Quality Enhancement Plan

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I. Executive Summary ........................................................................................................ 1

II. Process Used to Develop the QEP ................................................................................ 2

Leading the Work .............................................................................................................. 3

The QEP Leadership Team .................................................................................. 3

QEP Core Team .................................................................................................... 3

Valencia’s QEP Design Principles .................................................................................... 4

QEP Development Timeline .............................................................................................. 5

Phase 1 – Education and Planning ....................................................................... 5

Phase 2 – Narrowing the College’s Strategic Focus ............................................. 6

Phase 3 – Building Consensus ............................................................................. 7

Phase 4 Design and Articulation ......................................................................... 10

III. Identification of the Topic ............................................................................................ 11

IV. Desired Student Learning Outcomes .......................................................................... 14

Student and Institutional Outcomes .................................................................... 15

V. Literature Review and Best Practices ......................................................................... 16

Defining First-year Student Success ................................................................... 17

Institutional Support / The New Student Experience ........................................... 18

The New Student Experience Course ................................................................. 20

Curricular / Front Door General Education Alignment in the First –Year ............ 22

The New Student Co-Curricular Experience ....................................................... 23

VI. Actions to be Implemented .......................................................................................... 24

VII. Implementation Timeline .............................................................................................. 28

IX. Resources ...................................................................................................................... 50

X. Assessment ................................................................................................................... 56

XI. References and Appendices ........................................................................................ 68

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“Compared to twenty years ago, the first-year experience is now firmly ingrained in the

consciousness of American higher education, and efforts to help first-year students succeed

have expanded and diversified” (Upcraft, Gardner, & Barefoot, 2005).

Valencia College faculty and staff members have been involved in a deliberate

collaborative process since November 2011 to discuss and design the Quality Enhancement

Plan (QEP) that is part of the decennial review of accreditation with the Southern Association of

Colleges and Schools (SACS). Valencia’s QEP effort is a reflection of the intersection between

our past initiatives, work completed by QEP design teams, new requirements regarding

developmental education from the Florida legislature, and the practical demands of committing

to a Quality Enhancement Plan that is both meaningful and manageable.

The design process was formally presented and adopted by multiple levels of College

governance and consisted of four phases: Education and Planning, Narrowing the Colleges

Strategic Focus, Building Consensus, and QEP Design and Articulation. The process invited

and engaged substantial numbers of students, faculty and staff (Appendix 1 – QEP

development participants).

Valencia College’s QEP is to create a New Student Experience (NSE) that will provide a

coordinated experience for all new students with fewer than 15 college-level credits at Valencia.

The plan has curricular and co-curricular components that will be implemented and enhanced

over the next five years, but with the majority of the scale of proposed initiatives achieved within

the first three years. The New Student Experience will include a required credit-earning course

and an extended orientation to college; student success skills integrated into select program

introduction courses; front door general education alignment, and career and academic advising

to include the development of an individualized education plan. We envision the new student

I. Executive Summary

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experience will result in enhanced curricular and co-curricular student engagement, leading to

the successful completion of the first 15 college-level credits at Valencia. Wherever possible,

the curricular aspects of the new student experience will be offered in partnership with faculty in

academic and career programs.

In preparation for the decennial review of accreditation with the SACS, Valencia College

has developed a Quality Enhancement Plan – a carefully designed course of action that

addresses a well-defined and focused topic or issue related to enhancing student learning

and/or the environment supporting student learning and accomplishing the mission of the

institution. Broad-based institutional participation and consensus among constituent groups

were at the heart of the decision-making process used to determine Valencia’s QEP topic.

Valencia College’s long tradition of collaboration in both governance and project

implementation gave a natural framework for QEP development. Over the past 10 years,

Valencia has been continually engaged in national, grant-related projects focused on improving

student learning and success. This work has been framed since 2000 in the language of our

“Big Ideas.” By this we mean, “development of several key ideas that serve as fulcrums for

change, signifiers for emerging organizational culture, and rallying points for action (Shugart, et.

al., 2011 p.123). Major initiatives emerging from Big Ideas have included Achieving the Dream

(AtD), Foundations of Excellence (FoE), and the Developmental Education Initiative (DEI). Most

recently, The Wal-Mart PRESS for Completion Grant for Completion grant has funded faculty

and staff members to redesign and rebrand the College’s student success course, Student Life

Skills (SLS 1122). The intent of the grant is to advance the work of earlier AtD strategies by

requiring Student Life Skills of all students, in turn impacting the current QEP development

process. Since Valencia has the distinction of a wide mix of program and campus types,

II. Process Used to Develop the QEP

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different approaches to collaboration are needed. During the formation of the QEP,

opportunities for participation in this project were designed to build on College traditions and

address our different constituencies (staff, administrative, faculty, and students) in a variety of

campus environments.

Leading the Work

The QEP Leadership Team

The Leadership Team was formed in November 2011. It consisted of four faculty leaders

representing campuses across College, the Assistant Vice President for Assessment and

Institution Effectiveness, and the Vice President of Student Affairs. The faculty participants were

selected through an open, internal application and interview process with co-chairs of the

College Learning Council, and recommended by each of three Campus Presidents and the Vice

President of Student Affairs. The initial work of the QEP Leadership Team was to identify the

key components of a QEP, as guided by The Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality

Enhancement Handbook, and to develop a timeline that would guide the QEP work. In January

of 2012, faculty and administrative staff participants were added to the Leadership Team; these

additional members became part of the QEP Core Team, selected by their respective

stakeholder group or administrative leader.

The QEP Core Team was comprised of the following members:

§ QEP Leadership Team - 4 Additional Faculty Members - VP for Academic Affairs and Planning - AVP for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning

§ 3 Campus Deans of Learning Support § 3 Academic Deans § Support Areas:

• Student Affairs • Faculty Development • Academic Affairs • Institutional Research • Student Success • Institutional Assessment

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The Leadership Team met weekly from December 2011 through March 2013 and the

QEP Core Team met monthly from December 2011 through January 2013.

Valencia’s QEP Design Principles

The first two tasks of the QEP Core Team were to develop design principles to guide the

work and to begin the design phases. The QEP design principles were articulated by Valencia’s

QEP Core Team on February 24, 2012 and endorsed by the College Learning Council, part of

the College’s formal governance structure, at its April 5, 2012 meeting. The articulated design

principles state that Valencia College’s Quality Enhancement Plan and its development should

meet the following objectives:

1. Demonstrate the link between the regional accreditation process and Valencia’s focus on student learning and success

2. Demonstrate a tangible and meaningful connection to the College’s Learning-centered past and the current focus on the student experience

3. Focus on improvement that is meaningful to the College as a whole yet sufficiently focused to provide clarity of emphasis

4. Build upon other institutional activities and priorities wherever possible (e.g., the 2008-2015 Strategic Plan, Campus Plans, Program Reviews for the Associate of Arts and Science Degrees, Direct Connect, etc.)

5. Focus on work that will engage a wide range of faculty and staff and their disciplines or areas of responsibility

6. Clearly communicate the ways for faculty and staff to participate in the design and implementation process

7. Specifically encourage the involvement of adjunct faculty 8. Make effective use of the process for faculty and staff development 9. Strengthen institutional capabilities that transcend the focus of the QEP (e.g.,

learning assessment, data collection and use, etc.) 10. Intentionally engage documented best practices from across the country whenever

possible 11. Build on the habits of collaboration practiced at Valencia in a way that recognizes the

new role that campuses and campus leadership play in our institution

Once the design principles were established, the work of the QEP Core Team was

divided into four phases; each of which was designed to lead to the identification of Valencia’s

next Big Idea, which was to become the focus of our QEP. The plan for the QEP development

was reviewed and approved by the QEP Core Team, the Senior Leadership Team, the College

Learning Council, the College Planning Council, the Instructional Affairs Committee (Academic

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and Student Affairs deans), the Student Affairs Leadership Team and the Faculty Council, all of

which represent the full range of College stakeholders (Appendix 1 – QEP development

participants). QEP Development Timeline

Phase 1 — Education and Planning

Beginning in the Spring of 2012, faculty, staff, and students entered into the exploration

phase of QEP design. The objectives of this phase were to 1) review Valencia Learning-

Centered Journey/College History (to include AtD, FoE, DEI), 2) examine Valencia’s Big Ideas

and Strategic Goals, 3) review Campus Plans for inspiration and alignment, and 4) offer

campus-based information sessions concerning the design process and to discuss ways

interested parties could get involved. A QEP web site was created to document the process,

share materials, and invite comment.

During this phase, the QEP Core Team reviewed the history of collaborative governance

at Valencia and the impact it has had on planning and implementation of college-wide projects.

In addition, the team met with previous and existing Valencia employees to review the history of

our work; invited outside speakers, including Dr. Betsy Barefoot, who helped us to open the

dialogue about Valencia’s next Big Idea; examined and discussed the cultural and functional

differences between campuses at Valencia and the current transition to a more campus-driven

model; and presented participation opportunities for faculty, staff, and students. As has been a

habit of collaboration at Valencia as part of our learning-centered work, reading circles were

planned by the QEP Core Team to take place in Summer 2012 around the themes of: Student

Purpose, New Student Experience, and Internationalizing the Curriculum using the sources of:

Roadtrip Nation, (Marriner & Gebhard, 2008); Bridges Out of Poverty, (Payne, DeVol & Smith,

2009); articles on internationalizing the curriculum (Childress, 2006; Skidmore, Marston, &

Olson, 2005.)

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Phase 2 — Narrowing the College’s Strategic Focus

In June 2012, members of the QEP Core Team and the Senior Team (President, Vice-

Presidents, Campus Presidents, and Faculty Leaders) met with approximately 200 Valencia

employees, representing all constituencies of the College, at the annual Big Meeting to uncover

common themes regarding student learning. The Big Meeting has traditionally been an

opportunity for a large representation of the Valencia community to assemble in one place to

share data about student learning, to reflect on our progress to date, and to identify areas in

need of greater institutional focus (see Appendix 2 for the agenda).The summer Reading Circles

then focused on examining the topics introduced at the Big Meeting as well as exploring ideas

on best practices to improve student learning. The Reading Circles engaged groups of faculty

and staff members who met on each campus to discuss how their experiences with students

were reflected in readings.

Discussion of the results and findings of the Reading Circles and Big Meeting led to the

articulation of four themes related to student learning. These themes, expressed as Emerging

Ideas, became the focus of work completed in the next phase of the QEP design.

• Student Purpose: Emerging Idea - Students with some sense of their purpose in life and in college are more likely to be engaged, to learn and to succeed in college.

• Student Learning: Emerging Idea - More than any other time in history, student learning can happen anywhere and at any time. Changes in the conditions for student learning require that we think differently about how we engage students in the learning process.

• Student Navigation: Emerging Idea - To be successful, Valencia students not only need an educational plan, but they also need clear and specific directions for navigating the demands of college.

• New Student Experience: Emerging Idea - To support learning, students need a holistic experience that is academically and socially engaging while providing connection and direction.

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Phase 3 — Building Consensus

On September 7, 2012, the QEP Leadership team hosted the QEP Kick-Off Session.

During this event, QEP leaders reviewed the purpose of the QEP and its relationship to

Valencia’s Big Ideas, introduced the four new emerging ideas, and invited faculty and staff to

join a Big Idea Group (BIG). During Fall 2012, a total of 14 BIGs – including approximately 280

faculty and staff — met across the College to further explore and dissect unpack each of the

four emerging ideas as they related to Valencia and its students. The work of each group was

guided by a series of questions (Appendix 3) intended to help narrow the focus of institutional

efforts identified in Valencia’s Strategic Plan.

In October 2012 an online survey (Appendix 4) was sent to all enrolled students asking

about their experience and thoughts concerning each of the four emerging ideas. In November

2012, QEP faculty leaders also organized student forums to discuss the four emerging ideas.

Each campus hosted at least one student forum led by a member of student government or

leadership that was guided by a set of questions centered on the four emerging ideas (Appendix

5 – student forum questions). The recurring theme surfacing from the BIGs and student

discussion forums was Valencia students need a coordinated, required, new student experience

to guide them toward the successful completion of their first 15 college-level credits at Valencia.

On November 16, 2012, all 14 groups converged to share their findings and to summarize key

Certificate outcomes.

The QEP Leadership Team, faculty leaders, and Senior Team met in Dallas after the

December 2012 SACS Annual Meeting to review the input from all constituent groups and to

decide on a plan for improved student learning at the College. These discussions led to the

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creation of the QEP Vision Statement1 for the New Student Experience (NSE) and the model for

the Student Success Pathway (see figure 1: Student Success Pathway Graphic).

In early 2013, members of the QEP Leadership Team presented the New Student

Experience proposal during Valencia’s Learning Day and at a series of campus presentations

requesting final comments, recommendations, suggestions, and feedback. The QEP topic was

finalized in March 2013, following a Summit meeting2. This Summit was an open, collaborative,

decision-making forum at which the general vision and outcome for Valencia’s proposed QEP

was reviewed, discussed, and approved by an overwhelming majority. Of the 130 faculty and

staff members gathered, 111 voted to move forward. Eleven people voted for the plan, but

expressed caution or concern; no one rejected the plan.

1 New Student Experience Vision Statement - Valencia College provides a coordinated experience for all new students. The New

Student Experience includes a required credit-earning course and provides an extended orientation to college, integrated student success skills, and career and academic advising, which includes the development of an individualized education plan. We envision that the new student experience will result in curricular and co-curricular student engagement, leading to the successful completion of the first 15 college-level credits at Valencia.

2 Summit meetings are another Valencia practice whereby representatives from all of the governing councils and relevant constituencies meet to make important decisions in a timely manner.

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Figure 1. Student Success Pathway

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Phase 4 — QEP Design and Articulation

After receiving overwhelming support for the New Student Success Pathway from

Summit participants, we established design teams with four areas of focus: Student Transition

to Valencia, the New Student Curricular Experience, the New Student Co-curricular Experience,

and Student Progression to Degree. Faculty, staff, and college leaders were invited to

participate in the design work of the New Student Experience during May and June 2013.

Phase four included a series of scheduled meetings providing an opportunity for focused

design work in each taskforce area as well as opportunities to hear updates on taskforce

progress. The design taskforces began their work with specific guidelines outlined below:

The Design Taskforces

1. Introduction to Valencia: The Introduction to Valencia Taskforce will explore and recommend a common introduction to Valencia. The introduction includes any activities students’ first experience prior to the start of class. With a particular focus on Valencia’s existing Start Right3 and college readiness efforts, this team will work to improve the steps to enrollment for students. The introduction to Valencia will prepare students for success starting with the first day of class. Topics to be discussed: New Student Orientation, a common advising and course selection process, and improving the college placement (PERT) process and student preparedness for class. The redesigned introduction to Valencia will be deliberately connected to the common curricular experience.

