Abstract of the Report
Standard
One: Institutional Mission
Canada College has regularly reviewed its mission statement
since the last accreditation site visit. The statement of mission
emanates from the District mission, is adopted by the governing
board and identifies the broad-based educational purposes that
the institution seeks to achieve. The college has reviewed its
mission statement by inviting key members of the campus community
and constituent groups to meet, usually for one half day, to
review, reflect and discuss the college's mission. These meetings,
or college retreats, have been convened both on and off campus
and included the Academic Senate, College Council, Classified
Senate, Associated Students, Administrators and District Office
Staff.
Beginning in 1995-96, the Cañada College Mission Statement has guided the institution as it began its transformation from a traditional college offering classes in the standard semester format and administering itself in the traditional structure of instruction and student services to a more flexible, integrated, and streamlined college. With the demographical changes seen in recent years, the mission statement has served to help the College define the students it serves as well as the parameters under which programs can be offered and resources allocated. The annual goals and objectives of the college, which are also developed collaboratively by members of the College Council, Administrative Council, Academic Senate, and Classified Senate, directly reflect the college's mission statement, as well as the mission for the San Mateo County Community College District, shape college planning, and inform budgetary decision making.
Standard
Two: Institutional Integrity
Cañada College publishes a college catalog, a schedule
of classes, a faculty handbook, a student handbook, a booklet
of faculty schedules, a telephone directory, and a personnel
directory. These publications communicate College standards,
policies and procedures, degree requirements, curricular offerings,
student fees and refund policies, financial aid information,
codes of conduct for faculty, staff, students, and administrators,
participation of constituencies in campus life and governance,
as well as faculty and staff names, telephone numbers, and other
relevant personnel information. In addition to these basic publications,
the College prints and distributes many other documents about
individual divisions, constituencies, departments, offices,
and individuals to disseminate information about specific programs,
procedures, curricular and workshop offerings, financial aid
and scholarship opportunities and announcements, etc.
The District website has a wide range of information pertaining to all three colleges. Faculty e-mail addresses appear on this website. In addition, on Cañada College's individual website, users can access the schedule of classes and find information about counseling, some division programs, and most faculty and can link to counselors through e-mail for personal counseling online. Information is also available online about the Cañada College library, its main campus Learning Center, and its Middle College.
The governing board-adopted policy on academic freedom and responsibility is stated in the District Rules and Regulations, which is available in the Division offices. The document is also available in the College Library, is printed in the Appendix of the Cañada College Faculty Handbook and in the Cañada College Catalog, and is on the college's Website.
The College recent applied for and was awarded two grants, which demonstrate its commitment to diversity. The Packard foundation funded the college to help it better prepare its faculty and staff for the changing student demographics. Also, the College recently achieved the designation of "Hispanic Serving Institution" and was awarded a five-year grant to help its faculty offer more culturally appropriate instruction, infuse technology into more of its instructional activities and provide more authentic assessment for career and life planning.
The 1997 Student Handbook provided students with appropriate information on Student Right to Know, Conduct, Disciplinary Actions, and Due Process. This Handbook has not been available since 1998; however, the same information is available in the College Catalog. All athletic programs are in full compliance with the Athletic Code and free from practices lacking in integrity. The College prides itself on its high caliber athletic opportunities.
Cañada College has consistently responded to Commission recommendations, followed commissionguidelines, made public disclosure in print and on-line, and undergone self-study. The currentself study involved wide participation from all segments of the college community. Signatures ofthe College President, the Academic Senate President, and the Classified Senate President attest to thehonesty and integrity of the document.
Standard
Three: Institutional Effectiveness
For almost a decade, Cañada College has engaged in focused
institutional planning and goalsetting. At first this was accomplished
through a college-wide annual Self-Assessment, Planning and
Budgeting process, which required each department or unit to
develop its own plans. These were then integrated into division
plans that were used for college wide planning and budgeting.
Early on, the college established this process as the method
for identifying and prioritizing new faculty and staff positions,
equipment requests, and facilities modifications. The process
has been continued, but in a somewhat simpler fashion, with
each department and division in the fall semester developing
goals and priorities for staffing, equipment, and facilities.
