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West Virginia Northern Community College - WVHLC ID 1675

STANDARD PATHWAY: Mid-Cycle Review Visit Date: 11/14/2016

Dr. Vicki RileyPresident

Stephanie BrzuzyHLC Liaison

Rebecca Nickoli Review Team Chair

Jane Salisbury Federal Compliance Reviewer

Antoinette Baldin Team Member

David Keller Team Member

Michael McClanahan Team Member

West Virginia Northern Community College - WV - Final Report - 1/14/2017

Context and Nature of Review

Visit Date11/14/2016Mid-Cycle Reviews include:

The Year 4 Review in the Open and Standard PathwaysThe Biennial Review for Applying institutions

Reaffirmation Reviews include:

The Year 10 Review in the Open and Standard PathwaysThe Review for Initial Candidacy for Applying institutionsThe Review for Initial Accreditation for Applying institutionsThe Year 4 Review for Standard Pathway institutions that are in their first accreditation cycle after attaininginitial accreditation

Scope of Review

Mid-Cycle ReviewFederal ComplianceOn-site Visit

There are no forms assigned.

Institutional ContextWest Virginia Northern Community College (WVNCC) in Wheeling was founded in 1972, having formerly been abranch campus of West Liberty State College (now University). There are two smaller campuses in Weirton andNew Martinsville, each about an hour drive from Wheeling. The college serves six counties and is involved in atuition reciprocity agreement with seven nearby counties.

As a comprehensive community college, WVNCC offers the traditional menu of two-year degrees (the Associate ofArts, Associate of Science, and Associate of Applied Science) and certificates. Most programs are open admissionswhile certain health programs practice selective admissions.

The Wheeling campus is situated in downtown Wheeling and its largest building is the former railroad depot. Thereis an Education Center, a new technology center, and a student union building nearby. The college is currentlyseeking funding approval for another building in downtown Wheeling. Most of the buildings have been renovatedand are an enhancement to the downtown Wheeling area.

A Higher Learning Commission team of four peer reviewers visited the college on November 14-15 to conduct afour-year review visit. As a result of the 2013 comprehensive visit, the visit team assigned a focus visit on facultycredentials. The faculty credentials topic was embedded in this visit. One team member reviewed faculty files tocheck credentials for over 40 faculty members. One of the team members visited the Weirton campus on November15 and the New Martinsville campus on November 16th. A separate report is being filed as part of this assurance


report that will describe the findings at those two campuses.

Interactions with ConstituenciesAccreditation Committee (7)

Assessment Committee (7)

Board of Governors (6 members)

Campus Dean (Weirton and New Martinsville - also HLC Liaison)

Chancellor of West Virginia System (phone call)

Chief Human Resources Officer

Counselor

Curriculum Committee (12)

Dean of Community Relations

Director of Economic and Workforce Development

Director of the Learning Resource Center

Director of Online Learning

Director of Student Activities

Director of Student Support

Division Chairs and Program Directors Meeting - 15

Faculty Session (New Martinsville - 6)

Faculty Session (Weirton - 7)

Faculty Session (Wheeling - 25)

Institutional Research/Institutional Effectiveness

President

Staff Session - New Martinsville (6)

Staff Session - Weirton (6)

Staff Session - Wheeling (17)

Strategic Planning Committee (18)


Student Support Services (14)

Student Session - New Martinsville (6)

Student Session - Weirton (8)

Student Session - Wheeling (8)

Vice-President/Academic Affairs

Vice-President/Administrative Services Chief Financial Officer

Vice-President/Human Resources

Vice-President/Student Services (also Financial Aid Officer)

Additional DocumentsAccreditation Committee Organizational Chart

Assessment Plan - 2016-2017

Assessment Report Peer Review Form - Business Administration Transfer Option Program

Calendar - Fall Semester 2016

Campus Communicator - January 2016

Career Focus - Spring 2015

Coop Scoop - November 2016

Copyright Policy - Draft

Faculty Professional Plan, Evaluation and Merit Procedures, Process and Timelines

Find Your Direction Handout - August 2016

Fund Tracking Document

HLC Assessment Workshop Proposal

Institutional Effectiveness - Work Flowchrt

Intellectual Property Policy - Draft

Minutes - Ad Hoc Promotion Policy Revision Committee


Minutes - Business Studies Advisory Committee - October 14, 2016

Minutes - CIT Advisory Committee - September 23, 2016

Minutes - Distance Education Committee - January 23, 2015

Minutes - FERC & Merit Committee including Policy Changes and Updates

OnTrack - November 2016

Online Degrees Brochure

Organizational Chart

Post Audit Program Review (Patient Care)

Program Advisory Committee List - Website

Program Review Schedule - Academic Years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016

Program Reviews (Criminal Justice - AA, AS; Surgical Technology, AA, AS; Patient Care Technician)

Schedule of Classes - Spring 2016 and Fall 2016

Strategic Plan: Renewing Our Commitment - 2015-2020

West Virginia CTCS Master Plan - Fulfilling the Vision: 2015-2020

Workforce Development Key Elements Matrix

Workforce Annual Matrix - Background Information on Data


1 - Mission

The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.

1.A - Core Component 1.A

The institution’s mission is broadly understood within the institution and guides its operations.

1. The mission statement is developed through a process suited to the nature and culture of theinstitution and is adopted by the governing board.

2. The institution’s academic programs, student support services, and enrollment profile areconsistent with its stated mission.

3. The institution’s planning and budgeting priorities align with and support the mission. (Thissub-component may be addressed by reference to the response to Criterion 5.C.1.)

RatingMet

EvidenceThe team found that the West Virginia Northern Community College (WVNCC) has appropriatelydeveloped its mission statement through a transparent and participative process. The College crafteda new Mission Statement in 2016 to better articulate why and how it provides service to its designatedarea. The artifacts presented in the evidence file were also found on the college website underheading tabs of “About”, “Mission Statement”, “Strategic Planning” and “Catalog." The processdescribed for updating the mission statement included the development of recommendations fromfaculty, staff, students and community. The Mission Statement was approved by the GoverningBoard after the prescribed comment period. The Governing Board also has representation fromfaculty, staff, and students per West Virginia mandate. This evidence was found in the Strategic Planminutes beginning Nov. 18, 2015. New students also are required to discuss the mission statementand their understanding of the mission statement in the students’ class journals as a component of theCollege Orientation class.