2. Common Curricular Experience

The Common Curricular Experience Taskforce will explore and develop a common, credit-earning course, focused on student success in college. The course will be designed for all new students and will be completed by all students during their first 15 college credit hours at Valencia. The taskforce will explore and propose curriculum designed to help students identify their purpose, explore career interests, determine an educational goal, and create a connected educational plan. Additional topics include acclimating students to college learning and introducing all students to college learning support programs. The common curricular experience will include a focus on co-curricular engagement.

3. Co-Curricular Engagement The Co-curricular Engagement Taskforce will explore and design a system for students to learn about opportunities to become connected to the Valencia learning

3 Start Right began as a goal in Valencia’s 2001-2004 Strategic Learning Plan to ensure that students experience extraordinary learning success in their earliest encounters with the College and establish a solid foundation for success in future learning

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community. The taskforce will identify types of learning communities on campus, create opportunities for students to experience clubs and organizations, and design activities deliberately aimed to engage students with faculty and staff members. Additionally, internships, service learning, Honors, and study abroad opportunities will be embedded within the new student experience.

4. Progression to Degree Readiness

The Progression to Degree Readiness Taskforce will develop a connection between the new student experience and each student’s selected field of study. At the completion of the new student experience, students will be prepared for learning within a selected pre-major (A.A.), or academic program (A.S.). The hand-off to the program will ensure students have identified a major or a program of study, have created an appropriate educational plan which reflects current academic goals, and have identified the support systems provided by the College to ensure learning (student services, learning support, and academic programs).

The work completed by these four design taskforces in early Summer 2013 represents

18 months of faculty and staff collaboration resulting in a clearer focus for moving our QEP

efforts forward. Valencia’s District Board of Trustees participated in a discussion about the

recommended plan at its July 2013 meeting. Trustees provided enthusiastic support and useful

feedback on the Student Success Pathway.

While we would like to focus our attention on all four areas of the New Student

Experience as outlined above in our foundational QEP collaborations, we recognize that the

scope of such work is significant and sizeable; therefore, our QEP commits to the development

of the common curricular experience and the co-curricular engagement pieces. The plans

developed in the other areas will continue to be considered in the College’s normal planning and

development cycles.

In our process to develop the QEP, it was important to ensure the connection to the

College's past in order to build an authentic continuation of our work. A brief review of

Valencia's history was integral to our QEP development, allowing us to build upon other

institutional priorities and practices wherever possible.

III. Identification of the Topic

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Since the late 1980s, Valencia’s dedication to improving student success has expanded

and grown into articulated priorities like the Start Right goal, part of our 2001-2004 Strategic

Learning Plan. Valencia understands that students who establish connection and direction at

the College as early as possible in their academic career will persist longer and meet with

greater success. Therefore, Valencia has been dedicated to providing students with

opportunities to begin their college experiences with a clear focus and connection to the

College. Understanding the importance of connection and direction to college early in students’

experience, Valencia has expanded its Strategic Learning Plan goals to include Building

Pathways and Learning Assured.

The Building Pathways goal is Valencia’s proactive approach to the more traditional

(and more passive) open-door commitment of community colleges. Via this goal, we challenge

ourselves to go beyond merely opening the door to college to intentionally clearing the way for

prospective and enrolled students to register, enroll and progress through college. This means

we will provide programs and services enabling prospective and current students to develop

personal and professional aspirations and a clear path to realizing those aspirations. We know

for the majority of those seeking a college education and careers in our community, a

successful path will include a successful experience at Valencia.

Learning Assured represents Valencia’s goal for continuing commitment to create

experiences and conditions we know will lead to success, when our students also do their part.

Learning Assured is rooted in the earliest commitments to the curriculum and to advisement

made by the founding faculty and staff in 1967. By creating the conditions that assure learning,

and by encouraging and guiding students toward the kinds of behaviors that lead to success,

Valencia can control a great deal (though certainly not all) of the learning equation, enabling

students who will partner with us.

We believe “that students experience extraordinary learning success in their earliest

encounters with the College and establish a solid foundation for success in future learning” and

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that students consider Valencia to be “a better place to start” (Starting Right, 2009). The focus

on students’ front door experience lead us to develop a series of Start Right practices beginning

in 2002 with an application priority deadline, a financial aid priority deadline, required entry

assessment and first term registration in developmental education courses, required new

student orientation, a tightly controlled pre-requisite checking system, and modification of the

course add/drop procedures so students cannot add a class after it has met once. All of this was

aimed to get all students in the right courses on the first day, ready to learn and to make the first

minute of the first class a learning minute.

Achieving the Dream (AtD) (2004-2009) brought a renewed focus on student success at

the front door course level by identifying six courses with high enrollment and low success.

Faculty and staff members designed, implemented and expanded a series of strategies for

these courses based on the learning community model. AtD also influenced the discipline of

creating a culture of inquiry and evidence that examined disaggregated measures of student

success by gender, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic background. Bringing strategies to scale

in a large, multi-campus college was another contribution of AtD, resulting in improved student

success in the specified AtD courses. The Developmental Education Initiative (DEI) grew from

our AtD work, resulting in a set of college success skills. This work was formally endorsed by

the College Learning Council, and thus integrated into developmental and front door courses by

the faculty who were involved with the initiative. Improved practices emerging from our AtD and

DEI experiences exemplify Valencia’s commitment to an authentic continuation of our work to

improve student outcomes.

To keep the AtD momentum going, Valencia participated in the Foundations of

Excellence (FoE) self-study (2009- 2010). From this collaborative process we identified a

coordinated and integrated New Student Experience as the important next step in building a

comprehensive system to support student success at the front door of our students’ college

experience. The FoE Report contained a series of recommendations, many of which have been

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implemented through various departmental efforts; however, the recommendation for a common

curricular experience for new students was not achievable at that time.

Valencia’s history with a “first-year student” course dates back to the late 1980’s when

grant programs provided the resources to implement a Student Success (SLS) course as a

three credit, college-level elective. As part of our learning-centered initiative starting in the mid

1990’s, robust debates about requiring SLS for all students revealed that one student success

course did not fit the needs of all students nor all academic programs. This prevailing view

prevented a final decision to make this course a requirement. Although Valencia data indicated

that students who took the course had higher persistence and completion rates; some argued

there was a strong sample bias due to student’s self-selection into the course. In 2005, our AtD

plan included requiring the course, at first for new students who started in all three

developmental education disciplines (reading, writing and math), then adding the course for

students who started in two developmental education disciplines, and so on. The first group

required to take SLS was implemented in Fall 2006 and the data model selected to study the

impact was the rate of change in that student group’s persistence compared to other students.

With the strong emphasis in AtD on data informed decisions, the rate of change was judged to

be not sufficient to justify expanding the course requirement.

Given this history, it is not surprising that the idea of a common curricular experience for

all new students surfaced again during the development of the QEP. A major difference in the

conversation this time has been a commitment to re-design the course around newly developed

and agreed to course learning outcomes and to allow the creation of different sections of the

course tailored for particular majors. There will also be an option to infuse the course learning

outcomes into existing introductory Associate in Science program courses.

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Valencia College’s QEP is a reflection of the intersection between our past initiatives,

work completed by the QEP design teams, new requirements regarding developmental

education from the Florida legislature, and the practical demands of committing to a QEP that is

both meaningful and manageable.

The QEP is to create a New Student Experience that will provide a coordinated

experience for all new students with fewer than 15 college-level credits at Valencia. The plan

has curricular and co-curricular components that will be implemented and enhanced over the

next five years, but with the majority of the scale of the proposed initiatives achieved within the

first three years. The New Student Experience will include a required credit-earning course and

an extended orientation to college; integrated student success skills; front door general

education alignment, and career and academic advising, which includes the development of an

individualized education plan. We envision the new student experience will result in improved

curricular and co-curricular student engagement, leading to the successful completion of the first

15 college-level credits at Valencia. By design, the curricular aspects of the New Student

Experience will be offered in partnership with faculty in academic and career programs.

Student and Institutional Outcomes

As a result of students’ participation in the New Student Experience, students will

achieve the following outcomes:

• successfully complete a college-credit bearing course designed to facilitate a comprehensive introduction to Valencia and the skills associated with success in college,

• develop an educational plan and course schedule to ensure timely success, • complete college-prep classes and be prepared for college-level work, • successfully complete the first 15 college-level credits at Valencia, • develop academic behaviors associated with success in college, • discover a plan for college as part of a purpose in life, and • engage Valencia as a place for learning and community.

IV. Desired Student Learning Outcomes

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Student Learning Outcomes

Programmatic Student Measures for Valencia’s QEP will focus on new student learning

and engagement as a result of curricular and co-curricular experiences built around the “6 P’s”

of the New Student Experience. These measures will be considered in light of quantitative and

qualitative research on the new student experience.

The following 6 P’s were developed by faculty and staff members:

• Purpose: Students will create a personal purpose statement that outlines and articulates their values, goals, interests, and strengths in relation to their educational and career aspirations,

• Pathway: Students will choose an academic program aligned with their educational/career goals, interests, strengths, and values,

• Plan: Students will design an education plan that include goals for learning and a financial plan,

• Preparation: Students will apply college success skills,

• Personal Connection: Students will demonstrate effective communication skills with diverse groups, and

• Place: Students will demonstrate awareness of college support systems.

Kuh et al. (2005) state that persistence and degree completion must improve if

postsecondary education is to meet the needs of our nation and our world. Forty-five out of 100

students who enter community college for the first time will leave without a credential (Scott-

Clayton, 2011). While not all students enter post-secondary education with a desire to complete

a degree or certificate, most first-time students enter with the intent to graduate (Habley,

Robbins, & Bloom, 2012). At Valencia, like most colleges, the highest student attrition occurs in

the first fifteen credit hours (or first-year and prior to the second year) of a student’s experience

with us (Puyana & Shugart, 2001). Research suggests inadequate knowledge about how to

navigate college, lack of financial and family support, and failure of students to identify a clear

V. Literature Review and Best Practices

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academic path may be to blame for this high percentage of “early leavers” (Cho & Karp, 2013;

Scott-Clayton, 2011; Puyana & Shugart, 2001). Scott-Clayton (2011) identifies another

potentially significant barrier to completion; her structure hypothesis argues that it is not just the

individual student who is responsible for the dropout phenomenon, but that institutions are also

part of the problem. Student success and persistence is a function of both “who students were

before they entered college and what happened to them after they enrolled,” according to

Astin’s Input-Environment-Outcomes Model (Upcraft, Gardner, & Barefoot, 2005, p. 30).

Often, the educational settings in which students are asked to learn are part of the root

cause for high attrition rates, especially during the first-year (Scott-Clayton, 2011). Therefore,

what institutions do to foster student success in the first-year of college is of particular

importance to student success and retention (Kuh et al., 2005; Tinto, 2005). A first-year

experience should build shared, connected learning among students and between courses;

provide academic support connected to the classroom and student needs; and include frequent

feedback to students and faculty about student learning (Tinto, 2005).

Finally, students need structure. Too often community colleges, with their myriad

program, degree, and certificate options, leave students without a structured and/or clear path

to follow from initial college entry to degree completion. Students may also get overwhelmed or

take too many unnecessary courses to continue through to graduation (Scott-Clayton, 2011).

Students who are given relatively little room for individual deviation will be more likely to persist

and succeed (Cho & Karp; 2013; Scott-Clayton, 2011).

Defining First-year Student Success

Upcraft, Gardner, and Barefoot (2005) define success among first-year students as

making progress on becoming a truly educated person. They suggest at its most basic level,

first-year success includes students’ successful completion of courses taken in the first-year and

continued enrollment into the second year; however, they also include the following dimensions

as part of their definition: 1) successful completion of courses with an acceptable grade point

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average, and 2) development of the higher-order intellectual skills necessary to become an

educated person, to include critical thinking, problem solving, and reflective judgment (p. 28) In

2011 Valencia’s College Learning Council approved the following definition of college success

skills: “….academic, cognitive and behavioral skills that enable a student to achieve optimal

learning gains...” Valencia’s QEP-focused definition of student success expands our 2011

college success skills definition to include the student outcomes in the New Student Experience

Vision Statement (Upcraft et al., 2005).

Institutional Support/The New Student Experience

While it is up to students to determine what they want to do in college and plan how to

do it, students need clear signposts and the norms and nudges of an institution to guide them

through this academic process; they need well-designed intentional support (Scott-Clayton,

2011; Yohalem & Jensen, 2012). For example, in a quantitative study conducted by

Rosenbaum, Deil-Amen, and Person (reported in Scott-Clayton, 2011), nearly half of study

participants indicated they did not have enough information about program requirements or

prerequisites, and 26% were unsure about which courses counted toward a degree. In order to

foster successful students and to improve retention and persistence, institutions must make

student success a primary focus of their work and hold a deep sense of responsibility to,

acceptance of, and respect for their students (Barefoot et al., 2005). Institutions also need to

recognize all students, even the “best” ones, need support and should offer such support

through an “intentional array of structures that help students achieve more than they, or the

institution, ever imagined” through the development and implementation of supportive social and

educational communities (Barefoot et al., 2005, p. 382). As we have noted, student success is

largely determined by a student’s experience during his or her first-year of college; therefore,

institutions need to make efforts to create or reinvent first-year experiences that fully engage the

student (Upcraft et al., 2005).

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Habley, Robbins, and Bloom (2012) describe five sociological variables linked to attrition

to include a student’s 1) academic potential, 2) normative congruence, 3) grade performance,

4) intellectual development, and 5) friendship support. While this study finds formal academic

performance is the dominant factor in student persistence, Tinto suggests institutions that are P.

committed to the “development of supportive social and educational communities in which all

students are integrated as competent members” will have higher retention rates. (as cited in

Habley et al., 2012, p. 21)

Tinto (2005) also identifies six conditions within institutions that support student success:

1) institutions must be committed to the goal of increasing student success, expressed in the

willingness to invest resources and provide the incentives and rewards necessary to enhance

student success, 2) institutions must express consistent high expectations for learning and

provide educational settings to support these expectations, especially during students’ first-year

of college, 3) institutions must provide students with academic, social, and financial support,

4)institutions must provide students with frequent feedback about their performance,

5) institutions must provide students with opportunities to get academically and socially

involved, and finally 6) institutions must provide learning environments that foster learning and

actively engage students; specifically, students thrive in learning and educational communities

that involve them in the learning process.

In an evaluation of thirteen colleges and universities representing excellence in the

design and implementation of a first-year experience for students, Barefoot et al. (2005) finds

institutions are more likely to foster students who are more successful and who graduate in

greater numbers when they place a high priority on the first-year experience. This priority

includes providing all first-year students with an experience that is 1) deeply embedded, broadly

distributed, intentional, comprehensive and 2) widely supported by and involving a wide range of

the faculty, staff, and administrators. For example, Barefoot et al. reported that at Lehman

College of the City University of New York, located in the Bronx, most students are first

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generation students and economically disadvantaged. As a result of their Coordinated

Freshman Program, whose focus is on developing a Freshman Year Initiative (FYI) for all first-

time, full-time entering students, grade point averages increase, retention rates rise 28%, and

five-year graduation rates more than double.

