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The
faculty at Southwestern Community College take primary
responsibility for establishing and maintaining the
content, quality, and effectiveness of the College’s
curriculum. Faculty’s responsibility for the curriculum
is demonstrated in policies, procedures, and the practices
at the College.
The
College publishes policies and procedures that reflect
the expectation that faculty will exercise primary responsibility
for the content, quality, and effectiveness of the curriculum.
The policies include:
5.1
Role of Faculty in Academic and Governance Matters.
Faculty members have primary responsibility
for the content, quality and effectiveness of the
curriculum (1).
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5.8
Academic and Personal Freedom. The
principles of academic freedom are accepted by this
college. These principles entitle faculty the privilege
of organizing their subject matter in such ways
and presenting it by such methods as, in their considered
judgment, will have optimum value for their students,
subject to such guidelines as are reflected in departmental,
college and other faculty policies. Faculty are
also subject to the obligation to require an amount
and quality of work from their students which, under
the college standards, justify the course (2).
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5.9
Curriculum Development and Revision. Primary
responsibility for the quality of the educational
programs of the college resides with the faculty
(3).
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| 5.11
Textbook Selection. Faculty members
in consultation with program coordinators and deans
are responsible for the selection of textbooks and
other instructional aids for effective learning
(4). |
The
practices of the College further demonstrate faculty’s
primary responsibilities for establishing and maintaining
the content, quality, and effectiveness of the College’s
curriculum.
Content of the Curriculum
Faculty
at the College have primary responsibility for establishing
and maintaining the content, or substance, of the curriculum.
The content of each curriculum program at the College
is outlined in a program of study that details the required
courses to earn a certificate, diploma, or degree. All
programs of study conform to requirements established
on North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) curriculum
standards (5).
Curriculum standards include a general description of
the program, specific courses that are required for
the program, and approved subject areas from which other
major courses may be selected. Courses in a program
of study are drawn from the Common Course Library of
the NCCCS (6).
This library of common courses was developed through
a system-wide effort by community college faculty in
1997. The focus of each course is characterized by a
three-sentence description to be used by all colleges
offering the course. College faculty may add a fourth
sentence to further describe the content of the course
at SCC. The addition of a fourth sentence results from
a proposal by a faculty member that is approved by the
College’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee.
Faculty
initiate changes (additions, deletions, and revisions)
to curriculum standards and the Common Course Library
to ensure that the appropriate framework exists to deliver
the content they deem necessary for their programs of
study. An example of this process at the College is
when the Cyber Crime Technology instructors collaborated
to propose new courses for the Common Course Library
(7).
Each
degree program of study at the College is coordinated
by a full-time member of the faculty who has the primary
responsibility for maintaining the content of that curriculum
(8).
Faculty program coordinators initiate revisions to the
program of study, select textbooks and materials, maintain
common course outlines, and convene curriculum advisory
committees (9).
Faculty
program coordinators have the primary responsibility
for adding and removing courses in their programs of
study. These changes are initiated by the faculty and
approved by the Curriculum and Instruction Committee.
Chaired by a member of the faculty, the committee is
composed of a balanced constituency of both faculty
and administrative personnel representing a cross section
of academic program areas and administrative responsibilities.
The Curriculum and Instruction Committee is responsible
for reviewing matters related to the operation of the
college's educational (curriculum) programs. Some of
the specific duties of the committee are to make recommendations
regarding the approval of new programs, the approval
of curriculum revisions for existing programs and to
provide guidance/positions on related academic matters
(10). An
example of this process is provided by program of study
revisions in Cyber Crime Technology. In that instance,
the faculty coordinator and the instructor proposed
the addition and removal of courses from the program
of study to reflect trends in professional practice
and the establishment of course prerequisites to ensure
that students are adequately prepared for progression
to advanced topics in the curriculum (11).
Faculty
program coordinators establish and maintain individual
course outlines that identify the course description,
learning objectives, and textbooks and materials (12).
