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QUALITY HIGHLIGHTS

REPORT

Fall 2015

Comprehensive Quality Review

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Chippewa Valley Technical College Quality Highlights Report | Fall 2015

Chippewa Valley Technical College Comprehensive Quality Review

Quality Highlights Report

Accreditation Overview and Considerations

Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) emphasizes excellence as one of its core values. The college

values working together to develop and continuously improve processes that support the creative pursuit

of new ideas. CVTC was first accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) in 1973 and has

participated in the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) since 2002. CVTC submitted

Systems Portfolios in 2005 and 2009. In July 2012, CVTC began participation in the AQIP Systems

Appraisal Baldrige Option by submitting a Wisconsin Forward Award application to the Wisconsin

Center for Performance Excellence. CVTC’s Wisconsin Forward Award application addressed the

Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence in Education and described the college’s processes

and results related to leadership; strategic planning; customer, workforce, and operations focus; and

measurement, analysis, and knowledge management. CVTC was placed at the Mastery recognition level

of the Wisconsin Forward Award, the second highest level obtainable and the highest level reached by a

two-year postsecondary educational institution in Wisconsin.

As part of the Baldrige Option process, CVTC submitted an AQIP Systems Portfolio in 2013. This

portfolio contained the college’s Wisconsin Forward Award application, Wisconsin Forward Award

Feedback Report, and a narrative addressing the HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Core Components,

cross-referenced with applicable points of interest within Wisconsin Forward Award materials and other

supporting college documents and artifacts. Since CVTC submitted its Baldrige-based Systems Portfolio,

the AQIP Baldrige Option has been discontinued, rendering this Systems Appraisal format out of date and

sync with existing AQIP accreditation processes. Furthermore, when the AQIP process transitioned from

a seven-year cycle to an eight-year cycle, CVTC’s Year Seven (2014-15) Systems Portfolio requirement

was waived. Thus, CVTC has not submitted a “traditional” AQIP Systems Portfolio since 2009. The

college has prepared an AQIP Systems Portfolio Addendum to bridge this gap and prepare for the

institution’s 2015-16 Comprehensive Quality Review.

Meanwhile, this Highlights Report addresses feedback from the college’s 2013 Systems Appraisal and

describes institutional planning and improvement made in response to such feedback. The report also

outlines progress made in AQIP Action Projects since the most recent Systems Appraisal, along with key

institutional initiatives that advance CVTC’s continuous quality improvement efforts.

Key Institutional Priorities and Continuous Quality Improvement Initiatives

In 2014, CVTC became a member of the Continuous Quality Improvement Network (CQIN), a higher

education membership organization that provides colleges with networking and learning opportunities to

foster continuous improvement and performance excellence. In the summer of 2014, CVTC sent the

college president and a team of six other leaders to CQIN’s annual Summer Institute to gather successful

strategies, methods, processes, and approaches to continuous quality improvement from CQIN Learning

Partners. Another team of seven college leaders attended the 2015 Summer Institute to continue this

valuable acquisition of knowledge and best practices in the field and bring them back to CVTC.

Based on strategies recommended at the 2014 Summer Institute, CVTC has implemented several

initiatives to create and sustain a culture of quality. The college’s 2014 faculty and staff fall and spring in-

service activities focused on themes from the CQIN Summer Institute, including employee engagement

and customer service. Keynote speakers presented topics to promote servant leadership, emotional

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Chippewa Valley Technical College Quality Highlights Report | Fall 2015

intelligence, and engagement. CVTC also began a major strategic goal in 2014, titled Cohesive Culture,

centered on creating a culture of accountability and engagement amongst faculty and staff.

CVTC emphasizes continuous improvement of academic programs and courses. All programs are

assessed through an annual scorecard process. Each program uses scorecard performance measures to

develop a program improvement plan. This process helps college faculty and staff better understand

student achievement and learning on an aggregate level. Each program uses scorecard data to select key

areas for improvement. Program directors work with their respective dean and develop a program

improvement plan annually, which guides and informs the department’s strategic planning process.

Operational departments at CVTC recently began participating in LEAN training to improve workflow.

So far, three departments have reviewed outdated and unused equipment, reorganized work space and

inventory, and completed value stream mapping of processes to document inefficiencies and develop

improvement plans. LEAN training will continue for more operational and administrative departments in

the future.

AQIP Action Projects

AQIP Systems Appraisal feedback, along with institutional priorities and external input, helped shape

CVTC’s three current AQIP Action Projects. Action Projects are used to advance key initiatives at the

college. Membership in Action Project committees is diverse and representative of the institution’s

instructional, student support, and operational divisions.

Assessment of Student Learning Action Project

09/24/12 – 09/24/15

The Assessment of Student Learning project began in Fall 2012; the project has been branded to faculty

and staff as the “Master Plan.” This project focuses on reviewing and determining a systematic way to

assess student learning. The college’s 2013 Systems Appraisal feedback indicated opportunity for growth

in the area of assessment, and the college has made strong progress in this area. So far, the committee has

achieved several key outcomes, including completing an institution-wide review and refresh of program

outcomes and course level assessments, and mapping program outcomes with the college’s updated core

abilities.

CVTC uses the Worldwide Instructional Design System (WIDS) to build, store, and maintain curriculum,

syllabi, rubrics, and program maps. Over the last two years, CVTC faculty and learning teams have

supported the Master Plan by mapping all program outcomes with core abilities. The Core Abilities

Learning Team created a common three-point rubric for program faculty to assess college-wide core

abilities within their specific disciplines, including Developing, Proficient, and Professional level

designations.