For many years the college carried out research through Instruction Office personnel. Two years ago a research position was funded and filled for a short time. It was then decided to assign research responsibilities to two faculty members, each assigned part-time to research. to concentrate on college outcomes and matriculation data. The difficulty of filling a fulltime research position, followed by a decision to fill this role with two fulltime faculty, has meant that the College is not as far along in its formal research structure as desired. Dissemination of research information to the campus at large has not occurred on a regular and systematic basis. However, with the two faculty researchers and the new Dean of Matriculation, Articulation, and Transfer, progress is being made in research. The College will need to assess whether the present staffing structure is sufficient to meet its research needs. As new student populations enter the college and new programs are developed, research needs may grow so that additional support, either classified or professional, may be needed
As a result of research and planning and budgeting, significant structural changes have occurred at the college, including a more flexible schedule, short classes, weekend and off-campus classes, block scheduling of selected courses, increased offerings at the Redwood City Center, a more diversified curriculum and modified teaching methods and styles such as the Learning Commu nities, cooperative learning, teamwork writing, supplemental instruction and many other changes delineated more fully in Standard Three.
Evidence of student success was documented in the 1999 release of the State Chancellor's list of Transfer, Degree and Certificate Completion Rates, where Canada was the only College in the state to be in the top ten on both measures. The Program Review Process has resulted in some programs being dropped, such as Ophthalmic Dispensing and others, such as Interior Design, being scaled back. Program Review also highlighted the need for improved counseling and advising and resulted in counselors being assigned to divisions.
The college published a Fact Book about Canada College in 1997 describing its students, trends, programs and feeder attendance areas. An Enrollment and Student Characteristics Report was published in Fall 1999 along with an Occupational Program Student follow-Up Survey Report. In October 1999 a Retention, Success, GPA and Grade Distribution Pattern and analysis of high school demographics was prepared. The College generally evaluates its research, plans and planning processes annually at the College Retreat where it specifies its goals and objectives for the coming year.
Standard
Four: Educational Programs
Cañada College provides courses and programs for students
of different demographic characteristics, including gender,
age, ethnicity and economic levels. The College serves traditional
high school graduates, working adults, and multicultural and
international students. Diverse learning styles and levels of
academic preparation are also addressed. In fall 1999, the college's
total enrollment was 5,537. The Cañada College student
population is almost two-thirds female, and over half are under
35 years of age. The largest ethnic group is White, and the
Hispanic population is steadily increasing,now constituting
over one-quarter of the student population. Other populations
in decreasing order are Asian/Pacific Islander, African-American,
and Filipino. Just under one-half of students are evening only
and almost one-fifth take classes in both day and evening. The
vast majority of Cañada College students, about 80%,
attend classes part time and about one-quarter hold a BS or
BA or higher degree. There is an increasing number of high school
students enrolled concurrently or in the Middle College High
School Program. The demographic make-up of the student body
parallels the demographics of the service area.
During the last two years, the College has expanded its flexible scheduling to include distance learning, accelerated courses, weekend courses, and short courses during the January intersession, and interdepartmental Learning Communities.
Evidence that the college is successfully meeting the educational needs of its students is given by the 1998-99 comparative data from the state MIS system and from IPEDS. IPEDS data show that Cañada College has the ninth highest transfer rate, and the tenth highest certificate and associate degree completion rate in the state; it is the only college in California to be in the top ten in all categories.
The degree and certificate programs offered at Cañada College are a central part of meeting the college mission. Associate degree programs prepare students to transfer to the UC or CSU system or to private institutions and to work in selected fields. Certificate programs prepare students for specific jobs. Educational goals of Cañada College students are supported by the college's articulation efforts among campus divisions and between Cañada and other institutions (UC, CSU, private colleges and universities). Transfer and Certificate programs are listed in the Cañada College catalog. Career opportunities are also listed under each department and/or program. Important information on tools for planning an educational program is presented in the catalog immediately preceding the AA/AS, CSU GE, and IGETC requirement forms.
Cañada College has a general education program with a well-founded purpose and objectives closely aligned to those of transfer institutions. In many cases, courses which meet general education requirements for the AA/AS degree also serve to meet the CSU GE requirements and, to a lesser extent, the IGETC requirements. The general education program is sufficiently broad in scope to provide students with intellectual development and the acquisition of knowledge, enhancement of communication and critical thinking skills, exposure to the arts and humanities, awareness of social issues and an appreciation for cultural diversity, and technological awareness and competency.
