Practice and Policy Checklist - Completed

8/4/2019 Practice and Policy Checklist - Completed

1/18

Practice and Policy Checklist

Institutional Practice/Policy Area

Examples of Policy

Questions/Institutional Statements NECC Strengths NECC Gaps

Academic Advising Regular contact with a consistentadvisor/counselor to develop and

monitor each students education

plan.

Students do have regular contact withadvisors.

Those assigned to faculty members

have consistent contact with same

advisor unless student change majors.

Students on Academic Suspension

have assigned advisors

No mandatory Academic Plan inplace

Academic Planning Mandatory process for students to

plan degree/certificate programs.

The college does not have

mandatory Career Planning and

Advising in place.

Access to Technology Availability of computer resources,

including open labs, at timesmatching student schedules.

Corporate discounts for student

purchases.

NECC has 35 computer labs across 3

campuses. 7 are dedicated to Reading,Writing, Math, ESL, tutoring, and

testing. 25 are dedicated reserved for

teaching and testing. 2 are Mac labs, all

others are PC labs.

1 computer lab in Lawrence (21 seats)

and 1 computer lab in Haverhill (50

seats) are dedicated for student walk-in.

Walk-in labs are open Monday

Thursday 8:00am - 10:00pm, Friday

8:00am 9:00pm and Saturday 8:00am

3:45pm.

Because so many of our classes are

scheduled weekdays before noon, andmore faculty request computer lab

time for their classes each semester,

we are not always able to

accommodate every request.

Admissions Cycle Cut-off dates for admissions either toinstitution or specific programs Programs with specific admissionscriteria do exercise cutoff dates

Open access programs have no cut

off Dates

Open Access extends too far into thestart of the semester. Should end

during add drop.

No new students should be allowed

to register after Drop/Add including

courses offered 2nd half of semester.

Students after placement

assessments are no longer available or

who need financial aid and have not

applied in time to have an award in

place at the beginning of classes are

encouraged to begin classes the next

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available semester or summer session.

Assessment/

Placement

On-going evaluation of efficiency of

cut scores, and periodic evaluation of

the appropriateness of the placement

instrument itself. Recognition of

need for prompt feedback to studentsand faculty.

Cut scores for college level

proficiencies are established by the

State Board of High Education. These

scores are standardized across all state

colleges in Massachusetts.Cut scores within the developmental

reading, writing, and math sequence are

continuously evaluated by faculty and

are adjusted as needed.

Borderline placements in

developmental reading and math are

further validated by subsequent re-

testing

The battery of Assessment instruments

for ESL has recently been improved to

include the LOEP. The LOEP was

piloted with est. 500 students beforeimplementation.

Results for Math and Reading are

available to students and advisors

within 45 minutes after testing.

Turn around time for writing

assessment results may take as long as

two weeks, depending on the time of

year.

Writing samples are difficult to trackas they are passed between evaluators

for further review.

Bilingual Intake Services Access to college admissions

processes for non-English fluent

students.

There are bilingual staff at the

Welcome Desks and in the Career

Counseling and Advising Centers on

both campuses.

ESL advisors help with the placement

and registration of ESL students

Some admissions materials are inSpanish

Only Spanish/English bilingual staff;

other languages not represented

Website is only in English. Basic

information should be translated into

other languages for easier initial

student access

Campus Climate Recognition of the value of all

learners to the campus, zero tolerance

for aggression based on race,

ethnicity, income status, and other

characteristics.

Mission clearly reflects value of all

learners to the campus

Student Code of Conduct clearly

delineates zero tolerance offenses

CCSSE results point to students

Climate could be more appealing to

students of color with more minority

faculty on board

Increase organized mentoring

opportunities for Latino students

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satisfaction with campus climate

PACE/Title V, NCBI, Clubs &

Athletics

Awareness/understanding/response

across faculty of obstacles/crises faced

by students

Career Development Services that assist student to develop

clear, realistic aspirations for future

work. This area should becoordinated with academic planning

and counseling.

The college has staff with expertise inthis particular area.

Increased cross training of all staffwithin CPAC is in progress the result of

which will be enhanced expertise across

specialty areas, i.e. all staff whether will

be able to discuss with students how to

plan whether academic or career and

the intersection of the two.