The Action Project committee designed a three-year implementation process to get all course assessments

aligned and validated, with completion projected for 2017. After assessments are in place, course

curricula will be reviewed and refreshed on a five-year rotating cycle. Beginning in the fall of 2015, the

college will begin collecting data on course assessment and program outcomes. The Action Project

committee plans to use the Assessment module within Strategic Planning Online (SPOL), a cloud-based

strategic planning software solution. Collecting and aligning assessment plans and data in SPOL will

enable the institution to assemble a large amount of information from all programs to develop relevant

outcomes and measure results.

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The Assessment of Student Learning Action Project committee also spearheads the college’s efforts in the

Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Technical Skills Attainment (TSA) initiative. The TSA

initiative aims to align and assess program outcomes across all the technical colleges in Wisconsin to

ensure graduates have the skills needed by employers, while formalizing the statewide assessment

process. CVTC, along with the other technical colleges throughout the state, supports the TSA initiative

and meets WTCS requirements by implementing assessments measuring student achievement of industry

relevant program outcomes using WTCS Internal Assessment (scoring guide) or an industry-validated

third party assessment. TSA is a component of the WTCS outcomes-based funding formula; data from

colleges surrounding the design and implementation of assessments, along with data from the assessments

themselves, is collected and analyzed by WTCS through its Client Reporting System. WTCS uses a three-

phase approach for TSA: Phase I (Planning), Phase II (Implementation), and Phase III (Reporting). To

date, CVTC has 54 programs that have completed Phase I; 27 programs have completed or are in the

process of completing Phase II; and 13 have completed Phase III. All programs will complete the three

phases by 2018, allowing CVTC to collect and analyze common assessment data for all academic areas

and accurately compare results to the other 15 technical colleges across the state.

Another important effort from the Assessment of Student Learning Action Project is the development of a

comprehensive framework to ensure the college is poised to integrate and sustain a systematic process for

assessing student learning. The committee also emphasizes faculty involvement and professional

development, making assessment a critical component of the institutional culture. In addition to aligning

educational outcomes, faculty and staff have begun mapping co-curricular activities with the college’s

core abilities.

Credit for Prior Learning Action Project

09/24/12 – 09/24/15

The Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) Action Project also began in Fall 2012. Since the most recent

Systems Appraisal, the college has focused on establishing a robust and systematic process for assessing

prior learning and awarding credit for prior learning. While the Action Project committee has made

significant progress, CVTC continues to stress the importance of bringing prior learning assessment to

scale at the institution in the future, with a strategic objective related to integrating CPL into the

admissions process.

Over the last two years, the Action Project committee reviewed all policies and procedures related to

transfer of credit and CPL at the institution. Previous to the Action Project’s activities, few students at

CVTC were able to obtain credit for prior learning; the college required that students meet at least 80% of

course competencies in order to receive credit for the course. The Action Project committee developed a

process for creating and assessing new learning for students who have met between 50-80% of course

competencies. By offering an alternative option to students to meet course competencies, prior learning

assessment rates have improved vastly. Prior to the program revisions, just 20% of students attempting

prior learning assessment were successful; following the revisions, 94% of students attempting

assessment are successful.

CVTC hired a Credit for Prior Learning Coordinator in Fall 2013. This individual provides clear and

consistent one-on-one advising, coaching, and support to students seeking credit for prior learning. The

CPL Coordinator also offers group information sessions approximately twice per month on the “Nuts and

Bolts” of CVTC’s CPL program. This support is critical to processing CPL requests and achieving

student success in prior learning assessment. Following the launch of an online interest form in Fall 2014,

over 400 students have expressed interest in learning about and/or obtaining CPL. In the 2014-15 school

year, 30 students earned a total of 148 credits for prior learning. To assist students in undergoing prior

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learning assessment, CVTC has developed and introduced a course in CPL Success Strategies. The course

is a one-credit course that students can take to organize CPL materials and prepare for various types of

competency assessments.

The college’s CPL Coordinator organizes faculty teams to develop prior learning assessments for the

courses they teach. Established prior learning assessments for courses in the first year of all programs will

streamline the CPL process and enable more students to obtain CPL. So far, faculty have developed prior

learning assessments for nine courses and 12 more are in process. While this progress is significant,

assessments will continue to be developed on a larger scale over the next several years as part of the

college’s strategic initiative related to CPL. CVTC recently partnered with Northeastern Wisconsin

Technical College and two other WTCS colleges on an application for a First in the World grant through

the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education program. This

grant would enable the colleges to develop, study, and expand a model of prior learning assessment that

minimizes potential barriers to completing a higher education credential, resulting in more learners

earning CPL, persisting at a higher rate, and completing faster than those students who do not earn prior

learning assessment credits. Through this grant project, CVTC would meet the growing demand for CPL

by hiring a CPL Coach and providing faculty release time to develop more assessments.

Engaging in Systematic Planning Action Project

04/02/14 – 04/01/16

The Engaging in Systematic Planning (ESP) Action Project was created to address the college’s 2013

Systems Appraisal feedback. Following a Strategy Forum in February 2014, CVTC leaders determined

that though a strong college-wide strategic planning process exists, the institution would benefit from

more consistent and aligned planning at the department and division levels. The Action Project committee

determined that the lack of a comprehensive, systematic process for department-level planning was a

barrier to truly effective and comprehensive planning at the college. The ESP project addresses several

strategic goals, including Quality, Program Alignment, and Cohesive Culture.