WVNCC has 3rd party accreditation in a wide variety of program areas indicating that the College isinvesting in high skill, high demand program areas that meet community needs. These programsinclude: Allied Health, Legal Professions, Health Information Management, HVAC, Welding,Petroleum, Instrumentation Process Technology, Advance Manufacturing Technology, and IndustrialMaintenance. Although overall enrollment is down for the College, several of these skills-basedprograms are growing.

Student support services are comprehensive and reflect the needs of potential students and studentsenrolled at the College. Student Support Services takes action on student complaints in a proactivemanner. The Student Support Services unit has implemented steps to address student complaints such


as slow response to answering questions presented via telephone by asking that students email thequestions. Telephone responses may take up to 48 hours for a response whereas email responses weresaid to generally be completed within one to two hours. A new telephone system is being investigatedby the Information Technology Department to alleviate some of the telephone issues identified bystudents in their surveys. Student are also notified by an automated response anytime a student’sfinancial aid is changed. These services also align with the mission statement.

WVNCC has a fairly new Chief Financial Officer and new processes that are intended to more closelyalign planning and budgeting at the college. The team reviewed various forms that represent the newprocesses. Because the process is very new, there is little evidence about how it will ultimately workthroughout an entire annual process. More information about the new process is found in Criterion5.C.1.

Interim Monitoring (if applicable)No Interim Monitoring Recommended.


1.B - Core Component 1.B

The mission is articulated publicly.

1. The institution clearly articulates its mission through one or more public documents, such asstatements of purpose, vision, values, goals, plans, or institutional priorities.

2. The mission document or documents are current and explain the extent of the institution’semphasis on the various aspects of its mission, such as instruction, scholarship, research,application of research, creative works, clinical service, public service, economic development,and religious or cultural purpose.

3. The mission document or documents identify the nature, scope, and intended constituents of thehigher education programs and services the institution provides.

RatingMet

EvidenceThe Mission Statement was found in the documents provided in the evidence file and also confirmedvia log-in to the campus web page demonstrating access to the public.

The mission statement is current. It was recently modified and approved by the Board of Governors inearly 2016 after the formal comment period for stakeholders of the College. The mission statementincludes a vision statement which further illustrates the methodologies used in meeting theoverarching goals of the mission statement.

The stated goals of the Mission Statement are to empower individuals to achieve academic and careergoals and to meet the workforce needs in the service area. The new programs, enrollment in thoseprograms and partnerships with employers to develop those programs clearly demonstrates a missiondriven approach for meeting the needs of the constituents of the college.



1.C - Core Component 1.C

The institution understands the relationship between its mission and the diversity of society.

1. The institution addresses its role in a multicultural society.2. The institution’s processes and activities reflect attention to human diversity as appropriate

within its mission and for the constituencies it serves.

RatingMet

EvidenceThe coursework available and the variety of calendar events for social interaction and exposure toother ethnic and culturally diverse groups for students demonstrate that the College is taking clearsteps to address the multicultural society. However, minority role models for those students arelacking. Non-white student enrollment was reported in the assurance argument as approximately9.5% of the student population while the minority faculty representation for the college isapproximately 4%. The team noted that this faculty representation level is on par with the minoritypopulation within the service area of the college as reported in the latest census data. WVNCCrecognizes the challenges it faces in regard to its location within a geographical region that lackssignificant diversity.

The College provides resources at its disposal to reach out to the differing diversity issues found in itsservice area. In addition, the College provides opportunities for such events such as Black HistoryMonth, sexual orientation awareness and acceptance, loan counseling for student borrowers, peermentoring, efforts to aid financially challenged students, including those who are the first generationstudents to overcome the effects of lower socioeconomic status.



1.D - Core Component 1.D

The institution’s mission demonstrates commitment to the public good.

1. Actions and decisions reflect an understanding that in its educational role the institution servesthe public, not solely the institution, and thus entails a public obligation.

2. The institution’s educational responsibilities take primacy over other purposes, such asgenerating financial returns for investors, contributing to a related or parent organization, orsupporting external interests.

3. The institution engages with its identified external constituencies and communities of interestand responds to their needs as its mission and capacity allow.

RatingMet

EvidenceThe evidence file clearly demonstrates connection to and willingness to develop partnerships thatbenefit the College, the students, and the partnering organizations. The College offers coursework in avariety of formats, face to face, online, hybrid, and in accelerated formats to meet the public interestand demand.

WVNCC mission-related documents clearly stress the importance of meeting the needs of thecommunity. Programs exist for the traditional transfer and career education as well as non-creditpersonal interest and workforce skills upgrade training. Several skills upgrade classes wererepresented in the spring 2015 and fall 2015 Continuing Education Schedules. The team did not find a2016 Continuing Education Schedule. However, recent skills training has been provided through theBridging the Gap TAACCCT grant (a consortium of several West Virginia community colleges thatincludes WVNCC) that was focused on Petroleum Technology, Information Technology, andMechatronics training as deliverables of the grant.

The College serves as an anchor for the local downtown area by renovating existing vacant buildingsand making them available to the public as shared use spaces such as the College Barnes and Noblebookstore and a Starbuck's.

Stakeholders of the college are provided an avenue to express their opinions. The College hasresponded to local community needs as reflected in selecting building locations with the intent toserve the community as well as the students, creation of workforce training programs to meet industryneeds, and the use of college buildings for community events. The College has served as a meetinglocation for civic organizations, for groups of citizens to openly discuss political differences, and todiscuss racial issues that have impacted the region at various times.

Interim Monitoring (if applicable)


No Interim Monitoring Recommended.


1.S - Criterion 1 - Summary

The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.

EvidenceThe team acknowledges the challenges that WVNCC faces in recruiting a culturally and ethnicallydiverse faculty and staff in light of the regional demographics. However, more effort could be givento actively recruiting faculty members from, for example, graduates of Historically Black andHispanic Colleges or by advertising open positions in publications that are directed towards a morediverse readership.

The team recommends that the mission statement be included in all external publications of thecollege to further disseminate the mission of the college to all stakeholders. An easy method to do thismight be to reduce the Mission Statement to a “Tag Line” such as “Empowering Student Success” or“Empowering Students through Education” that can be readily used on business cards, emailsignatures, college advertisements, program brochures, or other College external messaging.