The variety of day and evening general education offerings every semester enables students to complete their requirements in a timely fashion. The College endeavors at all times to offer consistent, high quality and timely educational programs to its student body. New programs are identified, developed and offered based on community interest, need and resources available.
Standard
Five: Student Support and Development
All admissions standards are consistent with Cañada College's
mission. The College has made great strides over the last couple
of years to broaden the level of access for students from diverse
backgrounds through outreach, by providing information in other
languages in addition to English, and by making information
available through the Internet as well as in print.
Cañada College offers an intimate small-school atmosphere where the ratio of students to staff is low. Students or prospective students who want to know about the college's policies and procedures have multiple sources for that information, such as knowledgeable staff, printed material, and special events. Students are referred to services and resources on and off campus by counselors and other staff, based on the student's own identification of needs and staff observations during class or counseling sessions. However, the conversion from in-person registration to the SMART (telephone registration) system has limited the efficacy of counseling referrals, as many students do not now see a counselor before, or in conjunction with, registering for classes. Instructors also make direct referrals, based on students' classroom performance and/or conversations directly with individual students.
The appropriateness and effectiveness of the programs themselves are reflected in statistics on the use of services, required annually for many categorically funded programs, and through internal program review and planning, and District Program Reviews, scheduled on a six-year cycle for all three colleges in SMCCCD. Some programs (Learning Center, Tutorial Center, the Child Development Center, etc.,) conduct annual surveys of student satisfaction on their own. The Noel-Levitz Survey of Student Satisfaction, taken in 1997, was the first overall student evaluation of college program and services in a long period of time. The results suggested that improvements were needed in several areas, but also revealed that in many areas our students recorded higher satisfaction ratings than the national average. Cañada College continues to provide comprehensive services for its students. However, the college needs to make greater use of information provided by students identifying their needs, and must also permit/encourage students to evaluate services they receive.
Canada College serves students at the main campus and two off-campus centers in Redwood City and Menlo Park, and various off-campus locations, as well as on-line through the internet, and classes offered over KCSM TV. Services for students are primarily at the main campus, and they are available to all enrolled students regardless of where they attend classes.
Standard
Six: Information and Learning Resources
For several years the staffing in the library was limited due
to budget constraints. The planned hire of a Reference Librarian
for Spring 2000 will provide more consistency in the delivery
of services and development of outreach. The book collection
is currently small and outdated. The library needs consistent,
additional funding over the next 20 years to meet minimum standards.
The library's membership in the Peninsula Library System provides
additional resources as it includes over 25 million books.
The on-campus Learning Center has thrived since the last Accreditation Report. A Faculty Survey indicated that 83% of the faculty either strongly agree (48%) or agree (35%) that the on-campus Learning Center adequately supports their course/program needs. Learning Center and Tutorial Center administered campus surveys indicate strong student support as well. Additionally, the Faces of the Future Student survey indicates that 40.3% of students feel computer labs in general are adequate although they do not feel the lab hours are sufficient. Campus and District Administration continue to consider new solutions to the ongoing problem of computer and media technical services. For example, the district will create a district-wide help desk designed to coordinate maintenance services better. Recent personnel changes have greatly improved services.
The college is fortunate to have the Center for Teaching and Learning on the campus. The wide range of offerings, offered free of charge to all employees, are a unique and valuable district resource.
Standard
Seven: Faculty and Staff
The college is making significant progress towards addressing
staffing needs in all areas. The Budgeting and Planning process
for identifying positions involves constituents at all levels
and ensures that all departments have an opportunity to request
positions. The criteria for requesting positions are public,
specific and detailed and are broad enough to apply to disciplines
with unique and differing needs. In addition to other information
and data, requestors are asked to address the relationship of
the position to the College's mission and goals, as well as
the department's needs. Through a focus on institutional priorities,
decisions on which new positions to fill reflect what is needed
to rebuild the institution.
The college catalog, which is updated yearly, contains the current list of degrees held by faculty, and all listed degrees are from accredited U.S. institutions. Using a shared governance vehicle, the faculty evaluation system provides for measuring teaching effectiveness from the perspective of both the college and the student.
The San Mateo County Community College District is an equal opportunity, Affirmative Action employer that implements Board policy through all of its employment procedures for all categories of employment.