The ESP Action Project committee identified SPOL as its primary tool and repository for creating,

revising, linking, and evaluating planning goals, objectives, tasks, and timelines. SPOL allows for

widespread access to planning information for departments, teams, and individuals. In Spring 2015, the

committee began training department chairs, program directors, and all management staff in creating

department plans in SPOL. Department leaders must input information for unit level plans, including the

following information:

 Objectives (purpose, status, description)

 Alignment with strategic goals and outcomes

 Tasks (start date and due date, priority, status, budget, description)

 Assessment measures

 Intended results

 Status reports

 Actual results and use of results

 Gap analysis and SWOT analysis

 Units impacted

 Associated standards and outcomes

 Communication plan

The ESP Action Project is progressing as planned and will conclude Spring 2016. The next major

objective of the project is to develop an evaluation plan for the new strategic planning process. SPOL has

built-in capability to analyze and evaluate strategic planning outcomes and the effectiveness of the

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process. Reports from SPOL will show progress on established metrics for plans at the unit, division, and

college level and will allow for comparison throughout the college, though benchmarking this progress

with other institutions may be more complicated and requires additional planning. The ESP Action

Project committee will provide quarterly progress on the strategic planning process to management and

department chairs/program directors via regularly scheduled management meetings.

Institutional Response to Systems Appraisal Feedback

Accreditation Issues Identified and Institutional Response

In CVTC’s 2013 Systems Appraisal, reviewers identified areas where CVTC did not provide sufficient

evidence that it meets the Commission’s Criteria for Accreditation and/or may face difficulty in meeting

them in the future. Criteria, and the core components therein, identified by the review team as “adequate

but could be improved” include: 2D, 3B, 3D, 4B, 5A, and 5D.

Feedback Related to Core Component 2D:

“Academic freedom is discussed in the CVTC Faculty Guidelines and intellectual property rights of

employees are delineated in the CVTC Faculty Guidelines and the Employee Handbook.”

Institutional Response:

CVTC is committed to individual and academic freedom, as stated in the Faculty Guidelines: “The

freedom of faculty to present the truth as they understand its relationship to their area of competence,

consistent with state-wide or CVTC course curriculum is essential to the purpose of College and society.

CVTC encourages teaching, investigation, and reflective thought in an atmosphere of freedom.” The

college’s core values include trust, respect, and accountability, all critical to meeting the Commission’s

requirement of freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth. Furthermore, the college’s Academic

Pillars of excellence, continuous development/improvement, and collaborative climate/culture help to

support this core component.

Beyond the policies outlined in the Faculty Guidelines and Employee Handbook, the college supports

core component 2D in more tangible ways. For instance, when students raise concerns regarding specific

course content, CVTC deans and leaders educate students on faculty members’ rights in terms of

academic freedom, rather than requiring faculty to alter the content. CVTC has embraced the growing

role of social media in the college community and allows instructors, advisors, student groups, clubs,

classes, and programs to offer opinions and express themselves through various media, provided these

views adhere to standards outlined in employee and student codes of conduct.

Through the establishment of student learning outcomes, faculty are given the freedom to achieve these

outcomes independently, allowing each instructor to teach his/her own courses according to individual

preference, expertise, and style. CVTC’s Board of Directors’ Code of Ethics also addresses the need for

the institution’s governing body to “help create and sustain an atmosphere in which controversial issues

or different philosophical stances can be presented fairly and in which the dignity of each individual is

maintained.”

Feedback Related to Core Component 3B:

“The institution has identified core abilities that are woven throughout the educational experience: 1.

Communicate effectively, 2. Think critically, 3. Behave ethically, 4. Cultivate global and cultural

awareness, 5. Use mathematics, 6. Use science and technology, 7. Develop self-awareness, 8.

Demonstrate social interaction, and 9. Value environmental stewardship. The WTCS Technical Skills

Attainment initiative provides a consistent summative assessment of student learning that system colleges

will be able to use to better understand student learning outcomes.”

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Institutional Response:

With a core competency dedicated to meeting the dynamic and diverse employment and training needs of

the region, CVTC offers multiple levels of degree programs, including short-term training certificates,

technical diplomas, associate degrees, and a Liberal Arts transfer associate degree. Each of these

programs incorporates general education competencies as appropriate for the degree type, length, and

prospective employment opportunities. The general education departments at CVTC have defined

outcomes for specific disciplines and courses, all of which have established statewide curriculum. Over

the past two years, CVTC’s Assessment of Student Learning AQIP Action Project (described in detail

above) has mapped all program outcomes to align with the college’s core abilities, and efforts to map

individual course outcomes to the core abilities are currently underway. These efforts, along with the

advancement of the TSA initiative, will help articulate the intended learning outcomes of program and

course requirements, as specified by the Commission in core component 3B.

CVTC “engages students in collecting, analyzing, and communicating information” and encourages

faculty and students to “contribute to scholarship, creative work, and the discovery of knowledge” (core

component 3B4, 3B5) in a variety of ways. For two years now, CVTC students have presented research

and special projects at an annual Student Symposium. Additionally, CVTC faculty regularly participate in

and/or present research and projects at state, regional, and national conferences, workshops, and in-

services. CVTC also holds multiple community open houses and events to showcase college programs

and student work, including the Liberal Arts Symposium and the extremely popular Manufacturing Show.