The team finds that Criterion One is met.


2 - Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct

The institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.


The institution operates with integrity in its financial, academic, personnel, and auxiliary functions; itestablishes and follows policies and processes for fair and ethical behavior on the part of its governingboard, administration, faculty, and staff.

RatingMet With Concerns

EvidenceWVNCC operates within several state and federal laws, and numerous local policies and proceduresto guide fair and ethical behavior for students, faculty, staff, administration, and its governing board.The institution presents itself clearly and completely through the website, College catalog and studenthandbook.

The Board of Governors operates according to the by-laws of the board. While there have been threevacancies on the board, two positions have recently been filled. The team questioned the practice ofstaff and faculty representatives discussing and voting on issues that appear to be conflicts of interestsuch as pay increases; the board members responded it had not been a problem and represents onlytwo of 12 votes.

In the last HLC comprehensive visit report, the team noted that minorities were underrepresented inthe faculty and staff as compared to the demographics of the service area. The current visit team wasnot able to identify any substantial change in hiring practices to specifically recruit minority faculty. During conversations with faculty, team members heard that at least some qualified minority facultyare available locally but are not actively recruited.

The College maintains a practice that the Human Resources Officer is solely responsible for thepersonnel budget. Employees reported problems with payroll issues including extra compensation forfour months beyond completion of a faculty responsibility (and subsequent demand forreimbursement of excess pay) and lack of withholding life insurance premiums and TIAA-CREFcontributions. The College may wish to review this practice to determine if it is the most effectivestrategy for handling funds for personnel services.

Division chairs and program directors report substantial budgeting issues. While the majority ofprograms reported having sufficient funds to maintain minimal operations, programs currently fundedby grant money indicated they do not. Program directors reported having little budget input andconsistent difficulties finding up-to-date budget balances. Numerous directors reported the Bannerand Argos systems do not show the same balances and faculty have resorted to maintaining their own


balance sheets. One program reported that the College had not paid a medical waste removal contractfor three years resulting in a $22,000 debit to the program budget, leaving the budget with a negativebalance. This led to a series of miscommunications with the Chief Financial Officer and BusinessOffice further delaying the purchase of needed student supplies. Another faculty member reportedunpaid bills resulted in a delay of students receiving materials to prepare for certification exams. There is significant frustration that student fees collected by the College go to the general fund andnot applied directly to the program for which they were collected. While that is not an unusualpractice, it is especially difficult for some programs in a time of low enrollments and budget cuts.

The team found this Core Component to be "met with concerns" due especially to the issues withinaccurate and inconsistent budget balances and bills not being paid particularly when there ispotential for a negative impact on the students.

Interim Monitoring (if applicable)As part of follow-up monitoring, the College will need to address the issue of consistent financialreporting to faculty and other constituencies as well as more input from budget managers. There wereat least two elements to this concern: (1) differing reports coming from the Banner and Argossystems, and (2) the non-payment of bills to some vendors that had an impact on student access toneeded materials. There appears to be a new process for requesting capital items associated with thestrategic planning initiatives but there is little other opportunity for faculty to have input into thebudget development for their departments. This should also be addressed as part of the follow-upmonitoring.



The institution presents itself clearly and completely to its students and to the public with regard to itsprograms, requirements, faculty and staff, costs to students, control, and accreditation relationships.

RatingMet

EvidenceWVNCC appears to provide an effective system for providing information for students, faculty andstaff and other stakeholders. Information for both current and prospective students regardingadmissions, college services, and applicable College policies and procedures are readily available onthe College website. Program descriptions, student learning outcomes, and plans of study areincluded on the website. Links to the current tuition and fee schedule are available. Program andinstitutional accreditation relationships are available and appropriately described.




The governing board of the institution is sufficiently autonomous to make decisions in the bestinterest of the institution and to assure its integrity.

1. The governing board’s deliberations reflect priorities to preserve and enhance the institution.2. The governing board reviews and considers the reasonable and relevant interests of the

institution’s internal and external constituencies during its decision-making deliberations.3. The governing board preserves its independence from undue influence on the part of donors,

elected officials, ownership interests or other external parties when such influence would not bein the best interest of the institution.

4. The governing board delegates day-to-day management of the institution to the administrationand expects the faculty to oversee academic matters.

RatingMet

EvidenceThe WVNCC Board of Governors is comprised of nine lay members, two college employees, and onestudent. The composition of the Board is defined by the Higher Education Act of the State, effectivesince 2001. Members are nominated by the president and appoointed by the governor. Minutes fromthe Board were provided as evidence of how their meetings are conducted and documentation of theirdecisions. At the time the Assurance Review was written, there were three board vacancies for laymembers. During the visit, the team learned that two of the three vacancies have now been filled.

The Board members are responsible for hiring and evaluating the president; reviewing the StrategicPlan and then submitting it to the State Higher Education Policy Commission; reviewing andsubmitting an annual budget; approving capital projects; reviewing and approving new policies for theCollege; setting tuition rates, and approving the academic calendar. In addition, the Board hearsreports from the Cabinet members and various employee groups that keep them up-to-date oninitiatives within the College.

The by-laws of the Board of Governors provide guidance to the Board members as to how to avoidconflict of interest in the College's business relationships and other similar matters. The samecircumstance remains that was noted in the previous team's comments from the comprehensive visit. There are two employee board members and they are in the position of voting on certain issues thatrelate to their employment at the institution, including such items as salary increases. The Board andthe College administration clearly believe that the Board is acting in accordance with Stateexpectations and that this circumstance is not a conflict of interest.

The team met with the Governing Board and it is clear that they understand their responsibilities togovern and not micro-manage the institution. They have entrusted the President with the day-to-dayresponsibilities of running the College, such as hiring and evaluating employees and developing plansand budgets. They agreed that they sometimes also act in an advisory capacity but that their primary


statutory role is that of governance. They also understand that faculty are responsible for thecurriculum and other academic matters. The Vice President for Academic Affairs presents reportsand recommendations at Board meetings regarding curriculum and academic programs whichoriginate with faculty committees.




The institution is committed to freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth in teaching andlearning.

