November 18, 2021 Planning Committee Meeting

The Planning Committee of the Board of Trustees of Illinois Valley Community College District No. 513 met at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 18, 2021 in the Board Room (C307) at Illinois Valley Community College.

Committee Members Physically Present

Jane E. Goetz, Committee Chair

Jay K. McCracken

Committee Members Virtually Present

Any L. Boyles                                   

Committee Members Absent

Board Members Present

William F. Hunt

Others Physically Present

Jerry Corcoran, President

Matthew Seaton, Vice President for Business Services & Finance

Mark Grzybowski, Vice President for Student Services

Bonnie Campbell, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs

Matt Suerth, Director of Institutional Research

Leslie Hofer, Director of Human Resources

Others Virtually Present

Deborah Anderson, Vice President for Academic Affairs

 

The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Ms. Goetz.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None

ACCREDITATION UPDATE

Dr. Anderson reported that the college’s Assurance Argument was submitted to the Higher Learning Commission in July 2021. She added that the purpose of the Assurance Argument is to provide evidence to the Commission that we are compliant with the five criteria for accreditation. The Assurance Argument was reviewed by a team of peer reviewers trained by the Higher Learning Commission. We received the final report in early September 2021 and Criteria 1, 2, 3 and 5 were deemed met. Criterion 4, however, was met with concerns with specifically, two core components identified: Core Component 4B regarding assessment and Core Component 4C regarding enrollment management. The HLC recommendation is that we be placed on interim monitoring. We will submit a report in two years that includes: “an update of the results of the new pilot assessment project with the revised learning outcomes, assessment of program outcomes, co-curricular assessment, faculty involvement in the assessment process, evidence that the results of the assessment are being used for quality improvement and in program reviews. The report should provide evidence of how the college establishes its goals and strategies to improve retention, persistence, and completion rates along with how the data is used for program review and in decision making.”

INTEGRATED POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION DATA SYSTEM (IPEDS) 2020 DATA FEEDBACK REPORT

Dr. Anderson informed that the IPEDS is a system of survey components that collects data from about 7,000 institutions that provide postsecondary education across the United States.  IPEDS collects institution-level data on student enrollment, graduation rates, student charges, program completions, faculty, staff, and finances. IVCC uses the IPEDS Feedback Report for benchmarking against a group of Illinois peer institutions (9) and for tracking IVCC statistical trends over time.  Dr. Corcoran informed that the nine colleges are Lake Land, Lewis & Clark, Sauk Valley, Kankakee, McHenry, Logan, Highland, Richland, and Kishwaukee. The two colleges most comparable to IVCC are Kankakee and Kishwaukee. Ms. Goetz inquired about the possibility of comparing these three colleges in a report. Mr. Suerth advised that such a comparison report was doable and could be open for discussion. Dr. Anderson noted that IVCC continues to diversify and the Hispanic/Latino population grew to 16 percent in fall 2019, after holding steady at 15 percent the previous two years. This continues the upward trend established in fall 2013. African-American enrollment remains steady at two percent while the percentage of Caucasian students declined to 75 percent after holding steady at 79 for several years. On the whole, IVCC is no less racially diverse than most of its rural peers. Compared to its peers, IVCC ranked sixth in the total number of degrees/certificates awarded. The academic year tuition and fees for full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates for FY 2020 remained unchanged. IVCC’s tuition and fees ranked 7th for the third year in a row. The net price of attendance increased 4.7 percent in FY19 and IVCC ranks 5th among its peers in cost of attendance. The percentage of first-time, full-time students receiving Pell grants increased from 46 to 48 percent. IVCC ranks 4th for the second time with this type of federal aid. The percentage receiving state/local grants increased from 28 to 31 percent. IVCC remains in 1st place again for the second year in this type of aid.  Full-time retention rates decreased to 63 percent from 70 percent and IVCC ranks eight among its peers. The overall graduation rate within the 2016 cohort increased from 28 to 30 percent. With this increase, IVCC’s ranking improved from 10th to 9th.  Dr. Anderson noted that in conclusion IVCC ranks high on several measures and the College should continue to review these important metrics in order to take steps to improve on them as needed.

NATIONAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE BENCHMARK PROJECT (NCCBP)

This project has been conducted annually, during the spring term at IVCC since 2007 to gain a better understanding of where IVCC ranks nationally among community colleges on a variety of predetermined benchmarks. State and National participation rates fluctuate from year-to-year which changes IVCC percentile rankings on any given measure. Dr. Anderson informed that in 2020, 21 Illinois community colleges participated, one more than 2019.  The report focuses on selected strengths and opportunities for the College.  The NCCBP considers a Strength as any metric above the 75th percentile on the national survey and Opportunities for Improvement as any metric below the 25th percentile. IVCC’s strengths were concentrated in three general areas: academic course completion/persistence rates; institutional finances; and rankings on national student satisfaction surveys. Thirty-eight percent of the college’s strengths came from either the Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory or CCSSE findings. Ten opportunities were targeted for improvement; an increase of four from 2019. Most notably, IVCC’s CCSSE Academic Challenge Benchmark remains on the list. Also, IVCC’s CCSSE Active & Collaborative Learning Benchmark appears for a second year. As in previous years IVCC’s Strengths outnumber its Opportunities for Improvement but by a smaller ratio. Dr. Anderson noted that in most areas IVCC compares favorably with the national comparison group.