The foundational importance of students’ first-year experiences has prompted a number

of colleges and universities to implement first-year experiences that include comprehensive

curricular and co-curricular initiatives (Messineo, 2012). While psychological evidence suggests

that individuals’ intrinsic motivation and sense of self-determination may increase given

personal choices and freedoms, lack of proper structure can lead to mistakes, delay, and

dissatisfaction among students. The theory of bounded rationality, (Simon, 1976), suggests

college students need structured options and exposure to structured programs of study as soon

as possible in their academic career and they do not flourish in unstructured, complex decision-

making situations (Pennington, 2012; Scott-Clayton, 2011). In fact, Pennington reports

“community-college students who enter a specific program of study within their first-year are

much more likely to earn credentials and/or transfer than are students who enter a

concentration a year or two later” (2012, p. 2).

Summary findings from the 2012 Valencia QEP Summer Reading Circles and Big Idea

Groups on Student Navigation support this idea of structured support. As a result of these

collaborative sessions, faculty and staff members, Valencia students and college administrators,

agree students need more guidance about what to expect in and from college as well as in

navigating their way through their first-year of college so it’s a manageable, supported

experience.

The New Student Experience Course

The development of a first-year seminar or course dates back to 1877, when Johns

Hopkins University began to recognize that in-coming freshman entered college with a unique

set of needs (Hunter & Linder, 2005). Today, student success courses are defined as courses

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centering on the individual needs of first-time students. They commonly facilitate learning, build

communities, and orient students toward college by providing them with study skills, information

about the institution, and general advising (Cho & Karp, 2013; Hunter & Linder, 2005). Within

higher education, research indicates students who participate in a first-year seminar or student

success course during their first year of college are more successful in school, experience a

range of positive academic outcomes, and persist more than students who do not take such a

course (Cho & Karp, 2013). Cho and Karp’s research of the Virginia Community College System

yields a statistically significant association between students who enrolled in a student success

course in their first 15 credit hours. They find these students are 10 percent more likely to earn

college-level credits in their first year and to persist to their second year.

An academic course offers a time-honored, logical structure to provide students with

navigation and a “freshman seminar is one of the most powerful predictors of first-year student

persistence into the sophomore year” (Upcraft et al., 2005, p. 41). Howard and Jones (2000)

find students who participate in a freshman seminar leave with increased perceptions of efficacy

related to the college experience, are more prepared for college, and have greater knowledge of

academic and personal resources on campus. They also find that students who take a freshman

seminar course have a higher sophomore retention rate, higher grade point averages, and

increased knowledge about campus services and activities. Student success courses should be,

therefore, designed to foster better understanding of the institution, enhance academic interest

and integration, and provide students with opportunities for social integration (Upcraft et al.,

2005).

Eighty-seven percent of the colleges that participated in the most recent National Survey

of First-year Seminars, conducted by the National Resource Center, First-year Experience and

Student Transition, report offering a first-year seminar of some type. The survey finds:

Of the 890 institutions that reported offering a first-year seminar, over forty percent

(41.1% ) reported extended orientation seminar as the primary first-year seminar type.

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Academic seminar with uniform academic content was reported as the primary first-year

seminar by 16.1% institutions, followed by academic seminar on various topics (15.4%),

hybrid (15.3%), basic study skill seminar (4.9%), pre-professional or discipline-linked

(3.7%), and other (3.5%). (p.1)

Curricular/Front Door General Education Alignment in the First-year

Often, students contribute minimal effort to understanding the material in general

education courses because they view them as unnecessary and unrelated to their major

requirements (Vander Schee, 2011). Vander Schee suggests offering general education

courses early in students’ academic career is important because general education courses

“should teach students knowledge for life” and “foster students’ achievement in their academic

pursuits and beyond” (p. 382). Vander Schee conducted a study at a liberal arts college that

developed a First-year Seminar series in which new students were required to take a first-year

seminar course paired with a first-year composition course, math course, and one course from

the general education core. The First-year Seminar series also included a Perspectives session

in “which additional faculty members introduced students to various disciplines in the liberal arts

general education curriculum” (p. 383). Vander Schee finds that students who participated in the

First-year Seminar series left with increased appreciation, raised awareness, greater

confidence, and enthusiasm for the liberal arts general education curriculum. In addition,

students made connections between general education courses and their majors, and felt less

anxious and confused about course selections.

Research suggests students need structured academic programs that accelerate their

progress toward degrees (Pennington, 2012). Though some critics may argue offering students

too much structure may limit their creativity and freedom of choice, others point to the success

of programs like college Honors and cohort programs, which set prescribed courses and

pathways for students (Pennington, 2012; Scott-Clayton, 2011). Lake Area Technical Institute,

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for example, has found success with requiring full-time attendance in a cohort-based technical

program where students progress together through a prescribed series of courses (Gonzalez,

2012).A thoughtful, structured program of study that supports students and provides them with

guidance and an overview of the entire college experience while limiting their choice are

important trends in community college and will help to alleviate the high percentage of dropouts

and non-completers (Gonzalez, 2012).

The New Student Co-curricular Experience

To be successful in college, students need to be ready for a multitude of challenges

(Adams, 2013). According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

(2012), the United States ranks thirteenth among 25 countries in graduation from higher

education institutions, and graduation rates continue to grow at a below-average rate in the

United States. The topic of student retention has been the subject of various studies; however,

no one model adequately explains the processes by which college students make a decision to

leave an institution or to persist to graduation (Siegel, 2011). For a college-student retention

plan to be effective, it must provide a comprehensive new student experience that includes a

variety of opportunities for student engagement at the front door. A college retention plan must

be tailored to student needs, involving a wide range of faculty and staff members, and be

flexible enough to fit the campus culture (Siegel, 2011).

Historically, terms like academic and non-academic, curricular and co-curricular, on-

campus and off-campus experiences have been used to identify the two distinct silos of the

college learning experience (Kuh, 1996). But according to Kuh, this division is counter-

productive to the creation of a seamless learning environment for students. A seamless learning

environment from the perspective of how the student experiences the college means all

members of the college are involved in linked programs and activities that make a connection

between academics and the out-of-class dimensions of student learning. Kuh (1996) explains

“In a seamless learning environment, students are encouraged to take advantage of the

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learning resources that exist both inside and outside the classroom” (p. 136). According to

Pascarella and Terenzini (1991), the two strongest interventions that could positively influence

student learning are: 1) meaningful interaction with faculty, staff, and peers, and 2) providing

students with opportunities to be intensely involved in academic tasks. A college’s culture has a

direct impact on how these two interventions are executed and an indirect influence on student

expectations and performance at the college (ACPA, 1994, p. 1).

As for all of our other initiatives, we have read, discussed, and reflected on current

research on teaching and learning in higher education before making a decision about the focus

of our QEP. We are confident that we can implement our plan, because we have developed it in

a manner that reflects our long tradition of evidence-based practice and collaborative decision-

making.

The curricular aspect of Valencia’s QEP will have two components – (1) a redesigned

new student experience course required of all degree-seeking new students within their first 15

college-level credits at Valencia and (2) alignment with a limited range of front-door, general

education course options.

The New Student Experience Course

With the support of funds from the Wal-Mart PRESS for Completion Grant, Valencia

faculty members and campus Deans of Learning Support participated in focused discussions

during the 2012-13 academic year concerning the redesign of the New Student Experience

course and have developed a specific plan to finish the course design in Fall 2013 in order to

pilot the new course on all campuses in Spring 2014. The course revision includes a thorough

review and revision of course learning outcomes and the development of instructional strategies

VI. Actions to Be Implemented

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and assessments to achieve those outcomes. The New Student Experience course, or a

meaningful and measureable experience with the student learning outcomes of the course, will

be required within the first 15 college-level credits at Valencia of all degree-seeking, first time in

college and transfer students with fewer than 15 college level credits. In order to meet the needs

of Valencia’s students, and the diversity of educational paths they follow, the revised New

Student Experience course will be experienced by students in one of three ways:

1. The NSE basic course that has been redesigned and rebranded as a result of the input received from the QEP design process,

2. A variation of the redesigned NSE course designed to integrate the student learning

outcomes of the course with the students’ emerging career interests as indicated by the selection of meta-major designated by the State of Florida, or

3. NSE course student learning outcomes embedded in meaningful and measurable ways within pre-existing curricular and co-curricular experiences associated with programs of study that already require the maximum credit hours allowed (Associate in Science programs).

Front Door General Education Alignment

Starting in Fall 2014, degree-seeking students enrolling at Valencia for the first time will

have a limited range of courses from which to choose for their first 15 college-level credits.

Within the first 15 college credit hours, students will be required to enroll in the New Student

Experience course (SLS1122, 3 credits), ENC1101 (3 credits), and a mathematics course

appropriate to the student’s selected meta-major (3 credits). The remaining 6 credits of the first

15 college-level credits will be drawn from the 1000-level courses in their Associate in Science

Degree and/or the 1000-level General Education Core Courses in humanities (3 credits),

science (3 credits), or social science (3 credits). We are mindful no 1000-level Social Science

courses are currently identified in the newly established General Education Core. We anticipate

the proposed limitations to course options for new students at Valencia will likely create logistic

and scheduling challenges needing to be addressed as part of the planning and implementation

process. The following Front Door courses are planned:

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3 Credits - Introduction to College (Required) SLS1122 New Student Experience

3 Credits – Communications (Required) ENC 1101 English Composition I

3 Credits – Mathematics (Required based on the student’s selected “Meta-Major” Pathway)

MAC 1105 College Algebra MGF 1106 Liberal Arts Mathematics I MGF 1107 Liberal Arts Mathematics I

STA2023 Statistical Methods (Statway Pathway Courses)

3 Credits – Humanities (Selected from one of the four courses below) ARH 1000 Art Appreciation HUM 1020 Introduction to Humanities MUL 1010 Music Appreciation THE 1020 Theatre Appreciation

3 Credits – Science (Selected from one of the five courses below)

BSC 1005 General Biology CHM 1020 Chemistry for Liberal Studies PHY 1053 Fundamentals of Physics ESC 1000 Introduction to Earth Science AST 1002 Astronomy

3 Credits: Speech (SPC1608) or Interpersonal Communications (SPC 1017)

The curricular design of these front door courses will also be encouraged to include the

integration of the College Success Skills identified through our Developmental Education

Initiative in order to connect and reinforce the student learning outcomes in the New Student

Experience course.

Co-Curricular

As part of the New Student Experience, Valencia will encourage every degree-seeking

first time in college and transfer student with fewer than 15 college level credits entering

Valencia to engage in meaningful, co-curricular experiences that are measurably connected to

the learning outcomes of the New Student Experience. The co-curricular activities will allow

students to discover, create, and reinforce their academic pathways. This builds on a long

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tradition at Valencia which arose out of learning-centered discussions in the middle 1990’s and

lead to LifeMap, our developmental advising system, which places career and education plans

as the centerpiece and focus of new students’ experience.

The co-curricular component of Valencia’s QEP will involve the creation of a series of

co-curricular student engagement experiences intended to reinforce each student’s selected

academic pathway. For the QEP, we are committed to the creation of a system that will track

and award recognition to new students as they complete the first College Readiness Certificate.

The College Readiness Certificate (CRC) will be designed to support Valencia’s

response to the changes to developmental education in the state of Florida, which makes entry

assessment and developmental course enrollment optional for students who began high school

in Florida in 2003 or later, or who are in active military service. The co-curricular experience will

also be based on the New Student Experience learning outcomes and could start as part of the

student’s enrollment process. Engagement activities should be finished by the completion of 15

college-level credits, and may include the following:

• the voluntary completion of entry assessments on academic skills, • career interests and college readiness, • academic advising prior to enrollment based on the individual assessments, • selection of a program of study or meta-major, • a plan for achieving full college readiness including use of college academic

support and learning resources, • readiness for online learning, and • personal engagement in the College.

To further encourage participation, CRC completion may also be noted on a student’s transcript,

earned as a Notice of Achievement for a student’s portfolio, or earned as a student recognition

cord to be worn at commencement.

Co-curricular learning activities will encourage new students to discover, create, and

reinforce their academic pathways and instill a sense of belonging to the Valencia culture. Other

Certificates to be developed may include: Academic/Co-curricular Engagement;

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Career/Internship Engagement; or Service/Volunteerism Engagement. Each Certificate will have

an established list of engagement activities from which students will choose in order to satisfy

the requirements for completion.

The plan in Table 1 details the progression to full implementation of the New Student

Curricular and Co-curricular Experience, with accompanying faculty and staff development for

each stage in the progression. The plan follows a sequential model of designing, piloting, and

integrating each component on a term-by-term basis. We are confident the plan is reasonable

and comprehensive and our goals can be achieved within the terms of our institutional focus,

energy, and resources.

Consensus to require the NSE course was achieved by committing to develop the

curriculum in different versions based on student degree intention identified by recent state

legislation. All versions of the course will share the same learning outcomes; the differences

will be in terms of customized learning experiences or methods of delivery. Recent Florida

legislation has introduced the framework of meta-majors that identify eight general bachelor’s

degree areas. The new law was prompted in part to help Associate in Arts students select the

appropriate pre-requisite courses, particularly in math and English, for their intended bachelor’s

degree. Associate in Science degrees that may transfer to a bachelor’s degree program can be

included in the meta-major framework. Florida colleges are required to implement the meta-

majors as part of each student’s entry into college by Fall term 2014. Florida colleges are also

required to capture and report on student’s intended bachelor’s degree and their choice of

transfer institution upon their completion of 30 credit hours. Many of the Associate of Science

degrees do not have any elective credit to which the New Student Experience course might be

added. However, a number of them do have an introduction to the discipline course into which

VII. Implementation Timeline

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the learning outcomes can be imbedded or added as part of a required co-curriculum. During

the evolution of the QEP, multiple discussions led us to the agreement to commit to the

development of these three versions of the New Student Experience course in order to

encompass the variety of our students’ educational pathways. The NSE course implementation

sequence chart provided in (Appendix 7) describes the steps to design, pilot, and integrate this

curriculum, for a “NSE Basic Course,” “NSE Majors Course” and “NSE Associate in Science

Course.” As referenced in Section III, this commitment to develop different versions of the NSE

course based on student program of study was an important change from previous times at

Valencia when there was resistance to the idea of a required NSE course.

An underlying current in Valencia’s success in improving student learning outcomes is a

deep and authentic commitment to faculty and staff development based on a wide range of

competency-based programming. The QEP faculty development plan builds on a foundation

that supports all faculty members as they expand their professional practices and examine their

ongoing development in the seven Essential Competencies of a Valencia Educator. (Appendix

8). Our coordinated and comprehensive Office of Faculty and Instructional Development

provides programming on pedagogy, course design, curriculum, and student development. The

intention of Valencia's faculty development programming is to engage teachers, scholars and

practitioners in continuous improvement processes that result in enhanced student learning.

