Check the website of the community college as the institutions may have continuous improvement review information posted. Dr. Jill Biden chaired the first White House Summit on Community Colleges on October 5, 2010. According to the White House, community colleges enroll over eight million students annually, making them the greatest component of higher education. The challenges community colleges must contend with are the difficulties of effectively implementing programs while being subjected to reductions in the state budget.
Read the data about the continuous improvement evaluation, if available. For example, Moraine Valley Community College, located in Palos Hills, Ill., created the DRIVE Continuous Improvement Tool, which includes five segments-define, review, implement, evaluate and integrate. Two editions of the DRIVE tool are used for instructional and non-instructional purposes, respectively.
Find out whether the community college recognizes the efforts of its employees who participate in continuous improvement review. One of the colleges in Ohio, Columbus State Community College, offered a monetary Continuous Improvement Team Award in 2011. Selected strategic planning goals of the teams are technology support, community building and financial stewardship.
Determine whether the community college uses a scorecard as a guidepost for continuous improvement. Rochester Community and Technical College in Minnesota, for instance, refers to a Balanced Scorecard, which assesses continuous improvement according to four perspectives - learning, stakeholder, culture and financial. The scorecard also cites key performance indicators.
Learn about the Academic Quality Improvement Program re-accreditation process. The Higher Learning Commission must first accredit colleges, and they must participate in subsequently review for re-accreditation. Moraine Valley Community College targets three main areas in conjunction with AQIP review, including institutional effectiveness, improving student learning, student development and Student Success, and diversity and inclusion. Selected indicators of quality improvement pertain to making course offerings and campus services available to students and the community at large and the evaluation of online instruction.