RatingMet

EvidenceFreedom of expression and the pursuit of the truth in teaching and learning is ensured through theBoard approved policies on academic freedom and ethics/conflict of interest. The last HLC visit teamnoted there was not a policy on intellectual property. As of November 2016, a draft policy forintellectual property has been developed and is under review by the faculty and the Vice President ofAcademic Affairs (VPAA). After reviewing the draft policy, the team noted that it is very narrow inscope, focused exclusively on compensation for the development of online courses when they arerequested by the VPAA. The team suggests a more robust and thorough policy on intellectualproperty that would address a variety of circumstances when intellectual property is at issue. A broadintellectual property discussion may serve as a springboard for supporting professional developmentactivities beyond attendance of conferences.



2.E - Core Component 2.E

The institution’s policies and procedures call for responsible acquisition, discovery and application ofknowledge by its faculty, students and staff.

1. The institution provides effective oversight and support services to ensure the integrity ofresearch and scholarly practice conducted by its faculty, staff, and students.

2. Students are offered guidance in the ethical use of information resources.3. The institution has and enforces policies on academic honesty and integrity.

RatingMet

EvidenceWVNCC has no formal Institutional Review Board (IRB) to examine the use of human subjects orother elements of research that should be addressed in an academic setting. The President’s officeaddresses such requests as needed. FERPA and HIPAA training is provided to faculty and staff.Ethical use of information is addressed in the student handbook and the Ethics/Conflict of InterestBoard policy. The College provides faculty with access to SafeAssign through Blackboard to helpensure the academic integrity of student work.

Students are introduced to ethical use of information sources through the library, the College policyon acceptable use of computers, and orientation courses such as ORNT90. The student handbookincludes definitions of plagiarism as cheating. Faculty commonly include plagiarism statements andconsequences in course syllabi.

The College has policies clarifying Academic Integrity and Student Responsibilities and a disciplinaryprocess to address violations of these policies.




The institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.

EvidenceWVNCC follows local policies and operates within state and federal laws to ensure fair and ethicaltreatment of all constituents. For the most part, the College maintains effective systems to provideinformation for students, faculty and staff and other stakeholders. However, there is a concern thatthe College does not have reliable information pertaining to its budgets, leaving faculty withinconsistent and sometimes inaccurate information about what funding is available to them. Inaddition, there are reported instances of the College not paying bills for materials and/or services thathas led to students not having access to important materials for their classes.

The institution presents itself clearly and completely through the website, the College catalog andstudent handbook.

Multiple College groups expressed concern regarding the college's policy that the Human ResourcesOfficer is solely responsible for the personnel budget. Division chairs and program directors reportedsubstantial budgeting issues which have resulted in delays of normal operations and negativelyimpacted student success.

The WVNCC Board of Governors is comprised of nine lay members, two College employees, andone student. The team met with the Governing Board and it is clear that they understand theirresponsibilities to govern and not micro-manage the institution.

In the last HLC report it was noted that minorities were underrepresented in the faculty and staff ascompared to the demographics of the service area. The team did not identify any substantial changein hiring practices to specifically recruit minority faculty.

The last HLC visit also found that there was not a policy on intellectual property. In November 2016,the team reviewed a draft Intellectual Property statement. The draft is very narrow in scope, focusedexclusively on compensation for the development of online courses when requested by the VPAA.

The team found that Criterion Two is "met with concerns."


3 - Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support

The institution provides high quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.


The institution’s degree programs are appropriate to higher education.

1. Courses and programs are current and require levels of performance by students appropriate tothe degree or certificate awarded.

2. The institution articulates and differentiates learning goals for undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, post-graduate, and certificate programs.

3. The institution’s program quality and learning goals are consistent across all modes of deliveryand all locations (on the main campus, at additional locations, by distance delivery, as dualcredit, through contractual or consortial arrangements, or any other modality).

RatingMet

EvidenceWest Virginia Northern Community College (WVNCC) is a comprehensive community collegeoffering Liberal Arts and Sciences, Career-Technical, Workforce Development, Community andContinuing Education at three locations: Wheeling, Weirton and New Martinsville. The 2015-2016WVNCC catalog lists 67 academic programs available to students in traditional format. The programinventory includes 20 transfer programs, 25 A.A.S programs, three A.S programs, five A.A programsand 14 certificate programs that include eight online programs and two online certificate programs.The College’s campus pages highlight at which campuses specific programs are offered and the classschedule shows which courses are offered at each campus. Ten programs are accredited by specializedaccreditation agencies and those entities are identified on the college catalog program page and on theCollege’s accreditation website page.

The College has a Department of Economic and Workforce Development which is responsible foroffering several credit A.A.S programs, including Advanced Manufacturing, Petroleum Technology,Welding, HVAC, and Chemical Operations. There are also several one-year certificates offered insome of these program areas. This department also provides customized and contract training forlocal employers in areas such as OSHA and electrical-mechanical. They also work closely with thelocal workforce board. The department offers some continuing education courses to groups ofstudents such as retirees and others who are interested in ongoing adult learning.

The Assurance Review, along with campus interviews and review of College information on-site(e.g., the College catalog, website and course syllabi), confirms that WVNCC offers associate degreesand certificates with learning goals appropriate to the associate degree level. The College publishes


the program learning goals for all students in the College catalog and on the College website programpages. Each program lists student learning outcomes on the respective catalog page. Course studentlearning outcomes are located as part of each course Master Course Guide.

According to faculty interviews, each course uses a Master Course Guide that outlines the coursedescription, structure, learning outcomes and performance objectives and all full-time and part-timefaculty must use these course guides. However, faculty shared that there is inconsistency on howcourse learning goals are shared with students; some share the Master Course Guide while others listthe course learning goals on the course syllabus. Assessment Committee members acknowledged thatmuch more work is needed on defining course learning goals' tracking and recording course andprogram assessment activities; and developing continuous improvement processes to clearly articulateand complete assessment processes. For example, the faculty were still unclear on definitions oflearning goals, learning objectives, and essential traits. Common definitions are needed to describe“course learning goals” and how those goals will be used in assessment. A more thorough approach isneeded to define WVNCC’s assessment strategy for program, general education and courseassessments.




