Academic Program Review

ACADEMIC YEAR	2014-2015	Basic Skills Transfer Career Technical Education (CTE)
PROGRAM	Welding Technology
DESCRIPTION/PURPOSE	The Welding Technology program is designed to educate, train, and prepare students to meet the minimum knowledge and skill standards for entry level welders established by the American Welding Society.
DIVISION	Economic and Workforce Development
DEPARTMENT	Industrial Technology
SUBMITTED BY:	Jose Lopez/Efrain Silva

INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 2	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 3	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 4
INSTITUTIONAL MISSION AND EFFECTIVENESS – The College will maintain programs and services that focus on the mission of the College supported by data-driven assessments to measure student learning and student success. 1.1 Develop systems and procedures that establish the mission of the college as the central mechanism for planning and decision making. 1.2 Develop an institutional score card to assess student learning that drives integrated planning and resource allocation. 1.3 Develop systems and procedures to ensure that the college maintains a collegial and self-reflective dialogue that improves effectiveness. 1.4 Develop systems that are inclusive, cyclical, and understood by all stakeholders.	STUDENT LEARNING PROGRAMS AND SERVICES – The College will maintain instructional programs and services which support student success and the attainment of student educational goals. 2.1 Ensure that all instructional programs, regardless of location or means of delivery, address and meet the current and future needs of students. 2.2 Review program learning outcomes annually (or biennially) to assure currency, improve teaching and learning strategies, and raise student success rates. 2.3 Ensure that all Student Services programs, regardless of location or means of delivery, address and meet the current and future needs of students. 2.4 Ensure that all Student Services programs engage in a process of sustainable continuous quality improvement by annual review of Service Area Outcomes, and annual Program Review. 2.5 Ensure that the Library meets as closely as possible that “Standards of Practice for California Community College Library Faculty and Programs” of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. 2.6 Ensure that instructional labs continue to collaborate in sharing financial and human resources, thus maintaining continuous quality improvement.	RESOURCES – The College will develop and manage human, technological, physical, and financial resources to effectively support the College mission and the campus learning environment. 3.1 Develop and implement a resource allocation plan that leads to fiscal stability. 3.2 Implement a robust technological infrastructure and the enterprise software to support the college process. 3.3 Build new facilities and modernize existing ones as prioritized in the facility master plan. 3.4 Design and commit to a long-term professional development plan. 3.5 Raise the health awareness of faculty, staff, and students.	LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE – The Board of Trustees and the Superintendent/President will establish policies that assure the quality, integrity, and effectiveness of student learning programs and services, and the financial stability of the institution. 4.1 Review all Board policies annually to ensure that they are consistent with the College mission statement, that they address the quality, integrity, and effectiveness of student learning programs and services, and that they guard the financial stability of the institution. 4.2 Maintain a clearly defined Code of Ethics that includes appropriate responses to unprofessional behavior. 4.3 Ensure that the Board of Trustees is informed and involved in the accreditation process. 4.4 Ensure that processes for the evaluation of the Board of Trustees and the Superintendent/President are clearly defined, implemented, and publicized. 4.5 Establish a governance structure, processes, and practices that guarantee that the governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students will be involved in the decision making process.

I. INSTITUTIONAL GOALS

II. PROGRAM GOALS

PAST – EVALUATION OF PREVIOUS CYCLE OBJECTIVES/PROGRAM GOALS (SET IN PREVIOUS YEAR)

List your previous objectives/goals and associated Institutional Goals. All program goals must address at least one of the institutional goals.

1	PAST PROGRAM GOAL #1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary goal.)
Identify Program Goal and Budget request, if any, from the Program Review completed in 2013-2014 (Section II C): Hire a well-qualified and prepared Full-Time Teaching Professional	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Met	Partially Met	Not Met
Describe how this program goal increased student achievement and/or program effectiveness in 2014-2015: The IVC Welding Technology Program continues to function without a Full-Time faculty member. For the past four (4) years the program has been staffed by four (4) Adjunct faculty members. There may be multiple contributing factors for not being able to fill the position that was vacated in June of 2010; (1) the IVC status of the fiscal resources may be a factor and may not support replacing the Full-Time Faculty member in Welding Technology, (2) the IVC prioritization process for Faculty Hiring has not favored the Welding Technology Full-Time Teaching position, and (3) There seems to be no change in status for the 2014-2015 academic year.