Similarly, the Valencia staff professional development programming formalizes the identification

of areas for professional improvement and provides programs to staff members to improve their

professional skills. The QEP faculty/staff development plan is an important component that will

support the curricular and co-curricular program development.

Please note that the details of assessment activities are included in Section X.

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Valencia College QEP Implementation 2013-14 Fall Term 2013

Curricular Faculty/Staff Development New Student Experience (NSE) Basic Course:

• New Student Experience Faculty Leadership Team (7 ) selected to lead the design of the New Student Experience (NSE) course including learning outcomes and curriculum development.

• NSE Faculty Leadership Team leads a selected faculty team (30) through a curriculum design process of the NSE course to design lesson plans that align with one or more course learning outcomes. Design NSE pilot for Spring including selection of faculty, assessment plan, and student enrollment plan.

• Design and implement New Student Experience Course Design Workshop Series for 30 faculty members.

• Design and implement revised Step-by-Step faculty development course for faculty members who will teach the NSE pilot courses in Spring.

• Design and implement additional faculty development course (s) to supplement Step-by-Step faculty development course for faculty members who will teach the NSE pilot courses in Spring.

Co-Curricular for all NSE courses Faculty/Staff Development • Form College Readiness Certificate (CRC) design group of

student affairs staff and faculty to develop learning outcomes for the CRC that align with the course learning outcomes of the NSE course, design CRC activities/programs that support the NSE learning outcomes, and prepare learning materials for the CRC.

• Pilot in Fall a new co-curricular engagement program, Student Engagement Tracks, already planned for the Lake Nona Campus, as a means to document co-curricular learning and student engagement.

• Obtain assessments from the Lake Nona Campus Student Engagement Tracks to inform the design of the College Readiness Certificate (CRC).

• Design a pilot for the CRC for Spring to align with the NSE course pilot; link outcomes to NSE course lesson plans and developmental education initiatives.

• Implement pilot documenting system utilized at Lake Nona. • Redefine New Student Orientation (NSO) outcomes to align

with NSE course.

• Design and implement staff development course(s) on outcomes-based co-curricular design and assessment (to support CRC and NSO development) in coordination with faculty development (for later integration as required course within LifeMap Certification for staff).

• Design and implement staff development course or job aid for pilot documenting system.

• Design faculty and staff development opportunities to connect advisors with faculty teaching NSE courses.

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Spring Term 2014 Curricular Faculty/Staff Development

NSE Basic Course • Pilot six (6) sections of the NSE course with approximately

150 students. • Develop enrollment plans to expand the NSE course to 50%

of new students for Fall 2014 (projected 256 sections, 6,144 students college wide).

• Implement the revised Step-by-Step faculty development course for faculty teaching the NSE course in future terms.

• Offer supplemental faculty development course(s) based on specific learning activities for faculty teaching the NSE course.

• Conduct assessment of NSE faculty development programs from participants and make any necessary improvements.

NSE Majors Course • Design NSE course with focus on Transfer Business Majors

to be piloted in Fall 2014. • Design NSE course with focus on Transfer Health Sciences

Majors to be piloted in Fall 2014. • Design NSE course with focus on Transfer STEM Majors to

be piloted in Fall 2014.

• Design and implement faculty development course(s) for faculty designing NSE Majors courses; (integrate as elective course within faculty development LifeMap Certification Program.)

NSE Associate in Science Course • Design the integration of NSE course learning outcomes into

Information Technology A.S. introduction courses for pilot in Fall 2014.

• Design the integration of NSE course learning outcomes into Arts & Entertainment A.S. introduction courses for pilot in Fall 2014.

• Design and implement faculty development course(s) for faculty integrating NSE course learning outcomes into AS program introductory courses; (integrate as elective course within faculty development LifeMap Certification Program).

Co-Curricular Design Faculty/Staff Development • Implement the CRC with students enrolled in the NSE pilot

courses. • Implement the assessment plan for the CRC pilot. • Plan strategy for recruiting Fall 2014 students into pre-

enrollment CRC. • Redesign New Student Orientation to align with NSE course,

CRC, and developmental education strategies. • Work with Office for Information Technology to automate

requirements for new students and determine system documentation for CRCs.

• Design and implement sessions at Student Affairs Professional Development Conference focused on the CRC.

• Implement staff development course(s) on outcomes-based co-curricular design and assessment (to support CRC and NSO development) in coordination with faculty development (for later integration as required course within the LifeMap Certification for staff).

• Implement faculty and staff development opportunity to connect advisors with faculty teaching NSE courses.

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• Design LifeMap Certification Program for staff, in coordination with faculty development.

• Design & implement staff development course for NSO facilitators (consider integration as elective course with LifeMap Certification Program for staff).

• Conduct assessment of staff development courses and make necessary improvements.

Summer Term 2014 Curricular Faculty/Staff Development

NSE Basic Course • Review assessment data and make improvements to the

course byNSE Faculty Leadership Team and pilot faculty. • Build online resources for the course by NSE Faculty

Leadership Team and pilot faculty. • Finalize program assessment plan, including assessment

data and course improvements by NSE Faculty Leadership Team and pilot faculty.

• Develop enrollment plans for the expansion of the NSE course to 50% of new students for Spring 2015 (projected 123 sections, 2,952 students college wide).

• Revise the Step-by-Step faculty development course according to the course improvements.

• Implement the revised Step-by-Step faculty development course for all remaining faculty who will teach the NSE course in future terms.

• Offer supplemental faculty development course(s) based on specific learning activities for faculty who will teach the NSE course.

• Offer faculty development course(s) for faculty integrating NSE course learning outcomes into AS program introductory courses.

• Conduct assessment of NSE faculty development courses and make necessary improvements.

• Design and implement first annual New Student Experience Professional Development Day for faculty and staff (July- approximately 200 faculty/staff).

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Co-Curricular for all NSE courses Faculty/Staff Development • Implement CRC into entry processes for new student

enrollment aligned with developmental education strategies. • Implement CRC with students enrolled in the NSE pilot

courses and revise based on assessments. • Pilot revised New Student Orientation (NSO) curriculum with

students participating in CRC and in NSE course. • Test automation of NSE requirements and transcripts in the

student administrative system.

• Implement staff training on new NSO curriculum. • Prepare advising staff for the expanded implementation of the

CRC to pre-enrolled students. • Develop Student Administrative System (Banner) training for

Student Affairs staff related to automated requirements and documentation of CRC.

• Continue/Complete design of LifeMap Certification program for staff, in coordination with faculty development.

• Conduct assessment of staff development courses and make necessary changes.

Valencia College QEP Implementation Plan - 2014-2015 Fall Term 2014

Curricular Faculty/Staff Development NSE Basic Course • Expand the NSE course to 50% of new students for Fall 2014

(projected 256 sections, 6,144 students college wide). • Implement program assessment plan for NSE course. • Develop enrollment plans to expand NSE course to 50% of

new students for Summer 2015 (projected 79 sections, 1,896 students college wide).

• Offer the revised Step-by-Step faculty development program for “new” faculty who will teach the NSE course in future terms (one faculty development course, up to 30 faculty members).

• Offer supplemental faculty development course(s) for faculty who will teach the NSE course based on specific learning activities (e.g. students’ development of purpose).

• Conduct assessment of NSE faculty development programs from participants.

• Improve NSE faculty development programs based on assessments.

• Implement LifeMap Certification program for new NSE full-time faculty (one-cohort) and existing NSE faculty, part-time and full-time (one cohort).

NSE Majors Course • Pilot two (2) sections of the NSE course for Transfer

Business Majors with approximately 50 students. • Pilot two (2) sections of the NSE course for Transfer

Health Sciences Majors with approximately 50 students. • Pilot two (2) sections of the NSE course for Transfer

STEM Majors with approximately 50 students. • Design NSE course with focus on Transfer Education

Majors to pilot in Spring 2015.

• Offer faculty development course(s) for faculty piloting and designing NSE course with focus on Transfer Major.

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NSE Associate in Science Course • Pilot one (1) A.S. Information Technology programs’

introduction course(s) with embedded NSE learning outcomes.

• Pilot one (1) A.S. Arts & Entertainment programs’ introduction course(s) with embedded NSE learning outcomes.

• Design NSE integrated course learning outcomes into introduction courses for A.S. Criminal Justice/Paralegal/Fire Science programs for pilot in Spring 2015.

• Design NSE integrated course learning outcomes into introduction courses for A.S. Engineering Technology Associate in Science programs for pilot in Spring 2015.

• Offer faculty development course(s) for faculty piloting and designing NSE course learning outcomes into A.S. program introductory courses.

Co-Curricular for all NSE courses Faculty/Staff Development • Fully implement College Readiness Certificate (CRC). • Pilot Transfer Business and Transfer Health Sciences CRCs • Review assessment data and improve CRC. • Make adjustments and finalize Banner functions that support

College Readiness Certificates; move to full implementation prior to Spring 2015 registration.

• Review feedback on NSO pilot and make improvements to implement in Spring 2015.

• Implement LifeMap Certification program for new staff, in coordination with faculty development.

• Implement training for CRC documentation (Banner) for Student Affairs staff.

• Implement staff training on new NSO curriculum. • Conduct assessment of staff development courses and make

necessary improvements.

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Spring Term 2015 Fall Term 2014 Faculty/Staff Development

NSE Basic Course

• Expand NSE course to 50% of new students for Spring term 2015 (projected 123 sections, 2,952 students college wide).

• Develop enrollment plans for the expansion of the NSE course to 100% of new students for Fall term 2015 (projected 360 sections, 8,640 students college wide).






NSE Majors Course • Integrate NSE Transfer Business Majors course as

needed for student enrollment. • Integrate NSE Transfer Health Sciences Majors course

as needed for student enrollment. • Integrate NSE Transfer STEM Majors course as needed

for student enrollment. • Pilot two (2) sections of the NSE course for Transfer

Education Majors with approximately 50 students. • Design NSE course with focus on Transfer Social

Science/Human Services Majors to be piloted in Fall 2015.

• Offer faculty development course(s) for faculty integrating, piloting and designing NSE course with focus on Transfer Major.

NSE Associate in Science Course • Integrate NSE course learning outcomes into all sections of

A.S. Information Technology programs’ introduction course(s).

• Integrate NSE course learning outcomes into all sections of A.S. Arts & Entertainment programs’ introduction course(s).

• Offer faculty development course(s) for faculty integrating, piloting and designing NSE course learning outcomes into A.S. program introductory courses.

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• Pilot one (1) embedded NSE course learning outcome in introductory course(s) for A.S. Criminal Justice Technology/Paralegal/Fire Science programs.

• Pilot one (1) embedded NSE course learning outcome in introductory course(s) for A.S. Engineering Technology programs.

• Design the integration of NSE course learning outcomes in introductory course(s) for A.S. Business/Accounting/ Office Systems Technology programs in Fall 2015.

Co-Curricular for all NSE courses Faculty/Staff Development

• Introduce the CRC to graduating high school students and parents.

• Continue to offer, assess, and implement changes to CRC as needed.

• Develop NSO curriculum to align with General Education redesign.

• Communicate CRC to students, faculty and staff.





NSE Basic Course • Implement the expansion of the NSE course to 50% of new

students for Summer 2015 (projected 79 sections, 1,896 students college wide).

• Implement a formative and summative assessment of the NSE teaching and learning experience.

• Develop enrollment plans to expand NSE course to 100% of new students for Spring 2016 (projected 173 sections, 4,152 students college wide).






• Design and implement second annual New Student Experience

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Professional Development Day for faculty and staff (July- approximately 200 faculty/staff); content to focus on student engagement strategies based upon CCSSE data and QEP/program assessment data.

Co-Curricular for all NSE courses Faculty/Staff Development • Implement new NSO curriculum that includes developmental

education changes, general education redesign, and introduction of the CRC.

• Continue to implement LifeMap Certification program for new staff, in coordination with faculty development.

• Continue to implement training for CRC documentation (Banner) for Student Affairs staff.

• Provide staff development for new NSO curriculum.

Valencia College QEP Implementation Plan - 2015-2016

Fall Term 2015 Curricular Faculty/Staff Development

NSE Basic Course • Implement the expansion of the NSE course to 100% of new

students for Fall term 2015 (projected 360 sections, 8,640 students college wide) by deans.

• Implement a formative and summative assessment of the NSE teaching and learning experience by faculty teaching NSE course.

• Develop enrollment plans to expand of the NSE course to 100% of new students for Summer 2016 (projected 111 sections, 2,664 students college wide).


• Offer supplemental faculty development course(s) for faculty who will teach the NSE course based on specific learning activities (e.g. students’ development of purpose)




NSE Majors Course • Integrate NSE Transfer Education Majors course as

needed for student enrollment. • Pilot two (2) sections of the NSE course for Transfer

Social Sciences/Human Services Majors with approximately 50 students.

• Design pilot NSE course with focus on Transfer Humanities/Communications Majors for Spring 2016.


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NSE Associate in Science Course • Integrate NSE course learning outcomes into all sections of

A.S. Criminal Justice/Paralegal/Fire Science programs’ introduction course(s).

• Integrate NSE course learning outcomes into all sections of A.S. Engineering Technology programs’ introduction course(s).

• Pilot one (1) embedded NSE course learning outcomes in A.S. Business/Accounting/Office Systems Technology programs’ introduction course(s).

• Design the integration of NSE course learning outcomes in introductory course(s) for A.S. Hospitality/Culinary programs for pilot in Spring 2016.


Co-Curricular for all NSE courses Faculty/Staff Development • Implement CRC programs fully. • Review CRC assessment data and make improvements. • Review NSO assessments and make improvements for

Spring term 2016.





NSE Basic Course • Implement the expansion of the NSE course to 100% of

new students for Spring term 2016 (projected 173 sections, 4,152 students college wide).

• Implement formative and summative assessments of the NSE teaching and learning experience by appropriate faculty.

• Offer the revised Step-by-Step faculty development program for “new” faculty who will teach the NSE course in future terms (one faculty development course, up to 30 faculty members)..





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NSE Majors Course • Integrate Transfer Social Science/Humanities course are


Humanities/Communications Majors with approximately 50 students.

• Design NSE course with focus on Transfer Public Safety Majors to be piloted in Fall 2016


NSE Associate in Science Course • Integrate NSE course learning outcomes into all sections

of A.S. Business/Accounting/Office Systems introductory course(s).

• Pilot one (1) embedded NSE course learning outcomes in introductory course(s) for A.S. Hospitality & Culinary programs.

• Design the integration of NSE course learning outcomes in introductory course for A.S. Nursing program for pilot in Fall 2016.

• Design the integration of NSE course learning outcomes in introductory course(s) for A.S. Allied Health programs for pilot in Fall 2016.


Co-Curricular for all NSE courses Faculty/Staff Development • Review data on 2014 HS graduates who participated in CRC;

and implement changes to CRC recruitment and design as needed.


• Implement training for CRC documentation (Banner) for Student Affairs staff. • Conduct assessment of staff development courses and make

necessary improvements.