One of the college’s core abilities is to cultivate global and cultural awareness, acknowledging the

“human and cultural diversity of the world in which students live and work” (core component 3B4). Most

CVTC programs, particularly those leading to associate degrees, require students to take a course on

ethnic and cultural diversity. The college offers a range of diversity services to all students and sponsors

regular campus events to promote cultural awareness.

Feedback Related to Core Component 3D:

“CVTC has key educational processes that support effective teaching, including curriculum development

and instructional design, faculty development, learning design and delivery, and assessment. The college

provides academic support services and advising, counseling, diversity and disability services, career

planning, and other resources such as the library, computer labs, clinical sites, and program-specific

resource centers.”

Institutional Response:

Recently, CVTC overhauled its traditional counseling and advising model to make academic advising

more accessible for students. Previously, CVTC counselors offered academic advising to students, but

due to the demand on counselors to provide non-academic support for students, this resource was limited

to students willing to wait for an appointment. With the new advising model, nine advisors assist and

support students in selecting programs and courses, registering for classes, and identifying additional

support services or resources aligned to individual student needs. With more advisors available to

students than ever before, the model ensures consistent and effective support to students as they explore

their academic options. Student Success Specialists are available to support students in personal,

academic, and non-academic matters. CVTC’s Information and Service Center (ISC) provides assistance

with general questions and requests for information, as well as support with advising, admission,

assessment, financial aid, records and registration, and college support services. ISC representatives are

trained to “triage” student needs and direct them to the resources they need as appropriate.

CVTC takes great care to target support services to the right students at the right time. The college used

feedback from the Wisconsin Forward Award and its most recent Systems Appraisal to accelerate the

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timeline of collecting student feedback. CVTC now administers a college-wide student survey every year,

alternating between the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the Noel-

Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI). The college also began using a web-based classroom

evaluation system in 2013-14, designed by faculty and staff to ensure consistency in gathering feedback

about individual courses and instructors. Students take an annual Information Technology (IT)

satisfaction survey, allowing the college to evaluate how IT services are received and utilized. CVTC

network monitoring tools enable CVTC IT staff to determine lab and software usage, ensuring the right

resources are available at the right times to meet student needs.

Feedback Related to Core Component 4B:

“Prior to 2012, the assessment of student learning focused on indirect measures, such as graduation

rates, graduate placement rates, and employer satisfaction with recently hired graduates. In 2012, the

college initiated two efforts to improve assessment of student learning. First, one of two AQIP Action

Projects was dedicated to the Assessment of Student Learning, and second, the college is implementing

WIDS to directly link program outcomes and core abilities to courses within a program. WIDS offers

rubrics and mapping tools for programs to better understand the progression of student learning

throughout a program.”

Institutional Response:

The institution’s response to feedback regarding assessment of student learning can be found above in the

summary of the Assessment of Student Learning AQIP Action Project. Assessment has been a central

focus at CVTC since 2012, and great effort has been made by college staff and faculty to create an

assessment framework, including stated goals and defined processes for directly assessing student

learning at the course, program, and college level. The Action Project committee works with faculty to

link program outcomes to the college’s core abilities. Through this curriculum mapping using WIDS,

faculty reviewed all program outcomes to determine the appropriate places for assessment and made

modifications and adjustments to programs as necessary. The college is in the process of launching an

internal website dedicated to the assessment of student learning and is situated to begin collecting and

analyzing college-wide assessment data in Fall 2015.

CVTC has launched an initiative to create fully packaged courses, called “Master Courses,” which can be

accessed and shared by multiple faculty across the college. Master Courses are created by faculty and

include a course outcome summary, as well as all learning plans complete with learning objectives,

activities, and performance assessments. Faculty designing Master Courses must also create a “shell” of

the course for delivery via the college’s learning management system, E360, including a repository of

resources, scoring guides, sample syllabi, and a minimum of two common assessments. The Master

Course initiative helps involve faculty in the effort to provide consistent instructional quality in courses

taught by instructors with a wide range of experience.

CVTC’s Student Life office has been working to expand and improve the evaluation of co-curricular

activities. Core abilities are linked to co-curricular activities sponsored by Student Life, and some

activities include pre- and post-assessments to measure student learning. All student clubs submit annual

reports to the Manager of Student Life, including the club’s goals, plans, and activities for the year and

links between activities and the college’s core abilities. The Manager of Student Life conducted focus

groups in Spring 2015 to determine how club officers perceived professional skills gained through student

leadership experiences and how these skills can be transferred to their careers. Student leaders also

completed a self-reflection to describe their experience and evaluate resources aimed at supporting their

continued leadership development. In Spring 2015, the Student Life office developed an evaluation rubric

to assess student leaders’ learning outcomes; student leaders will begin completing the rubric in Fall 2015

both before and after club involvement, providing a consistent measure of effectiveness for all clubs in

the college.

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Chippewa Valley Technical College Quality Highlights Report | Fall 2015

Feedback Related to Core Component 5A:

“By Board policy, the institution is required to maintain a 21% reserve fund balance. During 2010-11 the

college increased the reserve balance to 34.7%. The institution’s Moody’s bond rating was Aa1 in 2010-

11 (the second highest rating available). The institution reduces expenses through participation in the

WTCS purchasing consortium and based on its fuel consumption as compared to the WTCS average, has

hired an individual to focus on potential reductions and the [sic].”

