CORE REQUIREMENT CR 5:

The institution engages in ongoing, integrated, and institution-wide research-based planning and evaluation processes that incorporate a systematic review of programs and services that (a) results in continuing improvement, and (b) demonstrates that the institution is effectively accomplishing its mission.

Planning and Evaluation Processes

Collin County Community College District (CCCCD) has processes for ongoing, integrated, comprehensive, research-based planning and evaluation (Reference 1) that help the institution not only accomplish its mission but also continually improve.

Summary of Planning Processes

The CCCCD planning system observes a three-year strategic planning cycle and an annual operational cycle. At the institutional level, strategic goals (Reference 2) are developed every three years by the President’s Task Force on the Future (PTFoTF), a group of faculty, staff, and administrators appointed by the President to represent all major areas of the District. The PTFoTF reviews and discusses relevant objective data (e.g., enrollment trends, population trends, and institutional performance data); produces white papers to stimulate discussion; and garners input from the community, faculty, staff, administrators, students, and trustees.

Community input is gathered through avenues such as:

• The Committee of 100 (a group of community leaders who serve as an informal advisory body to the administration and Board of Trustees)
• Electronic town hall meeting
• Focus groups within community-based organizations

Faculty, staff, and administrator input is gathered through avenues such as:

• All-College Planning Day: the District suspends normal operations for an afternoon and all faculty and staff participate in small group discussions regarding identified strategic issues.
• Electronic town hall meetings
• Annual administrative retreats
• Five-year program and service evaluations

Student input is gathered using avenues such as:

• Student surveys
• Electronic town hall meetings
• Student focus groups
• The Student Government Association

The Board of Trustees’ input is gathered in avenues such as:

• Semi-annual Board planning retreats
• Public readings and discussions during monthly Board meetings

To enhance and further refine the District’s long-term planning processes, additional three-year strategic plans are developed for academics (Reference 3), finance (Reference 4), student development (Reference 5), physical facilities (Reference 6), and technology (Reference 7). These subordinate plans are designed to support the institution’s strategic goals, to provide a framework for the anticipated growth of the District, and to ensure that the District is prepared to meet the challenges of the future.

Each academic and administrative department within the District is responsible for developing annual operational achievement indicators to achieve the District’s strategic goals (Reference 8). Deans and Vice Presidents review the achievement indicators established within the respective areas of responsibility and integrate them into divisional plans. The CCCCD Leadership Team reviews these divisional achievement indicators and determines which of these should be incorporated into the District’s overall strategic plan. The Leadership Team also establishes a target timeline and designates an administrator responsible for accomplishing the achievement indicators.

Each August, the new annual operational plan and a year-end status report (Reference 9) on the previous year’s operational plan are shared with every faculty member, staff member, administrator, and trustee. In addition, CCCCD informs the public about District accomplishments in a community newsletter (Reference 10).

Supplemental budgets are developed based on the annual operational plans. Supplemental budget requests must be justified on the basis of relevance to the District’s strategic plan (Reference 11) and the cost center’s operational plan.

Summary of Evaluation Processes

Evaluation occurs at the institutional level, the division/program/department level, and the individual level. At the institutional level, CCCCD undergoes review every ten years by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, every four years by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) (Reference 12), and annually by financial auditors (Reference 13). In addition, the Texas Legislative Budget Board (Reference 14) conducts an annual review of the institution’s performance on ten mandated performance measures. The District’s Trustees review the District’s efforts to accomplish its operational goals through both mid-year (Reference 15) and year-end status reports. Finally, the District conducts surveys of current students (Reference 16), graduates (Reference 17), and the community (Reference 18) to measure its success in accomplishing its mission.

Multiple evaluation processes are conducted at the division/program/department level. Throughout the District, each academic and administrative department participates in a rigorous internal (to the department) and external (to the department, but internal to the institution) review at least once every five years. Specific program examples are provided. (References 19, 20) The Five-Year Program and Service Evaluation process requires that individual departments review and assess the accomplishment of the department mission (Reference 21), and evaluate planning efforts and cost effectiveness. Departments are also required to benchmark expenditures and staffing levels in comparison with similar departments units at comparable institutions. Following each five-year review, a required six-month follow-up report ensures that recommendations are being accomplished (Reference 22).

Other evaluations conducted at the division/program/department level include a periodic review by THECB of workforce education programs, general education, continuing education, learning resources, and support services within the District. Additionally, several District academic programs conduct regular periodic review to attain or maintain professional accreditation, such as the Allied Health programs. Employers of CCCCD workforce education students are also surveyed each year to collect feedback regarding employer satisfaction with the workforce preparation (Reference 23) CCCCD provides. Finally, each department is responsible for documenting, in an annual year-end status report, its own performance relative to its annual operational plan. These status reports are reviewed and retained by the appropriate Dean, Provost and Vice President.

Evaluation processes at the individual level operate on various cycles. Supervisors administer individual performance evaluations to all employees during the summer (Reference 24). All employees are evaluated on job performance relative to the major job functions identified in position descriptions and the achievement of individual goals established during the previous performance review. New individual goals are then established for the upcoming fiscal year. Full-time and part-time faculty members have classroom visit evaluations by the Dean or designee and classroom evaluation by students each long semester. The Council on Excellence, an elected peer review group, also evaluates all full-time faculty members applying for a multi-year contract. In addition to self-evaluation, which is part of the faculty member's application for a multi-year contract, the review process by the Council on Excellence considers the Dean's annual evaluations, class visit evaluations and recommendations, student evaluations, and the Board Report. The frequency of the Council on Excellence review depends on whether a faculty member is applying for a three-year, four-year, or five-year contract.

Continuous Improvement

Effective planning processes within the District have provided a solid foundation for conducting District-wide evaluations. The results of those District-wide evaluations, in turn, provide a framework for successive planning processes. The CCCCD Board of Trustees receives mid-year and year-end status reports on the District’s performance relative to its annual achievement indicators (References 25, 26). Based on performance in a given year of a three-year strategic plan, subsequent annual achievement indicators are adjusted or replaced. Thus, each year’s plan builds on the previous year’s efforts while remaining focused on the District’s three-year strategic goals. An excerpt of achievement indicators and outcomes from the District’s 2002-2003 year-end status report illustrate the effectiveness of this process (Reference 27).

Evaluation processes incorporate mechanisms to promote the use of results for ongoing improvement. At the individual level, all annual performance reviews include a goal setting component designed to identify specific activities that an employee can undertake to improve performance or capacity. Performance on individual goals is reviewed at the subsequent annual performance appraisal. At the division, department, and program levels, the five-year program and service evaluations result in a plan designed to strengthen areas of concern and improve overall effectiveness of the department. Reports documenting efforts and improvements are required before completion of the evaluation cycle. At the institutional level, the CCCCD Leadership Team incorporates the results of institutional-level evaluations into achievement indicators that become the focus of institution-wide improvement efforts.

Accomplishment of the Institutional Mission

The institutional mission is the focus of all planning and evaluation processes at every level of the organization. Each unit within the organization is expected to articulate its own purpose in support of the District’s mission. Every job description in the District includes District-wide responsibilities that focus on the District’s mission. The District’s strategic plan is the operational expression of the District’s mission within a specific time frame. All operational goals focus on the District’s mission and strategic goals. The integration of planning, evaluation, and institutional mission ensure that, ultimately, all evaluation processes document the District’s successful accomplishment of its mission.

CCCCD remains strongly committed to continuous improvement in the areas of planning and evaluation.

Supporting Documents: