Colorado Mountain College Accreditation

Colorado Mountain College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission,* which is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In its quest to become a Learning College, CMC has chosen the Higher Learning Commission's alternative accreditation through AQIP (the Academic Quality Improvement Program). For an overview of CMC, please download our Fact Sheet (PDF).

AQIP encourages higher education institutions to not only remain healthy, but also to continuously improve upon their organizational health. AQIP defines nine major categories which serve as a framework for colleges and universities to identify areas for improvement. Those categories are:

• Understanding Students’ and other Stakeholders’ Needs
• Valuing People
• Leading & Communicating
• Supporting Institutional Operations
• Planning Continuous Improvement
• Building Collaborative Relationships
• Helping Students Learn
• Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives
• Measuring Effectiveness

With this categorical framework, AQIP requires that we ask ourselves and our constituents how we're doing, how we can improve, and what projects we can complete to achieve our goals. We have established Action Projects which address areas needing the most improvement and each is reflected in our college-wide strategic plan. Our projects are (please click any of them to view the project's full update):

• Improving Access for Our Learners, September 2008
• Improving Workforce Training & Professional Development, September 2008
• Learning Outcomes Assessment, September 2008
• Improving Workforce Training & Professional Development, September 2007
• Improving Access for Our Learners, September 2007
• Learning Outcomes Assessment, September 2007
• Improving Access for Our Learners, March 2007
• Helping Students Learn, March 2007
• Improving Workforce Training & Professional Development, March 2007
• Improving Access for Our Learners, May 2002
• Reaching Out to Ethnically Diverse Learners, May 2002
• Helping Students Succeed, May 2002
• Improving Workforce Training, May 2002
  
  

Evidence of Our Success

As an Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) school with a Learning College focus, CMC has been creating a culture of evidence. A Learning College Council is being formed to more deeply embed Learning College principles in all our actions. Recently, two research studies were conducted: The Learning College Journey: Declaring Vs. Doing which addressed our progress with Learning College and The Psychosocial & Environmental Variables Influencing Institutional Data Integrity which addressed data-related issues.The links on this page provide some examples of the college's progress at the course, program and institutional level. The following provides a bird's eye view of our success.

The 2008 Reporting Cycle depicts a general timeline for college wide assessment and reporting. The final 2005-07 strategic plan was updated during fall 2007. Campuses and functional areas also developed their 2007-10 strategic plans during this time period. Please see the strategic plan mid-year update for 2007-08. This summer CMC tweaked its vision and mission to better reflect Learning College and AQIP principles. The core values, Truth, Trust, Respect & Responsiveness (T2R2), have been recently defined and will be disseminated college wide.

Our overall progress on the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) benchmarks - Active & Collaborative Learning, Student Effort, Academic Challenge, Student-Faculty Interaction and Support for Learners - suggests improvement in 2007 over 2005 when compared to ourselves as well as other colleges nation wide. Although enrollment and growth has been inconsistent over the past decade, CMC has shown a little growth in college wide FTE (4.8%) and even more in terms of unduplicated headcount (12.6%) from 2004-05 to 2006-07.

Prior to the June 2007 AQIP Quality Check-Up visit, two AQIP & Learning College related surveys were conducted. Data was gathered via eNews articles pertaining to accreditation and Learning College principles, brochures and advertisements placed in newspapers and at the District Office. Based on the 174 respondents to the external survey, CMC's greatest strengths included: small class size, faculty and staff, location, accessibility and offerings. These respondents felt we could better serve learners by improving our offerings (e.g. fewer cancelled classes, scheduling weekend classes) and greater consistency in how we approach learning (e.g. standards).

The internal survey was completed by 89 individuals. Approximately 80 % rated CMC highly on helping students learn. They also provided numerous examples of their creative efforts to help students learn: development of a website for Developmental Education students; screening students for their learning styles; personal mentoring; creating a hands-on learning environment; and weekly success seminars.

At the 2007 Higher Learning Commission meeting, a team of faculty/administration members presented our AQIP learning outcomes project, which focuses on our course-level assessment progress. The new program development process was flowcharted and revised in 2007. Other examples of improved processes in place: student complaint process, program review, Early Alert (abstract and form) and, most recently, Distance Education orientation. Numerous conversations have taken place regarding what it means for CMC to become a Learning College and instituting related events such as the Economics Discussion Series (2006 and 2007). A Learning College Council is being formed to more deeply embed Learning College principles in all our actions.

In July and August of 2007, a follow-up of spring & summer 2007 students was conducted via email to ascertain the degree to which student educational goals were being met. Results of a college wide sample of 508 students suggested that the primary reasons for attending CMC were to get an education (37%), transfer (17%) and personal interest (24%). For 55% of the students, their goal was completely met, and 42% indicated their goal was partially met. During fall 2007, 41% planned to return to CMC, 25% work full/part-time, 16% enroll at another college, 10% were undecided, 7% had other plans and 2% were going to care for a home or family. Ninety-six percent indicated they would recommend CMC to others. More great testaments to CMC followed with the positive text responses regarding CMC: great value; an understanding of community needs; best local education; quality classes/education; location; small classes; and helpful people.

For the AQIP visit, CMC's progress towards creating a culture of evidence was also presented in our Systems Portfolio, which will be kept updated to continue documenting our success. The Quality Check-Up Visit Feedback Report was largely positive and encouraged us to keep moving forward with our strong commitment to AQIP & Learning College initiatives. They would like us to better define and share processes and results, as well as personalize Learning College for CMC. However, the visit team noted a strong and successful foundation, and their conversations with community members and students reflected CMC's success in meeting its communities' needs (see eNews article: Reflections of AQIP). These are just a few examples of how the college has been making good progress on all levels, is successfully meeting its mission and is continually striving to do an even better job of helping students succeed.

* Higher Learning Commission
   800-621-7740
   www.ncahlc.org