VERIFICACIÓN DEL MODELO

As called for by its mission, the organization identifies its constituencies and serves them in ways both value. a. The college learns from the constituencies it serves and analyzes its capacity to serve their needs and

expectations.

• The college’s commitments are shaped by its mission and its capacity to support those commitments. • The college practices periodic environmental scanning to understand the changing needs of its

constituencies and their communities.

• The college demonstrates attention to the diversity of the constituencies it serves. • The college’s outreach programs respond to identified community needs.

• In responding to external constituencies, the college is well-served by programs such as continuing education, outreach, customized training, and extension services.

b. The college has the capacity and the commitment to engage with its identified constituencies and communities.

The college’s structures and processes enable effective connections with its communities.

The college’s co-curricular activities engage students, staff, administrators, and faculty with external communities.

The college’s educational programs connect students with external communities.

The college’s resources—physical, financial, and human—support effective programs of engagement and service.

Planning processes project ongoing engagement and service.

c. The college demonstrates its responsiveness to those constituencies that depend on it for service.

• Collaborative ventures exist with other higher learning organizations and education sectors (e.g., K-12 partnerships, articulation arrangements, 2+2 programs).

• The college’s transfer policies and practices create an environment supportive of the mobility of learners.

• Community leaders testify to the usefulness of the college’s programs of engagement.

• The college’s programs of engagement give evidence of building effective bridges among diverse communities.

• The college participates in partnerships focused on shared educational, economic, and social goals. • The college’s partnerships and contractual arrangements uphold the college’s integrity.

d. Internal and external constituencies value services the college provides.

• The college’s evaluation of services involves the constituencies served.

• Service programs and student, faculty, and staff volunteer activities are well-received by the communities served.

• The college’s economic and workforce development activities are sought after and valued by civic and business leaders.

• External constituents participate in the college’s activities and cocurricular programs open to the public.

• The college’s facilities are available to and used by the community.

• The college provides programs to meet the continuing education needs of licensed professionals in its community.

The Range of Potential Sources of Documentation for Criterion 5 (Service and Engagement) Is Suggested by the Following:

» 260E, 260F, 260G agreements

» Articulation agreements and transfer statistics » Assessments of community needs]

» Documents describing community partnerships and mutual responsibilities

» Data on numbers and characteristics of student enrollment in departments, programs, and courses, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and disability

» Calendar of events scheduled (speakers, workshops, etc.)

» Descriptions and availability of facilities for activities for students, staff, and community » Evaluation of effectiveness of services

» Listing and schedules of extracurricular activities, clubs, and student organizations » Results of periodic environmental scanning of college’s service area

» Documents showing college’s commitment to articulation policies that are predictable in transferring credit for completed coursework, flexible to serve diverse student needs, and disseminated frequently to students, faculty, and administrators

Iowa Standards

To be granted accreditation by the state board of education, an Iowa community college must also meet four additional standards, pertaining to minimum standards for faculty; faculty load; students with special needs; and vocational education evaluation.

1. Minimum standards for faculty

Community college-employed instructors teaching full-time in career and technical education and arts and sciences shall meet minimum standards. Standards shall at a minimum require that full-time community college instructors meet the following requirements:

Instructors in the subject area of career and technical education shall be registered, certified, or licensed in the occupational area in which the state requires registration, certification, or licensure, and shall hold the appropriate registration, certificate, or license for the occupational area in which the instructor is teaching, and shall meet either of the following qualifications:

A baccalaureate or graduate degree in the area or a related area of study or occupational area in which the instructor is teaching classes.

Special training and at least 6,000 hours of recent and relevant work experience in the occupational area or related occupational area in which the instructor teaches classes if the instructor possesses less than a baccalaureate degree.

Instructors in the subject area of arts and sciences shall meet either of the following qualifications: Possess a master’s degree from a regionally accredited graduate school, and have successfully completed a minimum of 12 credit hours of graduate level courses in each field of instruction in which the instructor is teaching classes.

Have two or more years of successful experience in a professional field or area in which the instructor is teaching classes and in which post-baccalaureate recognition or professional licensure is necessary for practice, including but not limited to the fields or areas of accounting, engineering, law, law enforcement, and medicine.

Full-time developmental education and adult education instructors may or may not meet minimum requirements depending on their teaching assignments and the relevancy of standards to the courses they are teaching and the transferability of such courses. If instructors are teaching credit courses reported in arts and sciences or career and technical education, it is recommended that these instructors meet the minimum standards described in either paragraph “a” or “b.”

2. Faculty Load

Teaching loads for full-time faculty at Iowa community college are specified by law, as follows: a. The full–time teaching load of an instructor in arts and sciences programs shall not exceed a

maximum of 16 credit hours per school term or the equivalent. An instructor may also have a teaching assignment outside of the normal school hours; provided the instructor consents to this additional assignment and the total workload does not exceed the equivalent of 18 credit hours within a traditional semester.

b. The full–time teaching load of an instructor in career and technical education programs shall not exceed six hours per day, and an aggregate of 30 hours per week or the equivalent. An instructor may also teach the equivalent of an additional three credit hours provided the instructor consents to this additional assignment. When the teaching assignment includes classroom subjects (nonlaboratory), consideration shall be given to establishing the teaching load more in conformity with that of paragraph “a” of this subrule.

3. Persons with Special Needs

Iowa community colleges are required to provide equal access in recruitment, enrollment, and placement activities for students with special education needs. Students with special education needs shall receive instruction in the least restrictive environment with access to the full range of program offerings at a college, through, but not limited to, adaptation of curriculum, instruction, equipment, facilities, career guidance, and counseling services.

4. Vocational Education Evaluation

The department of education shall review at least 20 percent of approved vocational education programs within the state annually, to ensure that the programs are:

a. Compatible with educational reform efforts.

b. Capable of responding to technological change and innovation.

c. Meeting educational needs of the students and employment community including students with disabilities, both male and female students, from diverse racial and ethnic groups.

d. Enabling students enrolled to perform the minimum competencies independently. e. Articulated/integrated with the total school curriculum.

f. Enabling students with a secondary vocational background to pursue other educational interests in a postsecondary setting, if desired.

g. Availing students with support services and eliminating access barriers to education and employment for both traditional and nontraditional students, men and women, persons from diverse racial and ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities.

A statewide evaluation system utilizing multiple indicators will encompass the requirements of both state and federal vocational education legislation.

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Section 3

STATE ACCREDITATION TEAM