Institutional Response:

CVTC continuously works to ensure its human and fiscal resources are sufficient to support its operations

and educational programs. In 2014, CVTC hired an external agency to conduct a comprehensive

evaluation of the college’s workforce. So far, the agency has reviewed all support staff positions to

determine reclassification and wage adjustments based on a market analysis and evaluation of

compensable factors associated with each position. The agency will conduct a similar review of

professional and management positions, with a goal of simplifying the college’s compensation structure

and aligning pay with industry standards. The Human Resources department audits instructors at the

college to ensure they are sufficiently qualified to teach at CVTC, supporting the HLC’s Assumed

Practice regarding faculty roles and qualifications. CVTC will also comply with the new WTCS Faculty

Quality Assurance System to ensure all faculty are appropriately certified by state standards to teach in all

instructional areas.

In an era of dwindling financial support from state and local property tax sources, CVTC continues to

maintain a careful, balanced resource allocation process to ensure the continuation of high-quality

educational programming at a reasonable cost to the student. In June 2015, Moody’s reaffirmed the

college’s Aa1 bond rating. The college’s senior leadership team has taken into account reductions in

enrollment and revenue to make adjustments to college operations and programs accordingly, reallocating

where necessary and fiscally prudent. The institution uses financial, employment, and enrollment data to

make decisions about starting, suspending, or discontinuing academic programs, scheduling courses, and

hiring faculty.

Since the last Systems Appraisal, CVTC has made several major improvements to its technological and

physical infrastructure. For example, the IT department improved connectivity drastically by expanding

bandwidth amongst the college campuses. The college remodeled several areas in the main campus

building in Eau Claire to make improvements to classrooms and laboratories while utilizing space more

efficiently, and a newly remodeled building on the college’s West Campus will house a state-of-the-art

Energy Education Center in Fall 2015.

Feedback Related to Core Component 5D:

“CVTC has a system of policies, committees, and departments to collect, manage, and distribute data and

performance information on instructional and non-instructional programs and services. The Senior

Leadership Team is responsible for selecting strategic plan outcomes and KPIs. Implemented in 2011, the

Strategic Planning Online (SPOL) program provides faculty and staff access to a central repository of

planning documents that can easily be edited and shared. CVTC follows regulatory, legal, and

accreditation requirements that mandate specific data and information reporting. As part of the AQIP

process, CVTC also uses its mission, strategic plans, and KPIs to develop dashboards to manage the

college, and is in the process of developing more robust dashboards for executive use.”

Institutional Response:

In 2014-15, the WTCS began an outcomes-based funding program, mandated by Wisconsin Act 20 (the

2013-15 biennial budget), which measures performance related to nine established criteria: 1) Job

placement rates; 2) Degrees and certificates awarded in high demand fields; 3) Programs or courses with

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industry-validated curriculum; 4) The transition of adult basic education students to skills training; 5) The

success rate of adults in basic education courses; 6) Participation in dual enrollment programs; 7)

Workforce training provided to businesses and individuals; 8) Participation in collaboration or efficiency

initiatives; and 9) Training provided to special populations or demographic groups unique to the district.

By collecting data and tracking performance in each of these areas, CVTC leaders can compare the

institution’s performance to that of its peers. This recent emphasis on accountability from the WTCS and

state government has compelled the college to strengthen its use of analytics in decision-making and

continuous quality improvement efforts.

The ESP AQIP Action Project (described above) has provided important enhancements to the institution’s

continuous quality improvement processes as well. Program and division planning includes a SWOT

analysis and thorough review of available data prior to moving forward with updated performance plans

in SPOL. In 2014, CVTC’s Institutional Research department automated the annual program scorecard

process, allowing the college to streamline data collection and integrate it into decision-making processes.

Systems Appraisal Opportunities Identified and Institutional Response

The following is a short summary of key opportunities identified in CVTC’s 2013 Systems Appraisal

Feedback Report-Baldrige Option, along with actions taken by the institution to address them. This

summary is meant to be illustrative and focuses primarily on areas noted by reviewers as being in need of

significant improvement. To better align with the feedback provided in 2013, information is organized by

the nine former AQIP categories rather than the six new categories introduced in 2014.

AQIP Category 1: Helping Students Learn

Opportunity for

Improvement

Institutional Response

1P10 & 1P15

CVTC has worked to improve segmentation of the student population for

Lack of segmented

performance measurement purposes. The college can segment students in

performance

multiple ways, including: by program and degree type; enrollment status; grades

measures by

and GPA; academic standing; Pell-eligible (low-income); credit/non-credit;

student group

demographics (age, ethnicity, first-generation); delivery type (face-to-face or

online); at-risk (based on the college’s Inventory of Student Success non-

cognitive assessment); English Language Learners/English as a Second

Language; adult basic education/non-credit and transition to credit; gatekeeper

course enrolled; supplemental instruction course enrolled; dual credit enrolled

(Youth Options, transcripted credit); alumni; technology camp enrolled (summer

youth); academic services received; etc.

CVTC uses these segmented performance measures for major strategic

initiatives as well as evaluation of smaller projects and programs. For instance,

when the college applied for a Department of Education TRIO Student Support

Services grant in January 2015, data elements including graduation, retention,

GPA, academic standing, and transfer rates for the entire program and pre-

program population were examined alongside rates for low-income, first

generation, and disabled students. Data was further segmented by combinations

of these factors along with student race, leading the team to discover that the

group with the lowest overall success rates at CVTC was disabled minority

students.