2	PAST PROGRAM GOAL #2	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary goal.)
Identify Program Goal and Budget request, if any, from the Program Review completed in 2013-2014 (Section II C): : Certify the IVC Welding Technology Program to American Welding Society S.E.N.S.E. Standards (Schooling Excelling through National Skills Standards Education and implement the SENSE based curriculum	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Met	Partially Met	Not Met
Describe how this program goal increased student achievement and/or program effectiveness in 2014-2015: Not having a Full-Time faculty member to provide leadership, expertise, and full-time dedication of time and resources has limited the progress possible in completing the development of curriculum based on the American Welding Society Nationally Validated “Welding Personnel Training Profile” and the SENSE program standards. There is work being done on SENSE certification and curriculum development. SENSE certification application and audit for certification should be completed Spring 2014. The SENSE based curriculum should be approved for implementation during the 2014-2015 academic year. One example of necessary improvement if the status of a well-qualified Full-Time Professional remains the same is that 75% of the present Adjunct Faculty will need Professional Development to meet the teaching competencies required by the SENSE program. The accepted certification of IVC Welding Technology Faculty is to the American Welding Society standards for “CWE” (Certified Welding Educator). This would be an essential step toward implementation of the SENSE program.

3	PAST PROGRAM GOAL #3	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary goal.)
Identify Program Goal and Budget request, if any, from the Program Review completed in 2013-2014 (Section II C):	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Met	Partially Met	Not Met
Describe how this program goal increased student achievement and/or program effectiveness in 2014-2015:

PRESENT – DATA ANALYSIS AND PROGRAM HEALTH – ACCREDITATION

Summarize and analyze all disaggregated data by day, evening, gender, ethnicity, and distance education. Narrative only. Submit electronic excel file with graphs or trend data.

Enrollment and Fill Rates

Discuss the trends in enrollment and fill rate for each program by day and evening at the program level.

The program has a well divided day and evening program (13 day classes and 15 evening classes with the evaluation period). No online courses are taught in this discipline. Both day and evening courses have healthy fill rates averaging 92% in the day and 96% in the evening.

Productivity

What are the trends in productivity?

The average productivity ratio of 260 is well below the acceptable target of 510 and is a reflection of low caps in the classes (18). Productivity ranged from a low of 249 in the spring 12 semester and a high of 272 in the spring 13 semester. This phenomenon is accepted in many CTE disciplines as capacity is established based on facilities and safety regulations. In the evaluation period, the Welding technology program operated from a dedicated facility that was 60 years old and had limited space and infrastructure. Only 18 welding booths were available. The situation has changed in 2014-2015 in that the Welding Technology program moved to a new state-of-the-art facility with an increased capacity of 24 welding booths. Safety considerations and OSHA regulations still limit the ability to add more students beyond this point.

Success and Retention

Discuss the success and retention rates by day, evening (extended day), and online classes in each program and identify gaps.

The success rate in the evaluation period is lower for students in the day program (59%) than evening students (78%). Retention rates are similar hovering 88%. This is something that needs to be evaluated by the department to assess determining factors, if any, that create this discrepancy.

Success and Retention by Ethnicity

Discuss the success and retention rates by demographic diversity of students.

98% of students in this program are identified as Hispanic. This rate is higher than the regular student population. Hispanic students have a lower success rate that White students (70% vs., 82%). The difference can be attributed to the much larger number of Hispanic students identified compared to White students in the same period (395 vs. 11). Retention rates are similar with 88% for Hispanic students and 82% for White students.

The success rate for Hispanic students is comparable to other programs and student populations on campus.

Degrees and Certificates

Discuss the trends in the number of degrees and/or certificates awarded.

The program has produced 18 completers in the last three years with 15 certificates and 3 Associate degrees. The trend is more towards certificates than degrees. This is also something common with CTE programs in that many students are only interested in learning the job skills necessary to learn a trade and find a job. In many cases, students have earned the necessary credit for certificates and/or degrees but they fail to apply for graduation or completion. Under existing rules, the college cannot impose this requirement on students.

The program has identified degree completers as a priority and will be working with counseling to identify strategies to motivate students to complete their entire Associate program.

Program Changes

What program changes, if any, do you expect to have a positive effect on students?

The two primary changes necessary in this program are the hiring of a FT faculty member that can take charge and responsibility of the program to maintain currency in the industry, evaluate program outcomes, and seek and maintain national certification standards. The second area is for the College to seek SENSE certification and alignment so that the curriculum is validated through a national certification.

Summarize revisions, additions, deletions, and alternate delivery methods to courses and/or program based on the last program review.