The coordination of Career Planning

and Academic Advising (counseling)

is just taking form. Much work isneeded in this area. However there

are indications that the newly

implemented integration of operations

within the Haverhill Career Planning

and Advising Center is taking hold

towards the realization of a true One-

Stop Model wherein everyone does (at

least some) of everything providing

services to students.

Childcare Provision of care for students

dependent children, especiallychildren of single parents.

Both campuses have on-site childcare

with students children as first priorityplacements.

Childcare centers serve as practicum

sites for ECE students under apt

supervision.

Childcare is discounted for students,

subsidized slots are available;

evening /Saturday hours in Lawrence

Data and monitoring of student,

faculty/staff usage was not reliablefrom vendor.

Contract had not been re-bid in 10

years. (currently in progress).

Community-Based Organization

(CBO) Links

Working agreements with CBOs

who are often the first point of

contact with higher education for

low-income students/students of

color.

Dedicated position in Lawrence to

CBO outreach, increased visibility in

community.

LCW, Notre Dame, churches, GLCAC

Participation on several communitypartnerships, task forces, host site for

Upward Bound, HERC, others.

CSL taking root.

Efforts are not always formalized,

clearly articulated and tracked.

At times NECC may be viewed as a

competitor to community-based

efforts or as not integrated withcommunity.

Mission and boundaries of NECC

services not understood by all

stakeholders.

Comprehensiveness of Student

Services

How well do academic guidance and

counseling, academic support,

personal guidance and counseling,

career counseling and supplemental

services function together?

All of these services exist and students

benefit from all of them.

Staff in these areas are aware of the

relative functions of each area and some

referral occurs

There are Gaps as far as inclusive

consistent training of staff and sharing

of information.

In some areas there exist too much

seclusion.

More sharing is needed for the

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benefit of our students.

Continuous Quality Improvement Use of data, information, and

evaluation to accelerate success rates

for low-income/students of color

students that is part of a quality cycle

leading to improved instruction,support programs, and services.

The college has an institutionalized

process for the continuous evaluation of

Institutional Effectiveness (IE).

The IE process evaluates KPIs for

student success across several variables,including income and ethnicity.

The evaluation process includes

annual reports from all areas of the

college, including academic areas, as

well as student services.

Reports include updates on continuous

improvements in relation to the targeted

KPIs.

We are in process of better

integrating the IE cycles within

institutional planning processes, such

as the Strategic Directions, the Perkins

Five Year Plan, the Academic MasterPlan, and the Achieving the Dream

initiative.

Counseling (Personal Guidance) Services that are distinct from

advising that provide emotional and

personal support for education

success.

A lot of personal guidance happens in

successful work-study placements.

Social Services aspect of Joselyn

Martes position PACE model of support.

Mentoring and peer groups like the

Law. Book club, Womens Support

Network, Mentor w/male athletes.

Student Engagement Center

One Social Service staff for both

campuses leaves problems to be dealt

with by untrained staff.

Training gaps for staff and facultyaround where to refer students,

although the information is out there.

Curricular Alignment Alignment of competencies between

basic skills/ESL programs and

collegiate-level classes to bridge gapsand ensure seamless movement of

students.

Significant efforts have been made to

align the skills between ESL and

Developmental Reading and WritingClear alignment of skills exists

between Basic Writing and Comp 1

supported by data.

Developmental Algebra curriculum

was recently realigned in collaboration

with the Math Dept.

Success of Developmental students in

gatekeeper courses as seen in the KPIs

is further evidence that the skills needed

for success have been established.

More needs to be done to align ESL

with Developmental Math.

Some collaboration between theDevelopmental reading and the

content areas has occurred

especially through LCs but the exit

from reading to the content courses is

more broad based and therefore more

difficult to establish or address. This

needs to be improved.

Some topics in Developmental Math

courses are not emphasized as much

as they could be because of the time

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constraints of the semester.

Degree Auditing Availability of student progress

toward degree checks after

completion of a threshold number of

credit hours.

The college instituted automated

Degree Audit 1.5 years ago.

Students can also perform a WHAT IF

Analysis-checking progress towards a

degree or certificate other than the onein which they are not matriculated.

Students can use the system at any

point in their academic career at NECC.

Diversity Institutional statements and other

evidence recognizing the importance

of diversity in multi-cultural/racial

society.

The College recognizes and supports

the celebration of the Hispanic week.

