Criterion Two

This institution has effectively organized the human, financial, and physical resources necessary to accomplish its purposes.

• Most units of institutional governance consider themselves to be excellent or above average in terms of overall effectiveness.
• The participants in the governance structure survey scored Openness, Representation, and Communication as the highest indicators of effectiveness.
• The College Board of Trustees recognizes its role as policymaker. The roles of the Board and the administration are clearly defined.

Challenges

• There is a lack of information regarding the appeal process. The concerns focus on recommendations denied or referred to committee for further development.
• The Student Government needs to seek opportunities for representation and participation.

Strengths

• MCCC has attracted and developed a very strong faculty and group of administrators, along with a very strong cadre of maintenance, support, and technical staff.
• The decentralization of many of the personnel functions, particularly involving selection and hiring, is balanced by staff involvement in the selection of new employees.
• The compensation, fringe benefit, and optional retirement packages offered by MCCC are among the most attractive in the region.
• Most employees report high degrees of satisfaction with the College and their work environment.

Challenges

• Finding new employees with the necessary skills in technology.
• Finding organizational climate survey to help target areas in need of further attention. Low scoring areas of the staff survey could then be explored.

Strengths

• Reserves have been established in the General Fund, the Designated Fund, the Endowment Fund, and the Maintenance and Replacement Fund to address future needs and to provide contingency resources.
• The budget process is well established and is understood and supported by faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees.
• Tuition rates have remained among the lowest of all Michigan community colleges.
• New revenue sources have been created with the establishment of student technology fees and a College foundation.
• Expenditures are consistent with the mission of the College and the goals stated in the College's Institutional Plan.
• The College has continued its long history of sound fiscal operations as reflected in its annual external audit reports.

Challenges

• The College's reliance on property taxes as a major revenue source is a concern. A variety of statewide activities could affect the property tax base including new legislative direction, tax reform, and energy deregulation. To address this concern, the College stays abreast of local and state property tax issues and supports lobbying efforts. The College also continues to explore alternative revenue sources.
• The College believes that is has adequate financial resources to accomplish its mission. The challenge will be to successfully maintain revenue and reserves that fund unforeseen needs. Current reserves and fiscal management practices do, however, address concerns associated with this challenge.

Strengths

• Student Services uses proactive techniques to recruit students.
• Once a student is enrolled, counselors provide individual attention to promote student success.
• Student Services uses technology to enhance the delivery of services.
• Student Services actively participates in and supports the instructional process.

Challenges

• Meeting the needs of students as consumers, while maintaining the quality of services provided, is a challenge in today's society.
• Providing appropriate support for alternative instructional delivery, such as distance learning, video courses, and online courses is a challenge.
• Increasing student and staff communication opportunities in the interest of quality advising, retention, and overall student success continues to be important.

Strengths

• MCCC's instructional programs and curricula are relevant to the educational needs of constituents.
• Students indicate high levels of satisfaction with the College's instruction and with the transferability of MCCC courses to four-year institutions.
• Faculty members are active in program and curriculum development and review.
• Through linkages with business and industry, MCCC has gained active partners who support the College's educational offerings and sere on advisory committees.
• The programs and curricula have the equipment and technology needed to support educational effectiveness. Financial commitment and planning for equipment and technology is evident.
• Students have been successful at the annual Student Scholars Conference, sponsored by the Liberal Arts Network for Development (LAND) - a consortium of deans, division chairs, and faculty from Michigan's community colleges. This conference honors students who have written outstanding research projects in 17 disciplines. Three finalists in each category are chosen from student entries across the state. These finalists present their research at a one-day conference. Since the inception of the conference in fall 1996, MCCC has had 16 finalists and eight state winners. The conference will be held at MCCC in October 1999.
• There is a strong demand for MCCC graduates with good job placement for most programs.
• Standardized testing is required in some classes, such as National League for Nursing achievement tests or certification exams for first aid. Licensure pass rates for the graduate nurses and certification results for the respiratory therapists are also monitored. All testing shows the students to be achieving at a high level.
• The music program is very popular. The College/Community Symphony Band and the Agora Chorale consistently perform high-quality and well-attended concerts four times a year. The College demonstrates support for the music programs with 14 instructional scholarships.
• All faculty are supportive of the Writing-Across-the-Curriculum (WAC) program. To this end, a number of teaching methods are used in various classrooms to promote writing: peer-editing groups, writing workshops, and portfolios. Also, the Writing Center, located in the Learning Assistance Lab, and the WAC program are models for other schools in the state.
• The College divisions have strong Tech Prep articulations with area high schools.
• Apprenticeship curricula re in place with approximately 50 companies that serve 70 to 80 students every year.
• The Corporate and Community Services Division (CCS) adapts to changes and new trends quickly. CCS responds with a written proposal to training requests from business and industry within 24 to 48 hours, addressing their needs based upon local market conditions, shift schedules, space availability, and related factors.
• The College encourages professional development by providing conference and travel funds and release time for faculty. The Instructional Staff Development committee promotes faculty development through a survey and assessment process to develop an annual in-service day. While conference and travel funds have only had one increase in several years, funds have been added through training accounts.
• A large array of courses are available at the Whitman Center, including transfer, occupational, and non-credit courses. Full-time instructors teach many classes at the Whitman Center.
• The Writing Center provides a comprehensive program of services, including a well-trained cadre of Writing Fellows, to all students and faculty on Main Campus.
• The Educational Media Services Office has been instrumental in supporting new instructional technologies on campus, such as satellite television, interactive television instruction, and media distribution.
• The College has implemented a number of programs since 1990, including developmental education classes and a Supplemental Instruction program, which assume a greater role for the staff and programs of the LAL. The stability and expertise of the full-and part-time staff have resulted in the continuity of services and the development of creative programs focusing on retention.
• Instructional laboratories are appropriately staffed and equipped.
• The College has committed considerable resources to providing computer laboratory facilities. The implementation of the campus-wide network has provided the foundation for developing new instructional strategies. Faculty response to the availability of the campus-wide network and new computer laboratories has been energetic and creative. Faculty in each division have developed activities that take advantage of these resources, whether lab report templates, Internet-based assignments, on-line testing, or a wide variety of other instructional applications.
• In the library, changes in information technology have meant the implementation of an on-line catalog and of electronic access to resources, both in-house and through the World Wide Web.
• Staff assessment of the duplicating and printing services is consistently high, with the area getting some of the highest marks on campus on measures of courtesy and effectiveness.

