Student Development Five Year Vision

The Student Development Department provides a broad spectrum of services to students, alumni, Kirkwood faculty and staff, other colleges and universities, community members and local organizations.  Accessibility is paramount, with services available day and evening, year-round.

SHARED VISION

To lead the student success initiative at Kirkwood Community College by becoming an integral part of each student’s educational experience.

MAJOR INITIATIVES

Continuous improvement and expansion of Counseling Services

  • Utilize new and emerging technology to expand counseling, teaching, information and assessment services.  Technology-assisted methods of delivery may include telecounseling, secure e-mail connection, videoconferencing or stand-alone software programs.
  • Expand services to Academic Probation students by utilizing Colleague, mid-term and cumulative grade reports, and other available information.
  • Build collaborative relationships with faculty to infuse student success initiatives into their classrooms.
  • Collaborate with Campus Health and Vocational Rehabilitation to provide support services to students with health issues and/or disabilities
  • Provide comprehensive referral services.
  • Participate in on-going professional development activities to further enhance skills in the areas of academic, career and personal counseling.

Lead the College in providing Academic Advising and registration services to Liberal Arts students

  • Develop an innovative Credit Analysis and Verification system
    • Utilize the Colleague system to electronically notify Arts and Science students who are close to graduating
    • Prompt students to access their information and take appropriate steps based upon their intentions
    • Review and follow up on all denied Arts and Science applications for graduation
  • Lead the college in Midterm Academic Warning procedures for Liberal Arts students
    • Schedule appointments
    • Sign a Success Contract
    • Refer students to  appropriate services
  • Provide individual and group Academic Advising Sessions
    • Utilize available technology to accommodate groups
    • Encourage students to utilize the EagleNet registration process
    • Provide statewide transfer information
    • Teach students to navigate the Kirkwood website to access all resources available
  • Provide all services on the web that our academic advisors provide in person
    • Review degree audits, add and drop classes, check grades, print schedules, review transcripts
    • General information regarding registration, drop dates, appointment and walk-in information
    • College visit information
    • Equivalency sheets and links to state colleges for transfer information
    • Real time communication with advisors through instant messaging
    • Offer links to other services to benefit students

Provide comprehensive Career Services to our students and community members

  • Guide individuals in the process of researching, identifying, and pursuing job opportunities and career goals.
    • Provide Career Decision-Making, Career Exploration and Job Seeking Skills credit classes.
    • Provide Career Decision-Making and Job Seeking Skills workshops.
    • Develop and maintain a career resource library.
    • Develop and maintain a comprehensive Web Site for Career Services.
    • Develop and maintain Job Listing service for students, alumni and community partners
    • Provide videotaped mock interviewing services
    • Collaborate with other Kirkwood programs and departments to organize and conduct Job Fairs.
    • Coordinate on-campus interviewing opportunities with prospective employers

Lead the college in Orientation and Student Success Services

  • Develop and implement College 101 Course
  • Advance the College 101 initiatives generated from the KQIP process
  • Create and establish longitudinal assessment and evaluation strategies
  • Study the impact of College 101 on retention
  • Develop a process to monitor student retention
  • Utilize student retention reports to develop additional retention centered programming

Collaborate with the Instructional Branch to expand the use of Placement Testing

  • Develop/revise the COMPASS Recommendation form
  • Develop mandatory placement scores
  • Evaluate other Placement Tests and/or different features of COMPASS

Support the Educational Services Branch Vision to improve our awareness of support systems and inclusion of persons with both visible and hidden disabilities

Capacity

In order to achieve these initiatives and fulfill our vision, Student Development will need to increase capacity on several levels.

Staffing:

  • Hire a full-time person to organize, implement and assess the results of Career Services.
  • Hire a person to develop and maintain Web Site, Job Listing service, and related technical aspects.
  • Evaluate counselors’ area of expertise and ensure all skills are utilized.
  • Create a distance counseling position to reach under-served populations, for whom face-to-face counseling proves difficult, including the physically challenged, those living in remote areas, and those for whom anonymity is a factor.
  • Provide staff for Placement Testing services.

Physical Space:

  • Provide an open-space career resource area for general use.
  • Designate a technology equipped classroom to teach classes, conduct workshops, conduct interviews and facilitate group advising sessions.

Targeted professional development opportunities:

  • Provide sufficient time and money to offer needed opportunities.
  • Explore counseling practice specialties and assess need for further training/credentials/staff.

Ownership

All members of the Student Development Department are committed to promoting and enhancing student Success.  We are an integral part of many students’ educational experience and we will expand our services to serve more students.

Support

Our team is committed to this Vision and has already begun fulfilling steps in each of the Major Initiatives.  Our new department area in Iowa Hall and the addition of key personnel will expand our ability to achieve our Vision.

Dashboard Indicators

These indicators will be assessed with published results on a regularly scheduled time frame.

Continuous improvement and expansion of Counseling Services

  • The number of students and prospective students, who access assistance and/or information via technology
  • The number of students placed on academic probation and the number served
  • The number of meetings between counselors and involved faculty members
  • The number of referrals to and from Campus Health and Vocational Rehabilitation
  • The number of students referred to outside sources
  • The number of counselors participating in professional development activities

Lead the College in providing Academic Advising and registration services to Liberal Arts students

  • The number of students notified who are close to being ready to graduate
  • The number of denied applications for graduation and the number of these students we contacted
  • The number of Academic Warning students who were contacted and then assisted
  • The number of students advised on-line and face-to-face
  • The number of students assisted via technology

Provide comprehensive Career Services to our students and community members

  • The number of students who attended workshops and/or classes
  • The number of employers using the jobs web site and the total number of “hits” on the web site
  • The number of job fairs offered and the number of employers and students in attendance
  • The number of individual employer visits

Lead the college in orientation and student success services

  • The number of sections of College 101 offered
  • The number of instructors and the number of students attending

Collaborate with the Instructional Branch to expand the use of Placement Testing

  • The number of students completing the COMPASS testing battery.

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