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the AQIP Baldrige Option has been discontinued, rendering this Systems Appraisal format out of date and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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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)
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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)
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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.
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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
C
l
~
1
Technical
o ege
cvtc.edu
1-800-547-2882
Campuses in Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Menomonie, River Falls, and Neillsville