The college supports the ESL learning

social club where Hispanic instructors

develop several activities in/out the

classroom for the ESL students.

There is an effort to hire more

minority faculty and staff reflecting the

diverse population of the college.

The need for multicultural

clubs/organizations that will include

faculty and students to promote and/or

support cultural and social activities.The need to integrate ESL students

with the rest of the college

community. (note: sometimes ESL

students are seen as outsiders; many

college activities do not include them;in Lawrence they are even more

segregated since most, if not all the

ESL classes are on a separate

building).

Engagement Strategies for Low-

Income/students of color Students

Existence of purposeful strategies for

low-income students/student of color

that increase their interactions with

the college in ways that are

culturally-sensitive

Northern Essex has a number of

programs which are purposefully

designed to increase retention by

fostering student engagement.

Such programs include:

A comprehensive network of support

services for athletes;

Retention and early interventionstrategies for students enrolled in

extracurricular organizations and clubs;

The TRIO funded PACE project

(Pathways to Academic and Career

Excellence).

PACE was one of nine programs

nationwide which was recently

identified by the US Dept of Ed as a

national model for outstanding retention

practices for low income, first

Many of our most effective student

engagement strategies are happening

in specialized programs or grants.

There is a need to take what we have

learned from successful programs

such as PACE, and begin to

institutionalized these services to

benefit all students.

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generation students.

English as a Second Language

Programs

Availability of instruction and

programming to increase language

acquisition skills for limited-English

students.

The students that transition from ESL

have strong English oral and written

skills, sometimes higher than native

speaker students. Students with difficulty in A&P may

receive tutorials in English/Spanish.

Many ESL students have the

opportunity to participate from college

level seminars and lectures increasing

their English skills confidence.

On the process of revising the

competencies and requirements for the

Human Nutrition and Health course and

lab so upper level ESL students can take

it.

Tutorials in Spanish/English are

limited to A&P only.

Not all students have the opportunity

to experience college levelseminars.

Students spend so much time in ESL

that they become discouraged and

leave the college without completing a

degree.

The need for more college level

courses with competencies that ESL

students can meet

Enrollment Management Targets established for low-income

student recruitment and retention and

corresponding support practices

(similar to those depicted in this

checklist).

Supporting low income students has

been greatly enhanced with the

improvement of processes for awarding

financial aid packages to new and

returning students.

The colleges federally funded (TRIO)

Student Support Services project targets

low income students and providing

them with additional services to

enhance their persistence through

graduation and transfer to four year

colleges.Services include tutoring, academic

survival skills workshops, cultural

enrichment and other activities.

Specific recruiting is done to identify

prospective students from ABE, GED,

homeless shelters, halfway houses,

treatment centers, alternative programs,

clients of the Massachusetts Department

of Transitional Assistance, after-school

programs for low income high school

Enhanced relations between the

colleges and the communities that it

serves, particularly those in Lawrence

will lead to more targeted recruitment

of low-income students who might not

ordinarily see college as an option.

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students, TRIO programs for low

income and first generation college

attending students, county and federal

corrections institutions/agencies.

Exit Criteria for the Developmental

Education program

Specification of competencies

required by DevelopmentalEducation completers to succeed in

college-level programs. Evidence of

correspondence with competencies

specified in college-level programs

Exit competencies addressing these

skills are well defined in the OutcomesAssessment Documents for all of the

Developmental courses.

Developmental reading, writing, and

math exit criteria correspond with (or

exceed) the state-wide college entrance

guidelines recognized by the Mass.

Board of Higher Education.

Content area faculty may not be

aware of these exit competencies this should be improved.

Exit Criteria for the ESL program Specification of competencies

required by Basic Skills/ESL

completers to succeed in college-

level programs. Evidence ofcorrespondence with competencies

specified in college-level programs

Exit criteria are clearly stated in

course syllabi for exit-level courses

Exit competencies are aligned with

proficiencies for developmental readingand writing courses

Exit criteria should be clearly stated

in college catalog and advising

handbook

Exit criteria should include a coursegrade which reflects specific

competencies and should not be based

on a single exam.

Faculty Mentoring Programs that pair specific faculty

with low-income students/students of

color in need of intervention and

support.