At a larger scale, the college segments students in the annual program review

process, specifically on the program scorecards. Scorecards segment students by

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program and measure these students’ academic performance (graduation,

retention, course success, intake assessment score), demographic data (age, full-

time/part-time, disability, minority, gender), graduate placement and wage

information, and student survey results. As of 2014, the program scorecards

were automated, allowing the college more opportunity to further segment

student groups for evaluating performance and results related to specific

categories in the future.

1P17 & 1P19

CVTC has addressed assessment through the Assessment of Student Learning

Lack of direct

AQIP Action Project and TSA initiative (described above), and has made it a

performance

strategic priority. Data collection on core abilities alignment will begin Fall 2015

indicators for

and will enable the college to more accurately benchmark, trend, and project

measuring student

performance related to student learning in courses and programs.

learning and

development

objectives

1R1a, 1R4a, 1R5a

Lack of corrective

actions reported for

declining

performance

indicators

The college is highly vigilant to performance indicators, particularly those

related to student success. Declining student performance results are of great

concern to the college and are addressed as necessary through targeted

improvement efforts in the development of strategic goals, objectives, and tasks,

grant-funded initiatives, program improvement plans, AQIP action projects, pilot

projects and focused studies, statewide collaborative initiatives, and more. Some

examples of initiatives or actions resulting from low/declining indicators

include:

 Declining enrollments  Strategic initiative to revise and expand

recruitment efforts (2015)

 Low course completion for developmental education courses 

Strategic initiative to revise and revamp developmental education

(2015)

 Low completion/success rates in the Liberal Arts transfer program 

Liberal Arts student cohort pilot project (2014); CVTC’s Liberal Arts

program, which offers general education courses in social science,

humanities, and math/science to students who intend to transfer credits

into a four-year institution, began a cohort model pilot in Fall 2014.

This pilot cohort incorporated the core abilities into service learning

opportunities for students. This model ties the abilities directly into an

activity, allowing students to apply their learning from multiple

disciplines in a cohesive manner. Following this pilot, the Liberal Arts

program and other programs may begin designing similar projects to

develop student core abilities through integrated learning activities.

 Low graduation rates  Multiple student success initiatives, including

interventions funded through CVTC’s Department of Education Title III

grant, Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community

College and Career Training grants, WTCS General Purpose Revenue

grants, Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education grants;

interventions include but are not limited to: success coaching, boot

camps, advising/support through college navigators, peer mentoring,

bridge programming, intrusive advising, case management,

supplemental instruction, compressed developmental education

(multiple years)

Page 10 of 15

Chippewa Valley Technical College Quality Highlights Report | Fall 2015

More detailed information about recent performance results is included in the

CVTC Systems Portfolio Addendum.

1R5c

Unclear cycle for

administering

college-wide

surveys

CVTC’s Institutional Research office has created a tighter survey schedule and

calendar. The college administers a major student survey each year, alternating

between the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) and the

Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). Other key student

surveys, including the WTCS Graduate Follow-Up Survey and IT Satisfaction

Survey, are administered annually. The Personal Assessment of the College

Environment (PACE) employee survey is administered to faculty and staff every

other year. As a result of this change, the college can be more responsive to

students and has more data points and trends which inform institutional planning

and learning.

AQIP Category 2: Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives

Opportunity for

Improvement

Institutional Response

2P4

The ESP AQIP Action Project (described above) has addressed the issue of

Unclear role of

defining and systematizing the strategic planning process and engaging the entire

those outside of

college community in its execution. The newly designed strategic planning

senior leadership in

process is very inclusive, with program directors and department chairs

the strategic

collaborating with management in the strategic planning retreat and engaging

planning process

their own teams in SWOT analysis and unit plan development.

2P5

Lack of a process

to identify faculty

and staff needs

related to

accomplishing

objectives

The new strategic planning process and the annual program review process

require faculty and staff to provide feedback and information related to their

needs in order to develop objectives and action plans. The college also

incorporates results of the PACE survey, IT Satisfaction Survey, and annual

employee evaluation process in both instructional and operational planning.

AQIP Category 3: Understanding Students’ and Other Stakeholders’ Needs

Opportunity for

Improvement

Institutional Response

3R1-3R6

CVTC has emphasized the importance of a comprehensive and systematic

Lack of a

process for collecting data and information and converting it into actionable

systematic

plans in the establishment and growth of the college’s Institutional Research (IR)

approach for

department. Every three years, the IR department compiles data from external

compiling results

and internal sources, including economic indicators, student and performance

across all activities

data, community feedback, and political and financial factors in a comprehensive

and stakeholder

environmental scan. The environmental scan informs the institution’s strategic

groups

planning process. Furthermore, the new outcomes-based funding system requires

the college to examine results across a variety of areas to benchmark against

other colleges and make plans for improvement and growth.

AQIP Category 4: Valuing People

Opportunity for

Improvement

Institutional Response

4P3 & 4P5

Lack of clear

process for

analyzing

employee attrition

Due to consistently low turnover rates in CVTC’s workforce, a formal process

for analyzing employee attrition was not established prior to the 2013 Systems

Appraisal. Results related to employee attrition are often skewed and/or

statistically insignificant due to the low numbers of employees leaving the

organization. However, the college has made progress in developing a more

Page 11 of 15

Chippewa Valley Technical College Quality Highlights Report | Fall 2015

organized approach to recruitment, retention, and engagement. The college’s

Human Resources (HR) department collects and trends data related to employee

retirements, resignations, and terminations. HR provides workforce data to

college leadership to accurately forecast attrition and resulting hiring needs.

