fiduciary agent for Delta grant monies.

The establishment and continuing development of the Older Learners’ Center is a clear sign that GRCC is committed to supporting an increasingly older population.

Grand Rapids Community College has an ongoing strategic planning process that is based on the following guiding principles:

• Collaborative in nature involving stakeholders from across the organization
• Based on data and information from internal and external sources
• Includes both short-term and long-term horizons
• Is focused on key strategic objectives and key performance indicators
• Is reviewed and updated periodically at various levels of the organization

Since 1997, Grand Rapids Community College has been refining its process for strategic planning, with a major revision currently in process for 2002. The approach has included the move to a policy governance model for the Board of Trustees, the creation of a Quality Leadership Team to guide the implementation of continuous improvement principles at the College, and the creation of strategy sessions (Microcosms) involving large cross-sections of the College community in the planning process.

At GRCC we define something as "strategic" when it:

1. could have significant impact on GRCC attaining its mission and effectively meeting its learners and/or stakeholders needs and requirements, and
2. has a likelihood of occurring, and
3. pertains to reaching a defined future objective

1. Strategy Development Process

a.(1) What is your overall strategic planning process? Include key steps, key participants, and your short- and longer-term planning time horizons.

GRCC’s strength in strategic planning is its use of whole-systems engagement processes. Whole-systems engagement processes using microcosm teams allow for campus-wide input and participation in the strategic planning process. GRCC was proud to receive a Bellwether Finalist Award by the University of Florida at the Futures Assembly 2002 (Orlando, FL) for work in this area.

The framework presented in Figure 2.2 represents the GRCC strategic planning process as currently being deployed (2002). GRCC’s strategic planning process includes key activities/steps that incorporates input from all levels of the organization, as well as various levels of decision-making. Long-term (7–10 years), mid-term (3–7 years) and short-term (1–2 years) timeframes are considered. Key participants in the planning process include the Board of Trustees, the Strategy Team, and the College Leadership Council.

At each step of GRCC’s strategic planning process, the methods for data collection and process review have been refined and improved over time utilizing and incorporating input from across the organization. The rotating review schedule for the GRCC strategic outcomes (ends) along with other pertinent monitoring reports by the Board of Trustees is shown in Figure 2.1 for 2001-02 and 2002-03. The monitoring process for the strategic outcomes (ends) reports includes feedback loops from the Board of Trustees to staff.

Further feedback is provided to the community, learners, and stakeholders through GRCC’s Annual Report Card to the Community. This report card is based on the BOT monitoring reports, the strategic objectives and associated vital few strategies, and the performance indicators.

a.(2) How do you ensure that planning addresses the following key factors? Briefly outline how relevant data and information are gathered and analyzed to address these factors:

• current and future student/stakeholder and market needs, expectations, and opportunities, including student achievement
• key external factors, requirements, and opportunities, including your suppliers’ and/or partners’ strengths and weaknesses, your competitive environment, and your capabilities relative to competitions, comparable schools, and/or appropriately selected organizations
• technological and other key changes that might affect your services and/or how you operate
• your strengths and weaknesses, including faculty and staff and other resources
• your capability to assess student learning and development
• ethical, societal, budgetary, and other potential risks.

.

We get information about key external factors from accreditation associations, North Central and program accreditation boards, employer surveys and interviews, and local/regional/national data collected through environmental scanning activities. We have begun to benchmark other organizations and pay greater attention to our local competition. We monitor our enrollment trends to study the changing nature of our student base.

Technology changes are monitored in a number of ways. Our Information Technologies, Media Technologies, and Library staff attend conferences and keep up with trends. The Campus Wide Information System Leadership team works closely with our vendor, PeopleSoft, to take advantage of the capacities of the software system. The Distance Learning Team focuses on how to best use technology in the classroom. For example, the Distance learning team has recently completed a comprehensive distance technology plan outlining technology requirements necessary to meet the goals outlined in the GRCC Strategic Plan.

Information on budgetary and other risks are gathered through our connections and networks such as the MCCA, which sponsors separate sub-group meetings for Presidents, Provosts, Deans, Business Officers, Admissions Officers, Registrars, Institutional Research, Student Services, and Financial Aid Officers. We participate in The League for Innovation in the Community College conferences, NISOD, CQIN, various assessment conferences, NCA/AQIP Leadership Conferences and Strategic Forums, The National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education, the Association for Quality and Participation annual conference, the Chairs Conference, and other conferences, workshops, and sessions as deemed appropriate. Our professional development budget, innovation grants, professional development funds and other sources support faculty and staff attending these conferences and meetings. The Financial Services Division does a rolling five-year projection on revenues and expenditures based on assumptions that take environmental scanning information and data from the Enrollment Management Team into account.

The Capacity/Needs Matrix (See Figure 2.3) helps us consider where we have issues with capacity around carrying out the strategies to meet the Ends. The number of strategies and defining how the work of various offices interconnects are ongoing challenges. We are striving to be an organization that listens to our students, staff, and community and gets information back to them. For example, in 2001 an electronic daily newsletter called GRCC Today was implemented and sent via email to all staff.

The planning process includes considering the strengths and weaknesses of faculty, staff, and other resources through the study of several data sets as outlined in Figure 2.4. Information from these data sets is made widely available to all staff using the web site, emailed reports, and discussion/dissemination at department meetings. Through the dissemination and review of these data sets by departments, cross-functional teams, the College Leadership Team, and the Strategy Team, a comprehensive picture of our strengths and weaknesses emerges.

Assessment of student learning. We continue to improve our ability to assess student learning and development. Initial information regarding student baseline is collected on the New Student Information Form, and through the use of placement tests. We are working on ways to acquire outcome assessment around general learner outcomes and have recently revised the General Learner Outcomes. (See Figure 2.5) A comprehensive plan to measure student learning against these outcomes has been developed.

b.(1) What are your key short- and longer-term strategic objectives and your timetable for accomplishing them? Include key goals/targets, as appropriate.

Figure 2.6 defines GRCC’s eight long-term strategic outcomes (ends) with associated strategic objectives and indicators. Progress on these objectives is monitored regularly by the College Leadership Council and reported to the Board through the BOT Monitoring Reports. Beginning in 2002, the CLC will set specific targets for each indicator through the BOT Monitoring Report development process.

*(Completed as part of the ongoing BOT Monitoring Report System – Figure 2.1)

Three short-term (1-3 years) "vital few" quality action projects were selected for special college-wide emphasis by the Quality Leadership Team in Fall 2001. These projects were selected for special consideration because when implemented would provide for widespread process improvement that would cut across all eight end areas. The three action projects, key process indicators, and outcome indicators are found in Figure 2.7. Specific action plans are prepared and monitored each year. Progress on the quality action projects is assessed and reported each fall to the College Leadership Council, the Quality Leadership Team, and the Board of Trustees.

b.(2) How do your strategic objectives address the challenges identified in response to P.2 in your Organizational Profile? How do you ensure that your strategic objectives balance the needs of students and stakeholders?

GRCC’s strategic planning process ensures the College is responsive to student and stakeholder needs through the careful study and consideration of data collected from students and stakeholders. The process is designed to be flexible to incorporate new understanding of student and stakeholder needs as they become apparent. Regular reviews of progress of long-term outcomes through the BOT Monitoring Reports and the short-term quality action projects allow for ongoing alignment to identified needs. We have identified a number of challenges related to instructional, operational, human resource and community arenas in the Organizational Profile. A study of these key challenges compared with the strategic objectives found in Figure 2.6 show careful consideration of needs in the strategic planning process.

The development, deployment, and performance tracking of our strategic plan is a highly collaborative process. Our Board of Trustees, President, executive leaders, functional leaders, and all staff have been engaged and/or represented at every critical stage of strategic planning and deployment. The three quality action plan projects were selected, in part, due to the fact they were high profile projects that would result in significant improvements. They were also picked as projects that by their nature demanded participation from large numbers of staff.

In 1997, a comprehensive strategic planning process was initiated to identify the eight strategic ends and corresponding strategies to accomplish those ends. Three to five strategic objectives were prepared for each end. Responsibility for preparing action plans and pushing forward the implementation of the strategic objectives was assigned to 10 teams consisting of a work organizer and cabinet champion for each team. The responsibility of the work organizer and cabinet champion was to monitor and assure the deployment of the strategies throughout the organization. In 2002, the President reorganized his Cabinet to include a larger number of college leaders. A primary goal of the new College Leadership Council is to move forward the work outlined in the Strategic Plan. Currently, each of the eight strategic ends is co-championed by two CLC members who are responsible to marshall all resources available (human and financial) to develop and deploy action plans and prepare monitoring reports relative to the strategic objectives.

In this process, the champions of the long-term organizational strategies work with divisions, units, and teams to develop ongoing deployment plans. In addition, key units within the organization develop their own strategic plans that align with, and support, the institution’s strategic plan. For example, in 2002 the Distance Learning Team authored a comprehensive Distance Learning Strategic Plan in direct support of organizational goals. The current reality at GRCC is that few new budget dollars are available to support strategic goals. To support new priorities, departments and units are empowered to operate within their budget allocation to reallocate funds. Budget control officers have used their own discretion to align budget priorities within the department to the overall strategic plan. This realignment is supported and encouraged through a revised budget development process that requires a direct connection be made between budget dollars and the eight strategic goals.

In 2001, the College, through the work of the Quality Leadership team, identified three quality action projects for particular focus in addition to those found in the strategic plan. The goal was to select projects that work across multiple strategic end areas, will result in significant positive change in a number of organizational processes, involve a large percentage of staff in their implementation, and can be completed in a relatively short time period (1-3 years). There is a direct relationship between the quality action projects and the eight strategic goals (see Figure 2.8).

Key indicators with measures for both short-term and longer-term planning horizons are listed in Figures 2.6 and 2.7. We are currently partnering with national (CQIN), state (Michigan AQIP Support Group), and local (competitors) to establish processes to collect comparison and benchmark data. We are making progress toward this end as demonstrated in Section 7 – Organizational Performance Results.

Knowledge regarding the needs and expectations of our students is a primary driver for developing and implementing strategies geared toward better serving our student population.