These outlines provide a common framework around which
individual instructors plan and deliver the content
of their courses. Instructors are responsible for developing
each course syllabus, which provides an overview of
their course content and instructor expectations (13).
A syllabus reflects the use of learning objectives that
are consistent with the course outline while enabling
faculty to customize a course to fit their individual
styles (14).
Faculty
program coordinators have the primary responsibility
of establishing and convening curriculum program advisory
committees. Each degree program has an advisory committee
of educators and industry professionals who meet to
provide guidance in program and curriculum development.
Advisory committee members make suggestions and advise
faculty on trends in the workplace or subject area that
have implications for curriculum content. The function
of that group is illustrated in the minutes of the 2005
Information Technologies Advisory Committee meeting
where members discussed software applications used in
the profession and posed related questions about the
content of information technology programs at the College
(15).
Quality
of the Curriculum
Faculty
at the College have primary responsibility for the quality,
or degree of excellence, of the curriculum. To ensure
quality curricula, the College first strives to hire
quality faculty (16).
The President of the College appoints a selection committee
to recommend appointments for all full-time faculty
vacancies. Selection committees always include other
faculty members, an academic dean, and the Chief Academic
Officer of the College. Qualified candidates must provide
written educational philosophies that demonstrate an
understanding of and commitment to community college
education that is consistent with the College’s
expectations for excellent instruction. Additionally,
candidates must demonstrate effective teaching and presentation
skill as a component of the selection process. Based
upon a consensus of selection committee members, candidates
for employment are referred to the president and recommended
to the Board of Trustees for employment by the College
(17).
Once
employed, the College relies upon the faculty to identify
and implement appropriate methods of instruction to
assure quality curriculum programs. The faculty articulated
their Values for Teaching Excellence at the College
(18). These
values reflect the ideals that faculty view as critical
in facilitating the quality learning environments desired
for students of the College.
Faculty
have access to data to monitor the quality of instruction
for their curriculum. Student opinion surveys are administered
for all faculty during fall and spring semesters, and
results are shared with the respective faculty and academic
deans. These course surveys provide a means for students
to rate the quality of instructional techniques, books,
materials, and instructional technologies (19,
20).
Several
curriculum programs at the College maintain state and/or
national accreditations or approval by professional
associations or licensing boards (21).
Faculty program coordinators work to demonstrate that
these programs meet the standards of quality established
by their respective governing boards or accrediting
agencies. The effectiveness of those efforts is reflected
in the good standing that all of these programs have
with their accrediting agencies or boards.
An
annual Continuous Improvement Plan (commonly known as
an annual performance evaluation) is completed by each
faculty member in consultation with his/her division
dean. This plan includes components where the faculty
member and supervisor reflect upon the instructor’s
instruction/teaching effectiveness, leadership in program
development, and areas for improvement (22).
Faculty may identify goals to continue their development
in areas critical to the quality of their programs.
Program
coordinators and department heads have primary responsibility
for identifying budget needs for their programs and
relating those needs to maintaining and improving the
quality of their curriculum programs. Faculty from each
curriculum program submit written requests and make
budget presentations during annual budget hearings for
instruction and student services (23).
This process provides a forum for the faculty, who are
most knowledgeable of their program needs, to present
requests for travel, supply, equipment, and professional
development funds that are necessary to support a quality
curriculum (24).
Effectiveness
of the Curriculum
Faculty
at the College have primary responsibility for the effectiveness,
or results, of the curriculum.
Faculty
design and implement assessments in their courses to
measure and document that students have attained an
appropriate level of competency to successfully complete
the course. The nature and impact of these assessments
on course completion is described by the faculty in
each course syllabus they develop (13,
14).
The
Arts and Sciences faculty established general education
outcomes to assess the effectiveness of general education
courses in supporting all students’ development
of six core competencies. Faculty from all disciplines
participate in assessing the extent to which their graduates
demonstrate these competencies (25).
