Program

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OBJECTIVE: Ensure student success for all by developing and nurturing high quality academic programs, students services, faculty, and external partnerships, which focus on closing equity gaps.


  1. Quality Student Services: Deliver student services that close equity gaps.
  2. Quality Teaching: Enhance instructional effectiveness that leads to increased student success.
  3. Quality Partnerships: Develop, maintain and engage business, community, and K-12 partnerships in ways that enhance student access to career training and experience.
  4. Quality Curriculum and Program Offerings: Ensure that the curricular portfolio, schedules, delivery methods, supplemental instruction and technology meet the educational, economic, and workforce needs of the region.
GOAL 1: Quality Student Services | Deliver student services that close equity gaps.
Strategies Success Indicators Action Steps
  1. Use data to explore new target markets and strong past markets.
  2. MN Reconnect Project.
  3. Credit for Prior Learning.
  • Increase enrollment by 100 FYE (from FY21-25).
  • See Student Affairs Work Plans, and Strategic Enrollment and Retention Plan for specific action steps.
  1. Implement targeted communication to all students and specific interventions to at-risk students.
  2. Increase participation/access rates by 5% to student services (student life, counseling, accessibility, career services, etc.).
  3. Increase the use of wrap around support services.
  • Increase overall persistence rates to 70%.
  • Implementation and use of new Customer Relations Management by faculty and staff.
  • Participation and access rates of students.
  • See Student Affairs Work Plans, and Strategic Enrollment and Retention Plan for specific action steps.
  1. Adopt and implement Equity by Design within the Strategic Enrollment & Retention Management work.
  2. Reverse Transfer-award of degrees.
  3. Track the grad plus transfer rate of 2+2 Transfer Pathway programs.
  • Increase the overall completion rate to 60%.
  • See Student Affairs Work Plans, Master Academic Plan, Equity and Inclusion Plan, and Strategic Enrollment and Retention Plan for specific action steps.

 

GOAL 2: Quality Teaching | Enhance instructional effectiveness that leads to increased student success.
Strategies Success Indicators Action Steps
  1. Create a comprehensive model for Faculty Support and specific Professional Development offerings that support student success.
  2. Professional Development Plans are tied to college and individual goals.
  3. Utilize student engagement data and course surveys that will provide feedback to faculty at mid-term and end of semester.
  4. Enhance SLOAP for continuous improvement.
  5. Monitor progress on program fact sheets and use program review process for course and program improvement.
  6. Create specific training, tools, and support for quality online, hybrid and f2f teaching to increase success rates.
  7. Develop new tools for Deans and peers to provide useful feedback to faculty at different stages of their career and in different modalities.
  • Increase faculty participation rate to 90% in professional development to enhance teaching effectiveness.
  • Student satisfaction scores (aggregate, not by individual instructor) average satisfactory or excellent ratings.
  • Student learning assessment results entered and analyzed by 90% of faculty.
  • Complete and implement program review plans in each academic program on a two-year cycle.
  • Increase course completion rates on all courses (online, blended, or F2F), reduce W’s and F’s by 10%.
  • Increase program outcome results with 85% of student pass rates of licensures and certification exams.
  • Improve the faculty feedback, review, and evaluation process and resources to enhance faculty effectiveness.
  • 2% annual increase in program outcomes.
  • Provide support, feedback, and professional development to faculty.
  • Student listening sessions in multiple formats.
  • Analyze data for continuous improvement.
  • Increase course success rates which will increase program success rates.
  • Improve gateway courses in Math, Communications, and Science with higher grades that will allow students to pursue transfer pathways in STEM careers.
  • Identify courses with higher grades and develop strategies to improve outcomes in those courses.
  • Meet accreditation requirements in Nursing, Radiography, and Peace Officer.

 

 

GOAL 3: Quality Partnerships | Develop, maintain and engage business, community, and K-12 partnerships in ways that enhance student access to career training and experience.
Strategies Success Indicators Action Steps
  1. Develop 100 new engaged business or community partners.
  2. Create a Career Connections model to increase graduate outcomes, alumni relations, and talent retention within the region.
  3. Increase the number of College Now completers who enroll in Riverland after graduation by 5% annually.
  4. Implement and enhance The Hormel Foundation Austin Assurance Scholarship program, SMEC CTE
  5. Future Ready Partnerships, Adult Basic Education and other specific partnerships.
  • Increase the number of relevant partners involved in advisory boards for the college.
  • Increase the number of engaged partners participating in college events, hiring interns, hiring graduates, guest speakers, etc.
  • Enhance and maintain effective K-12 partnerships to deliver quality concurrent enrollment, PSEO,
  • Early/Middle College, and The Hormel Foundation Austin Assurance Scholarship program, and Bridges to Careers.
  • Add/replace 2 new partners who hire graduates to each advisory committee.
  • Organize special student job interview events the semester prior to graduation and/or alumni with partner businesses/organizations.
  • Enhance the Riverland College Now program with scholarships and support to concurrent enrollment mentors and mentees through professional development.
  • Create, align and offer developmental education courses in partnership with ABE.
  • Use multiple measures of placement, CPL to avoid additional testing, transfer or admission barriers.
  • Promote guided career learning pathways.

 

 

GOAL 4: Quality Curriculum and Program Offerings | Ensure that the curricular portfolio, schedules, delivery methods, supplemental instruction and technology meet the educational, economic, and workforce needs of the region.
Strategies Success Indicators Action Steps
  1. Design and redesign Credit, Non-Credit and Customized Training programs that are designed to meet student and labor market needs.
  2. Design schedules, courses and methodology that is geared to what students want and need.
  3. Design proactive and reactive strategies to increase student success in the first two semesters.
  4. Increase program completion rates by 2-5% (measure full-time and part-time students).
  • Increase enrollment by 100 FYE (from FY21-25).
  • Increase overall persistence rates to 70%.
  • Increase overall completion rate to 60%.
  • Design schedules, courses and methodology that is geared to what students want and need.
  • Increase course completion rates by 5%.
  • Design proactive and reactive strategies to increase student success in the first two semesters.
  • Use engaged advising strategies and Guided Learning Pathways to keep students on track.