The Deans’ Council, College Leadership Council, and a cross-section of departmental units determine and respond to short- and longer-term requirements and preferences of current and future students to ensure the relevance of the organization’s educational and support services. Data are collected regularly using a number of student listening posts including surveys, focus groups, student suggestion boxes, student interviews, student voices on committees, community conversations, forums, student e-mail, and program specific evaluations. The team of staff persons responsible for gathering the student feedback summarizes the information and shares reports and findings with the appropriate department or team that is involved in formulating potential changes to processes, programs and services. For example, 250 students who use off-campus parking options are surveyed each semester to determine their satisfaction with the service. As a result of one such survey the hours that the shuttle to campus ran were extended to better meet student needs. In addition, each year a survey is distributed at commencement rehearsal to students; and the results of the survey are shared with College Leadership Council, Deans’ Council, and with individual staff in order to heighten awareness of students concerns.

a.(1) How do you determine which student segments and/or markets your educational programs will address? How do you include student segments currently serviced by other education providers and other potential segments and/or markets in this determination?

Student needs and expectations are collected and monitored at numerous times throughout their academic careers at GRCC, beginning with the admission and orientation process. Demographic, academic history, and student intent information is collected on the student application form. Students lacking ACT scores or high school GPA’s are required to complete the Accuplacer test which accesses math, English, and writing skills. Test results, as well as ACT or high school GPA information, are then used to recommend students lacking pre-requisite college level skills to the Academic Foundations program. At orientation, students are also asked to complete a Student Information Form to collect information on student goal attainment expectations, future educational aspirations, academic preparation, academic ability, access to computers and to the Internet, employment status, knowledge of GRCC services, access and availability of GRCC services, overall rating of GRCC services, and intentions regarding their need for and anticipated use of student and academic support services. Data collected is summarized and analyzed by teams of college staff directly responsible for the services provided. This process provides a snapshot of new students entering GRCC and what their habits, preferences, and educational needs may be. Summary data and comments from this process are then shared with the CLC, the Deans’ Council, and cross-college teams as needed.

Each semester, as students progress through their academic programs, they are requested to complete course evaluations. The results are summarized and distributed to the instructor, Deans, and the Provost to utilize in improving instructor performance and course effectiveness. New and adjunct faculty are evaluated each semester; tenured faculty are evaluated on a three-year cycle.

Students participating in Academic Foundations Programs and other student assistance programs such as Disability Services, one-on-one tutoring, and labs are surveyed each year regarding the degree to which program participation assisted them in meeting current and future needs as well as opportunities for improvement.

Student satisfaction surveys, student community conversations, and course withdrawal surveys are done on an annual basis to monitor student perceptions of academic, social, and student support activities. The information is used by appropriate departments and teams to implement improvements. The Student Satisfaction Team meets monthly to discuss student concerns that emerge from the analysis of these surveys. The community conversation report summary is reviewed at Deans’ Council and based on the top concerns, each Dean is given the responsibility of following up and reporting back with recommendations for improvement in operations and services. The variety of data collection methods provides the organizational "big picture" from the student perspective. Results can be analyzed to determine if immediate solutions are available or if further study and planning are necessary.

All GRCC graduates are surveyed one year after graduation to assess current employment and educational levels, perceptions of overall college performance, information regarding the attainment of general learner outcomes, and satisfaction level of specific student services including registration, counseling, job placement, library services, admissions, academic advising, computer labs, financial aid, career resource center, and academic support services. This report is made available to all staff to review on the Institutional Research web site. Departments and teams use the results to identify areas needing improvement and plan corrective action.

All occupational programs are formally evaluated on a five-year cycle. The evaluation process includes collecting survey information from all current program majors regarding course offerings, program quality, program relevance, and affordability.

The Student Congress also holds four student-organized forums each year to learn about student concerns. They organize the attendance of college staff representatives to listen, answer questions, and collect information concerning these student needs and expectations.

Twice each semester student forums entitled "Pizza with the President and/or Provost" are held to hear student concerns and issues. In addition, students are invited to participate in yearly Community Conversations with the Board of Trustees. These forums are designed specifically to collect student input on issues important to them.

Additionally, there are several informal methods of assessing student needs including e-mail suggestion boxes, compilation of most frequently asked questions, college newspaper articles and editorials, regular reports from student council leaders, and the monitoring of student grievances and complaints.

We are in the process of formalizing a clearinghouse for student complaints through the Dean of Student Affairs Office. All offices and individuals will forward both written and verbal complaints throughout the year to this office. The staff of the Dean’s office will review for follow-up and potential action. Further involvement and review would be done by the Student Satisfaction Team, Deans’ Council, College Leadership Council, and the appropriate departments. An annual summary will be done to aggregate the complaints and the actions taken in response to the complaints. A tracking system is being developed to ensure that there has been appropriate College response to all student concerns.

a.(2) How do you listen and learn to determine students’ general and special needs and expectations and their relative importance/value to students’ and stakeholders’ decision making for purposes of educational program and support service planning, marketing, improvements, and other service development? In this determination, how do you use relevant information from current, former, and future students, student segments, and stakeholders? Include information on utilization of offerings, facilities, and services; complaints; demographic data and trends that may bear upon enrollments and needs; changing requirements and expectations your graduates will face; changing requirements and expectations resulting from national, state, or local requirements; and education alternatives available to your pool of future students. If determination methods vary for different student segments or stakeholder groups, describe the key differences in your determination methods.

b.(1) How do you use relevant information from current, former, and future stakeholders to determine and anticipate changing stakeholder needs and expectations? Include complaints; demographic data and trends that may bear upon stakeholder needs; changing requirements and expectations that stakeholders will face; changing requirements and expectations resulting from national, state, or local requirements; and alternatives available to your pool of stakeholders. If determination methods vary for different stakeholder groups, describe the key differences in your determination methods.

Credit enrollments by department and for the college as a whole are monitored on a semester basis and reported to all college staff via semester enrollment reports. These reports, combined with environmental scanning information and information from advisory committees (for occupational programs), are used by departments to project future enrollments. College-wide enrollment projections are completed by the Enrollment Management Team who monitor new student applications, employment trends, and year-to-year retention rates to set annual enrollment targets. Deans then prepare academic schedules to best meet student demand for courses using information from departments and the Enrollment Management Team.

Individual student services areas including Counseling, Student Activities, Career Resource Center, Tutor Labs, Job Placement, Financial Aid, and others, regularly track program activity and use student feedback information to improve services including building hours, staffing patterns, and services offered.

Information from graduate surveys, student satisfaction surveys, withdrawing student surveys, and enrollment reports are shared with the CLC on an annual basis. Presentations of this data are also made to other teams and departments as requested. Report data is available to all staff at the College’s web site. A daily electronic staff communication (GRCC Today) also alerts all staff of service changes and key student information.

Data collected from students is regularly used to implement changes and provide students with new college services. As an example, data from the Fall 2000 new student form showed a high percentage of students connected to the Internet. This led to a decision to implement Internet-based registration beginning in Summer 2001. Another example of using student information to provide students with new opportunities is the conceptualization and opening of the Holland M-TEC center. The site and program offerings were selected based on enrollment trends and feedback from students on the west side of our service region and students drawn from an adjacent county to the immediate west of our service region.

GRCC student demographic and enrollment information is analyzed by various student group segments. Student segments include gender groups, new students, "academic at risk" students, minority students, early college students, "non-traditional" students, and service area/non service area students. Each group of students in a specific degree program is also considered a student segment with enrollments and graduation/transfer information tracked accordingly.

Information from the student application is used to identify students who might be first generation college, single parents, require disability services, are non-native English, are low income, or are women or men in non-traditional occupation majors. This information is provided to appropriate departments or service areas and a representative of that unit contacts the student (See Figure 3.1-1). A recent increase in non-native English students coupled with employer demand for enhanced programming in this area has resulted in the hiring of an ESL Coordinator and a complete revision of the ESL curriculum. This new curriculum was first offered in 2001.

Information from the new student information form, student satisfaction surveys, and withdrawing student surveys have identified changes in student lifestyles such as increased work hours and increased computer/technology access. Such information has led to improvements including the year-long student schedule, changes in the student intake and orientation processes, and computerized academic placement testing. Student desire for a greater variety of instruction al delivery styles and formats has led to the creation of the Center for Teaching and Learning to address faculty learning about diverse teaching strategies including the use of technology. We have also opened a new unit of Distance and Learning Technology to provide instructional design and multi-media support to faculty who are using classroom-based technology, course-supportive technology (Blackboard), and new distance learning options.

A number of student organizations are available to meet the needs and interests of different student segments, e.g. the Hispanic Student Organization and the Nursing Club. Each organization has staff advisors who interact regularly with the students and convey special needs and concerns to the appropriate person or department.

a.(3) How do you keep your listening and learning methods current with educational service needs and directions?

b.(2) How do you keep your listening and learning methods current with stakeholder needs and directions?

The Deans’ Council and the Enrollment Management team review demographic information, high school graduation projections, and employment trends on a regular basis. Admissions recruiters and counselors obtain direct information on students and potential student needs through high school visits, early college programs, campus open-houses and meetings with students and their spouses/parents during new student orientation programs. Special pre-college programs in teaching careers, computers, and chemistry are offered on campus each summer.

Data regarding needed curricular and program changes is collected from employers and former program students using advisory teams and surveys. The College also has institutionalized a scanning process whereby trends in demographics, occupations, and workforce needs are monitored on a regular basis with an eye toward their implications for college programs, services and policies. Over 350 college staff receive the electronic publication SCANOTES on a regular basis. In addition, several staff participates in state and national professional associations such as Michigan Occupational Dean’s Advisory Council to keep abreast of short term and long term changes in their discipline and/or societal or community expectations. For example, recent program additions in the areas of recording technologies, vocal music, and pastry arts as well as concurrent enrollment agreements with a local university are the direct result of listening to potential, current, and former student and employer needs. Programs under current consideration include emergency medical training, enhanced articulation agreements with several Michigan colleges and universities, and post-associate degree courses in child development.

In 2000-2001, GRCC installed a central demographic student information system which has in this short time provided significantly enhanced student information to decision makers. For example, course enrollment trend data for the past three years was analyzed to determine a year-long course schedule. In addition, a major tracking project regarding the progress and course enrollment patterns of Academic Foundations students has resulted in a major policy recommendation to Deans’ Council regarding a complete revamp of services provided to under-prepared students. A recently chartered CWIS (Campus Wide Information System) Reports team is currently working to make information about student and enrollment trends more accessible to those making day to day decisions about services provided to students.

