FEDERAL MANDATE FM 1:

When evaluating success with respect to student achievement in relation to the institution’s mission, the institution includes, as appropriate, consideration of course completion, state licensing examinations, and job placement rates.

The mission, philosophy, and core values of Collin County Community College District (CCCCD) provide the foundation for the institution’s activities (Reference 1). The CCCCD mission emphasizes developing skills and challenging the intellect. The core values include learning, academic excellence, and integrity. Successfully endowing students with skills is, in part, reflected in the ability to pass licensure exams and obtain employment following learning experiences at CCCCD. Academic excellence is achieved only if students are retained in classes. Thus, course completion, the passing of state licensing exams, and job placement are components of the District’s success in achieving its mission.

Course Completion

Course retention rates are available to CCCCD administrators at any time during or after a semester via the "Outcomes" section of the "Program Snapshot" (Reference 2). At any point during a semester, course retention rates are provided for each course section, so potential problems can be addressed. The "Outcomes" section of the "Program Snapshot” also provides data on the number of withdrawals and the reasons for withdrawal from each course, as well as grade distributions for completed courses.

CCCCD reports an institutional course retention rate (identified as "retention rate") to the Texas Legislative Budget Board (LBB) each November (Reference 3). The state standard is 80% for this measure. Course retention has been a significant component of the CCCCD strategic plan in recent years (Reference 4), and the District’s emphasis on course retention has been successful as the CCCCD retention rate has steadily improved to meet the Texas standard of 80%.

State Licensing Examinations

Each November, CCCCD is required to report to the LBB the overall percentage of students who attempted licensure exams during the preceding year and also the percentage who passed those exams. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) provides select data on licensure pass rates, and the CCCCD Institutional Research Office (IRO) works with appropriate program chairs to gather more complete data on licensure pass rates. Instructional programs that culminate in licensure exams are Dental Hygienist, Emergency Medical Technology, Fire Science, Interpreter Preparation (Deaf), Law Enforcement, Nursing, Real Estate, and Respiratory Care. For 2001-2002 (the most recent data available), CCCCD reported an overall 91% pass rate on licensure exams (Reference 5). In some cases, licensure pass rates are not available because neither the THECB nor CCCCD receives data from several state licensure boards nor are other reliable data available. When instructional programs undergo five-year evaluations, the state standard of 90% must be addressed in the quality enhancement plans.

Job Placement Rates

CCCCD receives job placement data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) each year and uses the information to document program success and to assess needed improvement in the program (References 6, 7).

The results of these extensive student tracking efforts are shared with District administrators and are incorporated into the five-year evaluations of instructional programs (Reference 8). In the five-year program evaluation process, instructional programs are measured against the THECB mandated standard, which, in turn, is based on federal Carl Perkins’ accountability standards. Deficiencies are addressed in a quality enhancement plan, and, six months after the plan is approved, the program must begin reporting on the results of the remediation. As defined by the THECB standard, CCCCD’s overall success rate, for 2000-2001 (the most recent reporting year available) was 94% (Reference 6).

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