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NSE Basic Course

• Develop enrollment plans to expand NSE course to 100% of new students for Summer term 2016 (projected 111 sections, 2,664 students college wide).






• Design and implement third annual New Student Experience Professional Development Day for faculty and staff (July- approximately 200 faculty/staff); content to focus on student engagement strategies based upon CCSSE data and QEP/program assessment data.

Co-Curricular for all NSE courses Faculty/Staff Development • Continue to implement and assess CRC.

• Continue to implement LifeMap Certification program for new

staff, in coordination with faculty development. • Continue to implement training for CRC documentation (Banner)

for Student Affairs staff.


Curricular Faculty/Staff Development NSE Basic Course • Implement formative and summative assessments of the

NSE teaching and learning experience by appropriate faculty.


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• Offer supplemental faculty development course(s) for faculty who will teach the NSE course based on specific learning activities (e.g. students’ development of purpose)




NSE Majors Course • Integrate Transfer Humanities/Communications Majors

course as needed for student enrollment. • Pilot two (2) sections of the NSE course for Transfer

Public Safety Majors with approximately 50 students. • Design NSE course with focus on Transfer

Manufacturing/Construction Majors for pilot in Fall 2017.



of introductory course(s) for A.S. Hospitality/Culinary programs.

• Pilot one (1) embedded NSE course learning outcomes in introductory course for A.S. Nursing program.

• Pilot one (1) embedded NSE course learning outcomes in introductory course for A.S. Allied Health programs.

• Design the integration of NSE course learning outcomes in introductory course(s) for A.S. Landscaping/

Horticulture programs for pilot in Spring 2017.






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NSE Basic Course • Implement a formative and summative assessment of the


• Offer the revised Step-by-Step faculty development program for “new” faculty who will teach the NSE course in future terms (one faculty development course, up to 30 faculty members)..





NSE Majors Course • Integrate Transfer Public Safety Majors course as


Manufacturing/Construction Majors with approximately 50 students



of A.S. Nursing program introduction course. • Integrate NSE course learning outcomes into all sections

of A.S. Allied Health introduction course(s).

• Pilot one (1) embedded NSE course learning outcome in introductory course(s) for A.S. Landscaping/Horticulture programs.

• Offer faculty development course(s) for faculty integrating and piloting NSE course learning outcomes into A.S. program introductory courses.

Co-Curricular for all NSE courses Faculty/Staff Development • Continue implementation and assessment of CRC.




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NSE Basic Course • Implement formative and summative assessments of the







• Design and implement fourth annual New Student Experience Professional Development Day for faculty and staff (July- approximately 200 faculty/staff); content to focus on student engagement strategies based upon CCSSE data and QEP/program assessment data.





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Curricular Faculty/Staff Development NSE Basic Course • Implement formative and summative assessments of the







NSE Majors Course • Integrate Transfer Manufacturing/Construction Majors

course as needed for student enrollment.


NSE Associate in Science Course • Integrate NSE learning outcomes into all sections of

Landscaping/Horticulture AS introduction course(s).






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NSE Majors Course • Continue to schedule NSE Meta-majors courses and

sections as needed for student enrollment.


NSE Associate in Science Course • Continue to schedule integrated NSE A.S. introductory

courses and sections as needed for student enrollment.






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• Design and implement fifth annual New Student Experience Professional Development Day for faculty and staff (July- approximately 200 faculty/staff); content to focus on student engagement strategies based upon CCSSE data and QEP/program assessment data.

NSE Majors Course • Continue to schedule NSE Meta-majors courses and

sections as needed for student enrollment.

• Continue to offer faculty development course(s) for faculty piloting and designing NSE course with focus on Transfer Major.

NSE Associate in Science Course • Continue to schedule integrated NSE A.S. introductory

courses and sections as needed for student enrollment.

• Continue to offer faculty development course(s) for faculty integrating NSE course learning outcomes into A.S. program introductory courses.





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Like many of Valencia College’s programs, the QEP will be college-wide and

implemented on multiple campuses. Valencia is decentralized in terms of leadership, with

Campus Presidents given the autonomy to make decisions about a range of programs and

practices. At the same time, we know that the majority of our students take classes on more

than one campus during their time with us. We therefore strive to provide a consistent

experience in terms of the services students receive, regardless of the campus they attend for

any given course. We also measure and report student success and evaluate program success

using college-wide metrics. Most importantly, leaders across the campuses promote Valencia’s

collaborative culture and are committed to maintaining the essence of our approach to learning-

centered education. While we appreciate and respect our different campus cultures and

functions, we are mindful to provide a cohesive and connected Valencia experience for our

students, regardless of which campus(es) they attend.

With this idea of campus-based but college-wide programs in mind, Valencia’s Senior

Team met with the QEP Leadership Team in June 2013 to develop plans for the implementation

of the QEP. Figure 2 provides a graphic representation of organizational structure needed to

make this project a success.

VIII. Organizational Structure

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Figure 2. NSE Organizational Chart

The New Student Experience will be led by a director (to be hired in Fall 2013), who is

the college-wide point of contact for the NSE. The director is responsible for oversight and

supervision of the QEP’s five year implementation plan. The director will report to Joyce

Romano, VP of Student Affairs and Susan Ledlow, VP of Academic Affairs and Planning. These

two “sponsors” of the work will facilitate the provision of College resources, and ensure that

QEP work is fully integrated into other college-wide initiatives.

Our plan also calls for the addition of a full-time Assistant Director of Assessment (to be

hired in Fall 2013) to our Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning.

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We have learned from previous initiatives similar to the QEP that substantial support for

data collection, analysis, and presentation is required; therefore, our current staff cannot absorb

the additional duties to be generated by the QEP.

Support for faculty development will be provided by Wendi Dew, Director of Faculty and

Instructional Development. Campus activities will be led by their respective Deans of Learning

Support and Deans of Students. They will be responsible for supervising faculty for the NSE

course, collecting data for evaluation purposes, and participating on the college-wide Core

Team. The Core Team will bring information about progress on implementation from the

campuses to the college-wide staff, and information about college-wide services and initiatives

to the campus-based teams.

Courses will be taught by a new type of faculty member, who both teaches and advises

new students. NSE faculty will be hired on a 12 month contract and will teach during the Fall,

Spring, and first Summer Terms. During August and December, when demand for advising is at

its peak, they will work as advisors, primarily with new students.

A spreadsheet detailing cost to the College for the five years of implementation is found

at the end of this section. Justification for line items and costs are outlined below.

Personnel Investment – Over 5 Years: $6,456,393

The College plans to hire 3 full-time employees to manage the QEP:

• C-Level New Student Experience (NSE) Director - $75,000 per year • B-Level Assistant Director of Assessment - $61,500 per year • Staff Assistant II - $32,000 per year

In addition, the College will hire nine 12-month NSE Faculty members ($60,000 each) to

teach the NSE Course in Years Two and Three for a total of 18 new faculty members. The

IX. Resources

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personnel investment also includes faculty stipends (outlined below) and fringe benefits. Some

of the stipends will be paid with existing grant funds. The funding sources are provided on the

budget worksheet. Descriptions of roles and responsibilities are found in the section on

Organizational Structure. All salaries and benefits are calculated using standard college rates.

• Instructional Designer (part time) - $24,960 each year This is a technical support in course design to support for the development of the New Student Experience Curricular and Co-Curricular learning experiences.

• Faculty Leadership Stipends for Fall 2013 Term - $20,664 Two faculty members (one SLS and one non-SLS) from three campuses (East, West, and Osceola) estimated at $1,722 each for six credit hour reassigned/stipend to work on SLS curriculum redesign.

• Faculty Development Fellow Stipend/Reassigned Time for Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 - $3,444 and continuing each year Fund a three credit hour reassigned time/stipend for a Faculty Development Fellow estimated at $1,722 to work with the Faculty Leadership Team to provide faculty development support during the SLS course redesign.

• Faculty Work on New Lesson Plans and Strategies - $15,000 Thirty total faculty members, $500 each for two lessons or strategies.

• Faculty Development Course Development - $4,500 Three faculty members from the PRESS Faculty Leadership Team to develop the new Step-by-Step faculty development course and six faculty members college-wide to develop new Faculty Development courses which supplement Step-by-Step training in specific areas of the redesigned curriculum; $500 each.

• Compensation for Facilitating New Faculty Development Courses - $6,600 Facilitate eight redesigned Step-by-Step faculty development courses (co-taught) for current and prospective SLS faculty members (two each from Osceola, East, and West campuses, and one on Winter Park and Lake Nona) and facilitate six faculty development courses to supplement redesigned SLS course curriculum; $300 each.

• Faculty Reassigned Time in Spring 2014 for Course Development - $5,166 Three faculty members to pilot the course and collect formative and summative data on new course, make improvements to the course curriculum, and develop online resources for SLS course; $1,722 each.

• Faculty Development Facilitators to Teach LifeMap Certificate - $17,600 Two sections of Lifemap Certification per year; $2,200 each section.

• Staff Development Facilitators to Teach LifeMap Certificate - $17,600 Two sections of Lifemap Certification per year; $2,200 each section.

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• Faculty Stipends to Create Meta-Majors of the NSE Course - $6,400 Eight total Meta-Majors (two Meta-Majors per year developed by two Faculty Members) = $800 per Meta-Major).

• Faculty Stipends to Integrate the NSE Course to the A.S. Programs - $26,400 Thirty-three total A.S. Degrees (two integrations per year developed by two Faculty Members) = $800 per A.S. Degree).

• Destinations Annual program - $75,000 annually This is a six-week faculty development program held annually in the summer to focus faculty development on a topic of strategic importance to College initiatives. Funds include stipends for faculty facilitators and faculty participants, program presenters, and materials.

• IT Consultant Stipend - $120,000 The IT consultant will work on Banner programming and other technology needs associated with the project. As discussed in the narrative, students must take the NSE course within the first 15 credit hours at the institution and programming will be needed to track co-curricular certificates as well as to ensure registration requirements are met. The estimated cost is $60,000 for both Year One and Year Two.

Travel Expenses: $112,500

• Conference attendance for first-year experience related conferences - $112,500 15 people per year @ at an estimated cost of $1,500 each. $1,100 will come from Staff and Program Development (SPD) funds and the remaining $400 will come from the QEP Budget.

Administrative Costs: $194,000

• Administration of Community College Survey on Student Engagement (CCSSE) - $45,000 CCSSE Survey will be administered in Years Two, Four, and Five as part of the assessment plan; $15,000 each.

• Career Assessment License – $30,000 Career assessment will be part of the College Readiness Certificate; $6,000 per year.

• Consumable Materials and Supplies - $10,000 Two annual planning and assessment meetings will be held for all QEP staff. Other materials will support program development and delivery.

• Co-curricular Tracking Software - $25,000 5-Star Students™ software will be used to record student progress towards the co-curricular certificate: 5 campuses total; 1 license per campus per year at $1,000 per license.

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• Co-curricular Transcript Software - $48,000 OrgSync™ software will be integrated with Banner to document the co-curricular certificate on student transcripts; $12,000 per year.

• Marketing Plan - $5,000 Work with Marketing and Strategic Communication and Organizational Communication and Development to create a marketing plan to rebrand the SLS course and NSE college-wide and print promotional materials.

• Marketing and Promotional Materials for the NSE Course - $31,000

Development and printing of marketing and promotional Items such as brochures outlining the co-curricular certificates and the New Student Orientation workbook insert during Year One will cost $3,000. Printing of promotional materials as new co-curricular certificates are developed will cost $7,000 per year for Years Two through Five. Additional marketing dollars will come from the PRESS Grant to promote the NSE course.

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Project: Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) - Creating a New Student Experience

QEP Budget Year One 2013-2014

Year Two 2014-2015

Year Three

2015-2016 Year Four 2016-2017

Year Five 2017-2018 Total

Funding Source

A. PERSONNEL

C-Level NSE Director $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $375,000 QEP

Budget

B-Level Assistant Director of Assessment $61,500 $61,500 $61,500 $61,500 $61,500 $307,500 QEP

Budget

Staff Assistant II $32,000 $32,000 $32,000 $32,000 $32,000 $160,000 QEP

Budget 12-month NSE Faculty - ($60,000 each - 9 new in year two and 9 new in year three) $540,000 $1,080,000 $1,080,000 $1,080,000 $3,780,000

QEP Budget

Instructional Designer - Part-time (20 hours per week @ $24 per hour) $24,960 $24,960 $24,960 $24,960 $24,960 $24,960

QEP Budget

TOTAL PERSONNEL $193,460 $733,460 $1,273,460 $1,273,460 $1,273,460 $4,747,300 B. OTHER PERSONNEL Stipends for Faculty Leadership Team ($3,444 per 6 credit hours) $20,664 $20,664

PRESS Grant

Stipends/Release time for Faculty Development Fellows ($3,444 per 6 credit hours) $3,444 $3,444

PRESS Grant

Stipends/Release time for Faculty Development Fellows ($3,444 per 6 credit hours) $3,444 $3,444 $3,444 $3,444 $13,776

QEP Budget

Faculty work on New Lesson Plans and Strategies $15,000 $15,000 PRESS Grant

Faculty Development Course Development $4,500 $4,500 PRESS Grant

Compensation for Facilitating New Faculty Development Courses $6,600 $6,600

PRESS Grant

Faculty Release Time for Course Development $5,166 $5,166 PRESS Grant

Stipends for Faculty Development to Teach Lifemap Certificate ($2,200 per section) $4,400 $4,400 $4,400 $4,400 $17,600

QEP Budget

Stipends for Staff Development to Teach Lifemap Certificate ($2,200 per section) $4,400 $4,400 $4,400 $4,400 $17,600

QEP Budget

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Stipends for Faculty to Create Meta-major for Business - ($400 per Meta-Major - 2 Faculty per Meta-Major) $800 $800

Pathways Grant

Stipends for Faculty to Create Meta-major for Nursing - ($400 per Meta-Major - 2 Faculty per Meta-Major) $800 $800

Pathways Grant

Stipends for Faculty to Create Meta-Major for STEM - ($400 per Meta-Major - 2 Faculty per Meta-Major) $800 $800

LSAMP Grant

Stipends for Faculty to Create 5 remaining Meta-majors of the NSE Course - ($400 per Meta-Major - 2 Faculty per Meta-Major) $1,600 $1,600 $800 $4,000

QEP Budget

Stipends for Faculty to Integrate the NSE Course to the 33 A.S. Programs ($400 per integration - 2 Faculty per Integration) $7,200 $6,400 $6,400 $6,400 $26,400

QEP Budget

Destinations Annual Program (Faculty Facilitators and Stipends) $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $375,000

QEP Budget

IT Consultant $60,000 $60,000 $120,000 QEP

Budget TOTAL OTHER PERSONNEL $190,374 $156,844 $95,244 $95,244 $94,444 $632,150 C. FRINGE BENEFITS

FICA 6.2% $23,798 $55,199 $84,860 $84,860 $84,811 $333,526 QEP

Budget

FICA Medicare 1.45% $5,566 $12,910 $19,847 $19,847 $19,835 $78,003 QEP

Budget

Retirement 6.97% $26,754 $62,055 $95,399 $95,399 $95,343 $374,948 QEP

Budget

Workers Compensation 0.73% $2,802 $6,500 $9,992 $9,992 $9,986 $39,025 QEP

Budget Health Insurance ($7,612 per FTE; does not apply to PT staff under 25 hours) $22,836 $91,344 $91,344 $22,836 $22,836 $251,196

QEP Budget

TOTAL FRINGE BENEFITS $81,756 $228,008 $301,442 $232,934 $232,811 $1,076,943 D. TRAVEL

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Conference attendance for First-Year Student Conferences (15 people @ $1,500 each)

$22,500 $22,500 $22,500 $22,500 $22,500 $112,500 SPD Funds/QEP

Budget TOTAL TRAVEL $22,500 $22,500 $22,500 $22,500 $22,500 $112,500 E. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS Administration of Community College Student Survey of Engagement (CCSSE) $15,000 $15,000 $15,000 $45,000

QEP Budget

Career Assessment License $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $6,000 $30,000 QEP

Budget Consumable Materials and Supplies for Meetings and Training $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $10,000

QEP Budget

Co-curricular Tracking Software ($1,000 per license) $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $25,000

QEP Budget

Co-curricular Transcript Software (Org Sync) $12,000 $12,000 $12,000 $12,000 $48,000 QEP

Budget

Development of Marketing Plan $5,000 $5,000 PRESS Grant

Development and Printing of Marketing and Promotional Materials $3,000 $7,000 $7,000 $7,000 $7,000 $31,000

QEP Budget

TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE $21,000 $47,000 $32,000 $47,000 $47,000 $194,000 QEP Total Projected Costs $501,339 $1,180,060 $1,716,895 $1,663,387 $1,662,464 $6,724,135

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Building on the lessons learned about data collection and use from college-wide

program learning outcomes assessment activities, and from large-scale, student-success

oriented initiatives over the past ten years, Valencia has developed a comprehensive

assessment plan for the development and scaled implementation of a New Student Experience.