Two of GRCC’s strategic outcomes (ends) include Community Outreach and Community Partnerships that support this criterion.

a.(1) How do you build relationships to attract and retain students, to enhance student performance and the organization’s overall ability to deliver its service, to satisfy students and stakeholders, and to foster new and continuing interactions and positive referrals.?

a.(2) How do you determine key student and stakeholder contact requirements and maintain effective stakeholder relationships, including partnerships with key stakeholders, to pursue common purposes? How do you ensure that these requirements are deployed to all people involved in maintaining these relationships? What key measures/indicators do you use to monitor the effectiveness and progress of the organization’s key relationships? Include a summary of your key access mechanisms for stakeholders to seek information, to pursue common purposes, and to make complaints.

GRCC builds relationships with current students through a variety of activities and services, including Student Congress, Black Student Union, advising, and counseling. The college develops relationships with students and with the community through Service Learning and other college volunteer projects.

GRCC builds staff relationships through cross-college teams and activities, including both problem-solving and staff development activities. Groups of staff have participated in off-campus conferences and workshops, resulting in both collaborative learning and strengthened relationships.

GRCC builds relationships with the community through its presence at various community events, as well as its formal partnerships with other organizations and institutions. The College participates by having informational booths at festivals and conferences, and by supporting other endeavors with finances and resources. The college is active in awards ceremonies and other recognition events for community members, leaders, students and charitable/non-profit institutions. GRCC has built partnerships with educational organizations, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Key partners include Kent and Ottawa Intermediate School Districts and superintendents, Manufacturer’s Council, Kent-Allegan Workforce Development Board, and the Area Agency on Aging.

Over the past three years, GRCC has held regular meetings with Grand Valley State University’s Deans and Senior Level Academic Administration to enhance cooperation between the institutions. From these meetings a concurrent enrollment agreement was born, allowing students to enroll simultaneously in both institutions without jeopardizing their status in either.

GRCC builds relationships with future students through outreach efforts including pre-college summer programs, early college, Tech Prep, Career Pathways, and Upward Bound. The College-Wide Recruitment Team makes contacts with prospective students in both public and parochial high schools, as well as in business and industry. Success of these relationships is indicated by positive participant evaluations, repeat enrollments in programs for youth, and subsequent enrollment at GRCC.

GRCC maintains relationships with current students (the most important stakeholders) through activities including Pizza with the President and/or Provost, Student Congress Forums, and monthly Student Congress reports to the BOT. The Disability Services staff provides ongoing support to students with special needs.

Monthly school meetings between Department Heads, Program Directors, and Deans provide regular forums that recognize faculty voice on a variety of classroom issues. These meetings inform administration of faculty needs and concerns.

GRCC faculty, staff, students, and administrators serve and hold leadership roles in various community organizations, strengthening ties with the community. Community members are invited to campus events throughout the year.

GRCC determines key student and stakeholder requirements through the use of Advisory Boards (especially in the Occupational areas), Community Conversations with community members and the Board of Trustees, and focus groups of students and other stakeholders at regularly scheduled intervals. Internal teams such at the University Relations Team, Student Satisfaction Team, Diversity Team, and others convene on a monthly (or more frequent) basis to assess needs. Information is deployed through distribution and posting of minutes, newsletters and e-mail.

Our key access mechanisms are the GRCC web site, Information Office and various points of entry to the college (Admissions, Registrar’s, Counseling, Financial Aid, Cashier’s, etc.)

a.(3) What is your complaint management process? Include how you ensure that complaints are resolved throughout your organization and by your partners, as appropriate.

Several teams are beginning to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes that affect students, including admissions, registration, and billing. These groups are the Enrollment Management Team, Street-to-Seat Team, and the eGRCC Team.

b. Student and Stakeholder Satisfaction Determination

b.(1) How do you determine student and stakeholder satisfaction and dissatisfaction and use this information for improvement? Include how you ensure that your measurements capture actionable information that reflects your organization’s learning and developmental climate and predicts students’ and stakeholders’ future interactions with your organization and/or potential for positive referral. Describe significant differences in determination methods for different student and stakeholder groups.

GRCC determines student and stakeholder satisfaction primarily through surveys and focus groups. All graduates are surveyed one year after graduation In addition, in March 2002, the Student Satisfaction Team has conducted a Student Satisfaction Survey. Incoming students are surveyed about their goals at orientation.using the New Student Survey. Employers are represented on various advisory panels in the occupational areas where their input is solicited. The Occupational programs survey students, graduates, faculty, and Advisory Committee members. Ad hoc studies are developed as needed to evaluate existing programs and services and develop new ones.

Several regular reports include data relevant to student and stakeholder satisfaction including data on enrollment, retention, campus crime statistics, transfer success rates, and attendance area market share. These reports are discussion topics at various team and council meetings (Enrollment Management Team, Deans’ Council, Cabinet, etc.) and become data that are used for the action plan phase of the strategic planning process. GRCC is developing its capacity to capture actionable data that reflects the learning and developmental climate and predicts students’ and stakeholders’ future interactions with the college.

b.(2) How do you follow up on your interactions with students and key stakeholders to receive prompt and actionable feedback?

Currently GRCC lacks a systematic, institutionalized method of following up with students/stakeholders, especially in regard to complaints. Generally staff will try to resolve the issue, but rarely check with the client to determine if the resolution was acceptable. Secondly, we don’t have any method of working to prevent the situation from happening again. A notable exception is the PROE Occupational Evaluation program. Faculty and Advisory Committee representatives collaborate on the development of Occ Ed Action Plans, based on the input from PROE surveys. Several teams (Street-to-Seat, Code of Conduct, Deans’ Council) are attempting to strategize about follow-up procedures and quality measures. This area requires additional work.

b.(3) How do you obtain and use information on the satisfaction of students and stakeholders relative to benchmarks or to the satisfaction of these groups with your competitors or other organizations delivering similar educational services, as appropriate?

Data is collected according to ethical research standards and maintains the confidentiality of informants. The primary method for gathering information is through surveys. GRCC collects the information, but does not routinely benchmark relative to competitors. IPEDs and Perkins Core Indicators allow some comparison with other Michigan community colleges providing occupational courses. As we are in the second year of a new strategic plan under the policy governance model, we are still determining indicators and measures of success.

b.(4) How do you keep your approaches to determining satisfaction current with educational service needs and directions?

GRCC keeps current with educational needs and directions primarily through environmental scanning and working closely with community, business and industry and educational leaders to determine needs and trends. Faculty have budget dollars allocated on an annual basis as part of the negotiated contract that allow them to subscribe to journals and professional publications, attend conferences and symposiums or to travel to other institutions or settings where they can learn and witness first hand what is happening in their content areas or education in general. The college organizes and sponsors several Learning Days during the academic year for college wide discussions on current topics. All employees are encouraged to attend conferences and learning opportunities where appropriate.

The College offers four all-staff Learning Days each year. A planning team devises an agenda that is meant to update staff and provide learning opportunities. The day’s activities vary depending on the organizational learning needs. Examples of activities from previous Learning Days include multiple sessions where staff have been introduced to cross-college teams and their responsibilities; national speakers such as Mark Milliron of the League for Innovation in the Community College; and sessions specifically targeted to inform staff of College-wide initiatives such as our participation in the North Central Association AQIP accreditation process, the "Street-to-Seat" project, and the College’s General Learning Outcomes initiative.

GRCC’s Mission, Values and Ends (Strategic Outcomes) provide the foundation for defining our work, the ways in which we commit to accomplish that work, and the standards to which we hold ourselves accountable to our students and stakeholders. Strategic planning, annual goal setting, budget planning, and identifying indicators define the data and information needs required to measure our organizational performance.

1. (1) How do you gather and integrate data and information from all sources to support daily operations and organizational decision making as an education organization?

To assure the integrity and reliability of institutional data and information, in 1999, Grand Rapids Community College implemented a Campus Wide Information System (CWIS). This implementation replaced multiple data collection and reporting systems with a single source, relational database for all academic, administrative and financial data.

The CWIS implementation and related process re-engineering empowered all functional areas to define the "output" needs most appropriate to be used as indicators and measures for daily operations and departmental performance within their specific areas. A prime example of this is GRCC’s Business & Technical Training (B&TT) department. B&TT provides customized training and consulting services for the business and manufacturing community. For the past three years, this department has engaged in significant process re-design and continuous quality improvement measures according to ISO:9002; in March 2002, B&TT received ISO 9002 registration.

1. (2) How do you select and align measures/indicators for tracking your daily operations, overall organizational performance, and education climate?

Indicators monitoring progress toward the accomplishment of our eight strategic outcomes (ends) originated from discussions with stakeholder groups through the BOT’s strategic conversations who were asked, "What evidence would you need to see to convince you that the College was making progress?" Between 3-7 indicators have been identified for each of the ends; these indicators are reported regularly through the Board Monitoring Reporting System. During the report development phase, staff and the Board use an iterative process to further refine the indicators and measures to assure the most relevant reporting possible. Several broad indicators measuring progress across several of the strategic outcomes were selected to be included in the GRCC Report Card to the Community. Indicators measuring both process and outcome progress on the three quality action projects were selected by cross-functional project teams, approved by the College Leadership Council, and are reported on and modified on an annual basis.

1. (3) How do you select and ensure the effective use of key comparative data and information from within and outside the academic community?

Benchmark data from peer institutions along with "best of class" measures is obtained whenever feasible. Comparative and benchmark information is gathered through environmental scanning, routine State and Federal reports, national and professional organizations, credentialing entities, two and four year universities of similar size and purpose, and business and industry best practice. We are currently working with two organizations – one national (CQIN) and one state-wide (Michigan AQIP Support Group) – to create better systems for obtaining quality benchmark data.

a. (4) How do you keep your performance measurement system current with educational service needs and directions?