PACE program

The Transitioning Latino Students

Program from ESL to Baccalaureate

Degree Project

in-class activities with Latino Faculty

and ESL students through the ESL

Social club

provide students with the

opportunity to choose a mentor with

whom they feel identified

the need for activities/social

interactions between faculty and

students (i.e. once a semester lunch-

department meeting including all the

students and faculty)

more committed faculty to workwith students.

Financial Aid Examples include flexible cut-off

dates for institutional financial aid,

earmarking a portion of tuition

increases for low-income students,

using financial aid to promote

articulation with 4-year institutions,

and targeting specific aid, i.e., grants

v. loans, to low-income students.

Waiting for Tina Favaras Response

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First Year Success Classes Available? Required? Optional? Are

success classes supplemented with

information reinforced in other

classes and/or/ first year experiences

College Success Seminar(CSS) is a

new course here which has only been

offered a few times. So far, it has not

been directly connected with other

courses. However, the skills are

applicable and instructors have beeninviting guest speakers into the

classroom.

CSS could be linked with other

courses in learning communities;

actually the first one is scheduled for

the spring semester. The course needs

to be used more and linkages to

college content courses strengthened.

Institutional Organization Administrative responsibility

identified for overall institutional

efforts to promote low-income

students/students of color student

success

AI Strategic Planning process was

very inclusive

Process Mgmt teams and Retention

Committee

Academic Master Plan

One-Stop Student Services Model

NCBI

Administrative responsibility identified

for overall institutional efforts topromote low-income students/students

of color student success. Strength (1)

PACE program; (2) the creation of the

tutoring center.

Deep, coherent, multi-pronged

analysis of data around this population

Deeper knowledge about students

real need for financial aid. (i.e. if they

know they dont qualify for Pell, and

they dont file because they dont

want a loan, they may be right on the

edge of leaving due to finances, but

we dont know.

Institutional Research Capacity Identified responsibility for research

on student success, especially low-

income/students of color student

success. Data on student enrollment

patterns, especially course-taking and

completion behaviors, disaggregated

by race/ethnicity, first language, andsocioeconomic status.

The Office for Institutional Research

is responsible for research and reporting

on student success.

Reports are prepared at the college-

wide level and stratified to the program,

department, and course levels.

Reports on student enrollment includedata disaggregated by ethnicity, ESL,

and income levels.

The office participates in and supplies

data/reports for Institutional

Effectiveness, Program Review and

Assessment, and institutional and

program accreditations.

We also administer and analyze the

Community College Survey on Student

Engagement (CCSSE), an annual WEB

We do not anticipate any difficulties

in meeting Achieving the Dreams

expectations of colleges regarding the

submission of annual student cohort

data and the collection, analysis, and

presentation of student outcome data.

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based Student Satisfaction Survey, and

an annual follow-up survey of graduates

one year after the date of graduation.

http://www.necc.mass.edu/irp/index.php

Institutional Scholarships for Low-

Income Students

Dollars earmarked from institutional

revenues for low-income student

financial aid.

Waiting for Tina Favaras response

Intake Orientation A brief, mandatory session or

sessions providing students an

overview college policies and

services available to them. Distinct

from a longer-term student success

class.

There are Information Sessions on

both campuses for new students

whether they have previously attended

college or not

In these sessions attendees get an

overview of the enrollment process

(listed on a new student applicant

checklist) including applying to thecollege, how to apply for financial aid,

taking placement assessment tests, and

planning for advising and registration

with an advisor

College support services are outlined

along with some tips for being a

successful student

Some literature outlining services that

are provided by the college are

distributed.

These sessions are not mandatory

and many of the colleges policies and

services are not reviewed although

subsequent meeting with advisors

provide opportunities for students to

hear in more detail what college

policies are and what services the

college provides.

During these meetings additional

literature which speaks to college

policies and services can be

distributed to students

There is no mandatory Orientation

Session to provide students with this

information-it is assumed that during

their Academic Advising Session this

information is covered. Students are

often bombarded with handouts

regarding academics and other

information relevant to their personaland academic goals while being

advised and registered and tend to

become overwhelmed

Late Class Adds Procedure for permitting (or denying)

late registration for classes.

Thecollege community recently

agreed on a process which has been

embraced both by faculty, and

administration.

Prior to spring 2007 the form was

handed out to students by front desk

staff when students would ask to join

courses that were filled and closed.

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There is a form that has clear

instructions and requires the signature

of faculty.

The form is primarily faculty driven

Some staff still struggle with the

change.