The assessment plan distinguishes between institutional measures of student progression

tracked over time, NSE Student Outcomes (that include student learning outcomes), and

formative measures of implementation in support of continuous program improvement.

The implementation of the QEP Assessment Plan will be a collaborative effort between

the Director of the New Student Experience, the Assistant Vice President for Institutional

Effectiveness and Planning (responsible for Institutional Research and Institutional

Assessment), NSE faculty and staff, the Campus Deans of Learning Support, the Deans of

Students, the Director of Institutional Assessment, the Director of Faculty and Instructional

Development, and the Assistant Director of Institutional Assessment (to be hired in Fall 2013).

The following plan describes the intended or desired outcomes (including student learning

outcomes), a description of the data to be collected, the data collection procedure, frequency of

data collection, a timeline for establishing baseline measures, the first anticipated collection

point for data reflective of QEP interventions, and the position(s) or department(s) primarily

responsible for data collection and reporting.

The College Data Team will be responsible to support annual campus and college-wide

reflection on the nature, meaning, and implications of the data collected. Co-chaired by the

Director of New Student Experience and the Assistant Vice President for Institutional

Effectiveness and Planning, the College Data Team will be comprised of the positions identified

above and a representative group of faculty and staff members involved in the implementation

of the curricular and co-curricular components of the new student experience.

X. Assessment

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The work of the Data Team at Valencia was initially developed to support the

implementation of student success strategies during the College’s participation in AtD. The

primary role of the Data Team currently is to lead an annual process that incorporates the

reflection on data collected across the institution. This process requires the Data Team to

collaborate closely with the faculty members, staff members and administrators who work

closest to students. The Data Team will prepare an annual report on QEP implementation and

the impact on students that will support annual campus and college-wide planning activities.

Valencia has the human and technical resources necessary to collect, report, and

analyze data associated with the implementation of the New Student Experience. The College

has an Institutional Research (IR) department directed by Kurt Ewen, Assistant Vice President

for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning, four research analysts, and a senior researcher to

be hired in Fall 2013. The IR staff has extensive experience in the evaluation of major student

success and learning projects including the AtD initiative and the College‘s other grant-related

projects. The research analysts are skilled in developing data queries and conducting analyses.

Work is currently underway between the IR department and OIT to expand the College’s data

warehousing capabilities to include web-based, interactive visual analytics tools. These tools

will allow end users to drill into disaggregated student success and progression data at the

campus, department and course level.

Valencia’s QEP will also be supported by the Office of Institutional Assessment. The

director and assistant director will oversee the development, implementation, and

documentation of annual plans for the assessment of student learning in all curricular and co-

curricular programs. The department is responsible the collection and use of survey data from

national surveys (e.g., the Community College Survey of Student Engagement) and supporting

implementation of locally develop surveys (e.g., term-by-term student evaluation or feedback on

instruction). Finally, Institutional Assessment coordinates qualitative data collection (e.g.,

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student and faculty focus groups) and supports the integration of that data into our broader

reflection on the student experience.

To assess the success of the QEP, we plan to consider institutional measures,

programmatic student outcomes, and implementation measures. Table 2 provides details on

institutional measures, including the objective/measure, the data to be examined, the frequency

of data collection, the baseline performance of Valencia students, and the timetable for the first

measurement.

Table 3 provides details on programmatic student outcomes, including: 1) the learning

outcomes themselves; 2) their integration into curricular and/or co-curricular activities; 3) a

description of the types of data to be collected; 4) the connection of the learning outcome to

Valencia’s general education outcomes; 5) data collection procedures; 6) the frequency of data

collection; 7) baseline measures; 8) timeline for first results; and, 9) parties responsible for data

collection.

Table 4 provides measures of implementation, including the objective/measure, a

description of the data to be collected, the frequency of data collection, the timeline for fist

results, and the parties responsible for data collection.

Note that Tables 2-4 complement Table 1, which presents the timeline for the implementation of

the curricular and co-curricular work. With our extensive experience in assessment and

evaluation, and the human and financial resources we have budgeted, we are confident the

QEP can be realistically implemented and completed in five years.

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Table 2. Institutional Measures Valencia College – QEP Assessment Plan

Objective / Measure

Data Description Frequency Base line Performance 1st QEP Measures

Increase New Student4 Persistence

Fall to Spring Persistence—Degree-seeking Students, First Time at Valencia (FTAV) Cohort Disaggregated by Enrollment Category

Yearly All FTIC – 78.0% FTIC College Ready - 84.4% FTIC Dev Ed – 74.7% FTAV Transfer Col Ready – 76.8% FTAV Transfer Dev Ed – 73.3%

Spring (January) 2015

Fall to Fall Persistence—Degree-seeking Students, First Time at Valencia (FTAV) Cohort Disaggregated by Enrollment Category

Yearly All FTIC – 59.7% FTIC College Ready – 70.4% FTIC Dev Ed – 54.8% FTAV Transfer Col Ready – 48.3% FTAV Transfer Dev Ed – 53.4%

Fall (September) 2015

Fall to Spring Persistence – Degree-seeking Students, First Time in College (FTIC) Cohort Disaggregated by Gender and Ethnicity

Yearly African American Female – 73.6% African American Male – 65.7% Caucasian Female – 70.2% Caucasian Male – 79.4% Hispanic Female – 78.8% Hispanic Male – 76.7%


Fall to Fall Persistence – Degree-seeking Students, First Time in College (FTIC) Cohort Disaggregated by Gender and Ethnicity



Increase % Students Succeeding in Front Door

Successful Completion5 of Front Door High Enrollment Courses Disaggregated by Campus of Course Enrollment

Fall, Spring and Summer Terms

See the Strategic Indicators Report on Student Progression (http://valenciacollege.edu/academic-affairs/institutional-effectiveness-planning/institutional-research/Reporting/Strategic-Indicators/documents/00-

SIR-StudProgression-20130829.pdf )


4 For the purposes of Valencia’s Quality Enhancement Plan, a “new Student” at Valencia is any student (native or transfer-in) who has completed fewer than 15 college-level credits at Valencia.

5 For the purposes of Valencia’s Quality Enhancement Plan, the “successful completion” of Front Door High Enrollment Courses requires a grade of A, B, or C.

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Courses/ Decease the % of Non-Success

Successful completion6 of Front Door High Enrollment Courses Disaggregated by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

Fall, Spring and Summer Terms

See the Strategic Indicators Report on Student Progression (http://valenciacollege.edu/academic-affairs/institutional-effectiveness-planning/institutional-research/Reporting/Strategic-Indicators/documents/00-

SIR-StudProgression-20130829.pdf)


Increase New Student Progression to Key Academic Thresholds

Student Progression Tracked Over Time- Fall Cohort FTIC Degree-seekers: 15 Credits in 2 years, 30 Credits in 3 years, 45 Credits in 4 years, Graduate in 5 years

Yearly 15 Credits in 2 Yrs – 65.1% 30 Credits in 3 Yrs – 51.2% 45 Credits in 4 Yrs – 43.3% Graduate in 5 Yrs – 35.2%


6 For the purposes of Valencia’s Quality Enhancement Plan, the “successful completion” of Front Door High Enrollment Courses requires a grade of A, B, or C.

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Student Progression Tracked Over Time- Fall Cohort FTIC Degree-seekers: 15 Credits in 2 years, 30 Credits in 3 years, 45 Credits in 4 years, Graduate in 5 years. Disaggregated by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

Yearly 15 Credits in 2 Years African American Female – 53.9% African American Male – 50.0% Caucasian Female – 73.4% Caucasian Male – 62.9% Hispanic Female – 69.3% Hispanic Male – 62.7% 30 Credits in 3 Years African American Female – 41.7% African American Male –39.7% Caucasian Female – 60.6% Caucasian Male – 46.6% Hispanic Female – 53.4% Hispanic Male – 46.5% 45 Credits in 4 Years African American Female – 33.1% African American Male –31.2% Caucasian Female – 51.8% Caucasian Male – 40.0% Hispanic Female – 45.6% Hispanic Male – 37.8% Graduate in 5 Years African American Female – 25.8% African American Male –21.6% Caucasian Female – 41.1% Caucasian Male – 32.7% Hispanic Female – 37.6% Hispanic Male – 34.8%


Increase New Student Cohort Time to Degree Completion

Graduation Rates for Developmental Education Students7 -Fall Cohort FTIC Degree-seekers over 5 Years by Race/Ethnicity and Gender


Summer 2016

7 Given the recent changes to Developmental Education in the State of Florida, the definition of developmental education student will make it difficult to track their progression and graduation as

has been done in the past. The College Data Team will develop appropriate data definitions to track the progression of student who would formerly have been identified as developmental education students.

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(5 year graduation horizon)

Graduation Rates for College Ready Students-Fall Cohort FTIC Degree-seekers over 5 Years by Race/Ethnicity and Gender


Summer 2016

Increase New Student Cohort Rates of Degree Completion

Cumulative Completion Rates for Fall FTIC Degree‐seeking Students with at Least One Developmental Education Course Required

Yearly See the Strategic Indicators Report on Student Progression (http://valenciacollege.edu/academic-affairs/institutional-effectiveness-planning/institutional-research/Reporting/Strategic-Indicators/documents/00-


Summer 2016

Cumulative Completion Rates for Fall FTIC Degree-seeking College Ready Students Across Cohort Term

Yearly See the Strategic Indicators Report on Student Progression (http://valenciacollege.edu/academic-affairs/institutional-effectiveness-planning/institutional-research/Reporting/Strategic-Indicators/documents/00-


Summer 2016

Increase New Student Engagement

Community College Survey of Student Engagement – Academic Challenge (CCSSE benchmark data to be disaggregated by student self-reported credit hour accumulation and reflective of a college-wide oversample intended to reveal campus specific engagement data)

Spring of 2015, 2017, and 2018

Baseline measures for Academic Challenge established by participation in the survey in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 20011 (campus-based over sample), and 2013 (campus-based over sample)


Community College Survey of Student Engagement – Support for Learners (CCSSE benchmark data to be disaggregated by student self-reported credit hour accumulation and reflective of a college-wide oversample intended to reveal campus specific engagement data)

Spring of 2015, 2017, and 2018

Baseline measures for Support for Learners established by participation in the survey in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 20011 (campus-based over sample), and 2013 (campus-based over sample)


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8 Critical Thinking (CT); Ethical Responsibility (ER); Information Literacy (IL); Interpersonal Communication (IC)

9 SLO= Student Learning Outcome; SL=Student Outcome

Table 4. Programmatic Student Outcomes Valencia College – QEP Assessment Plan

Student Outcomes

Programmatic Integration

Data Description

Connection to

General Education Learning

Outcomes8

Data Collection Procedure Frequency Base-

line 1st QEP Results

Primary responsibility

for data collection and

reporting

Cur

ricul

ar

Co-

Cur

ricul

ar

(SLO

or

SL9 )

Dire

ct (D

) or

Indi

rect

(ID

) M

easu

re

Purpose - Students will create a personal purpose statement that outlines and articulates their values, goals, interests, and strengths in relation to their educational and career aspirations.

X X SLO D CT ER

Curricular NSE Course revision will create prescribed common assessments. Assessment procedures (the collection and the programmatic review of student artifacts) will be developed in accordance with Learning Assessment Committee standards. Co-Curricular NSE Career Readiness Certificate will include co-curricular measures of student learning.

Fall, Spring and Summer terms

Baseline to be determined in the NSE Pilot in Spring 2014

Fall term 2014

Campus Deans of Learning Support, the Deans of Students, Director of Institutional Assessment

Pathway - Students will choose an academic program aligned

X X SO ID N/A Fall, Spring and Summer terms

Baseline to be determined in the NSE

Fall term 2014

Campus Deans of Learning Support, the Deans of

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with their educational/career goals, interests, strengths, and values.

Pilot in Spring 2014

Students, Director of Institutional Assessment

Plan - Students will design an education plan that include goals for learning and a financial plan.

X X SLO SO

D ID

CT ER

Curricular NSE Course revision will create prescribed common assessments. Assessment procedures (the collection and the programmatic review of student artifacts) will be developed in accordance with Learning Assessment Committee standards. Co-Curricular NSE Career Readiness Passport will include co-curricular measures of student learning.



Fall term 2014


Indirect Measure

- Student development of My Education Plan (MEP)

- Tracking of student course enrollment patterns in relationship to their most recent MEP

Preparation - Students will apply college success skills.

X X SLO D IL ER

Curricular NSE Course revision will create prescribed common assessments.


Baseline to be determined in the

Fall term 2014

Campus Deans of Learning Support, the

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Assessment procedures (the collection and the programmatic review of student artifacts) will be developed in accordance with Learning Assessment Committee standards. Co-Curricular NSE Career Readiness Passport will include co-curricular measures of student learning.

NSE Pilot in Spring 2014

Deans of Students, Director of Institutional Assessment

Personal Connection - As a result of the New Student Experience Students will demonstrate effective communication skills with diverse groups.