Constant monitoring of trend data, customer expectations, satisfaction surveys, employment and economic indicators, advisory committee input, and stakeholder feedback ensure that performance measures are aligned with strategic direction, changing market needs and resource implications. All employees have opportunities to participate in strategic planning through the microcosm process, contribute input to the budget development process, and participate on cross-college teams for continuous organizational improvement. The College Leadership Council and Executive Budget Control Officers incorporate this information and feedback into the annual planning process.

b. (1) What analysis do you performance to support your senior leaders’ organizational performance review and your oranization’s strategic planning?

GRCC’s commitment to data-based, collaborative decision making is evident across all decision making levels of the organization. At a macro-level, the Board of Trustees, using a policy governance model, has identified the strategic direction and outcomes, and have defined executive limitations for the college President. Organizational performance is reported to the Board of Trustees throughout the year using a schedule of monitoring reports addressing the strategic outcomes and key indicators. The Board of Trustees reviews these monitoring reports and provides feedback for future planning and improvements. These reports are the basis for the President’s annual evaluation (See BOT Monitoring Report Calendar – Figure 2.1). The process for the development of BOT Monitoring Reports as well as annual progress reports on our three quality projects ensures the participation and ownership from a wide range of departments and teams, each contributing a portion to the overall progress reports. During the report development phase, project teams and leadership teams work in concert to describe current status, evaluate progress toward mutually identified indicators, set targets for the future, and spark action planning for continuous progress. This process has resulted in widespread, shared accountability for the deployment of activity geared toward the accomplishment of significant college goals.

b.(2) How do you communicate the results of organizational-level analysis to faculty and staff and/or educational programs to enable effective support for decision making?

Organizational-level analyses are communicated to faculty and staff through a series of reports including Fall and Winter Enrollment Reports, BOT Monitoring Reports and Quality Action Project Reports. Information is also shared during college-wide Learning Days. Both Deans’ Council and the College Leadership Council hold regular retreats to review data regarding progress toward established goals.

b.(3) How do you align the results of organizational-level analysis with your key education results, strategic objectives, and action plans? How do these results provide the basis for projections of continuous and breakthrough improvements in performance?

In addition to this top-down analysis, cross-functional teams and operational units collect, analyze, and disseminate information to evaluate and improve their processes and services. GRCC believes strongly in the collaborative participation of all staff using whole systems engagement processes. Participation on microcosm teams (ex. Strategy Team) encourages and empowers diverse staff to evaluate outcome data in relationship to organizational goals and strategic outcomes. Information is shared through formal reports as well as internal newsletters, e-mails, and at forums or open meetings.

a.(1) How do you make the needed data and information available? How do you make them accessible to faculty and staff, students and stakeholders, and suppliers/partners, as appropriate?

a.(3) How do you keep your data and information availability mechanisms current with educational service needs and directions?

Data and information needed to support daily operations and decision-making is accessible from anywhere on campus via CWIS. The query and reporting templates available from the campus network allow users to easily access common data, select and filter reports by data segments, update and refresh data as needed to provide real-time data just in time.

The CWIS empowers staff and students to "pull" real-time data and information as needed. Faculty members enter grades online and have on-demand access to class lists and class enrollment changes; non-faculty staff has more traditional access based on their job function. Students have access to registration, financial aid, and account information on-line, as well as their academic records (grade history and unofficial transcripts). All GRCC employees will eventually be provided access to their payroll and benefits information so that they can directly manage and monitor usage and make appropriate changes.

a.(2) how do you ensure data and information integrity, reliability, accuracy, timeliness, security, and confidentiality?

Throughout the implementation of the CWIS, cross-functional teams re-engineered existing processes, defined the integration points for the data, developed necessary data entry standards, and created data integrity measures to ensure that shared data is accurate and current. Departments responsible for student, employee and constituent data share common data entry standards and a shared decision making model to protect the integrity of data and related processes. Financial data is maintained by the Business & Financial Services department and is immediately accessible for use in planning and decision-making. To insure the integrity and reliability of the data, data ownership and data stewardship are shared responsibilities and new cross-functional teams are being empowered to monitor the integrity of the data, communicate process changes when appropriate, identify training needs, and make recommendations for improvement.

The College has a full time systems security officer in the Information Technology area that works with all functional data owners to provide access as required to the CWIS. Access is reviewed on a regular basis and processes are in place to add, remove or supplement level access as required by staff. All College employees are required to agree to the College’s "Acceptable Use Agreement" (AUA) and its confidentiality policy as a condition of employment. GRCC adheres to all FERPA regulations.

b.(1) How do you ensure that hardware and software are reliable and user friendly?

b.(2) How do you keep your software and hardware systems current with educational service needs and directions?

GRCC strives to maintain leading edge technology in all its facilities and instructional programs, and employs state-of-the-art applications in support of its business operations and administrative functions. The college's infrastructure consists of an integrated voice and data network using a Giga-speed backbone supporting 2400 computers across campus. All computer systems are reviewed on a regular basis and are upgraded or replaced as appropriate. Capacity planning processes and techniques are in place and overseen by the Information Technology division to ensure that services are optimal at all times. Hardware updates are kept current and maintenance and support contracts are maintained with vendors to ensure the greatest amount of availability of these systems to the College community.

Administrative and instructional applications used through vendor partnerships with PeopleSoft, Oracle, IBM, and Blackboard support integrated services accessible via the network in every building on campus and in more than 70 computer classrooms and labs. The systems that the College employs were required to be based on non-proprietary technology and be fully open to provide the College with maximum flexibility. Maintenance and support contracts are maintained for all application software and support software that is used to maintain and access the College’s institutional data.

GRCC motivates and enables faculty and staff to develop and utilize their full potential through the college’s Vision. "Grand Rapids Community College is a vibrant institution of higher education dedicated to enriching people’s lives . . ." The Executive Limitations Policy regarding the treatment of people states that the President shall, "provide each employee with the opportunities for meaningful professional/personal development based on his or her needs."

Our employee learning model is designed to encourage and provide ample opportunities for employees to pursue development in individualized interest areas. GRCC provides professional development opportunities by encouraging all employees to design their own professional development plans and by making available an array of ongoing professional development, workshops, training and degree-seeking opportunities. These opportunities allow for the development of interests and talents previously unrecognized or underdeveloped, and foster innovation and creativity in exploring new methods of meeting student and community needs.

a.(1) How do you organize and manage work and jobs to promote cooperation, initiative/innovation, your organizational culture, and the flexibility to keep current with educational service needs? How do you achieve effective communication and knowledge/skill sharing across departments, jobs, and locations, as appropriate?

The college is organized into three major divisions: academics/student service, organizational development, and business and finance. Each area entails specific departments with unique functions and responsibilities. Evolving work systems complement the traditional structure by incorporating integrated project teams and cross-functional leadership teams across all levels of the organization. GRCC employees are empowered and encouraged to improve services to students by participating in a variety of collaborative cross-functional teams, grant and resource development efforts, task teams, award competitions, innovation efforts, and other cross college initiatives. These efforts are guided by the college mission, prioritized by the strategic plan, and organized around accomplishing the defined ends. The variety of cross college team opportunities motivates and enables faculty and staff to participate in the direction of the college and enhances the direction of their daily work to meet the learning needs of students and community members.

We encourage and provide all employees with opportunities to participate in various college teams that improve and implement processes that support student learning, enhance efficiency and service, promote partnerships, and meet identified community needs. For example, GRCC employees are empowered and encouraged to improve student services by participating in strategic planning. Through the use of microcosms, a representative sample of employees, students, community members and other stakeholders, the input received allows GRCC to remain flexible in providing educational services. For example, one of the our 2001-2002 quality action projects, Street-to-Seat, is streamlining the college’s intake process to minimize the time it takes a student to be enrolled in a class at GRCC.

GRCC utilizes numerous communication methods to support cooperative and collaborative work across campus. Electronic communication tools, print media, cross team relationships, college Learning Days, information sessions and department meetings all provide vehicles for sharing information. The Campus Wide Information System (CWIS) implementation is another information tool from which staff can access real-time information for decision-making and analysis. Access to information is available from the college network and via web applications.

a.(2) How do you motivate faculty and staff to develop and utilize their full potential? Include formal and/or informal mechanisms you use to help faculty and staff attain job- and career-related development/learning objectives and the role of administrators, faculty leaders, and supervisors in helping faculty and staff attain these objectives.

GRCC supports job and career-related development/learning objectives through various organizational career advancement opportunities. For instance, four all-employee Learning Days allow employees to participate in learning activities as well as engage in department planning. Staff may apply for instructional improvement and professional development (IIPD) or support staff professional development (SSPD) grants. Administrators review the grant applications and faculty/support staff peer groups collectively decide funding allocations.

A cross-functional administrative team has redesigned a Performance Development system for all meet-and-confer (non-union) employees. Other college staff is evaluated using a variety of tools depending on function and employee group. Additionally, a Faculty Evaluation Team, composed primarily of faculty representing different disciplines and key administrators, has expanded the evaluation process for faculty. This new method focuses on a faculty member’s performance in five key areas: teaching, college service, student service, professional development and community service. Tenured faculty engages in performance discussions every three years. Performance discussions are held annually for other employee groups.

a.(3) How does your faculty and staff performance management system, including feedback to faculty and staff, support high performance and a student and stakeholder focus? How do your compensation, recognition, and related reward/incentive practices reinforce these objectives, including your overall objectives for student learning and development?

While our current compensation system is not performance based for all employees, compensation may be varied within certain employee groups subject to factors such as degree status or performance merit pay. Formal and informal employee recognition methods encourage and reinforce high performance. The GRCC Foundation funds IIPD and SSPD professional development grants for faculty and non-teaching staff. GRCC formal recognition is achieved through three awards, The Excellence in Education Award, The Salute to Women’s Award and The Raider Spirit Award. Employees nominate possible recipients for each award, given to an employee demonstrating any of the college’s six values: Responsiveness, Accountability, Innovation, Diversity, Excellence, Respectfulness, and Service. The Excellence in Education Award is given to two recipients, one faculty and one non-faculty. Each recipient receives a $1,000 net bonus and $1,000 to direct toward a GRCC scholarship of the recipient’s choice. The internal scholarship program was established to reinforce student learning. The Raider Salute is among the many informal recognition mechanisms. The Raider Salute ("thank you") card is given colleague-to-colleague with a copy provided to the employee’s supervisor.

a.(4) How do you accomplish effective succession planning for senior leadership and career progression throughout the organization?