Scenario planning helps managers assess workforce needs and potential gaps in

the future. More details and results related to CVTC’s workforce are included in

the Systems Portfolio Addendum.

4P3 & 4P9

Unclear alignment

between workforce

engagement

initiatives and

short- and long-

range plans

CVTC has worked to better align its workforce engagement and development

initiatives with the institution’s strategic plan, particularly through the

development of the Cohesive Culture strategic goal. CVTC’s senior leadership

team has participated in CQIN for two years now and continues to integrate best

practices for workforce engagement into the college’s learning activities.

4I1

Lack of

performance results

for employee

programs such as

wellness, tuition

reimbursement, etc.

CVTC measures the effectiveness of the tuition reimbursement programs by

tracking the number of employees benefiting from the program and attaining

new degrees. The wellness program is evaluated by tracking participation and

analyzing aggregate data collected on employee health assessments. Results for

these programs are included in the Systems Portfolio Addendum. Other

employee programs, such as in-service training opportunities, are evaluated

through participant surveys following the program or event. The College

Professional Development department carefully considers responses to surveys,

anecdotal information from faculty and staff, and strategic direction to plan

programs and development topics for employees. All in-service keynote

speakers and presenters are approved by the senior leadership team to ensure

alignment with the college’s strategic plan.

AQIP Category 5: Leading and Communicating

Opportunity for

Improvement

Institutional Response

5P7

Lack of

commitment to

developing

leadership at all

levels

5P8 & 5P10

Lack of leadership

succession

planning

CVTC hired a full-time Faculty Developer in 2013 to manage training and

development programs for faculty; a part-time Adjunct Faculty Developer was

hired in 2014 to address the unique needs of adjunct instructors. In 2014, the

college hired an Organizational Developer to coordinate professional

development for non-instructional staff across the college. These positions work

to ensure that employees across all classifications and levels have access to

professional development and learning activities. Furthermore, the college has

implemented a systematic approach to succession planning by introducing

professional development opportunities to all leaders. To meet this goal, CVTC

has developed or is in the process of developing several new training and

leadership programs, including:

 New Leaders Academy (new managers, program directors, department

chairs)

 Empowering Leaders Program (experienced leaders)

 Executive Leadership Program (senior leaders)

 Academic Leaders Program (deans and associate deans)

 Technology for Management (managers)

 Program Directors and Department Chairs Leadership Program and

Conference (program directors and department chairs)

 Monthly Leadership Breakfasts (managers)

 Professional Book Clubs (all employees)

Page 12 of 15

Chippewa Valley Technical College Quality Highlights Report | Fall 2015

 Monthly Staff Development Trainings (all employees)

 Monthly Cultural Competence/Diversity Trainings (all employees)

5R1 & 5R2

When CVTC submitted the Wisconsin Forward Award application, only data

Lack of sufficient

from the 2009 administration of the PACE survey was available. Since then,

PACE survey

CVTC employees have taken the survey two more times (2012 and 2014). PACE

results to determine

is part of the institution-wide survey plan, with administration every other year.

appropriate

Detailed results from all three PACE survey administrations are included in the

approach for

Systems Portfolio Addendum. Overall ratings of the college climate in all five

improvement

survey categories have improved in each administration.

5I1

The ESP AQIP Action Project (described above) has addressed the issue of

Variation in

variation within and between departments in deploying the strategic plan.

deployment of the

Training and implementation of the new strategic planning process is ongoing in

strategic planning

2015-16.

process within the

college

AQIP Category 6: Supporting Institutional Operations

Opportunity for

Improvement

Institutional Response

6P1

Lack of formal

process for

compiling and

analyzing student

complaints

The college implemented a robust process for handling student complaints in

2014. This process is described in detail in the institution’s 2015 Federal

Compliance Filing. CVTC has both informal and formal procedures for

discrimination and harassment complaints. The college’s Equal Opportunity

Officer and Equal Opportunity Manager handle these complaints and provide

data for required state and federal reports. All other complaints are processed

through an electronic complaint form on the college’s internal website, My

CVTC. The online complaint system ensures that all complaints from students

are funneled through a single administrator, who places the complaints in one of

three broad categories (Instruction, Student Services, or Operations) and assigns

it to an individual assignee within that area. Assignees then contact the student

and work to resolve the complaint. This formal, online complaint process

enables the college to track and analyze trends in student complaints, making it

easier to recognize major issues and allocate resources to their resolution.

6P4

Lack of service-

specific results

aimed at

determining the

effectiveness of

those services

To address reviewers’ concerns with the college’s Early Alert system, CVTC has

incorporated more robust evaluation processes to measure its effectiveness.

Along with tracking the number of students referred through the Early Alert

program, the college also tracks educational outcomes for each student,

including whether the student persisted, graduated, or left the college for a

different reason. The results of this data are included in the Systems Portfolio

Addendum.

Many services throughout the college have rigorous evaluation programs,

particularly grant-funded initiatives and activities. The Student Services division

has worked to improve evaluation of specific services such as the new student

orientation and student success planning. College templates and documentation

for unit level strategic planning include targets and assessment measures for staff

and faculty to plan the evaluation of outcomes following the plan’s completion.