The institution demonstrates that the exercise of intellectual inquiry and the acquisition, application,and integration of broad learning and skills are integral to its educational programs.

1. The general education program is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings, and degreelevels of the institution.

2. The institution articulates the purposes, content, and intended learning outcomes of itsundergraduate general education requirements. The program of general education is groundedin a philosophy or framework developed by the institution or adopted from an establishedframework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to students and develops skillsand attitudes that the institution believes every college-educated person should possess.

3. Every degree program offered by the institution engages students in collecting, analyzing, andcommunicating information; in mastering modes of inquiry or creative work; and in developingskills adaptable to changing environments.

4. The education offered by the institution recognizes the human and cultural diversity of theworld in which students live and work.

5. The faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work, and the discovery ofknowledge to the extent appropriate to their programs and the institution’s mission.

RatingMet

EvidenceThe evidence file clearly shows that WVNCC has the appropriate general education goals relevant tothe College’s mission. The six general education goals are stated in the College catalog and on thewebsite and include 1) communicate effectively in oral and written formats; 2) employ or utilizeinformation access and literacy skills; 3) demonstrate problem solving and critical thinking skills; 4)employ mathematical and science literacy skills; 5) acquire a cultural, artistic and global perspective;and 6) demonstrate professional and human relations skills.

The College catalog communicates the purpose, content, and intended learning outcomes of itsgeneral education program. The goals are similar to state peer institutions and follow the stateguidelines which requires a minimum of 15 credits of general education for technical programs and24 credits for transfer programs. The credit hours required come from different academic disciplinearea within the general education core requirements and include the areas of Humanities, SocialScience, Laboratory Science, and Mathematics. Courses are selected that can provide broad generaleducation knowledge and complement the College’s mission “ to educate and empower individuals toachieve academic and career goals, leading to a highly skilled, well-rounded, and accomplishedworkforce which successfully competes and adapts in a global economy.” Though all faculty knowthe six general education goals, not all are clear on how to conduct a comprehensive assessment of thegoals. A more complete discussion on assessing general education goals appears in Criterion Four,Teaching and Learning, Core Component 4B.


From the evidence file and review of the College’s program web pages, the team learned that everydegree program engages students in collecting, analyzing and communicating information. All degreeprograms use either English Composition I (ENG 101) or Technical Writing (ENG 115) and bothcourses require research papers as part of the course requirements.

The evidence file clearly provides information on how the College recognizes the human and culturaldiversity of the world in which students live and work through specific courses and as one of thegeneral education goals. The College lists specific courses that address the appreciation of diversecultures; Understanding Human Diversity (HS 147), Global Communities (SS255), West Virginia andthe Appalachian Subculture (SS 207), World Cultures (HIST 100 and 101), International Economics(ECON 120), World Geography (GEOG 205), Science in the Contemporary World (GSC 100) andPrinciples of Macroeconomics (ECON 104).

At a community college, the primary function of faculty is teaching and learning. This statement, “Asfaculty, we are a community of scholars who place a top priority on teaching, learning and advising”published on the College’s mission web page highlights the importance of faculty in the excellence inteaching and learning. The evidence file provided appropriate student creative work examples inbiology, welding, culinary and petroleum technology.




The institution has the faculty and staff needed for effective, high-quality programs and studentservices.

1. The institution has sufficient numbers and continuity of faculty members to carry out both theclassroom and the non-classroom roles of faculty, including oversight of the curriculum andexpectations for student performance; establishment of academic credentials for instructionalstaff; involvement in assessment of student learning.

2. All instructors are appropriately qualified, including those in dual credit, contractual, andconsortial programs.

3. Instructors are evaluated regularly in accordance with established institutional policies andprocedures.

4. The institution has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are current in theirdisciplines and adept in their teaching roles; it supports their professional development.

5. Instructors are accessible for student inquiry.6. Staff members providing student support services, such as tutoring, financial aid advising,

academic advising, and co-curricular activities, are appropriately qualified, trained, andsupported in their professional development.

RatingNot Met

EvidenceWVNCC employs 55 full-time faculty and 59 part-time faculty. Full-time faculty have three primaryareas of responsibility: instruction and academic advising, professional development, and institutionaland community service. The full-time faculty workload is teaching 30 credit hours per year. They arealso required to be available during office hours for ten hours per week with the rest of the hourssupporting institutional and community services. In conversations with the team about enrollmentdecline and rightsizing, many faculty felt they needed to take overloads to meet the course andcommittee demands. The site team saw the same faculty on numerous committees.

Instructors are reviewed annually through a faculty evaluation process. Faculty evaluation covers fivemajor areas of responsibility: effectiveness in teaching, mastery of subject matter, scholarlyability/activity, continuing professional growth, and effectiveness of College service. During theannual evaluation, each faculty member submits a load analysis, goals, accomplishment report, self-evaluation, and student course evaluation report. The Division Chair then completes an evaluation ofthe faculty position description and reviews the materials with the faculty member, offeringsuggestions for improvement. Also, each faculty undergoes a classroom visit. In the past year, an adhoc promotion policy committee has been meeting to review and provide recommendation to the VicePresident for Academic Affairs on the most recent faculty evaluation and promotion policy which waslast updated in 2014.

The College annually devotes a portion of the budget for professional development. For the 2016-17


academic year, WVNCC set aside a total of $50,000 towards professional development with a $2000limit per person for external professional development activities. The College also offers tuitionreimbursement of $1000 per person in an academic year. There appears to be limited in-houseprofessional development. The most recent required professional development was an Assessmentworkshop held in August 2016 for all faculty. The College does not have a Center for Teaching andLearning though there is a professional development committee that reviews faculty and staff requestsfor funding.

Faculty are most familiar with their programs, courses and career opportunities and so the Collegeuses a faculty advising model. They are required to serve as advisors as part of the faculty workloadand are available to students by phone, in person, and via email.

Student Support and Academic Support service personnel are qualified and trained for their respectiveareas as outlined in the College’s evidence file. Job descriptions are reviewed and updated asvacancies occur and prior to job posting.