As work systems evolve and skill sets and job expectations change, succession planning at GRCC involves the analysis of job expectations and key performance requirements when reviewing job descriptions for internal career advancement or external hiring purposes. This analysis includes but is not limited to input from applicable unit staff, faculty, administrators, and Human Resources personnel. The College’s mission and vision are taken into account to design a job description that reflects the needs of the hiring unit as well as the College.

Opportunities also exist within the college for employees to assume various leadership positions for specific projects or temporary assignments. These positions are typically filled with internal candidates through a formalized application and interview process or by assignment based on skill or leadership in the particular area of need.

a.(5) How do you identify characteristics and skills needed by potential faculty and staff? How do you recruit, hire, and retain new faculty and staff? How do your work systems capitalize on the diverse ideas, cultures, and thinking of the communities with which you interact (your hiring and student and stakeholder communities)?

We circulate job postings through a wide range of communication methods to encourage and ensure a diverse pool of candidates. These include newspaper publications, organizations, and local, regional, statewide, national, or international networks. GRCC has adopted a Faculty Recruitment Profile as a means of successfully hiring qualified instructors. Standardized procedures are in place for recruitment, screening, assessment, and recommendation. A tracking document for each opening includes the position description and authorization, departmental EEO data, recruitment plan suggestions from department faculty and the appropriate dean and or assistant dean, approval of a screening committee, a Human Resources log of applicants, and tracking components used throughout the process for each position. The screening committee uses an interview database to developing its interview questions and procedures. The hiring process includes interviews by the screening committee and the Dean, a teaching demonstration, and a campus tour. As a result of adopting this recruitment procedure, GRCC has been successful in hiring qualified, enthusiastic instructors for available positions in virtually all cases. While no process is perfect, we are pleased with the improvements we have made in recent years in our hiring practices and continue to review and revise our procedures as needed.

For all administrative, faculty, and staff positions, employees representing a diverse cross section of the institution are invited to participate on interview teams to ensure diversity and inclusiveness in the selection process. The Human Resources and Labor Relations, AA/EEO Departments provide leadership and guidance to assure that hiring practices and all employee relations are consistent, open, equitable, and comply with or exceed standard fair work force practices.

a.(1) How do faculty and staff education and training contribute to the achievement of your action plans? How does your education and training approach balance short- and longer-term organizational objectives and faculty and staff needs, including certification, licensure, development, learning, and career progression?

The performance evaluation system is designed to identify training and education needs of our faculty and staff. The performance discussion results in an action plan designed to reflect the individual employee’s goals for performance enhancement. The college has a variety of resources to support the achievement of these action plans:

• The Professional Development Office provides a variety of services including just in time training in computer skills. Additionally, the Raider Learning Resource Guide catalogs the various education and learning curricula available to staff and lists professional development services and career progression resources available on campus to the employees.
• The Center For Teaching and Learning provides training opportunities in teaching strategies for our faculty and facilitate access to Innovation Grants that are intended to encourage new ways of learning within the classroom environment.

The Center is also charged with keeping up with the latest research on teaching and learning and finding ways to communicate that information to faculty and others in the institution. The Center has provided support for faculty involved in the faculty evaluation process by holding session on the FGIP and portfolio. It has also provided training in the CARP process. The learning of faculty around these processes is essential for the success of these efforts. The Center has worked closely with Deans’ Council to assure consistency of standards in both the CARP process and the Faculty Evaluation Process.

The Center for Teaching and Learning began leading a GRCC Formation process this year for both administrative staff and faculty. The Formation Project is a national project co-sponsored by the Dallas County Community College District, the Fetzer Institute and the League for Innovation in the Community College. Formation is based on the work of Parker J. Palmer and provides inspiration and renewal. Through inner work, individuals reconnect with their own values and truths, the qualities that make them whole. Renewed community college employees can recommit to the institution and to the students they serve. .This work is important to us because formation principles and practices inform and renew institutional cultures. The work helps us recommit to our mission, rooted in the belief that each and every learner, whether staff or student, has inherent worth and potential.

• Academic office development funds are primarily intended for activities involving learning at the departmental level. Additional funds are available to faculty through the faculty contract for individual professional development activities and to support sabbatical leaves.
• Administrative office development funds are available to each college employee to support certification, licensure, and professional development activities.
• IIPD’s are given to individual instructors or groups of instructors who seek new knowledge in curriculum and instruction.
• SSPD’s are given to support staff who seek new knowledge and skills related to job functions.
• Perkins funding is provided through government grants to the College for development and equipment related to workforce-based instruction.
• Tuition reimbursement is available to all full-time college staff.

College wide Learning Days balance short and long term faculty and staff development needs through quick workshops on new technology and computer skills, and longer-term development through speakers and interactive learning supporting the College’s and our strategic outcomes.

a.(2) How do you seek and use input from faculty and staff and their senior leaders and supervisors/administrators on education and training needs and delivery options?

Training in topics from software implementation to curriculum development is offered in various formats to meet individual staff needs. A cross-campus team develops the all-College Learning Days. Staff attending conferences bring back ideas and share this information with others through shared folders on our computer system, as well as through informational sessions at the departmental, School, or College level. Opportunities for staff learning include training sessions through the Professional Development Office, workshops held by The Center For Teaching and Learning, and the Learner’s Forum. To foster the development of leadership potential at GRCC, we send people to leadership training activities, and annually loan one of our staff to the United Way to help lead their campaign. Our lab assistants are trained in safety techniques, and our Risk Management team meets regularly to review campus-wide re safety issues and offer recommendations for changes. (Section 7.4-4, 7.4-7)

a.(3) How do you address in your faculty and staff education, training, and development your key organizational needs associated with technological change, leadership/supervisor development, new faculty and staff orientation, safety, performance measurement/improvement, and diversity?

Faculty and staff education and training is led by our Office of Professional Development, our Center for Teaching and Learning, and other teams and offices across the campus. New employee orientation is held monthly for all new staff. The orientation includes presentations by the President and key employees covering the college’s Mission, Vision and Values; campus safety; right-to-know training; technology; and other key organizational needs. In addition, new full-time faculty attend a one-and-one-half day orientation regarding the teaching and learning process at GRCC. Adjunct faculty members attend meetings each semester to obtain appropriate academic information.

We provide education and training to faculty and staff to meet key organizational needs. Various cross-college teams support this training. For example, the College Wide Information System coordinates technology utilization, including technological changes and budget recommendations. Additionally, the college has a Diversity Center, Quality Leadership Team, and College Leadership Council responsible for other key organizational needs.

a.(4) How do you deliver faculty and staff education and training? Include formal and informal delivery, including mentoring and other approaches, as appropriate. How do you evaluate the effectiveness of faculty and staff education and training, taking into account individual and organizational performance?

We deliver staff education and training through a variety of methods. Formal delivery methods include traditional classroom sessions, college Learning Days with breakout sessions, and various distance learning teleconferences. Funding is made available for all staff to attend external learning conferences and seminars. Informal delivery methods include self-paced tutorial computer training, brown bag specialty luncheons, and employee-to-employee mentoring.

a.(5) How do you reinforce the use of knowledge and skills on the job?

The College awards sabbaticals every year, and has a year-end recognition lunches for both faculty and non-faculty. Skill standards and technology assessment are addressed through departmental/program requirements for accreditation and through periodic updates of changes within the various fields. Benchmarking with other accredited entities takes place, especially as it relates to specific programs. We are just beginning to assess best practices as they relate to the performance of the College as a whole. With this need in mind, a new part-time Assessment Coordinator was named to review performance practices and encourage development. The Assessment Coordinator has led us in developing a College-wide plan for assessment of academic programs and student learning, working closely with the Assessment in the Discipline Team and the General Education Assessment team.

GRCC faculty and staff are part of our community of learners. We value our community of learners as the essence of our work, in a high quality learning environment that is nurturing and challenging, and in a working environment characterized by collaboration and shared responsibility for the whole with diversity and respect for all people.

GRCC demonstrates the importance of the general physical health of faculty and staff by funding the GRCC Wellness Team as part of Professional Development and Enrichment Services. This team underwrites an open fitness session three times during the week for any interested staff member. It also sponsors a fitness program called F.I.T. (Fitness Improvement Team) that encourages employees to develop a healthy lifestyle by providing incentives for participation in the program. It sponsors a Walk/Run 100 program and a weight management program, and provides all interested faculty and staff with a monthly health newsletter. The Wellness Team occasionally secures funding through grants to provide all interested staff with an individual Health Risk Appraisal conducted by the local health department. The Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse on campus offers a fully equipped fitness center that is open free to all staff. It has weightlifting equipment, basketball courts, a running track, racquetball courts, and locker/shower facilities.

The Risk Management Team has developed an ergonomics assessment process. If ergonomic needs on campus are unable to be resolved, an ergonomics consultant conducts individual assessments of employee work situations. Through this service the college has been able to alleviate potential long-term problems. Because GRCC is one of the oldest community colleges in Michigan, there is an ongoing effort to assure that all facilities are and continue to be compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The custodial and maintenance staff, in keeping with OSHA and MiOSHA standards, participate in annual safety training. As part of the New Employee Orientation process, all employees receive information on Right to Know (hazmat) and Blood Borne Pathogens. (Section 7.4-2).

GRCC attempts to provide a work environment in which faculty and staff feel safe. This is accomplished primarily through the GRCC Campus Police Department. This department has a Chief of Police, a Sergeant, and nine other fully MCOLES certified police officers. Last year two of the officers attended "bike school" to become certified to conduct bicycle patrol during the fall, spring and summer months. The Campus Police department also escorts any faculty or staff member to his or her vehicle at any time during the day upon request. All officers are CPR and First Aid certified. They are "first responders" on campus for any medical emergency. They have also all been trained in the use of the ADE (automatic defibrillator equipment). (Figure 7.4-3)

b.(1) How do you determine the key factors that affect faculty and staff well-being, satisfaction, and motivation? How are these factors segmented for a diverse workforce and for varying categories and types of faculty and staff, as appropriate?