Late Start Classes Procedure for creating late startclasses based on demand produced

by late registrations.

The Department Academic AreaSchedulers and the Registrars have

agreed to keep the Wish List on

courses once they are filled well into the

Drop/Add period to determine if there

are enough students to warrant adding

sections.

Over the years, the Academic areas

have been consistent in offering

sections of courses that begin mid-

semester

Courses that are offered in thesecond 8 weeks are in need of more

publicity

Not enough variety of courses are

offered in the 8weeks session of fall

and spring semesters

Learning Communities Identify cohorts of students for

support of common learningexperiences, including classes and

co-curricular activities.

There is interest among faculty to

develop ESL/college level courselearning communities

The service learning tree project is

impacting the learning of students of

different disciplines.

Faculty are encouraging service

learning

It is challenging to enroll enough

students in learning communitiessome students see service learning or

community service as extra work

and not as civic responsibility.

Mission Statement Mission statement indicates

commitment to serve low-income

students/students of color

Our commitment to serving low

income students and students of color is

inherent in all of the colleges

institutional mission and values

statements which emphasize

appreciation for diversity; educationalopportunity for diverse student

populations; and dedication to

enhancing the social, cultural and

economic life for students and for the

broader community.

One-Stop Shopping Making necessary pre-admission and

post-admission services more

convenient for all students, but

especially single parents and others

As opposed to being in separate

buildings and offices, admissions,

financial aid, career planning, Academic

Advising, Learning accommodations

Bookstore hours and center hours

sometimes vary.

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with multiple time commitments. (disability services), Center for Adult

and Alternative Studies (including

GED,TOEFL, CLEP testing, and

Military Credit evaluation), and social

service referral are housed together

within the Behrakis One-Stop StudentServices Center at the Haverhill campus

and in Career Planning and Advising

Center at the Lawrence campus.

Hours of operation are 8am through

7pm Monday through Thursday and

8am through 5pm Friday

Both locations provide convenient

access for students with multiple

commitments and other potential

obstacles that potentially thwart

educational pursuits

During peak enrollment periods bothlocations have Saturday hours

Staffs are available through Web

Advising, telephone, email, and in

person

A bookstore is located in the Behrakis

One-Stop Student Services Center and a

bookstore is located in the same

building as the Career Planning and

Advising Center at our Lawrence

campus.

On-Line Support Services Web-based availability of critical

college facts and links to services

The college has hired a Web Advisor

and purchased licenses for a Web Basedproduct.

Students are now able to get Academic

Advising and referrals to other services

completely online.

The Website as well as individual

Web Pages has been undergoing

changes to better accommodate students

by using language that is more user

friendly and creating links that assist

students and visitors to navigate with

With the continued increase in on

line courses offerings, there is a needto expand the on line instructional

support resources, including support

staff, faculty advisors, and tutors.

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ease.

The colleges student friendly web site

is strategically designed to provide

students with easy access to information

and support services Links are conveniently situated to

connect students to resources such as

the One Stop Student Services Center

which includes the Career Planning and

Advising Center; Enrollment Services,

including Financial Aid and Bursars

Offices; Learning Accommodations

Center, extracurricular clubs,

organizations, and activities; athletic

resources; the Tutoring Center and

tutoring schedules; Reading, writing,

ESL, and Math Learning Centers;assessment schedules and practice tests;

etc.

Out-of-class Interactions with

Faculty

Mechanisms for increasing

interaction of low-income

students/students of color with

faculty outside of the classroom

setting, a consistent factor in

improved retention rates.

The ESL learning social club provides

students with the opportunity to interact

with faculty out-of-class

The Natural Science department is

developing a science club where

students can socialize and interchange

ideas with the natural science faculty.

students do not make use of faculty

office hours

organizing out-of-class interactions

can be challenging because many

students leave the campus

immediately after class

most of the faculty is adjunct thus,

they should be encourage and/or

support to dedicate out-of-class timewith students.

Partnerships with Other Higher

Education Providers

Written agreements with other

colleges for all students that can

include transfer articulation

agreements, sharing of resources,

articulation of curricular

competencies. Pathway and support

programs for low-income/students of

color students.

The college has over 40 transfer

articulation agreements with both public

and private institutions as well as

corporations.