The previous comprehensive visit team found that there was a concern regarding College faculty whodid not meet credentialing requirements as identified by College guidelines and/or HLC expectations. That concern resulted in a focus visit being assigned; that focus visit was instead embedded in thecurrent four-year check-in visit. One HLC team member reviewed 54 faculty personnel records,including 28 full-time, 20 part-time, and six dual credit instructors. Five of the faculty reviewed alsoteach online courses The personnel records represented several discipline areas, faculty from all threecampuses, different modes of delivery including distance education, dual enrollment courses, and bothfull-time and part-time instructors. The College has a credentialing matrix that identifies what theappropriate credentials are for each course offered by the college. Based on the requirementsspecified for the faculty and courses selected for review, the team member found 14 records that didnot match the credentialing matrix developed by WVNCC and provided to the reviewer. Thisindicated to the team that the College continues to have difficulty with faculty credentialingrequirements. The College Human Resources Officer assisted with pulling the records for review.

Several potential reasons for this credentialing mismatch were apparent:

1) The credentialing matrix was overly specific, i.e. identified exact levels of educationalattainment and/or experience requirements with specific number of years experience in a particularindustry. The matrix did not indicate whether credentialing requirements by specialized accreditingbodies were considered as part of the development of the credentialing expectations.

As an example, one faculty member was given the years experience in the Information Technology(IT) industry for work as an administrative staff member rather than having worked as an ITprofessional. Another instance was for physical science classes and physics classes. The credentialingmatrix identified that a Master's in Physical Science was required to teach both physical science andphysics courses, yet physics is a higher level science course. A more appropriate requirement wouldhave been a Master's in Physics for both. Another instance involved an individual with a master's inaccounting teaching accounting courses which is appropriate; the credentialing requirement was aMaster's in Business Administration which is a less likely match for the expected credential.

2) Courses not in the Credentialing Matrix.

Two faculty member records reviewed were teaching courses that were not listed in the FacultyCredential Requirements Matrix so no determination could be made about whether they wereappropriately credentialed.


3) Exceptions exceeded time limits.

The reviewer could find no evidence in the files that indicated that faculty credential exceptions hadbeen reviewed since the original exception was granted, mostly in 2013. Several exceptions notedwere signed off on in 2013 whereas the Vice President of Academic Affairs and the AssuranceReview stated that exceptions were only valid for one semester. There was no indication that theexceptions had been reviewed after they were original granted several years earlier.

4) Substitution of credentials.

The team was not clear in several cases as to why substitutions were approved or for what length oftime the exception was valid. The team surmised that perhaps 3rd party specialized credentialing mayhave been reflected in some of the substitutions but the credentialing matrix provided by the collegedid not confirm that possibility.

As an example, the College substituted a Master's of Science in Nursing credential and a diplomafrom a non-regionally accredited institution for faculty teaching Medical Assisting. This did notmatch the credentialing matrix. The credentialing matrix could have listed Associate Degree/Diplomain Medical Assisting or Registered Nursing licensure at the ADN/BSN/MSN level and experience andcredentialing in Medical Assisting for both substitutions.

The team believes that the College continues to have faculty teaching who do not have appropriatecredentials and/or have exceptions that have been in place for as long as three years without a secondreview to determine eligibility/continued eligibility to teach the specified course.

The team considers this Core Component to be "not met" especially in light of its citation in the 2013comprehensive visit as being of concern at that time. In spite of having developed a credentialingmatrix to identify what constitutes appropriate credentials to teach each course, there are stillnumerous faculty teaching who do not appear to meet credentials.

Interim Monitoring (if applicable)The team found evidence that the College continues to have faculty teaching who do not meet its owncredentialing requirements. When exceptions have been made (which are to be for only one semester),those exceptions have extended over a three-year period with no additional review. The College mustreview its credentialing requirements and address the following issues: extended exceptions to itsown policy; more refined definitions for years of service and business and industry experience;determine when substitutions are appropriate; and, in some cases, address requirements that may beunnecessarily stringent.

Due to the "not met" recommendation for this core component, the appropriate follow-up will bedetermined at a later time.



The institution provides support for student learning and effective teaching.

1. The institution provides student support services suited to the needs of its student populations.2. The institution provides for learning support and preparatory instruction to address the

academic needs of its students. It has a process for directing entering students to courses andprograms for which the students are adequately prepared.

3. The institution provides academic advising suited to its programs and the needs of its students.4. The institution provides to students and instructors the infrastructure and resources necessary to

support effective teaching and learning (technological infrastructure, scientific laboratories,libraries, performance spaces, clinical practice sites, museum collections, as appropriate to theinstitution’s offerings).

5. The institution provides to students guidance in the effective use of research and informationresources.

RatingMet

EvidenceWVNCC evidence file clearly identifies numerous student support services suited to meet the needsof the population. The College provides admission, financial aid and advising services on all threecampuses that provide students smooth access into the College. Students interviewed at each campusconfirmed that each campus provided all of student intake needs. Once the student is enrolled, theCollege provides various academic support services from Learning Resource Center (library), studyrooms, computer centers, tutoring, supplemental instruction, and coaching to assist students withsuccessful course and program completion. A career services office, a disability services office and acounselor are available to address other specific student needs.

The College uses the skills assessment tests to place students into the appropriate math and Englishcourses including any remediation requirements. The College offers a First Year seminar course tonew full time students only which serves as an introduction to higher education and connects studentsto college programs, resources, faculty, staff and peers. It explains college expectations andemphasizes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for college success and lifelong learning.

The College assigns every student to a faculty advisor at each of the three campus locations. Fromstudent interviews, the team learned that some used their faculty advisor for future registration needswhile others continued to use their admission counselor. All agreed that in most cases staff andfaculty met their needs for advising and registration for future terms and addressing their course orprogram concerns. All advisors receive a unique pin number to register students in upcomingsemesters allowing the College to monitor retention and enrollment.

The team's tour of campus demonstrated that all three campuses provide the necessary class andlaboratory spaces necessary for the College’s programs. Each classroom was equipped with


instructional technology suitable for a modern classroom; a projector, whiteboard, camera andcomputer. Computer laboratories were adequate for class sizes and appeared to be in working order.However, faculty and students interviewed commented on the problems with the IP video-conferencing technology and wireless/internet band width on each campus and across campuses. Bothgroups have experienced outages from a few minutes to a few days impacting course completion andthe student experience. Faculty commented that the College is losing students due to thesetechnology problems. The College must make a focused effort to improve the IP video technologyand band width to ensure that students are able to complete homework assignments and have therequired classroom time for each course.