X X SLO D IC Curricular NSE Course revision will create prescribed common assessments. Assessment procedures (the collection and the programmatic review of student artifacts) will be developed in accordance with Learning Assessment Committee standards. Co-Curricular NSE Career Readiness Passport will include co-curricular measures of student learning.



Fall term 2014


Place - Students will demonstrate awareness of college support systems.

X X SO ID N/A - Tracking of Valencia new student use of campus-based Learning Support Services. - Self-reported student


Baseline to be determined in the NSE Pilot in

Fall term 2014

Campus Deans of Learning Support, the Deans of Students,

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use of campus-based Learning Support Services – End of term Student Feedback on Instruction

Spring 2014

Director of Institutional Assessment

Students will demonstrate Increased Student Engagement

X X SLO ID N/A Term by Term comparison of data collected from the CCSSE Course Feedback Form (Link) administered in SLS 1122 and front door new student courses with the results of the CCSSE survey administered college-wide in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 20011 (campus-based over sample), and 2013 (campus-based over sample). CCCSSE will be administered in the Spring of 2015, 2017, and 2018 – CCSSE data to be disaggregated by student self-reported credit hour accumulation and reflective of a college-wide oversample intended to reveal campus specific engagement data.



Spring 2014


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Table 4. Measures of Implementation Valencia College – QEP Assessment Plan

Objective / Measure

Data Description Frequency 1st QEP Measures

Position(s) or Department(s) Primarily responsible for data collection and reporting

Improve the effectiveness of the implementation of the NSE (the student experience)

End of Term Student Feedback on Instruction survey results for pilot NSE course as compared to the existing Student Success course and other front door courses for new students.

Spring Spring 2014


End of Term Student Feedback on Instruction survey results for pilot NSE course at scale as compared to other front door courses for new students.

Fall, Spring and Summer

Fall 2014 Director of Institutional Assessment

Student Feedback Surveys for co-curricular activities associated with the Co-curricular Certificates

Fall, Spring Summer Fall 2013 (Lake Nona Pilot)


Focus groups focused on the student experience in the redesigned NSE course

Once a year during the duration of the QEP

Spring 2014


Focus groups focused on the student experience in co-curricular activities associated with the Co-curricular Certificates


Improve the effectiveness of the implement-tation of the NSE (the faculty /staff experi-ence)

Faculty Feedback Surveys for pilot NSE course Spring Spring 2014

Director of Institutional Assessment, Director of Faculty and Instructional Development

Faculty and Staff Feedback Surveys concerning faculty and staff development opportunities

Once per courses / certificate during the duration of the QEP

Spring 2014

Director of Institutional Assessment, Director of Faculty and Instructional Development

Focus groups focused on the faculty experience in the redesigned NSE course

Once a year during the duration of the QEP

Spring 2014


Focus groups focused on the faculty and experience with co-curricular student engagement activities


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Adams, C. J. (2003). Soft skills: Seen as key elements for higher ed. Education Digest,

78(6),18-22.

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Geleta, N. E., & Gilliam, J. (2003). An introduction to service-learning. In Teacher education

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Appendix 1 QEP PARTICIPANT LIST

First Last Campus Title CLC / CPC Reading

Circle Big Idea

Members Leaders Taskforce

QEP Leadership Team

Joyce Romano DTC VP, Student Affairs CLC/CPC Common Curricular Experience

Kurt Ewen DTC AVP, Institutional Effectiveness & Planning

CLC/CPC

Jamy Chulak West Professor, Respiratory Therapy Progression to Degree Readiness

Christina Hardin Osceola Professor, English Common Curricular Experience

Ed Holmes East Counselor, Student Services Co-Curricular Engagement

John Niss Winter Park Professor, Math X Introduction to Valencia QEP Core Team

Susan Ledlow DTC VP, Academic Affairs & Planning Progression to Degree Readiness

Joan Tiller DTC Interim VP, Academic Affairs

Landon Shepherd Osceola Dean of Learning Support Common Curricular Experience

Leonard Bass East Dean of Learning Support

Common Curricular Experience

Karen Reilly West Dean of Learning Support Common Curricular Experience

Macelle Cohon East Professor, English Karen Cowden West Professor, Reading

Jenny Hu Osceola Professor, Computer Programing & Analysis

Beth King West Librarian

Sonya Joseph Lake Nona AVP, Student Affairs Co-Curricular Engagement

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Karen Borglum DTC AVP, Curriculum & Articulation Progression to Degree Readiness

Cathy Penfold-Navarro West Project Director, Title III Common Curricular Experience

Wendi Dew East Director, Faculty & Instructional Development


Laura Blasi DTC Director, Institutional Assessment Common Curricular Experience

Daryl Davis West Institutional Research Analyst Amy Bosley CJI Interim VP, Human Resources

Lucy Boudet West VP, Marketing & Strategic Communications Introduction to Valencia

Senior Team

Joyce Romano DTC VP, Student Affairs CLC /CPC Common Curricular Experience

Carl Creasman East Professor, History CLC Introduction to Valencia

Stacey Johnson East Campus President CLC / CPC Progression to Degree Readiness

Susan Ledlow DTC VP, Academic Affairs & Planning CLC / CPC Progression to Degree Readiness

Kathleen Plinske Osceola Campus President CLC / CPC Common Curricular Experience

Bill White West Chief Information Officer CLC / CPC

Falecia Williams West Campus President CLC /CPC Common Curricular Experience

Joe Battista West Chief Operating Officer

Amy Bosley CJI AVP, Organizational Communication & Development

Co-Curricular Engagement

Lucy Boudet West VP, Marketing/Strategic Communications

Introduction to Valencia

Geraldine Gallagher DTC Foundation President & CEO Deidre Holmes DuBois Osceola Professor, Speech CPC

Keith Houck DTC / West VP, Operations & Finance CPC Common Curricular Experience

Bill Mullowney DTC VP, Policy/General Council Joan Tiller DTC Special Assistant to the President

Big Meeting 2012 Participants Matthew Abalos Osceola Coordinator, Internships

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Kristin Abel East Professor, Theater Technology CLC

Kim Adams DTC Administrative Assistant, Curriculum Development & Articulation

Ruby Alvarez West Professor, Nursing

Johnny Aplin East Coordinator, ATLAS Access Lab Progression to Degree Readiness

Alys Arceneaux West Analyst, Institutional Research Common Curricular Experience

Maryke Asbury Osceola Coordinator, Disability Support Services

Julie Balassa East Assistant Director, Disability Support Services


Anne Barreto West Academic Advisor, Student Services

Nicholas Bekas West Campus Dean, Academic Affairs Progression to Degree Readiness

Laura Blasi DTC Director, Institutional Assessment CLC Common Curricular Experience

Karen Blondeau West Director, Learning Resource Center Common Curricular Experience

Karen Borglum DTC AVP, Curriculum Development & Articulation

CLC Progression to Degree Readiness

Mike Bosley Lake Nona Executive Dean Common Curricular Experience

Joanna Branham East Fiscal Manager, Library Betty Bright East Adjunct Professor, IT

Robyn Brighton East Director, Curriculum Initiatives Common Curricular Experience

Valerie Burks West Director, Honors Tullio Bushrui West Counselor, Student Services Jenni Campbell Osceola Dean, Communications/Humanities

Catherine Campbell DTC Specialist, Career & Workforce Education

Jenny Charriez CJI Director, Employee Development Progression to Degree Readiness

Chris Christensen West Director, Financial Aid Services Introduction to Valencia Kristeen Christian East AVP, Resource Development Karen Conners East Adjunct Penny Conners West Dean, Allied Health Introduction to Valencia

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Carl Creasman East Professor, History CLC Introduction to Valencia Jodi Criner West Administrative Assistant, Fine Arts

Marilyn Curall West Professor, English

Diane Dalrymple East Librarian

Donna Deitrick West Staff Assistant I, Educator Prep Institute (EPI)

CPC Co-Curricular Engagement

Wendi Dew East Director, Faculty & Instructional Development


Aida Diaz West Professor, Spanish X Introduction to Valencia

Carmen Diaz West Coordinator, Internships Co-Curricular Engagement

Suzette Dohany Winter Park Professor, Speech Lynn Dorn East Dean, Science Introduction to Valencia Susan Dunn Winter Park Manager, Credit Programs CLC Daniel Dutkofski Osceola Dean, Fine Arts

Lisa Eli Osceola Managing Director, Continuing Education International


Michal Ewing West Support Specialist, Institutional Research

Kimberly Finley West Academic Advisor, Dean of Students WEC

Shelby Fiorentino West Coordinator, ATLAS Access Lab

Linda Firmani Winter Park Counselor, Student Services Common Curricular Experience

Kimberly Foster Osceola Manager, Learning Support Services

Michelle Foster East Campus Dean, Academic Affairs Progression to Degree Readiness

Charles Fox West Assistant Director, Faculty & Instructional Development

Mildred Franceschi West Dean, Business

Barbara Frazier DTC / West Director, Workplace Learning/Placement

Progression to Degree Readiness

Jean Marie Führman Winter Park Professor, Reading CPC

Becky Gallop West Director, Conferencing & College Events

Debbie Garrison East Professor, Math CLC

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Claudia Genovese-Martinez West Professor, Math

Elisha Gonzalez Bonnewitz

DTC Professional Staff Representative CLC

Damion Hammock Winter Park Faculty Senate President, Winter Park CLC /CPC

Stacey Johnson East Campus President CLC / CPC Progression to Degree Readiness

Susan Ledlow DTC VP, Academic Affairs & Planning CLC / CPC Progression to Degree Readiness

Maryke Lee East Dean, Math CLC Progression to Degree Readiness

Kari Makepeace DTC Executive Assistant, Academic Affairs & Planning

CLC Introduction to Valencia

Michele McArdle Winter Park Executive Dean CLC Common Curricular Experience

Rob McCaffrey East Professor, Digital Media CLC / CPC Progression to Degree Readiness

John McFarland Osceola Faculty Senate President, Osceola CLC / CPC Diane Orsini West Faculty Senate President, West CLC

Kathleen Plinske Osceola Campus President CLC / CPC Common Curricular Experience

Robin Poole West Professor, Dental Hygiene CLC

Cheryl Robinson Winter Park Dean of Students CLC Co-Curricular Engagement

Irina Struganova West Professor, Physics CLC Bill White West Chief Information Officer CLC / CPC

Falecia Williams West Campus President CLC /CPC Common Curricular Experience

Wendy Givoglu East Dean, Arts/Entertainment Common Curricular Experience

Leslie Golden DTC Assistant General Counsel

Jeff Goltz CJI Director, Criminal Justice Institute Common Curricular Experience

Carin Gordon East Dean, Business, IT & Public Services Al Groccia Osceola Professor, Math

Barbara Halstead DTC Executive Assistant, President's Office

Kitty Christensen West Professor, Dental Hygiene

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Kathy Hauser West Manager, Campus Operations Nasser Hedayat DTC AVP, Career & Workforce Education

Larry Herndon West Professor, Student Life Skills (SLS) Common Curricular Experience

Jeff Hogan West Functional IS Support Specialist Debra Hollister Lake Nona Professor, Psychology Todd Hunt West Director, College Bookstore

Dale Husbands Osceola Dean, Business & Information Technology

CPC

Nichole Jackson East Professor, Humanities Co-Curricular Engagement

Debi Jakubcin East Coordinator, Employee Development Ty Johnson West Deans of Students Coleen Jones Osc Professor, Office Systems Technology

LeSena Jones DTC Manager, Career & Workforce Education

Sonya Joseph Lake Nona AVP, Student Affairs X Co-Curricular Engagement

Elizabeth Jusino East Coordinator, Career Program Advisor Progression to Degree Readiness

Celine Kavalec-Miller East Director, Teaching/Learning Academy (TLA)

Co Curricular Engagement

Beth King West Librarian Common Curricular Experience

Jessica King DTC Administrative Assistant, Institutional Assessment

Donna Kosloski West Analyst, Institutional Research Progression to Degree Readiness

Deborah Larew EC Director, Students with Disabilities Joe Livingston CJI AVP, Human Resources Helene Loiselle CJI AVP, Facilities & Sustainability

Tom Lopez West AVP, Safety/Security Risk Management

Rachel Luce-Hitt CJI Coordinator, Diversity & Inclusion Mabel Machin Osceola Professor Brian Macon Lake Nona Professor, Math

Lisa Macon West Dean, Architecture, Engineering/Technology


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Jane Maguire East Professor, Reading Common Curricular Experience

Noelia Maldonado DTC Support Specialist, Planning

Adrian Manley West Counselor, Student Services Common Curricular Experience

Donna Marino DTC Coordinator, Donor Relations Lee Maryke East Dean, Math Susan Matthews West Professor, Biology

James May East Professor, English Common Curricular Experience

Marjorie McKillop West Student Services Advisor, Dean of Students WEC

Carolyn McMorran West Managing Director, Continuing Education

Edward Moore Foundation Board Director Katherine Moore Winter Park Director, Learning Resource Center

Jocelyn Morales East Counselor, Student Services Common Curricular Experience

Joshua Murdock West Instructional Designer, IT Linda Neal East Dean, Communications Erin O'Brien East Professor, English

Jyoti Pande East Assistant Director, Faculty & Instructional Development

Della Paul East Dean, Communications Cathy Penfold Navarro West Director, Pathways Title III Introduction to Valencia Paula Pritchard West Dean, Nursing Yasmeen Qadri East Professor, Education

Terry Rafter-Carles East Professor, Student Life Skills (SLS) Common Curricular Experience

Andy Ray West Professor, Building Construction Technology


Gerald Reed West Programmer/Analyst, OIT CPC Common Curricular Experience

Beth Renn West Dean, Communications/Humanities Introduction to Valencia

Jennifer Robertson DTC Director, Study Abroad & Global Experience (SAGE)

Bianca Rodriguez West Professor

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Susan Russo Osceola Technical Document Specialist Senior, Admissions & Records

Barbara Shell East Assistant Director, Community Relations

Liza Shellpfeffer East Professor, Speech

Landon Shephard Osceola Campus Dean, Learning Support Common Curricular Experience

Sandy Shugart DTC College President

Renee Simpson West AVP, Admissions & Records Progression to Degree Readiness

Patti Smith West Assistant Chief Information Officer Undria Stalling West Internal Auditor

Jackie Starren Osceola Professor, Humanities Common Curricular Experience

Stan Stone CJI VP, Human Resources David Sutton East Dean, Humanities/Foreign Language CPC Jillian Szentmiklosi Osceola Dean of Students Introduction to Valencia Russell Takashima West Dean, Math Introduction to Valencia Steven Thiesse East Manager, Student Services Carol Traynor West Senior Manager, Public Relations Summer Trazzaera East Professor, Reading Erin Tuttle CJI Coordinator, Supervisor Development Introduction to Valencia