In the past several years, GRCC has distributed campus climate assessment surveys to all staff using the PACE (Personal Assessment of the College Environment) Survey. The PACE survey will be repeated at regular intervals, providing trend data for future use. Results of these surveys are discussed in focus groups in order to develop solutions to problems identified in the surveys (Section 7.4-8, 7.4-9)

b.(2) How do you support your faculty and staff via services, benefits, and policies? How are these tailored to the needs of a diverse workforce and varying categories and types of faculty and staff, as appropriate?

GRCC offers a variety of services and benefits to faculty and staff. Needs are determined through the negotiating process for our three formal unions and the four components of the meet-and-confer (non-union) group. Health benefits including dental and vision reimbursement are offered to all employees according to the various contractual and meet and confer agreements. All regular full and part-time employees receive paid vacation and sick time in accordance to the various agreements. Other benefits include the earning of compensatory time instead of overtime pay; tuition reimbursement so employees can further their education; longevity pay recognizing years of service; leaves of absence with or without pay; and flex time schedules or job share situations.

The Personal Enrichment Team, which is part of Professional Development and Enrichment Services department, sponsors outings to local baseball, hockey, basketball, and bowling events. This team also sponsors family movie outings and other social gatherings. Discounted tickets are available to staff to the various movie theaters and other live performance theaters in the area. GRCC offers a Diversity Lecture series, an Institute on Racism, an annual Diversity Conference, and diversity training. Staff and Faculty are encouraged to participate. Foreign language and culture classes are open to all.

b. (3) What formal and/or informal evaluation methods and measures do you use to determine faculty and staff well-being, satisfaction, and motivation? How do you tailor these methods and measures to a diverse workforce and to different categories and types of faculty and staff, as appropriate? How do you use other indicators, such as faculty and staff retention, absenteeism, grievance, safety, and productivity, to assess and improve faculty and staff well-being, satisfaction, and motivation?

The PACE (Personal Assessment of the College Environment) Campus Climate Survey has been used to gather information from faculty and staff regarding their feelings and perceptions of GRCC. Results from the survey have been used to make changes in institutional processes and practices concerning employee issues. Throughout each academic year, various surveys are distributed in a variety of formats to gather information regarding specific wants and needs. The Information Technology Division does an online survey to determine the computer needs of faculty and staff. A web based surveying instrument is used by several departments to gather information on topics ranging from signage on campus to the need for support staff to speak Spanish in order to provide better customer service. At almost every event or activity held on campus, participants are asked to provide feedback. The feedback is then used to make adjustments to the program being offered.

b.(4) How do you relate evaluation findings to key organizational performance results to identify priorities for improving the work environment and faculty and staff support climate?

GRCC is in the process of relating evaluation findings to key organizational performance results, and to use these findings to improve work environment and climate. Results are evaluated in terms of their contribution to our Mission, Vision, Values, and Strategic Outcomes.

a.(1) What are your design processes for educational programs and offerings and their related delivery systems and processes?

b.(1) What are your key educational programs, offerings and delivery processes and their key performance requirements?

GRCC offers 96 associate degree programs and 20 one-year certificate programs, as well as customized training programs for job-seekers and current employees. We work to insure that each program is a current reflection of workforce and community needs through both program and course review systems. Design processes include both program development and course development. Program development may occur in one of two ways. If a potential program has a separate accreditation available such as in the areas of Art, Dental Technologies, and Architecture, program planners follow accreditation guidelines. This model of program development or program revision is found in Figure 6.1.

Other programs follow the Perkins protocol for new program development, seen in Figure 6.2. The process includes needs assessment, job market analysis, program and course development, and management and evaluation planning.

Figure 6.2 Occupational Program Approval Process

New course approvals follow the Course Approval and Review Process (CARP), shown in Figure 6.1-3. This process analyzes courses in terms of student and community need, transferability, accreditation, general learner outcomes, specific learner outcomes, consistency with College Ends, fit within existing programs, resources needed, and assessment plan. The CARP process is a component of Quality Action Project #1: Curriculum Development, Assessment, and Revision as discussed in Section 2.

The CARP process is one element of our total curriculum model, shown in figure 6.4.

In 2001, we adopted a new course model for Internet courses, based on NCA standards and MCCVLC course guidelines for online programs. This model (Figure 6.5) forms the basis for the new Teaching Online Course, offered to faculty who are developing online courses.

*Chickering, A.W., and Gamson, Z.F. (1991). Applying the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. Number 47, Fall 1991. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Other recent curriculum revision projects include:

• Service Learning Scholars: Four faculty members incorporated service-learning strategies into their courses. Next year, eight faculty members will participate.
• Contextualized Curriculum: faculty developed collaborative courses including Algebra for Criminal Justice students, Small Group Dynamics for Music students, Business for Developmental students, and Speech for Computer Applications students.

a.(2) How do you ensure that all programs and offerings address student education., developmental, and well-being needs; meet high standards; and focus on active learning?

b.(2) How do you ensure that ongoing educational programs and offerings meet key design and delivery requirements?

Program department heads are charged with maintaining the currency and quality of their curriculum. Deans and department chairs assess course quality by monitoring course enrollments, observing instructors, receiving student feedback, and reviewing student course evaluations conducted at the end of each semester for all new and adjunct faculty and one-third of all full-time faculty annually. Data from these sources are summarized and reviewed with the appropriate instructors and assistant deans to identify needed program improvement.

We develop performance requirements based on information gathered from graduate surveys, surveys of employers of our students, and periodic program reviews. Student grades, results of graduate and employer surveys, information from transfer institutions, information from faculty evaluation by students, and student satisfaction surveys all provide data to faculty to use in monitoring success. Faculty and academic administrators participate in the strategic planning team and get information from environmental scanning. Advisory Councils, the local Manufacturing Council, and work with K-12 on Career Pathways and Tech Prep provide us with information about outside expectations and needs.

The Course Approval and Review Process and the program review process provide data on programs that will help minimize costs, redundancy, and unnecessary redesign. GRCC occupational programs are evaluated on a five-year cycle utilizing student surveys, course outcome data, advisory council recommendations and faculty surveys. Three departments (Mathematics, Art, and Occupational Therapy Assisting) are piloting use of the CQIN Trailblazer Process to assess their programs. The English Department has developed a department strategy plan, including an assessment plan, based on the College’s plan. We have also completed a measurement process for eight general learner outcomes as seen in Figure 2.5.

a.(3) How do you anticipate and prepare for individual differences in student learning rates and styles?

To prepare for individual differences in student learning styles, all entering students are assessed based on their high school performance, national test results, and, if appropriate, Accuplacer placement test results. All students are expected to attend academic orientation and counseling sessions. To better support students who are under-prepared for college level academic work, we have recently completed a review of the Academic Foundations Program. Results from this intensive study include the hiring of a part-time program coordinator and the revision of Developmental Math (Math 003) into a module-based format utilizing mini-lectures and a collaborative learning environment. Additional student support systems which assist students in understanding their learning styles include: PY101(Learning to Adjust to College), Brown Bag series for students on such topics as study skills and time management; and Career Exploration activities provided by the Career Resource Center.

The Center for Teaching and Learning provides a variety of opportunities for faculty to learn multiple ways to engage students in the learning process, including the use of brain-based learning and multiple intelligence theories in the classroom. The Center also provides faculty with information about student demographics and changes in student and market requirements. Technology enables some students to engage more fully in their learning; see Section 6.1a (5). Experiential learning such as service learning, co-ops, and internships provide real-world experience to give context to classroom experiences. The Learning Environments Team has provided philosophical guidelines for arranging the learning environment (See Figure 6.6). The next challenge is making these guidelines practical for use in space planning.

a.(4) How is information on student segments and/or individuals students developed and used for purposes of engaging all students in active learning? How do you incorporate changing student, stakeholder, and market requirements into the design of educational programs and offerings and their related delivery systems and processes?

Institutional Research and Planning (IRP) develops an annual profile of our student body, including characteristics such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, hours of paid employment, first time in any college or transfer, new or returning, parenting responsibilities, first member of family to attend college, program of study, degree-seeking or personal interest, full or part-time, day or evening attendee, developmental status. IRP also provides program-specific data regarding enrollment and course performance. Both internal and external sources of data inform discussions about the needs and learning styles of our students. These discussions are part of new faculty orientation, strategy planning and all-college learning days.

a.(5) How do you incorporate new technology, including

Technology is incorporated throughout the educational design and delivery process. CARP requires a definition of resources -- including technology -- that a course will require. Technology Skills was one of the first General Learner Outcomes to be fully developed; and one of the goals for the Distance and Learning Technology Plan is to assure that our graduates have the technology skills they will need for success in their future education and work.

Technology is infused into the educational programs and offerings through such opportunities as Innovation Grants and a Kellogg grant from the Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative. This year, we created a new department of Distance and Learning Technology to provide leadership and support for the use of technology to support learning. This department provides Blackboard support, Instructional Design, a multi-media development lab for faculty, web design support, and training and support for all types of distance learning, including on-line, ITV, and telecourses. A new 5 year Distance and Learning Technology Plan has recently been finalized. A new cross-campus team, the Campus Technology Leadership Team, is being formed to provide leadership and direction to the use of technology both for learning and for administrative and operational purposes.

Seventy-two classrooms (36 percent) are outfitted with multi-media stations, and AVISS provides portable equipment for additional classrooms. We have 18 computer labs on campus, some open and some used only for classrooms. Departments teaching courses in computer labs include Math, Computer Applications, Office Administration, Drafting, Design, Biology, Physical Science, Languages, English, and Business. Ninety-nine faculty members (18 percent) have some part of their course available to students on the web using Blackboard, GRCC's course management software. As textbook publishers develop more CD ROM and web packages to accompany their textbooks, instructors are incorporating those resources into their curriculum. (Figures 7.2-9, 7.4-6, 7.5-5)

a.(6) How do your design processes address sequencing, linkages among educational offerings, transfer of learning from past design projects and other parts of the organization, new design technology, cycle time, and other efficiency/effectiveness factors?

Instructional design and delivery processes are part of the curriculum model that includes course outline planning, course objectives and activities planning, delivery, and assessment. Within two years, all courses will be in the CARP format. The CARP process requires faculty to describe how each course fits into the program and links to other programs. The collaborative process of CARP school also encourages inter- and intra-departmental discussion and review. We are creating a CARP database that can yield cross-disciplinary data, such as use of teaching strategies and implementation of General Learner Outcomes.