6R3

Declining results in

IT satisfaction

The IT Satisfaction Survey is administered by the college every year. Overall,

results improved from 2013 to 2014. Areas of increased satisfaction in 2015

varied amongst faculty, staff, and students. The most notable area of decreased

satisfaction was the internal website, My CVTC. The college and IT department

Page 13 of 15

Chippewa Valley Technical College Quality Highlights Report | Fall 2015

were expecting this decline, as a new website launched in January 2015.

Detailed results for the IT Satisfaction Survey are included in the Systems

Portfolio Addendum. The IT department uses the IT Satisfaction Survey each

year to make strategic decisions about IT services at the college.

AQIP Category 7: Measuring Effectiveness

Opportunity for

Improvement

Institutional Response

7R1 & 7R3

Lack of data

integrity

7I1

Lack of leading

indicators

In its Wisconsin Forward Award application and 2013 Systems Portfolio, CVTC

identified data integrity as an area for improvement. While CVTC tracks

multiple lagging indicators for its program scorecards, program evaluations,

fiscal and departmental reports, etc., the college lacks a comprehensive process

of collecting and analyzing real-time data on a consistent basis. Some staff

members have access to Cognos, a report tool used to create and view data from

Banner (the college’s Enterprise Resource Planning system), but information and

reports from this system are not available to the entire campus community on a

regular basis. In July 2015, CVTC’s Institutional Research department hired a

Research Analyst to develop reports and retrieve data from the college’s Banner

Operational Data Store (ODS) using Cognos. This individual will develop data

cubes and automate reports for college-wide use, improving the presence of

leading indicators and real-time data for leaders to use in the planning and

execution of programs and services.

AQIP Category 8: Planning Continuous Improvement

Opportunity for

Improvement

Institutional Response

8P4

Gap between

leadership, staff,

and instructor

perceptions of

communication of

college plans,

strategies, and

goals

The ESP AQIP Action Project (described above) addresses the differentiation

between employee groups’ perception of institutional communication of plans,

strategies, and goals. By expanding and systematizing the strategic planning

across the college at the department and division levels, the college enables

employees outside of senior leadership to actively engage in the planning

process, communicate with management about it, and more strongly influence its

development. Moreover, the use of SPOL as a central repository and reporting

tool for strategic planning goals, objectives, and activities ensures less variation

in plan deployment between departments. The 2012 and 2013 PACE results,

described in detail in the Systems Portfolio Addendum, indicate an overall

increase in the Institutional Structure category across three out of four employee

groups. Average response rates illustrated a significant increase in several key

questions related to communication and planning, such as:

 The extent to which information is shared within the institution

 The extent to which I am able to appropriately influence the direction

of this institution

 The extent to which open and ethical communication is practiced at

this institution

8P7

CVTC uses data-based decision making in its planning processes. A strong

Unclear how the

reliance on research, best practice, and data forms a solid foundation and

college assesses

minimizes risk in all institution-wide planning processes. All strategic initiatives,

and addresses risk

budgets, and equipment purchases are vetted by college leaders, the Board of

in its planning

Directors, and external stakeholders. Scenario planning during the strategic

processes

planning and budgeting process enables college leaders to closely examine the

potential outcomes of multiple courses of action.

Page 14 of 15

Chippewa Valley Technical College Quality Highlights Report | Fall 2015

Committees, work teams, and task forces include a wide representation of

college staff and faculty from multiple divisions and teams to ensure that

objectives and action plans are informed by a variety of perspectives. The Board

of Directors includes a mandated distribution of employers, employees, an

elected official, and a school district administrator. The Board has budgetary

authority, as well as the power to borrow money and levy taxes, providing an

additional layer of scrutiny and risk analysis in the institution’s planning process.

8R3

Unclear use of

projections for

planning purposes

CVTC uses many data elements and projections to inform the planning process.

To develop the strategic plan, budget, and determine an appropriate academic

program mix, the college relies heavily on full-time equivalency (FTEs) and

admission/enrollment projections, primary and secondary school enrollment

trends, employment projections, and economic modeling for the 11-county

district. The college also analyzes results related to the average number of credits

per student, average time to completion, and the breakdown of full- and part-

time students to help predict resources required to execute institutional plans and

build capacity where necessary. The new outcomes-based funding formula has

required CVTC to be cognizant of trends in areas such as business and industry

training, adult basic education, and dual enrollment for secondary students to

accurately predict state funding patterns.

AQIP Category 9: Building Collaborative Relationships

Opportunity for

Improvement

Institutional Response

9P7

Lack of definition

for the facilitation

of collaboration

and communication

between units

CVTC’s strategic goal of Cohesive Culture strives to build on positive working

relations within the college to maintain a cohesive organizational culture.

Outcomes related to this goal include maintaining staff and faculty satisfaction

and overall college climate while implementing new systems and policies,

increasing staff engagement through participation on cross functional project

teams, and promoting campus activities to foster employee cohesiveness. The

college has worked hard in the last two years to improve employee engagement

and collaboration through formal and informal initiatives meant to bring staff

and faculty from different departments together in the same spaces, including in-

services, learning teams, professional development activities, planning meetings,

and mentorship programs.

Page 15 of 15

Chippewa Valley

Technical

o ege

cvtc.edu

1-800-547-2882

Campuses in Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Menomonie, River Falls, and Neillsville

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