Each campus has a Learning Resource Center (LRC) available to students, staff and faculty. TheCollege’s evidence file provided various LRC resources that include how to access information,search for materials and/or books or journals for course assignments. LRC staff provide assistance tostudents in research; all students enrolled in First Year Experience seminar are required to do anassignment of research using the LRC resources. The LRC Director indicated that the College hasnumerous database subscriptions which allow for access to appropriate information resources.



3.E - Core Component 3.E

The institution fulfills the claims it makes for an enriched educational environment.

1. Co-curricular programs are suited to the institution’s mission and contribute to the educationalexperience of its students.

2. The institution demonstrates any claims it makes about contributions to its students’ educationalexperience by virtue of aspects of its mission, such as research, community engagement, servicelearning, religious or spiritual purpose, and economic development.

RatingMet

EvidenceEvidence provided to the team demonstrates that WVNCC students can participate in co-curricularactivities at all three campuses. The activities are associated with academic programs and/or areprovided through student organizations. Academic program activities examples include: the annualHealth and Wellness Fair where students in the Nursing, Radiography, and Surgical Technologyprograms conduct screenings and distribute information to the college community and the public.Additionally, nursing students on the Weirton Campus participate in an annual breast cancerawareness program at Weirton Medical Center known as "BreastFest." The College's Culinaryprogram hosts luncheon and dinners open to the public throughout the year wherein the culinarystudents provide food preparation and dining service for this event. While visiting the campus, the siteteam attended a luncheon for the Thanksgiving holiday prepared and served by students in theprogram. Such activities allow students to gain hands-on experiences by using their critical thinkingand problem solving skills in real life situations.

As part of a student forum with team members, students commented on their participation in blooddrives, Black History Month and Women's History Month events led by the library, and disabilityawareness activities. The students also commented that the College has robust student activityprograms on the Wheeling campus. Weirton and New Martinville campuses have similar events on asmaller scale. Just recently the New Martinville campus hosted a Sadie Hawkins dance, an Americanfolk event. WVNCC students can participate in any student activity on any campus. Some studentsalso participated in intramural sports which include table tennis, basketball, flag football andvolleyball. Students hear about the activities through a published “Coop Scoop," a monthlynewsletter which provides a listing and description of upcoming club, organization and studentactivities. In November, the newsletter listed the Sadie Hawkins dance, design a mug craft activity, asecret Santa program, an upcoming Christmas parade and a Thanksgiving luncheon for all students,faculty and staff.

The evidence file also demonstrated the College’s commitment to community service with students,faculty and administration. For nine years, WVNCC has earned a listing on the National President’sHigher Education Community Service Honor Roll which recognizes higher education institutions thatsupport exemplary community service programs and raise the visibility of effective practices in


campus community partnerships. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) hasadministered the award since 2006 in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, and theU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the American Council on Education,Campus Compact and the Interfaith Youth Core. CNCS honorees are chosen based on a series ofselection factors, including the scope and innovation of service projects, the extent to which service-learning is embedded in the curriculum, the school’s commitment to long-term campus-communitypartnerships and measurable community outcomes as a result of the service. WVNCC is the onlyWest Virginia institution to be cited each year for this honor since inception of the listing in 2006.




The institution provides high quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.

EvidenceWVNCC is a comprehensive community college offering Liberal Arts and Sciences, Career-Technical, Workforce Development, Community and Continuing Education at three locations:Wheeling, Weirton and New Martinsville. WVNCC offers sixty-seven academic programs availableto students in traditional format which included 20 transfer programs, twenty-five AAS programs,three AS programs, five AA programs and fourteen certificate programs which includes eight onlineprograms and two online certificate programs. The associate degrees, certificates and courses haveappropriate student learning goals, along with six general education goals. Those goals include 1)communicate effectively in oral and written formats; 2) employ or utilize information access andliteracy skills; 3) demonstrate problem solving and critical thinking skills; 4) employ mathematicaland science literacy skills; 5) acquire a cultural, artistic and global perspective; and 6) demonstrateprofessional and human relations skills. Though faculty know the six general education goals, facultyare not clear on how to perform a comprehensive assessment of the goals. A more thoroughexamination is needed to define WVNCC’s assessment strategy on general education goals and isdiscussed under Criteria Four.

WVNCC employs 55 full-time faculty and 59 part-time faculty. Full-time faculty have three primaryareas of responsibility: instruction and academic advising, professional development, and institutionaland community service. The full-time faculty workload is 30 credit hours per year. They are alsorequired to be available during office hours for 10 hours per week with the rest of the hourssupporting institutional and community services. The College annually devotes a portion of thebudget for professional development. For the 2016-17 academic year, WVNCC set aside a total of$50,000 towards professional development with a $2000 limit set per person for external professionaldevelopment activities with faculty making a request for funding. Though limited, in-houseprofessional development is available to staff and faculty.

Since the last visit, the College created a faculty credentialing matrix by course and process forreviewing faculty credentials. One HLC team member reviewed 54 faculty personnel records,including 28 full-time, 20 part-time, and six dual credit instructors. Five of the faculty reviewed alsoteach online courses The personnel records represented several discipline areas, faculty from all threecampuses, different modes of delivery including distance education, dual enrollment courses, and bothfull-time and part-time instructors. The team member found 14 records that did not match thecredentialing matrix with reasons including the following: credentialing matrix was overly specific;courses not in the credentialing matrix; exceptions exceeded time limits; and substitution ofcredentials. This indicated to the team that the College continues to have difficulty with facultycredentialing requirements.

All three campuses provide the necessary class and laboratories spaces necessary for the College’sprograms. Each classroom was equipped with instructional technology applicable to a modernclassroom; a projector, whiteboard, camera and computer. Computer laboratories were adequate forclass sizes and appeared to be in working order. Faculty and students are concerned about theconsistent reliability of internet access at all three campuses and spotty IP video conferencing


services. The College should make a focused effort could improve the IP video technology and bandwidth needs to ensure that students are able to complete homework assignments and have the requiredadequate seat time for each course.