GRCC holds an institutional license for WIDS (Wisconsin Instructional Design System) and has several WIDS-certified trainers. We now use WIDS for the design of new Internet courses, and plan for wider application in course design and delivery. These processes will reduce the cycle time of course revision and new course development, as well as increase transfer of learning from past design projects.

a.(7) How do you incorporate a measurement plan that makes effective use of formative and summative assessment?

b.(3) What key observations and measures/indicators are used to monitor and improve the delivery of your key educational programs and offerings? Include how key formative and summative assessments of students; in-process measures of programs and offerings; and real-time student, faculty, staff, and stakeholder input are used in managing your educational programs and offerings to help students and faculty achieve learning objectives, as appropriate.

b.(5) How do you improve your educational programs and offerings to achieve better student learning and improvements to services, as appropriate? Include use of research on learning, assessment, and instructional methods and new learning technology, as appropriate. How are improvements shared with other organizational units and programs, students, faculty, staff, and stakeholders, as appropriate?

Assessment is an important part of GRCC's curriculum model, at both the program and the course level. In 2001-02, we supported partial release time for a faculty member dedicated to promoting and coordinating academic assessment activities. This Academic Assessment Coordinator has worked with an institutional researcher and with two faculty-driven teams: the Assessment of General Education Team, the Assessment in the Discipline Team. Currently, the Assessment of General Education Team is developing a system to measure the general learner outcomes. The Assessment in the Discipline team is using the Baldrige educational criteria as a framework to develop measures to describe the effectiveness and efficiency of programs.

Formative assessment of student learning primarily consists of in-course assessments, which give students and instructors ways to diagnose difficulties and chart progress in a given course. We use summative, aggregated data to help departments improve programs, courses, and services. Examples include progress of our Academic Foundation Students, and students' perceptions of the effectiveness of our academic programs (Figures 7.1-9 and 7.1-6).

a.(8) How do you ensure that faculty and staff are properly prepared to implement your education programs and offerings?

In Fall of 1999, GRCC established the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to prepare faculty and staff to implement educational programs and offerings. CTL projects in 2001-02 supported curriculum model work, the Faculty Evaluation process, and Teacher Formation. Training topics included CARP, WIDS, the Faculty Goals and Improvement Plan (FGIP), faculty portfolio development, and Formation in the Community College.

We demonstrate a financial commitment to faculty development through support for the CTL (Figure 7.4-7). Other college-supported opportunities for training include IIPD’s, Innovation Grants, Fast Track, and sabbaticals. As part of negotiated contracts and other employment agreements, staff may receive tuition reimbursement, and department receive funds for staff development.

b.(4) How do you evaluate programs and offerings to minimize redesign efforts and their costs?

Community input and program review are critical for the development of occupational programs. Based on a needs assessment process that includes employer and transfer institution input and environmental scanning, we have added two new programs, Recording Technology and Chemical Technology. We are currently assessing the need for programs including Social Work Technician, Gerontology, Technical Writing, and a 2 plus 2 program in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education in association with Ferris State University. The needs process also has been used to make decisions not to begin a new program; a needs study revealed that is would not be advisable for us to begin an EMT paramedic program, since the training needs for those jobs are being met locally.

Our Holland-MTEC center has allowed us to respond to the needs of manufacturing employers and students in the Ottawa county area. This Fall, we will open the Grand Rapids MTEC center, designed by faculty and industry constituents such as the Associated Builders and Contractors (who will also have office space in the building) and the Automotive Advisory Board. Community input has also led to a new English as a Second Language Program that will provide a wide range of skill-building in reading, writing and speaking.

a.(1) What are your key student services?

Key areas of student services include: Academic Dean’s Office, Admissions, Assessment, Bookstore, Cashier’s, Counseling, Disability Support Services, Educational Services, Financial Aid, Food Service, Job Placement, Library Services, Registrar’s, Student Activities, Tutorial Services, Career Services, Campus Police.

a.(2) How do you determine key student service requirements, incorporating input from students, faculty, staff, other stakeholders, and suppliers/partners, as appropriate? What are the key requirements for these services?

Staff members responsible for student services identify key requirements with input from students and stakeholders. Input from students includes graduate surveys, student satisfaction surveys, focus groups, and informal meetings such as "Pizza with the President and/or Provost" lunches. We seek community and employer input through employer surveys, occupational advisory committees, and through Community Conversations. For examples, see Figures 7.2-3 and 7.2-5.

a.(3) How do you design and deliver these services to meet all the key requirements?

Cross-functional groups, including the Enrollment Management Team, the Deans’ Council, and the Academic Leadership Team (ALT), develop processes for implementation and revision of services to students. The College Leadership Council periodically reviews these processes. The Quality Leadership Team supports continuous improvement in processes throughout the College.

a.(4) What are your key performance measures/indicators used for the control and improvement of these services? Include how in-process measures and feedback from student, faculty, staff members, stakeholders, and suppliers are used in managing your student services, as appropriate.

Every student service area has department or team meetings at which performance is monitored and discussed. Each service area has a process owner empowered to make performance adjustments. Team members consider both measurable standards, as defined for given strategic outcomes, and feedback from stakeholders. Team meetings and reviews decide what needs to be done and how resources should be assigned. The Street to Seat Team, discussed in Section 6.2a(5), is an example of a cross-functional team using data to improve student intake processes.

a.(5) How do you improve your student services to keep them current with educational service needs and directions, to achieve better performance, and to control overall costs? How are improvements shared with other organizational units and processes, as appropriate?

Both individual departments and cross-functional teams work to improve student services, based on performance data, student feedback, and benchmarking of best practices. We share information at meetings, and publish changes and results in the monthly campus newsletter, the eGRCC website, and the alumni publication.

The Street to Seat Team was formed in November 2000, "To make the entire intake experience for students as smooth as possible while eliminating waste in the GRCC process". Representatives of all departments involved in student enrollment are working to identify student populations and expectations, map student enrollment experiences, and make the process more "lean" (Quality Action Project #2 as described in Section 2).

a.(1) What are your key processes for supporting your daily operations and your faculty and staff in delivering educational programs and offerings and student services?

Key support processes include budget and planning, master planning, space planning, risk management, purchasing, and policy development. These processes are supported by teams, including the College Leadership Council (CLC) Budget Advisory Team, Strategy Team, Space Planning Team, and Risk Management Team.

a.(2) How do you determine key support process requirements, incorporating input from faculty and staff, as appropriate? What are the key operational requirements (such as productivity, timeliness, accuracy, and safety) for these processes?

GRCC determines key support process requirements with input from stakeholders, including faculty, staff, community members, and external governmental and regulatory bodies.

a.(3) How do you design these processes to meet all the key requirements?

a.(4) How does your day-to-day operation of key support processes ensure meeting key performance requirements?

Design of support processes reflects key requirements and criteria. For example:

• The CLC uses GRCC Strategic Outcomes and guidelines, including effects on students and the community, and whether a request is mandatory or legislated, as priorities in ranking budget requests.
• The State Capital Outlay Request Process requires a Master Plan, including Instructional Programming, Staffing and Enrollment, Facility Assessment and Implementation Plan.
• Steps in the Space Planning process include proposal development, assessment, plan development, endorsement and prioritizing, recommendation, and final approval.
• Key operational requirements for Risk Management include reduction of accidents and injuries, and increased employee knowledge of and training in safety. The Risk Management Plan reflects MIOSHA and OSHA requirements, as well as the recommendations of insurance underwriters.
• Day to day operations and decisions reflect these key requirements, and include monitoring of Performance Indicators as shown in Section 6.3.

a.(5) What are your key performance measures/indicators used for the control and improvement of these processes? Include how in-process measures and faculty and staff feedback are used in managing your support processes, as appropriate.

Performance indicators for support processes include:

• Budget: deviation of actual from planned budget, maintenance of 10% fund balance.
• Space Planning: customer satisfaction, completion of projects within budget, and accommodation of growth.
• Risk Management: numbers of claims/days off for work-related injuries, and numbers of employees trained.

a.(6) How do you minimize overall costs associated with inspections, tests, and process/performance audits of support processes?

Support process teams have implemented cost-saving procedures. For example, regular meetings of the Risk Management Team, availability of a full time administrator, and a 24-hour "hotline" have reduced the need for inspections, tests, and process and performance audits, thereby minimizing associated costs. The Purchasing department piloted an efficient and accurate on-line requisition process that will be implemented throughout the college next year. Purchasing has also implemented a Procurement Card, allowing end users to purchase items directly.

a.(7) How do you improve your support processes to achieve better performance and to keep them current with organizational needs and directions? How are improvements shared with other organizational units and processes, as appropriate?

Improvements in educational support processes are linked to GRCC's annual planning process. Communication channels include BCO meetings, general budget sessions for all employees, budget work sessions, other meetings, and staff representation on teams. Ongoing feedback from stakeholders allows for continuous improvement of processes, supporting the College outcomes of responsiveness, collaboration, flexibility, and accountability.

Figure 7.1-1 lists key measures which present student performance results.

Improving the persistence of students into their second year is evidence of GRCC’s commitment to student success. Figure 7.1-2 shows the Fall to Fall persistence rates for all sub-groups of students. These rates compare favorably with the average of 50% for Michigan Community Colleges and 39% for peer institutions. UW-Stout, the 2001 Baldrige award winner, posted a fall-to-fall persistence rate of 77%. (Measuring Up 2000; Students Returning at Two-Year Colleges: First-year community college students returning their second year. ACT, ACT Institutional Data Questionnaire, 1999, peer institution data provided by three national community colleges similar in scope and mission to GRCC.)

Source: Fall 2001 Enrollment Report

The graduation rate is the percentage of an entering community college cohort enrolled in a degree program that actually completes a degree within three years. Our goal is for the percentage of students leaving GRCC with an earned degree to increase each year. However, we recognize that community colleges serve students who are constantly changing their plans and educational situations. GRCC graduation rates are similar to those provided by two national peer institutions reporting 17% and 12% 3-year graduation rates.

Another indicator of success at a community college is the number of students who successfully transfer to another institution. Figure 7.1-4 presents the transfer rates for the cohort of students within three years. Transfer rate percentages were provided by one peer institution at 20%, significantly below GRCC levels.