Arts and Sciences faculty meet with faculty from across
the College to establish action plans for any areas
of concern identified through the assessment process.
The
faculty access data to measure the effectiveness, or
results of the curriculum. Measurements of the effectiveness
of the curriculum are provided through:
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Annual
graduate and employer surveys. The institutional
research and planning officer meets with faculty
program coordinators each year to design the content
of surveys that will be administered to recent graduates
and their employers. Items on the survey are selected
to assess program content, quality of instruction,
satisfaction with skill development, and employment
in fields of study (26).
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| • |
Performance
Measures and Standards. The State of North
Carolina requires that community colleges be annually
assessed for 12 performance standards which are
part of the College’s Critical Success Factors
Report (27).
Faculty are provided with results of the College’s
performance on these measures:
· |
Progress
for basic skills students |
· |
Pass
rates on licensure/certification exams |
· |
Goal
completion for completers |
· |
Employment
status of graduates |
· |
Performance
of college transfer students |
· |
Passing
rates in developmental courses |
· |
Success
rates of developmental students in subsequent
courses |
· |
Satisfaction
of completers and noncompleters with programs
and services |
· |
Curriculum
student retention and graduation rates |
· |
Employer
satisfaction |
· |
Business/Industry
satisfaction with customized training |
· |
Program
unduplicated enrollment |
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| • |
Annual
Student Climate Survey. A representative sample
of students currently enrolled at the college rate
their satisfaction with programs and services of
the college. The survey includes items that address
the quality of curriculum instructional services
and programs (28).
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| • |
2005
Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE).
The College participated in the CCSSE survey to
assess effective community college educational practice
at the College in comparison with other community
colleges. The results of this study indicated that
the mean rating of SCC students’ experiences
in five benchmark categories exceeded that of a
consortium of 12 North Carolina Community Colleges
and all 257 colleges participating in the survey
(29):
· |
Active
and collaborative learning |
· |
Student
effort |
· |
Academic
challenge |
· |
Student-faculty
interaction |
· |
Support
for learners |
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Results
of these measures provide assurance of the effectiveness
of the curriculum and may become the basis of faculty’s
development of program planning goals to address issues
of content or quality in curriculum programs. Faculty
curriculum program coordinators are responsible for developing
annual planning/outcomes documents that establish goals
and measurable program outcomes (30).
Goals may be supported through actions to monitor program
quality or strategies to enhance program effectiveness
or results. An example of faculty’s responsibility
for maintaining an effective curriculum is demonstrated
through actions in the Radiography program’s planning
process.
Example
of Faculty Addressing Effectiveness of Curriculum Planning
Process (from standard 3.3.1):
Increase
employer satisfaction with the critical thinking
skills of graduates of the Radiography Program.
One of the outcomes for the Radiography Program
is the satisfaction level of employers with the
critical thinking and problem-solving skills of
graduates from this program. The program has established
as the criteria for this outcome that 80 percent
of employers surveyed will indicate satisfaction
with these skills.
According to the results of a survey of employers
of the 2003 Radiography graduates, only 57 percent
were satisfied with these skills (see the results
in the following table). The Radiography program
initiated a number of actions to address this
issue, with the ultimate intent of increasing
employer satisfaction with this skill of program
graduates. These actions included the implementation
of more critical thinking skills into various
courses of the Radiography program. At this point,
new critical thinking requirements have been added
to the Radiographic Imaging courses and to the
RAD Clinical Education 261 course. These new requirements
include the integration of more critical thinking
exercises. In the RAD 261 course, students must
use critical thinking skills to identify and correct
mistakes under various scenarios. Finally, the
Radiography program is continuing to seek opportunities
to implement more critical thinking requirements
into additional courses. |
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Employer
Satisfaction – Critical Thinking Skills
of Radiography Graduates |
| Graduate
Year |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
| %
Indicating Satisfied or Highly Satisfied |
80% |
57%
|
100% |
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Compliance
Partial
Compliance