Community colleges are instrumental in preparing a large student population for further education and the workforce. However, existing performance measures determining student success have proven to be inadequate in measuring institutional effectiveness for community colleges. Earlier this month, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) launched the Voluntary Framework of Accountability (VFA), the first nationwide community college accountability system focused on the community college mission and the diversity of its students’ backgrounds and experiences.
“We owe our students and our community as much as we owe the federal and state agencies to prove that learning is happening and that we are efficient and accountable. This is a fantastic way to do that,” said Dr. Kevin Pollock, president of VFA member college St. Clair Community College. “[Higher education administrators frequently talk] about graduation and retention rates, but [VFA] forces this to be a campus-wide issue and a campus-wide discussion.”
Community colleges enrolled in VFA would be able to enter, upload and visually display their data on VFA’s fully online data tool. Colleges would also be able to assess their data against the data of similar colleges to better understand their strengths and challenges. VFA metrics fall in three main categories: student progress and outcome; workforce, economic and community development; and student learning outcomes. The tool would help community colleges demonstrate achievement according to state performance funding metrics and better implement policies to improve student success at their campuses.
“Existing accountability measures in higher education do not adequately measure the unique mission of community colleges. For example, existing measures may exclude part-time students or non-credit career and technical students who are a key part of community colleges’ mission,” according to AACC. “In light of the inadequacy of existing measures, the VFA provides community colleges with a significantly improved ability to assess their performance, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate their commitment to their academic mission.”
VFA nationally launched earlier this month after 18 months of intensive research and testing by community college presidents , workforce development professionals, institutional researchers and governing boards. AACC’s VFA was created in collaboration with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the College Board Advocacy and Policy Center and fully funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Lumina Foundation.
How would new higher education initiatives affect discussions at your college? Find out at AACRAO’s upcoming Strategic Enrollment Management Conference in Chicago.
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Stephen J. Handel, Associate Vice President of Undergraduate Admissions for the University of California System and former executive director of the National Office of Community College Initiatives at the College Board, will be available at AACRAO’s SEM Conference specifically presenting at the Admissions Forum.
In his former role at the CollegeBoard, Handel advocated for, and conducted research with, community colleges nationally and internationally, with a special focus on initiatives that advance educational access and equity for all students. Prior to joining the College Board, Handel was a member of the president's staff for the 10-campus University of California (UC) system, serving as UC's first director of Community College Transfer Enrollment Planning and Outreach, where he initiated strategic enrollment policies focusing on the needs of community college transfer students.
We are fortunate to have him speaking again at the SEM Conference in Chicago November 10th along with Melanie Gottlieb, Director of Admissions Operations & International Campus Liaison, Webster University; and Dr. David Johnson, Vice Provost, Office of Enrollment Management, Indiana University. They will be addressing an audience for the Admissions Forum @ SEM regarding the principles, issues, foundations, trends, and future directions of Enrollment Management.