About Institutional Effectiveness And Research

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research (OIER) fosters college-wide continuous improvement by providing access to quality data and information to support compliance with accreditation, federal and state reporting, and grants. OIER also provides quality data in support of strategic planning, college information and fact-based decision making.

OIER is comprised of three units: Institutional Research, Institutional Effectiveness and Institutional Planning.

Assessment and Evaluation

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is committed to student learning through the assessment of Student Learning Outcomes, Academic Program Performance, and Administrative Review. With “Learn” as a major theme our strategic plan, we strive to continuously improve our programs and services across the college. Our commitment includes:

• ongoing assessment of learning for students, faculty, and staff (e.g., providing student resources for assessment activities such as professional development for faculty and staff)
• benchmarks and indicators are created and articulated to evaluate outcomes from data collected
• outcome results (including teaching, student experiences, learning environment, curricula) guide decision making and supports continuous improvement

Our major Assessments include:

• Evaluation of Student Learning Outcomes
• Academic Program Review
• Administrative Review
• Quality Enhancement Plan

Data and Information

Here you can find dashboards on enrollment, completion, transfer and other areas of the College.

Enrollment

• Total Enrollment
• Curriculum / Credit Enrollment
• Continuing Education Enrollment
• Instructional FTE

Student Progress

• First-Year Progression
• Basic Skills Retention

Awards and Transfer

• Curriculum Completion
• Transfer Success

Planning

Institutional Planning, a subsection of Institutional Effectiveness, provides a roadmap from vision to planning to implementation and subsequently assessment of how the institution is performing. Planning applies to all divisions of the college, academic and non-academic, staff and faculty units. The institution’s planning efforts are focused on the achievement of stated goals and objectives, and the assessment of those efforts to identify opportunities for improvement.

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College engages in a three-level planning process of continuous improvement across the College namely:

Strategic

Strategic Planning is initiated by the Cabinet and involves the establishment of institution-wide goals and objectives in a strategic plan that provides imperatives for a 3-year period. Using the strategic plan to provide direction, the various divisions are responsible for establishing strategies to accomplish institutional objectives that are reflected in the program’s 3-year plan or in the annual plans. Established goals and objectives guide the allocation of college resources.

During the 3-year planning process, the Cabinet vets the Purpose Statement, Mission, Vision and Values. Changes to the mission statement, Mission, Vision and Values require the Rowan-Cabarrus Board of Trustees’ approval.

Unit

Unit Planning, sometimes referred to in academic areas as Program Planning, is used to establish goals and objectives for the next three years. For academic areas, planning generally occurs at the program level. In the administrative support units of the college, a unit is established below the division level and generally represents a department within a division. Therefore, while the strategies are defined by the division heads through the strategic planning process, the units and programs establish goals and objectives to achieve the strategies defined at the division level.

At the end of the 1-year cycle, a review is undertaken to assess achievement of outcomes, address findings and identify needed improvement, and establish objectives and outcomes for the next cycle.

Annual

Annual Planning also occurs at the unit level. Goals and objectives are established each year for each unit which supports the achievement of the 1-year unit goals and the strategic plan. Units identify objectives, assessment criteria, critical documentation for evidence and findings. Unmet objectives are identified for action planning and improvement. Budgetary needs, facilities and other necessary resources noted in annual planning help to inform other critical processes such as annual budgeting, allocation of space and hiring of appropriate staff and faculty.