Standard
Eight: Physical Resources
While physical resources are generally adequate to support the
college's educational programs, it is clear that the campus
is feeling the results of its facilities being designed in 1968
for functions and programs that were different than those in
2000. Physical resources for student services programs, while
adequate, are not optimum. During certain parts of the year,
the Counseling Center and parts of building 8 become uncomfortably
warm for staff and students. Housing for staff offices is barely
adequate. As the college moves forward with its partnership
with San Francisco State University, close attention will have
to be paid to ensuring that the college will have adequate physical
resources to support this joint venture.
The College Facilities Department, with management support form the District Facilities Director, continues to supply a quality environment that serves student, faculty, and classified staff. Physical resource planning and evaluation support institutional goals and are adequately linked to overall institutional planning and evaluation efforts.
Standard
Nine: Financial Resources
During the past several years, long-range financial planning
has been difficult due to a steady decline in district enrollment
and the uncertainty of funding. Since the budget allocation
model is driven by FTES, the college's allocation has been substantially
reduced, causing the college to operate under severe budgetary
constraints. The San Mateo County Community College District
utilizes an FTES driven budget allocation model for its three
colleges. The District's allocation of funds to each college
is based on the average percentage of District FTES generated
by each during the previous three years. The budgetallocation
model drives college and district-wide planning efforts.
At the college level, the President and College Council have held budget planning retreats during the spring semesters to review progress on the previous year's goals, develop new goals for the coming year, and identify budget priorities. A direct result from this planning effort is the annual goals document which is reviewed by all college constituencies before being submitted to the Chancellor for Board of Trustees review.
In recent years, the college has made a determined effort to increase its financial resources through external funding. A number of grants for specific purposes have been received. These additional funds have allowed program enhancements in student services, engineering, child development services, learning communities, math, Hispanic supported education, and other areas. For example, continuation of the new Middle College Program would not have been possible without grant support.
The San Mateo County Community College District maintains comprehensive financial records of all college and district programs, including Financial Aid, Bookstore, Associated Students, Corporate & Community Education, and institutional investments. Management of the District's finances is in accordance with the district's established Board policy, as well as the California Community Colleges Accounting Manual, and generally accepted accounting principles.
Standard
Ten: Governance and Administration
In conjunction with the Planning and Budgeting committee and
Administrative Council, the President of the College develops
annual goals and plans for the College. The goals and plans
are reviewed by the representative constituencies at the College
and then presented to the College Council members. These goals
are then reviewed and approved by the Chancellor at the District
level to ensure consistency with the District mission and goals.
Goals are evaluated at the end of each year and used to establish
new goals for the coming year. These goals are part of the President's
evaluation and approved by the Board of Trustees.
In conjunction with the Planning and Budgeting committee and Administrative Council, the President of the College develops annual goals and plans for the College. The goals and plans are reviewed by the representative constituencies at the College and then presented to the College Council members. These goals are then reviewed and approved by the Chancellor at the District level to ensure consistency with the District mission and goals. Goals are evaluated at the end of each year and used to establish new goals for the coming year. These goals are part of the President's evaluation. Cañada College faculty have clearly defined and active roles in almost all areas of institutional governance, and particularly in matters of educational program and faculty personnel.
The Cañada College Council By-Laws and Operating Procedures makes specific references to the selection of representatives from the college staff to serve on governance and College committees. The Cañada College Classified Senate maintains its own Constitution and By-Laws that provide for participation and representation. Classified Staff hold six out of the twenty votes on the College Council.
The officers of the Associated Students of Cañada College (ASCC), which represents all students and serves as the voice of the students to college administration, include students elected and those appointed by the Student Body President. In the Associated Students of Cañada College Constitution and By-Laws one of the published rights and responsibilities of an appointed student senator is to serve on a College committee.
The Chancellor and Board of Trustees provide effective District leadership through regular consultation and planning with the District Shared Governance Council, Chancellor's Council, District committees, District senior administration, and College Presidents.
The Chancellor and Board of Trustees have increasingly supported the College in its efforts to define its goals, establish individuality to meet community needs, develop plans, and establish and follow through with institutional priorities. In recent years, the College has experienced a greater degree of District support. The District has given substantial funding for program development and improvement that has had a positive impact in our increased enrollments, program development, staffing, and morale.
