Recommendation 9: The committee recommends that the institution identifies expected outcomes, assesses the extent to which it achieves these outcomes, and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis of results of the community/public service within its educational mission, as appropriate.

Edison State College Response:

To ensure that the institution continues to identify expected outcomes, assesses achievement of the outcomes, and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis of the results of community public service, the College implemented a 3.3.1.5 Response Team [ 1][ 2 ].  In January 2012, the Team reviewed the College’s initial assessment of compliance, the Focused Report, and the recommendations from the On-site team.  Although the Team found evidence that the College offers many services to the community, there was inconsistency in the method of identifying outcomes and assessing achievement of these outcomes for community events and for Continuing Education programming.

The Response Team concurred that the College lacked a published procedure for planning, implementing, and assessing community public service events.  The Team also noted that a distinction between College hosted/facilitated events and externally owned events that the College may sponsor did not exist.  Clarification of this distinction has an impact on the level of data that can be collected, analyzed, and used for continuous improvement planning. To ensure that assessment becomes an integral part of all future events, a new College Operating Procedure (COP) was drafted, entitled “General Regulation for Community/Public Service Events.”  In designing this COP, the team concluded that assessment, analysis of data, and incorporation into unit planning should be required components.  Drafts of the COP were vetted through the Dean’s Council, Faculty Senate, Staff Advisory Council, and Student Services Council [3].    The final COP was approved by the President’s Cabinet on March 27, 2012.

The COP provides guidelines for event planners to seek approval for an event, state the objectives of the event, describe how the event is meeting a unit plan objective (where applicable), assess the event, and use the assessment to inform improvement.  In addition, the COP defines the purpose of community/public service events, procedures for planning these events, and methods for implementing them. The new COP will govern procedures affiliated with community service events beginning with the 2012-2013 planning cycle.

Although the COP will guide future community/public service events, many of the 2011-2012 event planners engaged in the systematic collection of assessment data and the use of assessments to demonstrate achievement of stated goals.  Table 3.3.1.5-1 below contains examples of recent community events, the goals associated with these events, results of mid-year assessments, and the manner assessment results are informing next year’s planning efforts.

Table 3.3.1.5-1 Application of Assessment Results to Continuous Improvement Planning
Event	2011-2012 Assessment Results	Use of Mid-Year Assessment Results
Education for a New Humanity [ 4 ]	Survey results highlight a strong sense of satisfaction with the event (average rating was 4.72 out of 5) [ 5].  Qualitative responses highlight the timeliness of the event and the strength of audience engagement.  According to one participant, the quality of discourse was on par with a university experience.  The general consensus highlighted the importance of the topics discussed and the high quality of the speakers [ 6 ].	In addition to presenting their assessment results to the District Board of Trustees [ 7 ], the program facilitators will be meeting with the Education for a New Humanity committee [ 8 ] to discuss the next event.  Based on the assessment results, the initial topic list for this meeting will address issues surrounding the participation of faculty from all schools and departments, capitalizing on the quality of discourse, and scheduling a larger venue.
Multicultural Task Force: Religious Diversity Event [ 9  ]	Thirty-five attendees responded.  The  majority of respondents “agreeing” or “strongly agreeing” (as rated on a Likert scale measure) that…Attending this event increased my knowledge and understanding of religious diversity and  Attending this event changes some of my views on alternative spiritualities[ 10 ]. The students gave positive feedback through the open-ended responses [ 11]. Suggestions for improvement included a request for additional religion representation and better facilities.	Based on the discussion and the feedback from the comment cards, the MCTF group agreed to host a similar event next fall, noting the students’ suggestions.  In addition, as a response to the feedback, the group will move forward with hosting the religious leaders for the March 28, 2012 Religious Diversity Forum. The group will respond to student feedback by finding a diverse group of religious leaders, including previously unrepresented religions.  The group will try to ensure gender diversity by including female religious leaders. [ 12].

Despite strides toward improvement in planning and effectiveness at Edison State College, the on-site team highlighted several areas in which systematic, assessment-planning documentation fell short. Continuing Education was identified as an area requiring documentation that assessment results were used to inform continuous improvement planning.  The current planning and review cycle [ 13 ] integrates assessment results, unit planning, and budget processes into a comprehensive, cyclical activity that focuses on actionable results in all areas of institutional operations. To support unit planners in continuing education and community service areas, the Academic Affairs Division and the Department of Institutional Research, Planning, and Effectiveness are working collaboratively to enhance the support offered to unit planners [ 14].

The progress made through the current planning cycle indicates that unit planners are more effectively analyzing results to provide evidence of improvement.  The mid-year results and use of results reported in the Continuing Education unit plan objectives demonstrate the progress made in the 2011-2012 academic year.  Table 3.3.1.5-2 provides examples of Continuing Education unit plans with mid-year results and use of results.

Table 3.3.1.5-2 Application of Assessment Results to Continuous Improvement Planning
2011-2012 CE Unit Plans	2011-2012 Mid-year Assessment Results	Use of Mid-Year Assessment Results
Enhance the CE Class Portfolio [15]	ACLS class was requested by members of the community directly. The EMT Department had been approached by potential students desiring an ACLS class. The first ACLS class will commence in March 2012. In mid-2011 the community showed interest in a Lee Campus Certified Nursing program.	Based on the number of inquiries received, an ACLS course was implemented.  The course commences in February 2012. In January 2012 the Florida Dept of Health Board of Nursing approved a 120-hour Certified Nursing Assistant Class for the Lee Campus.  The first class commences in March 2012.
Implement Class Evaluation Process [ 16 ]	The class reviews in January showed that over 70% of students rated their classes good or better.	The review of class evaluation forms has been a success.  It proves that the Learning Outcomes are being met and that the students think highly of the classes. Where there is a suggestion for improvement the class has been upgraded accordingly. For example, class hours were increased from 12 to 18 hours based on student suggestions.  Although all goals included in the unit plan were met, we will continue to monitor client satisfaction with instruction as a matter of course.
Health Licensure or Certification [17]	CPR class in January 2012 showed 100% of students believed they had developed better skills. The CMA Class demonstrated that the average student test score was 75 %.  The previous class scored  69%. It has proven too difficult to gain baseline data for students gaining employment.  However, we have received ad hoc letters from students reporting their new employment.	Use of Mid-year results:  In terms of client satisfaction, we achieved our goal.  We will continue to monitor client satisfaction with instruction as a matter of course. The results of the CMA class testing have been shared with our contracted instructors.  We will be developing collaborative plans to increase the average score for the 2012-2013 year.  Because this plan will not require new funding, it will be completed prior to the end of June 2012.

Supporting Documentation	Description
[1] Members List	3.3.1.5 Response Team
[2] Meeting Minutes	3.3.1.5 Response Team
[3] Vetting Process	Community Public Relations COP
[4] Web Page	Humanities Colloquium
[5] Survey Data	Data Collected from Colloquium Surveys
[6] Education for A New Humanity	Colloquium Brochure
[7] Meeting Minutes	District Board of Trustees
[8] Committee Members	Humanity Committee
[9] Calendar of Surveys	Multicultural Task Force
[10] Survey Results	Multicultural Task Force
[11] Student Comments	Multicultural Task Force
[12] Diversity Initiative	Multicultural Task Force
[13] Planning Calendar	Continuing Education
[14] VPAA Unit Plan	Enhancing Support for Unit Planners
[15] Unit Plans REDACTED	Continuing Education
[16] Unit Plans	Continuing Education
[17] Unit Plans	Continuing Education