Challenges

• Graduation requirements are currently under review. Faculty have expressed an interest in reviewing the viability of the Associate of Commerce degree, increasing English requirements, changing the mandatory requirement of political science, and strengthening the Associate of Science degree. This effort is coordinated through the Course and Program Review Committee.
• According to a student satisfaction survey, scheduling and class variety are the weakest areas. Subsequently, class scheduling must continue to be carefully constructed to provide a variety of courses and to reach the greatest number of students. More weekend offerings were scheduled in 1998-99 as well as more "one night per week" classes.
• There is a shortage of classroom and PC laboratory space-the demand is greater than the space available. Scheduling flexibility is limited because of this space problem. This concern should be addressed by the planned addition of a mega-computer lab. Student expectations for laboratory facilities are high, whether in terms of quality of equipment or hours of availability. On a small commuter campus with a high percentage of part-time, working students, the challenge is to balance optimal use of available resources while meeting the scheduling demands of students.
• Enrollment in the health activity courses is unstable. However, no clear patterns have emerged to assist with planning.
• Finding faculty with the appropriate academic credentials and on-the-job experience is difficult.
• Continuing small enrollments in second-year courses and mandated sequences may endanger the viability of those courses. Because some universities require specialized courses unique to their programs during the first or second year of those programs, many MCCC students transfer after only one year at MCCC. This creates small enrollments in upper-level courses. Targeted marketing efforts are planned to address this concern.
• Monroe County is rural in nature, with approximately 85 percent of the employers having fewer than 20 employees. Lacking a concentration of larger employers in the County means Corporate and Community Services must market to a larger geographic area to attract enough participants to make programs economically viable.
• Delivery of instruction, driven by new technologies, will result in a new demands for laboratory activities. Distance learning, on-course delivery, and telecourse delivery call for the development of new strategies to provide appropriate laboratory support.

Strengths

• The College's buildings are well maintained and are in compliance with ADA standards.
• Based on the most recent facilities usage evaluation (1997-98), 100 percent of on-campus and off-campus users are very satisfied or satisfied with the College's buildings and grounds.
• With the completion of the Health Education Building and the 1998 purchase of 60 additional acres adjacent to the existing Main Campus, the College has positioned itself for future growth.
• Learning Resources maintains two satellite dishes, a two-way interactive compressed video classroom for distance learning, and an automated library catalog.
• The library has an automated library catalog that can be accessed from off-campus via a modem as well as Internet access and CD-ROM resources.
• The campus data network is in place and expandable. Both campuses are completely networked and have access to e-mail and the Internet.
• The creation of the Designated Technology fund has allowed for the purchase and maintenance of computer equipment on both campuses.
• The Instructional Technology Committee, the ad hoc Administrative Computing Task Force, faculty, administrators, and support staff in conjunction with the Department of Information Systems collaborate to strengthen the selection of computer-related equipment to meet the needs of students.
• Students have access to a variety of adaptive equipment in the LAL such as a print enlarger, a Kurzweil Reader, and computer workstations.
• The campus sign project, the well-lit parking lots and walkways, the installation of emergency phones, the use of trained security personnel, and the tornado and fire drills contribute to a safe and secure environment.
• The campus is a safe place for students and staff. There have been no serious criminal incidents and very few minor incidents over the last 10 years.

Challenges

• The College needs to develop a plan for the finance and construction of a performing arts center.
• The College needs to complete the renovation of the former Auto Lab into a computer lab and computer classrooms.
• Access to local e-mail from remote locations for faculty and staff is a necessity for providing online courses as well as other programs.
• The College should explore the option of providing e-mail addresses for students.
• The College needs to determine and define its role in online instruction. Currently, a committee of faculty and administrators have begun to review this.
• Challenges for other non-computer equipment are comparable to the challenges for computer equipment. There is a need to continually evaluate and ensure the viability of the equipment in all areas.