The college also shares resources with

its 4-year counterparts who are on

campus offering Bachelor Completion

Programs in Nursing and Education and

offer graduate Education courses

The college lags behind in Pathway

and Support Programs for low-

income/students of color to assist

them in moving on to 4-year colleges

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Partnerships with the K-12 Sector Written Agreements with those

secondary schools with large

proportions of low-income/students

of color that might include dual creditclasses, early college programs,

collegiate and financial planning,

sharing of instructors, and/or

curricular and competency alignment

The college participates in the

MVOTECH Consortium and has a

TECH Prep program-This program has

over 70 agreements with TechnicalHigh schools around the area

There are a variety of courses

articulated for credit under specific

guidelines and are transferable to NECC

once students enroll. Examples are

Greater Lawrence Tech High School;

Whittier Technical;

The college also shares instructors at

some area high schools where

instructors actually report to the high

school and teach classes there

Students gain college credits that arealso used toward high school

graduation.

GEAR UP collaboration/dual

enrollment

Career planning, financial aid

workshops, Orientation to

college-Getting on Track in local

schools

Campus tours

Pre-admissions testing to show

current levels of competency

Collaborations with HERC andUpward Bound.

The college is proactive in establishing

effective partnerships with local high

schools, particularly those schools

serving large numbers of disadvantaged

students. Examples of K-12

partnerships include:

The early assessment/intervention

program, which is currently under

More curricular and competency

alignment are needed; more

agreements with comprehensive high

schools and early college prepprograms are needed.

Relationships with local K-12s

change with leadership; inconsistent.

Uneven alignment of curricula

Marketability to students/parents

unwilling to consider community

college as an option.

There is no correspondence between

Dept of Ed mandated high school exit

criteria (MCAS) and BHE mandated

college entrance proficiencies.

This disconnect underscores theneed for structured initiatives to assist

high schools in developing

appropriate interventions based on

early assessment results.

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development with Methuen High

School

The Tech Prep Program which links

curriculum through articulation

agreements. Tech Prep also provides

highs schools with early assessments ofcollege entrance competencies.

The ARC Program (Another Route to

College) which hosts 30 high school

seniors who have not passed the

Massachusetts exit criteria for high

school graduation. These students

spend their senior year at NECC, taking

MCAS remediation concurrently with

NECC developmental/ESL courses.

The Natural Science department

through the Applied Science program isdeveloping agreements with Andover

High School and Haverhill High School

to integrate their science curriculum to

facilitate transitioning into the AS

program. The AS program is also

looking into facilitating professional

development for the science teachers.

Partnerships with Workforce

Agencies

Written agreements with local

Workforce Investment Boards that

provide access to college training for

low-income/people of color. Careerpathway partnerships with private

and public entities that result in

increased employability for low-

income/students of color students

The college maintains written

agreements with Local Workforce

Investment Boards that address third

party payment provisions andrequirements. These agreements

facilitate access to credit and non-credit

programs for clients of career centers

including displaced workers and

underemployed workers toward their

acquiring skills in demand in the work

marketplace

On-going articulation between the

college and area offices of the

Massachusetts Rehabilitation

Turnover of Workforce Investment

Board and Career Center personnel

sometimes impedes establishing and

nurturing relations betweenWIB/Career Center Staff and college

staff.

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Commission facilitates the retraining of

workers with disabilities that prevent

continuation in previous careers toward

their acquiring new skills for entering

new careers.

Peer Tutoring/counseling Formal programs that supplementinstruction with inside and outside of

class peer tutoring

The Academic Resource and TutoringCenter offers a comprehensive network

of academic support services to

supplement classroom instruction.

Services include: Peer and

professional Tutoring; in class tutors;

study groups; walk in writing lab; and

workshops on topics such as learning

styles, study skills, test anxiety, etc.

Existing resources (space, tutorstipends) has not kept pace with ever

expanding need for tutoring services.

In addition to Peer Tutors, there is a

need for permanent tutoring staff to

provide on going tutoring

Planning, Resources, & Budgeting Data-based planning for low-income

students/students of color success,

accompanying budgetary allocations,

and evaluation of program impactinforming future planning and

budgeting.

The area of Academic Affairs is in

process of developing the Academic

Master Plan. The AMP will be

integrated with the colleges Strategicplan.. Together, these plans will provide

the framework for prioritizing resource

allocations.

Fiscal planning will be also be guided

by data collected through ATD, and

other Institutional performance

indicators.