A big step taken last year was the adoption of pre-requisites for the program. In previous years students could register to any welding course without having any previous background or preparation. Now there is sequential order of courses that build on each other and is making instruction better for students.

Evaluate the program’s viability by addressing program completion, size (FTES), projections (growing/stable/declining), and quality of outcomes.

The program has healthy numbers although as identified before, low productivity ratios, common inn CTE courses make the program expensive for the College. The program also just moved to a state-of-the-art facility with the latest technology available to train the future welders for our region and beyond. With the additional Cap, fill rates and productivity will increase although not to the desire 510-525 ratio. However, the program has solid numbers that demonstrate a clear need for the program. Additionally, welders is a high growth industry in Imperial Valley.
C. FUTURE – LIST OF “SMART” (SPECIFIC MEASURABLE ATTAINABLE RELEVANT TIME-LIMITED) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES FOR NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR TO ADDRESS PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT, GROWTH, OR UNMET NEEDS/GOALS. ALL PROGRAM GOALS MUST ADDRESS AT LEAST ONE OF THE INSTITUTIONAL GOALS.

FUTURE PROGRAM GOALS (Describe future program goals. List in order of budget priority.) You are not required to list 3 goals. Only list/identify goals that are viable in one year’s time or can be carried over a number of program cycles.	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary institutional goal)
1	2015-2016 PROGRAM GOAL #1 Budget Priority #1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S)
Identify Future Global Goal: Increase the stability and viability of the Welding Technology program.	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Objective: Hire a full-time faculty member.
RESOURCE PLAN (Check all that apply.)
Facilities Marketing Technology Professional Development Staffing
Task(s)
Recruit for a welding instructor.
Timeline: December 2014
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$ $80,000
Screen, interview and select a candidate
Timeline: January 2015
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$ $0
C. New faculty starts in spring 2015 semester.
Timeline: February 2015
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$ 0
How will this objective be measured? By the hiring of a new FT faculty member
How will the completion of tasks identified improve student/program success? Will bring stability and viability to program.
Who are the responsible party(ies) and assigned user(s)? Jose Lopez, Department Chair.
FUTURE PROGRAM GOALS (Describe future program goals. List in order of budget priority.) You are not required to list 3 goals. Only list/identify goals that are viable in one year’s time or can be carried over a number of program cycles.	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary institutional goal)
2	2015-2016 PROGRAM GOAL #2 Budget Priority #1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S)
Identify Future Global Goal: Improve student learning through a nationally validated curriculum	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Objective: Align existing program to SENSE/AWS certification.
RESOURCE PLAN (Check all that apply.)
Facilities Marketing Technology Professional Development Staffing
Task(s)
Review course outlines of record and align with SENSE model.
Timeline: March 2015
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Perkins)	$5,000
Submit revised CORs to Curriculum for approbal.
Timeline: May 2015
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$0
C.
Timeline:
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
How will this objective be measured? Approval minutes from Curriculum Committee.
How will the completion of tasks identified improve student/program success? Studunts will be taught through an accredited curriculum.
Who are the responsible party(ies) and assigned user(s)? Jose Lopez, Department Chair.
FUTURE PROGRAM GOALS (Describe future program goals. List in order of budget priority.) You are not required to list 3 goals. Only list/identify goals that are viable in one year’s time or can be carried over a number of program cycles.	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary institutional goal)
3	2015-2016 PROGRAM GOAL #3 Budget Priority #1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S)
Identify Future Global Goal: Create common assessments for pre-requisite courses.	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Objective: Ensure that students moving to higher level courses have the background and skills to succeed regardless of the instructor teaching the lower level course.
RESOURCE PLAN (Check all that apply.)
Facilities Marketing Technology Professional Development Staffing
Task(s)
Create common assessments for Welding 100
Timeline: March 2015
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Perkins)	$ 500
B.
Timeline:
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
Timeline:
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
How will this objective be measured? The creation of common assessment tools for welding 100.
How will the completion of tasks identified improve student/program success? All students will be prepared to succeed in higher level welding courses,
Who are the responsible party(ies) and assigned user(s)? Jose Lopez, Department Chair.

(WSCH/FTEF) The goal is 525 as per state guidelines. A low number means that we are below target levels for productivity. For example, in a small class that has a mandated cap of 15 students, the fill rate may be 100% but the productivity number (WSCH/FTEF) will be very low. A class with a cap of 40 students with a 100% fill rate will have a productivity number close to or above 525.