Institutional Effectiveness Summary Report 2005

Reporting Cycle
The cycle for reporting the institutional effectiveness components to the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education for Tri-County Technical College is as follows:

General Education - Four-Year Cycle
Majors or Concentrations - One-Year Cycle
Academic Advising - Four-Year Cycle
Achievement of Students Transferring from Two- to Four-Year Institutions - Two-Year Cycle
Procedures for Student Development - Four-Year Cycle
Library Resources - Four-Year Cycle
Technologically Skilled Workforce - One-Year Cycle

Institutional Effectiveness Model: The institutional effectiveness model at Tri-County Technical College ensures that the results of the assessments of the seven institutional effectiveness components are used for improvement of programs and services, decision-making, budgeting, and planning at the College. Using a five-year cycle, the College develops five-year development plans and annual development plans for the College and functional units. The results of the institutional effectiveness assessments are used for determining whether the College and units achieve their standards. The standards are the criteria/measures used by the College and each unit to demonstrate effectiveness in achieving mission/purpose and goals. In addition, each unit also uses the institutional effectiveness findings to develop specific activities for improvement and growth of programs and services. The standards and institutional effectiveness activities are included in the College and unit annual development plans and are measured annually.

General Education: This component was last submitted to the Commission on Higher Education in 2002. Based on the schedule of reporting for this component, a report on general education will be submitted next to the Commission on Higher Education in 2006.

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Majors or Concentrations: Tri-County Technical College has been assessing majors or concentrations since 1991-1992. Based on the schedule of reporting for this component, a report on majors or concentrations will be submitted next to the Commission on Higher Education in 2006. The following presents a summary of the results for 2005.

Assessment Methodology: The assessment consists of annually surveying employers and graduates in all diploma and associate degree technical majors on technical workplace competencies, general workplace competencies, satisfaction with educational experience, and work performance. Since 2000-2001, 936 employers and 1,683 graduates have provided feedback.

Major Findings: The following summarizes the major findings of the assessment of majors or concentrations. Effectiveness Ratings of 0% up to 85% equal Very Ineffective, 85% up to 90% equal Ineffective, 90% up to 95% equal Effective, and 95% to 100% equal Very Effective.

· Satisfaction with Educational Experience: 96.5% of graduates indicate satisfaction with their educational experience at Tri-County Technical College with annual ratings from 95.8% to 98.8% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 96.2% (Very Effective).

· Quality of Life: 95.7% of graduates feel their Tri-County Technical College experience improved the quality of their lives with annual ratings from 94.3% to 98.4% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 94.3% (Effective).

· Preparation of Technical Workplace Competencies: 97.8% of employers indicate Tri-County Technical College effectively prepares graduates on the technical workplace competencies required for employment in the field with annual ratings from 96.6% to 99.4% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 97.0% (Very Effective).

· Preparation of General Workplace Competencies: 98.5% of employers indicate Tri-County Technical College effectively prepares graduates on the general workplace competencies required for employment in the field with annual ratings from 98.3% to 98.9% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 98.9% (Very Effective).

· Preparation for Employment in Field: 97.9% of employers indicate Tri-County Technical College adequately prepares its graduates for employment in the field with annual ratings from 96.3% to 99.4% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 98.3% (Very Effective).

· Work Attitude of Graduates: 97.5% of employers rate the work attitude of Tri-County's graduates as very adequate compared to other workers with similar jobs with annual ratings from 95.2% to 100.0% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 96.6% (Very Effective).

· Work Quality of Graduates: 97.3% of employers rate the work quality of Tri-County's graduates as very adequate compared to other workers with similar jobs with annual ratings from 95.5% to 98.9% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 95.5% (Very Effective).

· On-the-job Performance of Graduates: 97.5% of employers rate the on-the-job performance of Tri-County's graduates as adequate or very adequate compared to other workers with similar jobs with annual ratings from 96.0% to 98.9% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 96.6% (Very Effective).

· Hiring Tri-County Technical College Graduates: 99.6% of employers indicate they would consider hiring another Tri-County Technical College graduate with annual ratings from 98.9% to 100.0% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 99.4% (Very Effective).

Major Initiatives: Based upon the institutional effectiveness findings for majors or concentrations, the following initiatives have or are being implemented.

· The Associate Degree Nursing program has developed an evening program and added another admittance period during the spring semester.

· The Criminal Justice program has acquired a comprehensive, integrated suite of law enforcement software products for simulated report writing and case tracking.

· The College renovated the facilities in the Industrial and Engineering Technology Division including seven classrooms and eleven industrial and engineering technology laboratories.

· The College has implemented on-line registration for all programs of study.

Academic Advising: This component was last submitted to the Commission on Higher Education in 2004. Based on the schedule of reporting for this component, a report on general education will be submitted next to the Commission on Higher Education in 2008.

Achievement of Students Transferring from Two- to Four-Year Institutions: This component was last submitted to the Commission on Higher Education in 2004. Based on the schedule of reporting for this component, a report on general education will be submitted next to the Commission on Higher Education in 2006.

5. Procedures for Student Development: This component was last submitted to the Commission on Higher Education in 2003. Based on the schedule of reporting for this component, a report on procedures for student development will be submitted next to the Commission on Higher Education in 2007.

Library Resources: Tri-County Technical College has been assessing library resources since 1994-1995. The following presents a summary of the results for 2005. Based on the four-year schedule of reporting for this component, a report on library resources will be submitted next to the Commission on Higher Education in 2009.