Jorge Valladares East Coordinator, Disability Support Services

Linda Vance East Dean, Student Services Myrna Villanueva DTC Special Assistant to the President Carla Walker Lake Nona Professor, English Dennis Weeks East Professor, Library Jane Wiese East Professor, Accounting Martha Williams CJI AVP, Diversity & Inclusion Introduction to Valencia Bobbi Willoughby CJI Specialist, Human Resources

Janice Wood DTC Administrative Assistant, Institutional Effectiveness & Planning

Allie Yadav East Grants Manager, Resource Development

Chara Young CJI Director, Organizational Communication

Progression to Degree Readiness

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Appendix 2

Big Meeting 2012 Tuesday, June 12, 2012 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

West Campus, Special Events Center ANNOTATED AGENDA

Goals for the Day:

§ Review the Progress of Goals & Objectives of the Strategic Plan 2008-2015 § Review Campus Plans and their Relationship to the Strategic Plan § Develop Broad Themes/Clusters for the Reflection of the Quality Enhancement Plan

(QEP) 8:00 a.m. Registration, Continental Breakfast & Networking (30)

8:30 a.m. Welcome & Introductions (15) o Joan to do welcome and introduce Jean Marie o Jean Marie to ask CPC members to stand, and thank

them for their support and work all year o Jean Marie to ask everyone to introduce themselves at

each table o Joan to discuss overview of the day

Joan Tiller Jean Marie Führman

8:45 a.m. National Agenda (30) (Suggested) o Completion o Accelerated Learning o First-Year Experience, Progression, Second-Year

Experience o Advising Models o Financing Cost of Higher Education

Joyce Romano Sandy Shugart

9:15 a.m. Recognition – Champion Awards (15) (notes on separate page) o Karen Borglum will assist Dr. Shugart o We want everyone to stand who’s been involved, such

as: Reach, Developmental Math, Bridges, SL, LinC. o Some of our leaders of Developmental Education

Initiative (DEI) are: o Nicholas Bekas – Pen o 4 Faculty Leaders: Marilyn Curall, Al Groccia,

Summer Trazzera, Mia Pierre – Bookends (info on separate page)

Sandy Shugart

9:30 a.m. Strategic Plan 2008-2015 (30) • Report on Progress of Goals & Objectives

o Kurt to present with 2011 Goal Team Representatives:

Kurt Ewen Joyce Romano John Niss

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o Joyce Romano #1, John Niss #2, o Amy Bosley #3, Lucy Boudet #4 o Reference Handout of old and new/changed objectives o Ask to respond to suggested changes on Form in packet o Pause for any responses to new or changed objectives o Collect Response form at 2 tables each - Assist: Barbara,

Cathy, Janice, Jean Marie, Jessica, Joan, Karen, Kim, Kris, Laura, LeSena, Nasser, Noelia – Each one Summarize Responses

Amy Bosley Lucy Boudet

10:00 a.m. Break (15) o Joan will give directions to regroup

o Ask everyone to regroup – to the best of their ability – so there is a mix of representing Career, Faculty, Professional, and Administrative staff at each table

o The table with the best mix will get a prize

10:15 a.m. Campus Plans (60) • East/Winter Park Campuses (20) • Osceola/Lake Nona Campuses (20) • West Campus (20)

o Power Point Slides “Overview of Underlying Themes,” and of 20 minutes, allow 5 minutes for Q&A for each campus.

Dave Sutton Michele McArdle Kathleen Plinske Falecia Williams

11:15 a.m. Discussion – What are the Connections… (45) o Ask each table to discuss and write ideas on big diagram

poster on tables; include themes that they heard in the discussion that morning

Joyce Romano

12:00 p.m. Lunch & Networking (60) o Joan to announce lunch and that posters will be picked

up o Give directions for accessing lunch

o Staff to pick up posters and post on walls: Barbara, Jessica, Janice, Gisela, Cathy, Patty, Jessica, Kim, Noelia, Kurt, Joyce, Karen, Lesena, Kris, Nasser, Laura, Barbara, Joan, Jean Marie

o Distribute One-sheet per table handout for “Top 3 Themes”

1:00 p.m. Walkabout with Someone Else (30) o Ask everyone to pair up with another person to walk

around the room and record themes they see on the posters

Joan Tiller

1:30 p.m. Overview on Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) (45) o Kurt to present with 4 QEP Faculty Leaders:

Christina Hardin, Ed Holmes, John Niss, Kitty Harkleroad o Handout in packet

Kurt Ewen Christina Hardin Ed Holmes John Niss Kitty Harkleroad

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2:15 p.m. Next Big Idea (60 = 30+30) o 30 minutes to discuss at each table the themes that

everyone had written down, and identify three top themes from each table

o Place “Theme Form” on Tables (1 per table) (Noelia & Gisela)

o 30 minutes to share with the room top three themes per table. When shared, type theme(s) to view on 4 screens

o When one table shares, ask others in the room if they have the same theme – show of hands to record. Ask tables to share other themes not previously mentioned.

o Campus Presidents to assist with microphones o Joyce and Kurt to work with Joan & Jean Marie to identify

themes to be typed on screen o Count how many identified each of the same themes –

type on the screen o 3:10 pm - Pick up pages of top three themes from each

table o

Joan Tiller Jean Marie Führman

3:15 p.m. Direction & Connection (15) o How the themes connect with the progression of the day o Share what’s next:

o Continued discussion with senior team and QEP team

o Reminders about Reading Circles (Slide) o Remind of planning discussion in the fall

o This is an example of how innovation emerges o Invite room to celebration and remind of

accomplishments

Sandy Shugart

3:30 p.m. Celebration Party (30) o Reference Noteworthy tent cards…”I’m sure you can

think of many others…” o Enjoy ice cream and networking

Sandy Shugart

4:00 p.m. Adjourn – Thank you for your participation!

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Appendix 3 Big Idea Group (BIG) Questions

The New Student Experience

• The Big Idea:

To support learning, students need a holistic first-year experience that is academically and socially engaging while providing connection and direction.

• Questions to consider:

1. What do the data tell us about the success of our New Students? 2. What would need to be different at Valencia for our students to have a

coordinated new student experience? 3. What role might technology play in helping our students to have a coordinated

new student experience? 4. What impact might limited resources have on a student’s ability to have a

coordinated new student experience?

• Discussion points to consider:

1. How to create the right conditions (curricular and co-curricular) to ensure student learning success in the first-year.

2. Design of a systemic approach to integrating LifeMap College Success Skills into the first-year experience.

3. Design of a common student experience/ introduction to Valencia which is focused on student success.

4. Renewal/expansion of the commitment to “direction and connection” while exploring emerging big ideas of navigation and purpose.

Student Learning

• The emerging idea:

More than any other time in history, student learning can happen anywhere and at any time. Changes in the conditions for student learning require that we think differently about how we engage students in the learning process.


1. What do the data tell us about student learning at Valencia? 2. How have the conditions for student learning changed? What do these changes

suggest about adjustments we should make in the ways we engage students in the learning process?

3. What is Valencia currently doing to help students learn? Approximately how many are impacted on an annual basis? Do we have any evidence about the effectiveness of these efforts?

4. What would need to be different about the student experience at Valencia for all of our students to learn more?

5. What role might technology play in helping students learn? 6. What impact might limited resources have on a student’s ability to learn?

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Student Navigation


To be successful, Valencia students not only need an educational plan, but they also need clear and specific directions for navigating the demands of college.


1. What do the data tell us about the ability of our students to navigate college? 2. What is Valencia currently doing to help navigate the demands of college?

Approximately how many are impacted on an annual basis? Do we have any evidence about the effectiveness of these efforts?

3. What would need to be different about the student experience at Valencia for students to get the navigation help they need?

4. What role might technology play in helping students find the navigation they need to be successful in college?

5. What impact might limited resources have on a student’s ability to navigate college?

Student Purpose


Students with some sense of their purpose in life and in college are more likely to be engaged, to learn and to succeed in college.


1. What do the data tell us about the relationship between student purpose and students’ success in college?

2. How does a student develop purpose in life and in college? 3. What is Valencia currently doing to help students discover their purpose in life?

Do we have any evidence about the effectiveness of these efforts? 4. What would need to be different about the student experience at Valencia for

more of our students to discover their purpose? 5. What role might technology play in helping students develop purpose? 6. What impact might limited resources have on a student’s ability to find purpose?

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Appendix 4

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Appendix 5

QEP Student Forums: Emerging Big Ideas

New Student Experience Focus Group Questions - Osceola Campus

1. Think about your experience as a brand new Valencia Student (whenever that may have been), in terms of interactions with Valencia.

a. What were your biggest challenges? b. What were your biggest successes?

2. What were your biggest challenges during the year of being a Valencia student? 3. What resources at Valencia did you utilize to help you during your first semester and

year at Valencia? 4. What kind of support from Valencia do you wish you had access to during your first

semester and year at Valencia? 5. How could Valencia improve the year experience for students? Be specific. 6. Did you feel like part of the college community when you first started as a student at

Valencia? If not, what would have made you feel like part of the college community? 7. What resources, skills, or information do you believe every student needs to be

successful during his/her first semester and year of college? 8. If you could design a “Tools for New Students” class for all new Valencia students to

take, what would students learn in that class?

Student Learning Focus Group Questions - Winter Park Campus

1. List the top 5 ways you have had learning experiences through Valencia not in the traditional face-to-face, in-class situation. List more if desired but prioritize the top 5.

2. List the top 5 things you have learned at Valencia other than traditional academic skills and information. List more if desired but prioritize the top 5.

3. What interactions have you had with Valencia where you did not learn as much as you could or should have learned? Be as specific as possible, particularly considering learning outside coursework.

4. Are there ways that technology could be used to improve the how students interact with the college and student learning in and out of class?

Student Navigation Focus Group Questions - East Campus

1. What advice would you give a new student to Valencia to help him/her navigate the college?

2. How would you describe your experience with Atlas and the Valencia web site? 3. What would you do to find out about college programs, graduation requirements and

other college information? 4. How has your experience been working with Student Affairs (e.g., Student Services,

Answer Center, tutoring, Financial Aid, etc.)? 5. Do you feel Valencia professors listen to or understand your needs? 6. In what ways do you normally communicate with Valencia staff/professors?

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7. If you have used extra support outside of the classroom, tell us what has been your experience? (e.g. Tutoring, Supplemental Learning (Supplemental Learning, Math Center, SPA)

8. Do you believe Valencia has prepared you to move onto either a university or career? If yes or no why?

Student Purpose Focus Group Questions - West Campus

1. What is your purpose for being at Valencia College? 2. What is your purpose in life? 3. Why is having a purpose in college and in life important? 4. How does having a clear purpose for being at Valencia College make you more

successful in life? 5. What is Valencia College currently doing to help you discover or refine your purpose? 6. What could Valencia College do differently to help you discover or refine your life and

academic purposes? 7. What role does technology play in helping you develop or refine your purpose? 8. How do limited resources (financial, emotional, mental, physical, role models, knowledge

of hidden rules, coping strategies) impact your ability to find or refine purpose?

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Appendix 6 Metamajor Flavors by Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring Summer NSE Course Basic

Design Pilot 50% Scale

185 new sections

100% Scale

185 new sections

NSE Course Meta Major Business - Pathways Design Pilot Scale Health Sciences - Nursing Pathways Design Pilot Scale STEM - LSAMP Design Pilot Scale Education Design Pilot Scale Social Sci/Hum Services Design Pilot Scale Human/Commun Design Pilot Public Safety Design Manufact/Construct NSE Course AS Integrate Infor Tech - 2 Design Pilot Scale Arts & Entertainment - 5 Design Pilot Scale CJ Tech/Paralegal/Fire - 3 Design Pilot Scale Eng Tech - 5 Design Pilot Scale Business/Acctng/Office - 5 Design Pilot Scale Hosp & Culinary - 4 Design Pilot Nursing - 1 Design Allied Health - 8 Design Land & Hort -1

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Metamajor Flavors by Year 2017 2018 Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring Summer NSE Course Basic NSE Course Meta Major Business - Pathways Health Sciences - Nursing Pathways STEM - LSAMP Education Social Sci/Hum Services Human/Commun Scale Public Safety Pilot Scale Manufact/Construct Design Pilot Scale NSE Course AS Integrate Infor Tech - 2 Arts & Entertainment - 5 CJ Tech/Paralegal/Fire - 3 Eng Tech - 5 Business/Acctng/Office - 5 Hosp & Culinary - 4 Scale Nursing - 1 Pilot Scale Allied Health - 8 Pilot Scale Land & Hort -1 Design Pilot Scale

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Appendix 7 Essential Competencies of a Valencia Educator

Assessment Valencia educators will develop student growth through consistent, timely formative and summative measures, and promote students’ abilities to self-assess. Assessment practices will invite student feedback on the teaching and learning process as well as on student achievement. Inclusion & Diversity Valencia educators will design learning opportunities that acknowledge, draw upon and are enriched by student diversity. An atmosphere of inclusion and understanding will be promoted in all learning environments. Learning-centered Teaching Strategies Valencia educators will implement diverse teaching and learning strategies that accommodate the learning styles of students and that promote both acquisition and applications of knowledge and understanding.

LifeMap Valencia educators will design learning opportunities that promote student life skills development while enhancing discipline learning. Through intentional inclusion of growth-promoting strategies, instructors, counselors and librarians will facilitate the students’ reflection, knowledge, and appreciation for self and others; gradual assumption of responsibility for making informed decisions; and formulation and execution of their educational, career, and life plans. As a result, students can transfer those life skills to continued learning and planning in their academic, personal, and professional endeavors.

Outcomes-based Practice Valencia educators will design curriculum that aligns elements of student learning toward growth in the Student Core Competencies and progression through course sequences, by the demonstration of Program Learning Outcomes.

The goal of outcomes-based practice is student learning. The two key questions posed are “What will the students be able to know or do?” and “How will you know they can do it?”

Valencia has established “what students should know or do” upon their graduation through the Student Core Competencies (Think, Value, Communicate & Act) and Program Learning Outcomes (e.g., General Education Outcomes, AS, AA, Honors, Certificate Programs, etc.). Valencia educators will facilitate student growth in the Student Core Competencies to include thinking critically and creatively across different contexts and domains of human understanding; communicating effectively in different modes and across different settings; articulating and applying personal values, values of various disciplines, and values of others; and applying learning and understanding effectively and responsibly in their lives as students and educated adults. Valencia educators also will facilitate educational growth in and demonstration of essential knowledge, abilities, attitudes and/or dispositions as articulated in Program Learning Outcomes.

Professional Commitment Valencia educators will stay current and continually improve their knowledge and understanding of their discipline. They will participate in activities that promote Valencia’s learning mission, including serving on campus and college-wide groups, attending professional conferences, and/or participating in other community organizations.

Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Valencia educators will continuously examine the effectiveness of their teaching, counseling, librarianship and assessment methodologies in terms of student learning. They also will keep abreast of the current scholarship in the fields of teaching and learning.

Documents

Quality Enhancement Plan