Award Period: Oct. 1, 2006 – Sept. 30, 2011

SOCC’s Teaching and Learning Innovations (TLI) program is designed to continue the retention and learning efforts established on campus these last few years. The intended outcome is that more students will be successful in reaching their educational goals, positively impacting the institution’s fiscal stability as State-reimbursable FTE grows.

The grant focuses on a single activity, Improving Student Success, with four interrelated components in a) Faculty Development, b) Instructional Innovation, c) Enhanced Student Services and d) Comprehensive Institutional Assessment. Funding addresses

Southwestern proposes strengthening the college through:   

1. Improving teaching and learning through comprehensive faculty development
2. Improving institutional research, assessment and accountability
3. Improving student retention through instructional revisions to key developmental and gateway courses that are barriers to success, in conjunction with new retention strategies
4. Expanding access to student services and instructional support through technology

Second Year Goals Accomplished!

Faculty Development

• Second Faculty Cohort developed and planned pilots from Personal Innovations Plans (PIP)
• Weekly Brown Bag sessions highlighted timely education topics
• Multiple faculty development opportunities were offered including
  - Expanded in-service selections on Office 2007 overviews and lab time
  - Cohort G.I.F.T.S. presentation
  - Two faculty attended the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) conference

Comprehensive Institutional Assessment

• Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) administered (complete results due Nov. 2008)
• Increased the effectiveness of resource allocation through use of line item justification in Colleague in a process used by all campus departments during 2008-09 budget planning
• Continued membership and participation in Continuous Quality Improvement Network (CQIN)
  - Dashboard indicators of performance developed to highlight:
  - Student Outcomes
  - Fiscal Outcomes
  - Community Outcomes

Instructional Innovation

• Math Technology Lab created and staffed (Randolph 4)
• Initial start-up and training for ANGEL Learning Management System
• New online, web-enhanced and hybrid courses developed
• Math faculty pilot project for Math 20 and 70, which incorporates:
  - The use of technology
  - The Math Technology Lab
  - Incremental diagnostic testing
  - Review work requirements before re-testing is allowed
  - Initiates outreach activities to aid in continuity of course information across Math 20 and 70 for part-time, full-time, and online instructors
• First Year Experience Committee developed three engagement activities:
  - Freshman Psychology Cohort
  - Scoop-A-Thon
  - Surf the Turf

Enhanced Student Services

• Continued planning and testing around E-Advising module as an enhancement to WebAdvisor
• Initial servers and switches purchased for Storage Area Network (SAN), infrastructure for Portal system

• Four technology rich classrooms created and/or equipped:
  - Sitkum 11
  - Sitkum 7
  - Sitkum 6
  - Eden 1

Review of First Year Goals Accomplished