Assessment Methodology: The assessment consists of surveying students on the quality of library equipment, library facilities, library materials, library orientation/instruction, library services, and library staff. Since 2000-2001, 1,953 students have provided feedback.

Major Findings: The following summarizes the major findings of the assessment of library resources. Effectiveness Ratings of 1.00 up to 2.00 equal Very Ineffective, 2.00 up to 3.00 equal Ineffective, 3.00 up to 4.00 equal Effective, and 4.00 to 5.00 equal Very Effective.

· Library Equipment: Students rate the quality of library equipment as very adequate. The annual effectiveness ratings range from 4.17 to 4.30 (Very Effective) since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.23 (Very Effective).

· Library Facilities: Students rate the quality of library facilities as very adequate. The annual effectiveness ratings range from 4.24 to 4.30 (Very Effective) since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.26 (Very Effective).

· Library Materials: Students rate the quality of library materials as adequate or very adequate. The annual effectiveness ratings range from 3.90 to 4.03 (Effective to Very Effective) since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.03 (Very Effective).

· Library Orientation/Instruction: Students rate the quality of library orientation/instruction as very adequate. The annual effectiveness ratings range from 4.20 to 4.40 (Very Effective) since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.33 (Very Effective).

· Library Services: Students rate the quality of library services as very adequate. The annual effectiveness ratings range from 4.05 to 4.20 (Very Effective) since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.20 (Very Effective).

· Library Staff: Students rate the quality of library staff as very adequate. The annual effectiveness ratings range from 4.20 to 4.36 (Very Effective) since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.32 (Very Effective).

Major Initiatives: Based upon the institutional effectiveness findings for library resources, the following initiatives have or are being implemented.

· The Library implemented SIRSI, a web-based catalog and administrative system, which provides electronic access to resources for students served by the College and ten South Carolina Information and Library Services (SCILS) consortium partners.

· The Library has added 16,300 titles to the e-book collection since 2002, allowing the total number of e-book titles to surpass the total number of print titles in the collection.

· The Library completed an initiative to update the assistive technology student workstation by purchasing a new scanner and upgraded software that assists blind, low vision, and learning disabled students in accessing and assimilating information.

· The Library, through the Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL) consortium, is participating in a state-wide Universal Borrowing Project that will provide our students and faculty with over 12 million volumes, retrievable from any academic library in the state, by web-request.

Technologically Skilled Workforce: Tri-County Technical College has been assessing technologically skilled workforce since 1999-2000. Based on the schedule of reporting for this component, a report on technologically skilled workforce will be submitted next to the Commission on Higher Education in 2006. The following presents a summary of the results for 2005.

Assessment Methodology: The assessment consists of surveying continuing education students and employers on the quality and effectiveness of course content and materials, instructors, instruction, program development, and skill acquisition. Since 2000-2001, more than 23,000 students and 117 employers have provided feedback.

Major Findings: The following summarizes the major findings of the assessment of technologically skilled workforce. Effectiveness Ratings of 1.00 up to 2.00 or 0% up to 85% equal Very Ineffective, 2.00 up to 3.00 or 85% up to 90% equal Ineffective, 3.00 up to 4.00 or 90% up to 95% equal Effective, and 4.00 to 5.00 or 95% to 100% equal Very Effective.

· Course Content and Materials: Students rate the course content and training materials as very effective. The annual effectiveness ratings range from 4.47 to 4.57 since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.47 (Very Effective).

· Instructors: Students rate the instructors as very effective. The annual ratings range from 4.63 to 4.68 since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.63 (Very Effective).

· Satisfaction with Courses: 98.7% of students indicate satisfaction with their courses at Tri-County Technical College with annual ratings from 98.1% to 99.0% since first measured in 2001-2002. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 98.9% (Very Effective).

· Instruction: Employers rate the quality of instruction as very good. The annual ratings range from 4.47 to 4.63 since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.53 (Very Effective).

· Program Development: Employers rate the development of programs for meeting their needs as very good. The annual ratings range from 4.23 to 4.70 since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.23 (Very Effective).

· Training Needs: Employers rate the effectiveness of the programs in meeting their training needs as very good. The annual ratings range from 4.00 to 4.57 since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 4.17 (Very Effective).

· Satisfaction with Training: 97.4% of employers indicate satisfaction with the training provided by Tri-County Technical College with annual ratings from 94.4% to 100.0% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 100% (Very Effective).

· Additional Training Needs: 99.1% of employers indicate they would consider using Tri-County Technical College for meeting future training needs with annual ratings from 96.6% to 100.0% since 2000-2001. The rating for 2004-2005 equaled 100% (Very Effective).

Major Initiatives: Based upon the institutional effectiveness findings for technologically skilled workforce, the following initiatives have or are being implemented.

· The Continuing Education Division added equipment to the laboratory and expanded the curriculum for the Industrial Maintenance Technician Program.

· The Continuing Education Division added a computer aided design module to the Interior Design Program.

· The Continuing Education Division incorporated a computerized human patient simulator into the programs for nurse aides and emergency medical technicians.

· The Continuing Education Division began offering courses, online via the Internet, for the following topics: Project Management, Lean Manufacturing, and Computer Aided Design.

· The Continuing Education Division began offering a course on Kepner-Tregoe Analytic Problem Solving.