A Unit is defined as a year round (calendar year or academic year), college funded, grant funded, contractual, or other function that contributes to the institution’s effectiveness. A Unit may be an academic program (such as the Mathematics Program), a service (such as maintenance), a department (such as the Life Science Department), or an office (such as the Office for the Vice President for Instruction). List of Units

Units are assessed under six broad categories called quality areas: Non-Instructional, Curriculum, Instruction, Student Achievement, Student Satisfaction, and Student Profile.

Quality Indicators are identified for each area to provide performance measures essential to the achievement of institutional quality. Quality Indicators are based on College and Unit concerns; mandates of MSA, SUNY, and SED; and requirements of other Accrediting Agencies. Some Quality Indicators apply to all Units, some apply only to Instructional Units, some apply only to Non-Instructional / Administrative Units, and some apply to specific Units (such as Licensure or Financial Audits). List of Quality Indicators

Each Quality Indicator has a benchmark performance standard determined with the input of the appropriate units. The annual unit review process determines performance indicators pertaining to a unit and reports whether the unit has met the standard. All the scores are averaged to obtain an overall performance for the Unit.

To determine whether a standard has been reached, data are gathered from Information Sources such as College databases, Unit files, survey results, etc. List of Information Sources

The annual Performance Indicator Report for each Unit displays whether the standard has been met for each of the quality indicators, and provides an overall performance review. The report assists the Units in the development of their plans and budgets. The first Performance Review Reports (PIR) were distributed during the fall 2004 semester.

Learning Outcomes describe the types of knowledge, attitudes, and skills that a student will know and be able to demonstrate as a result of learning experiences within a course or program at the college. They should be measurable, attainable with an appropriate timeframe, and understandable to students, educators, employers, and the community.

Measurable learning outcomes at the institutional, program and course levels help to:

• Identify the important issues of the learning experience
• Document expectations in previous, current, and future courses
• Keep educators focused on the types of opportunities necessary for students to be successful in meeting the stated outcomes
• Describe what the learner has to demonstrate to be successful without prescribing the various strategies to achieving the learning
• Provide a basis for curriculum planning and development which minimizes gaps and duplication
• Link required outcomes with assessment processes

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) expects an accredited institution to have identified learning outcomes at the institutional, program and course levels.

Developed through a college- and community-wide process in the early 1990s, the College-wide Competencies serve as the institutional level learning outcomes for MVCC. These competencies focus on the core skills and abilities that MVCC graduates need to succeed in today’s society and the work world.

During the AY 2005-06 the General Education Committee reviewed and revised the competencies to include a fifth one dealing with information literacy and to include supporting outcomes for each of the five competencies. These competencies and outcomes were approved by the College Senate and the Board of Trustees in spring 2006. MVCC College-wide Competencies are expected of all MVCC graduates, at a level appropriate to their degree or certificate program.

Program learning outcomes describe what graduates in a particular program should be able to know or do as a result of the learning experiences offered within that program. Beginning in May 2004, academic departments at the College began the process of designating stated, measurable program learning outcomes. The program learning outcomes necessarily overlap, and support, the institutional learning outcomes, but may require the student to demonstrate higher levels of particular outcomes or demonstrate performance of an outcome in context to the particular discipline.

MVCC understands the importance for program learning outcomes to be determined by the faculty who regularly teach within the program area, in consideration with the expectations of employers, transfer institutions and appropriate accrediting/professional bodies. Courses and activities within the program provide opportunities for students to achieve these outcomes by the completion of the program.

Learning outcomes at the course level focus on the knowledge, skills, abilities and values that a student should be able to demonstrate as a result of completing a course. Course learning outcomes are typically determined by the course instructor, or by a team of instructors who teach the same course. In general, learning outcomes do not identify the particular teaching strategy or approach that will allow the students to attain the learning outcomes. Just as the program learning outcomes support the institutional level learning outcomes, course learning outcomes necessarily support learning outcomes at the program level.

MVCC recognizes that many faculty are already teaching and assessing the core skills and abilities described in the College-wide Competencies, and intends to continue to build on the expertise of the faculty for this purpose. To ensure the linkage between these three levels of learning outcomes, Program Outcomes Assessment Templates have been developed for each of the academic programs.

These templates designate goals and supporting measurable outcomes which link to the College’s Mission and/or College-wide Competencies. Departments select priority goals for assessment each year and identify assessment measures and criteria for success for the supporting outcomes. In addition, action plans for change and improvement as a result of the assessment activities are documented on the templates.

Currently, a three-year cycle has been projected for the assessment of the goals/outcomes on the Program Outcomes Assessment Templates. These templates provide a basis for systematically documenting the assessment of student attainment of the College-wide Competencies and the program learning outcomes within the curricula.

As the Program Outcomes Assessment Templates develop, faculty will continue to identify and revise components of the institutional and program learning outcome(s) that are emphasized within courses they teach. Recognizing that student learning does not occur just in the classroom setting, template development is currently underway for the Units that report to the President, the Vice President for Administration and the Vice President of Student Services.