Source: Institutional Research and Planning Department, GRCC

An indicator of success for any two-year college is that students are able to compete successfully when transferring to a 4-year institution. The data in Figure 7.1-5 show the GPA of juniors at the top transfer colleges serving GRCC students. It compares how GRCC transfers perform in their junior year compared with students who spent their entire academic career at the four-year college. Our goal is for GRCC students to outperform the native students.

Source: Cooperating institutional research departments

As part of the annual survey of graduates, former students are asked both how well GRCC prepared them to continue their education and for their current job. Figure 7.1-6 presents the percent of graduates who answer the question by marking "Exceptionally well." Two national peer institutions reported "highest level" responses of 25% and 30% on comparable questions.

Source: Grad1 Survey Results for 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000

Several of the occupational programs at GRCC require passing of State licensure exams to practice in the field. The percent of students passing these exams is one indicator of student performance results. As an example, Figure 7.1-7 shows the exam passing rates for Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Dental Assistants, Dental Hygienists, Radiologic Technicians, and Occupational Therapy Assistants. Comparison exam passing rates for two national peer institutions are provided.

Source: Michigan Board of Nursing Licensure Reports; Assistant Dean, School of Workforce Development, GRCC

Students come to GRCC for many reasons. An important indicator of success for a community college is the percent of graduates who find employment or who continue their education at a 4-year college after leaving the community college. Consistently over 96% of graduates are either employed or continuing their education. (Figure 7.1-8).

Academic At-Risk students at GRCC have a number of options available to assist them including enrollment in the Academic Foundations Program. The purpose of the Academic Foundations classes is to hone student skills to enable them to be successful in subsequent coursework. Figures 7.1-2 shows student success rates in College level English and Math courses for AFP students compared with all students taking the course.

Source: GRCC Student Records

One indicator of student success is the overall Grade Point Average. Figure 7.1-9 shows the overall GPA for GRCC students by semester for the last five years. Please note that a drop in the most recent year GPAs in the result of a change in grading policy. GRCC consistently outperforms two peer institutions who report average GPAs of 2.7 and 2.9.

Figure 7.2-1 lists key indicators that show evidence of student and stakeholder satisfaction with the college overall as well as with key student services.

GRCC students are surveyed regularly, beginning at freshman orientation, throughout their academic career, and continuing into their careers or further education with the use of graduate surveys. Results will show increasing satisfaction with the GRCC overall, and with key college services and experiences. In addition, data will be presented that show increasing community satisfaction through increased market share and employer satisfaction by increase in the number of clients served through customized training. Additionally, data will be presented to show a 100% increase in the number of computers available on campus dedicated for student use over the past five years responding to student requests for increased access. Our best evidence of stakeholder satisfaction is the dramatic increase in community giving to the college via gifts to the GRCC Foundation to support projects and scholarships.

Beginning in Summer 2000, all new students are asked to complete a short questionnaire about the college at freshman orientation. Students are asked to rate their overall experience with GRCC to date. Of those who had GRCC service experiences, 46 percent rated GRCC as "above average" in 2000-2001 and 36% in 2001-2002.

Source: New Student Surveys, 2000-2001, 2001-2002

In 1999, a random sample of 945 GRCC students were asked to rate a number of college experiences including attitudes of faculty, office staff, and administrators, fairness of grading, day and evening class availability, ease of parking and quality of instruction. The percentage of students responding "very satisfied" with each experience is found in Figure 7.2-3. Over half of students surveyed gave highest ratings in the areas of Quality of Instruction (54%) and Attitude of Faculty (52%). Current plans are to repeat the survey in 2002 to measure improvement.

In 1997, 1999, and 2002 students were asked via survey "Is GRCC meeting your needs as a student." Figure 7.2-4 shows 94 percent of students responding "Yes" in 1997, 95 percent in 1999 and 93% in 2002.

Graduate Satisfaction with Key Services: Graduates are annually surveyed one year after graduation to assess current education and employment status, as well as gather data on student perceptions of GRCC quality. Figure 7.2-5 shows 3-year trend data on student ratings of a number of key college services. The data show increase in the number of students responding "very satisfied" for many of the services.

Source: Grad1 Survey Results for 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000

Graduates are also asked whether overall, GRCC met or exceeded their expectations for quality. Figure 7.2-6 shows an increasing percentage of alumni answering that question with a "strongly agree" response.

Source: Grad1 Survey Results for 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000

An indicator of community satisfaction with the college is the degree to which the proportion of service-region adults are enrolling in the college. Figure 7.2-7 shows an increase for Fall 2000. For last year, 29.4 of every 1000 Kent county adult residents attended GRCC.

One indicator of employer satisfaction with GRCC is to consider the number of employees they send to receive customized training instruction. Figure 7.2-8 shows an increase in the number of clients served for each of the last four years.

Source: Fall 2001 Enrollment Report--A Monitoring Report for GRCC Board of Trustees, October 22, 2001

Data collected since 1990 have indicated that students desired an increase in the number and availability of computers on campus dedicated for student use. To this end, the college has worked to increase the number of student computers from 500 in 1996 to 1022 in 2002, over a 100 percent increase. Figure 7.2-9 shows the result.

Figure 7.2-10 shows a very direct indicator of stakeholder satisfaction. GRCC alumni and business & industry partners have doubled their contributions in the past two years. This performance demonstrates GRCC’s positive image in the community.

Source: GRCC Foundation Reports

Figure 7.3-1 lists key indicators of budgetary and financial performance to assure performance acceptable to key stakeholders.

The data in Figure 7.3-2 illustrates the growth in GRCC’s fund balance for the General Fund for the past three years. Fund balance is a key indicator of the financial stability of the institution. Additions to the fund balance have occurred each year primarily due to the fact that the College has been consistently under budget for certain non-payroll types of expenses such as supplies, equipment, and building repairs. The college has experienced these conservative spending patterns due to frugal decisions of individuals responsible for department budgets.

Source: Audited Financial Statements

The instructional process is the key business process at GRCC. And as such, GRCC spends nearly half of its annual budget on instructional activities. Figure 5.3-4 shows a comparison of GRCC instructional spending with the average of all Michigan community colleges. This data shows that GRCC spends a larger portion of its budget on the key process of instruction compared with other colleges

Source: State of Michigan ACS Data Book

Budget Update Sessions

Source: GRCC Survey of Budget Control Officers, November 2001

a.(1). What are your current levels and trends in key-measures/indicators of faculty and staff well-being, satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and development?

a.(2). What are your current levels and trends in key measure/indicators of faculty and staff work system performance and effectiveness?

GRCC results address faculty and staff well-being, development, and satisfaction. Figure 7.4-1 lists key measures for faculty and staff presented in this section.

GRCC shows it cares for its employees by offering a full menu of professional development training in such areas as CPR, blood born pathogens, first aid, ergonomics, work safety, and other health related activities. Figure 7.4-2 shows the increase in the number of employees trained in these activities for the past three years.

GRCC carefully monitors the nature and amount of crimes committed on its campus with a goal of making the campus a safe workplace for employees and learning environment for students. Figure 7.4-3 shows the campus crime statistics for the past 3 years. There has been a significant increase in the number of personal assists made by campus police and a decrease in the number of medical emergencies on campus.

Source: GRCC Police Department Crime Report

A major effort for the College in the past three years has been the implementation of a new campus wide computer system. To assist employees in developing new skills related to the new system, a series of professional development training sessions were offered over the past year. Specific training areas included understanding the financial information system, the student system, and training on related software such as Excel. Figure 7.4-4 shows the number of employees trained as well as the percent of employees rating the training as "Excellent" on 2001-2002 surveys.

An indicator of faculty and staff overall satisfaction is voluntary turnover. As Figure 7.4-5 illustrates, faculty turnover is extremely low. Staff turnover has remained constant for the past two years.

Source: Human Resources Department, GRCC

Faculty development in the area of technology enhanced instructional methods is a key strategy in the GRCC strategic plan. Figure 7.4-6 shows an increase in the number of departments and faculty using Blackboard as an instructional assist over the past year.

Source: Blackboard Administrator using query

To better support the learning needs of faculty, in 1999-2000 GRCC opened the Center for Teaching and Learning. Figure 7.4-7 shows the college’s commitment to faculty development through the support of the Center. The Center estimates providing 600 learning experiences to faculty for 2001-2002.

Source: Center for Teaching and Learning

Figure 7.4-8 shows the comparison of GRCC dimension scores with those of the PACE Norm Base for community colleges. Mean scores for each of the 65 items were also reported.

Source: PACE Reports for GRCC, data collected in Nov. 1999 and Nov. 2001

Figure 7.4-9 lists the items for which average GRCC scores were 4.0 or above in 1999 or 2001.

Source: PACE Reports for GRCC, data collected in Nov. 1999 and Nov. 2001.

In 2000, GRCC identified ten key indicators of institutional effectiveness that cut across all eight end areas of the strategic plan. Results for these indicators were assembled into the GRCC Report Card to the Community and were distributed to over 4000 alumni, community residents, and employers throughout the service region in July of 2001. In the interest of brevity, key indicators already presented in Sections 7.1 to 7.4 will not be repeated in this section.

In addition to the 10 key indicators of institutional effectiveness, Figure 7.5-2 lists two additional indicators which directly related to our strategic direction of providing learner-centered, flexible, and collaborative learning experiences for our stakeholders.

Diversity is one of the eight "ends" or outcome areas for GRCC. Figure 7.5-3 compares the ethnicity and gender breakdowns for the Kent County service region with those of GRCC employees and students. Results show that GRCC is mirroring the diversity of the service area.

Sources: Workforce Table for 2001, Department of Human Resources, GRCC; PeopleSoft query, GRCC; U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1, Matrices PL1, PL2, PL3, and PL4 (ethnicity) PCT12 and P13 (gender).

The number of articulation agreements with other colleges is a direct indicator of the achievement of GRCC’s end of transfer & articulation. Figure 7.5-4 lists the number of colleges with whom GRCC has documented processes for articulating credit by year.

Source: College Catalog—Grand Rapids Community College 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03

Source: Enrollment Office Report

Source: Enrollment Office Report: Condition of Classes—All Schools by Site