NOEL LEVITZ REPORT 2021

Dr. Anderson reported that the Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory has been conducted at IVCC every three years since 2004 and was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID 19. The 17.5 percent response rate is slightly lower than 2017’s rate of 19.5 percent. The national average response rate is 20 percent so IVCC compares well on this important measure. She added that the SSI measures the gap between Importance and Satisfaction with students’ college experience. Dr. Anderson informed that 84 percent indicate that IVCC was their first choice, an increase from 76 percent in 2017. The strengths outnumber the challenges 15 to 8, a slight improvement from 2017. She added that knowledgeable faculty and a safe and secure campus top the list of strengths, as they did in 2017. The challenges included concerns such as timeliness of faculty feedback in both the classroom and the virtual environment and classes not scheduled at convenient times. Mr. Suerth advised that the scheduling of classes is a universal statement for students. Dr. Anderson noted that the full Noel Levitz SSI report is on the Institutional Research website.

PROGRAM REVIEW REPORT FY2021

Dr. Anderson provided highlights of the Community College Program Review Report submitted to the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB).  Dr. Anderson informed that certain programs are reviewed each year and over a course of five years every program is reviewed. The Social and Behavioral Sciences comprised the academic discipline reviewed and Athletics, the Cashier’s Office, and Student Activities comprised the student and academic support services reviewed. The following Career and Technical programs were reviewed in FY 2021:  Engineering Technologies, Manufacturing, Process Operations Technology, Early Childhood Education, Industrial Maintenance, Automotive Technology, Medical Assistant, and Truck Driver Training. Items of note from the reviewed occupational programs include:

  • Future scheduling of Social and Behavioral Science courses will better match enrollments.
  • It is recommended that all IVCC Athletics move to Division II status.
  • Most reviewed Career and Technical programs meet the criteria of a career pathway program. Those that do not meet these criteria are actively working on meeting the criteria prior to the next review period.
  • It is recommended that the Process Operations, Technology Program be inactivated.
  • Changes to the Manufacturing program’s curriculum, including stackable credentials, are forthcoming.
  • Changes to the Industrial Maintenance program’s curriculum, including stackable credentials, have been implemented.

HIGH SCHOOL MARKET PENETRATION RATE

Dr. Anderson informed that the Institutional Research office tracks IVCC’s high school market penetration rates in six-year intervals. The penetration rate reflects the percent of recent high school graduates that subsequently matriculate to IVCC and shows how well IVCC is promoted to district high school students. The spring 2020 high school-to-fall 2020 market penetration rate is 27.6 percent, surprisingly strong when one considers the devastating effect of COVID-19’s onset which forced many colleges and high schools to rapidly convert to online instruction for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester. The six-year average increased to 28 percent. High school enrollments fluctuate yearly. Five out of 17 public high schools’ senior classes increased while 12 declined. High school size had no predictive correlation with enrollment change as both large and small schools lost and gained enrollments equally. Declines in high school enrollments are most likely linked to District #513 continuing population adjustment. Of the district graduates that attended community colleges, 80 percent attended IVCC. An additional 15 percent enrolled in community colleges adjacent to or just beyond District #513’s boundary. The percentage of Dual Credit Enrolled high school students in fall 2020 matches fall 2016 numbers (18.9 percent) reversing a one-year decline. The combined penetration/enrollment rate for dual credit students and high school graduates is 46.5 percent, a 1.6-point increase from fall 2019 (44.9 percent). Mr. McCracken inquired if the college officials would consider the high school superintendents and principals in the area going with the IVCC administrators to promote Dual Credit and College and Career Start programs. If so, Mr. McCracken volunteered to do so and thought that other superintendents and principals would be interested in this opportunity. He noted that for students to hear the presentation from a joint team would be a powerful message. Mr. Grzybowski and Ms. Campbell both made note of this offer and thanked Mr. McCracken for suggesting it.

BOARD POLICY

Revisions to Board Policy 3.29 – Tuition Waiver were proposed. Dr. Anderson noted that the updates reflect what we are currently doing for all full-time employees regarding tuition waiver reimbursements. The updated Board Policy 3.29 with changes highlighted in red was provided to the committee members for review. The committee recommended that the updated Board Policy 3.29 – Tuition Waiver be presented to the full Board.

OTHER

Dr. Corcoran and Ms. Goetz thanked Dr. Anderson for joining the meeting virtually. Mr. McCracken thanked all for the excellent presentations and the great work.

ADJOURNMENT

Ms. Goetz declared the meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m.