Historically, resource allocations

were not always informed by data; nor

guided by demonstrated need. The

expectation is that this will improvedwith the integration of institutional

planning processes.

Research and Policy Development Policies and practices created or

modified based on research

The Retention Committee is currently

researching Forgiveness Policies, Fresh

Start, and Early Warning systems

The Bursar and others conducted

research of other community collegesand concluded that our reimbursement

policy once classes began did not serve

students well. The schools policy was

amended to allow 100% refund during

the first week of classes as opposed to

the first 3 days

During the second week refunds drop

to 50%

Unofficial Forgiveness Practice that

is not consistent because not all

students are aware of the practice

The college have policies focused on

Academic Standing, but no earlyWarning System in place

A weak Academic probation Policy

that has no plan of action attached to it

Research on the Effectiveness

Counseling, Advising, & Student

Identified part of overall institutional

agenda for communicating student

Newsletters, published newsletters,

NECC campus news website report out

We do not report our retention

graduation rates in any prominent

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Orientation success to the community and donors

Local Newspapers

Annual Awards Convocation

Subject awards

Honor Society Induction ceremonies

Observer (Student Newspaper)

locations

Public Display Wall of Achievement

should be considered for students,

similar to the NISOD display

Student Responsibilities Statement of students role in

education process including

expectations

Many instructors provide with a

detailed syllabus that includes the

responsibilities of the students; some

instructors even require a signed

document from the student that state

they understand the syllabus.

Many students take the success course

which stresses on students duties.

One of our Natural Science

department faculty spends the first week

of classes teaching students to be

effective learners; her students also takean exam on the first day of class to

assess their knowledge and set the tone

for the class. Other faculty in the

department are following up her steps

and planning to also do the same with

their students next semester.

Most students have wrong

expectations for the class and for the

instructor

Most students do not know they are

accountable for their education

The course of college success is not

compulsory for all students entering

NECC

Many instructors assume all students

have basic level of knowledge when

in reality is lower than expected

having the expectations for the classtoo high. Many instructors may not

be sensitive to the fact that community

college students are different from

other college students (many have

full-time jobs, are single parents).

Thus, may be inflexible to

accommodate their needs.

Instructors may not intervene when

students are failing because the

students have the right to fail. This

mentality must change. Instructors

need to be more proactive.

Teaching Practice Classroom practices that have been

shown to promote student success for

all students, including cooperative

learning, active learning, and creation

of learning communities.

More instructors are using different

types of technology to present

information

Online-courses provide students with a

more flexible schedule.

Intructors may not be sensitive to the

language barriers (communicating in

English while thinking in Spanish)

that sometimes students encounter

when taking for the first time a college

level; it takes time, training and

assistant to overcome this barrier.

Instructors may presume all students

have basic knowledge and the pace of

the class may be to fast for many

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students to follow.

More students should be encourage

to create study groups and use the

academic tutoring center services.

Teaching Quality Reward structures for gains made bylow-income students/students of

color in classes and programs

Many instructors accommodatealternative learning styles and strategies

in their classes (more instructors are

using the learning service methodology)

Provide with a system to educate andencourage parents and/or other

relatives in promoting/supporting the

students career

Evaluate teaching quality not only at

the end of the semester when is

already too late (note give the

opportunity to students to provide the

instructor with feedback to modify the

teaching method accordingly).

Transfer Policies Identified entity/individual to work

with students to understand and

complete transfer processes

The college has two professional

Transfer advisors-one based on the

Haverhill Campus and one on theLawrence Campus.

In addition, all of the academic

advisors are required as part of their

responsibilities to assist students in

understanding and completing transfer

processes.

The Academic Advising Website

houses a plethora of information and

tools to assist students, staff and faculty

with transfer issues

SomeFaculty who are assigned

advisees do not have clear

understanding of the transfer processInformation on the Academic

Advising Website is not being used as

much as it should be

Value of student learning Institutional statement/activities thatplace premium on student learning Student learning, engagement, andacademic excellence are the guiding

principles which shape all of the

colleges institutional statements and

activities, including statements

regarding our mission and, values and

newly defined Strategic Plan. These

values are also the central focus for the

development of our Academic Master

Plan, which is currently under

construction.

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Practice and Policy Checklist - Completed

Documents

Transcript of Practice and Policy Checklist - Completed