Student Success Strategic Plan 2000-2006

Executive Summary

Attached is a Kirkwood Community College Student Success Council Strategic Plan for the years 2000 through 2006.  This Strategic Plan represents the cumulative efforts of the original Student Success Task Force and the Student Success Council as well as the input from many Kirkwood faculty and staff throughout the last few years.

The Strategic Plan consists of three sections:  Beliefs and Values; the Strategic Plan; and Measurement Data.

Beliefs and Values: Both the Task Force and the Council realized that student success is a very complex issue which cannot be easily described in a simple definition.  Instead, the Beliefs and Values section of the plan establishes the values of student success, which when viewed collectively or individually, describe the meaning of student success at Kirkwood Community College.

In 1998 a Student Success Task Force was appointed for the purpose of examining the issue of student success at Kirkwood Community College.  During the course of the next eighteen months, the Task Force compiled a prodigious amount of information pertaining to student success.  The Task Force reviewed literature, held numerous forums to obtain information from faculty and staff and arranged for a consultant from Noel-Levitz to assess the systems at the College and make recommendations.  In the spring of 2000 the Task Force issued a preliminary report.  The Task Force recommended a permanent Student Success Council be formed with the goal of developing a strategic plan for student success and implementing the strategic plan.  The result of the Council’s work is contained herein.  The Student Success Strategic Plan has been developed by the Council and the Plan is rooted in the following beliefs and values concerning student success.

• We value the student’s right to make informed decisions
• We value students taking responsibility for their own learning
• We value multiple measures of student success
• We believe most students can be successful
• We believe that a student’s own goals for success may be challenged by Kirkwood’s values for learning and citizenship
• Student success is influenced by students, faculty, administrators, staff, and the college’s practices and policies
• Student success occurs when students establish clear and realistic goals
• Student success occurs when students have established realistic academic goals and monitor their progress
• Student success occurs when students increase their knowledge base and ability to analyze, interpret, and solve problems
• Student success occurs when students complete courses and receive degrees
• Student success occurs when students would take another course at Kirkwood
• Student success occurs when students gain something useful for the future
• Student success occurs when students become lifelong learners

Strategic Plan: The Strategic Plan establishes the framework and direction for all student success initiatives through the year 2006.  The Strategic Plan addresses seven major focus areas:

• Culture
• Outreach and Recruitment
• Orientation
• Advising
• Under-Prepared
• Student Goal Attainment
• Social and Residential

Any future student success implementation activities will flow from the Strategic Plan and will be directly tied to the appropriate objectives, timelines, responsible parties, and outcome measurements developed under each goal.

Measurement Data: Both qualitative and quantitative measurements will be used to determine the success of initiatives.  Qualitative measures include questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups.  Determining the quantitative measurements (both in definition and the measurement standards) is rather complex and will take time to develop.  However, four quantitative measurements have been defined and the benchmark    data are indicated.  Those four quantitative measurements are:  graduation rate; successful course completion rate; retention within semester; and retention fall-to-fall semester. 

Student Success Council Members

Barb Dobling *
Allison York *
Shirley Anderson
Doug Bannon
Chuck Hinz *
Karen McCaa
John Weglarz *
Devonee McDonald
Phil Thomas *
Laura Riley
Terri Jedlicka
Peg Julius
Harleen Bott                                                                                                                              Chris McCord                                                                                                                      Mary Rhiner                                                                                                                         Paul Saladin
Terry Moran *
Wendy Lingo
Jim Zach

* Denotes original Task Force Members

Culture: To increase the extent to which attention to student success is a regular, ongoing part of the college's daily work, to increase the extent to which all of our collective work and decision making is more frequently guided by the success of our students.

Outreach and Recruitment: To build relationships with potential students and referral sources.

Orientation: To effectively shape the expectations of a higher percentage of our potential new student audience so that they have more realistic expectations of college; individual goals that are more aligned with the college; and are better equipped, socially and cognitively, to meet the challenges of college upon entry and to meet their individual goals.

Advising: To provide a coordinated system of academic advising which uses multiple approaches and resources and includes proactive individual and group advising and is based upon the premise of teaching each student how to best access information.

Underprepared: To provider a comprehensive system of assisting students who are underprepared for college because of academic, social, cultural, financial or goal identification reasons.

Student Goal Attainment: To increase the number of students who can negotiate the challenge of "doing college," while maintaining students' responsibilities for their learning.

Social/Residential: To increase the number of students able to persist and negotiate the complex social problems and unique challenges they face in their respective living and social situations.

Quantitative and Qualitative Measurement - September 2002