Students can participate in co-curricular activities that are associated with academic programs and/oractivities that are provided through student organizations at all three WVNCC campuses. Theseactivities provide students the ability to gain hands-on experiences by using their critical thinking andproblem solving skills to real life situations. The College offered intramural sports and students areinformed of all student activities through the monthly letter called Coop Scoop. Finally, the Collegefor nine years has earned a listing on the national President’s Higher Education Community ServiceHonor Roll which recognizes higher education institutions that support exemplary community serviceprograms and raise the visibility of effective practices in campus community partnerships.

The team found that, because of the continuing concern about faculty credentials, Criterion Three isnot met.


4 - Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement

The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learningenvironments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning throughprocesses designed to promote continuous improvement.


The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs.

1. The institution maintains a practice of regular program reviews.2. The institution evaluates all the credit that it transcripts, including what it awards for

experiential learning or other forms of prior learning, or relies on the evaluation of responsiblethird parties.

3. The institution has policies that assure the quality of the credit it accepts in transfer.4. The institution maintains and exercises authority over the prerequisites for courses, rigor of

courses, expectations for student learning, access to learning resources, and facultyqualifications for all its programs, including dual credit programs. It assures that its dual creditcourses or programs for high school students are equivalent in learning outcomes and levels ofachievement to its higher education curriculum.

5. The institution maintains specialized accreditation for its programs as appropriate to itseducational purposes.

6. The institution evaluates the success of its graduates. The institution assures that the degree orcertificate programs it represents as preparation for advanced study or employment accomplishthese purposes. For all programs, the institution looks to indicators it deems appropriate to itsmission, such as employment rates, admission rates to advanced degree programs, andparticipation rates in fellowships, internships, and special programs (e.g., Peace Corps andAmericorps).

RatingMet

EvidenceThe assurance argument provided considerable discussion of new forms and processes being createdfor an extensive internal program review process. Only after discussions with IE/IR and programdirectors was it clear that a seemingly separate, external (from the State) process did exist. It is notclear to what extent the new process will be incorporated into the existing one. The existing process ismandated by the state of West Virginia. Programs conduct a review on a five-year schedule. It isunclear if or how the reviews are integrated with internal processes, particularly in how they useinformation for program improvement. One serious omission from all of the program reviews isassessment of, and reporting data about, actual student learning which will be discussed in CoreComponent 4.B. Many program reviews mention graduation and retention rates. Some reviews,


particularly those for programs holding specialized accreditation such as Surgical Technology andCulinary Arts, describe their process of student assessment, however no data is presented.

WVNCC evaluates all credit it transcripts. The College follows West Virginia Council forCommunity and Technical College Education rules in awarding undergraduate credit for priorlearning. Faculty and administration review work or life experience to determine if there are courseequivalencies. Two employees currently hold Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)certification and the College evaluates official transcripts as they are received. The College is guidedby WV Core Coursework Transfer Agreement and other transfer agreements with regional colleges.The College awards credits for courses taken from regionally accredited colleges. Transcripts fromcolleges without transfer agreements as well as coursework from non-accredited institutions areevaluated on an individual basis with assistance from faculty. Master course guides, which includelearning outcomes, exist for all courses and aid in the evaluation of transcripts.

The College’s curriculum committee considers course prerequisites based on faculty proposals andmakes recommendations to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Master course guides and afaculty credential matrix help ensure consistent rigor in early entrance (dual enrollment) courses.Based on concern about faculty credentials from the the last HLC visit, the team carefully reviewedcredential files for more than 50 faculty teaching on all campuses and delivery modes. The teamidentified ongoing concerns, particularly in the number of faculty still teaching with exceptionsgranted more than two years ago. It appears the College is not adhering to its own policy of granting acredential exception for one semester. There is more discussion about the credentialing situation inCriterion 3.C.

Students have reasonable access to computer labs and tutoring services. Some students expressed aneed for additional evening hours for math tutoring. However, math faculty reported tutoring wasavailable until 8 p.m. two days per week and expressed concern at the lack of student usage of theseextended hours. The College is currently transitioning much of its developmental math program to aco-requisite model as part of meeting a state initiative to get more students to complete college-levelmath in the first year. This is another example whereby the use of scarce resources must be carefullyexamined for the College to be fiscally responsible, yet promote student success.

WVNCC maintains specialized accreditation with ten different accrediting organizations. Thecomplete list is maintained on the College website and in the College catalog. The College Readingand Learning Association is listed in the 2015-16 catalog as a specialized accreditation agency but isnot mentioned on the website, perhaps because it is not embedded in a specific program. InstitutionalResearch and Effectiveness data helps program faculty evaluate the success of graduates by providingtransfer and employment data as well as administering employer and graduate surveys. Accreditationreports and advisory committees help maintain currency of the curriculum.




The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational achievement and improvement throughongoing assessment of student learning.

1. The institution has clearly stated goals for student learning and effective processes forassessment of student learning and achievement of learning goals.

2. The institution assesses achievement of the learning outcomes that it claims for its curricularand co-curricular programs.

3. The institution uses the information gained from assessment to improve student learning.4. The institution’s processes and methodologies to assess student learning reflect good practice,

including the substantial participation of faculty and other instructional staff members.


EvidenceThe current state of assessment is not nearly as robust or mature as the Assurance Argumentsuggested. Several team discoveries led to concern about the state of student learning outcomesassessment.

Significant turnover in key roles including President, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Director ofInstitutional Effectiveness and Research, as well as the numerous faculty, appear to have resulted inminimal assessment activity for much of the time since the last HLC visit. Additionally the newleadership has introduced a variety of new assessment processes and forms within the last year. Bothfaculty and administration maintain that assessment is led by faculty. The Assessment Committee iscomprised of faculty who are already carrying full loads (and many are teaching overloads) andserving on numerous other committees. The Director of Institutional Effectiveness participates in anex officio role on the committee.

It is important to note that the faculty member who served as Assessment Director retired and a newdirector has not been appointed. Without a single individual who has the time, resources, and supportneeded to conduct this complex work, the College seems likely to continue to struggle withassessment of student learning outcomes.

The College's assessment vocabulary is unclear and/or redundant, causing confusion and inhibitingprogress. College web pages, process descriptions, and forms include the terms teaching goals,student learning outcomes, student performance objectives, course objectives, and essential traits.There is not agreement on which terms are distinctly different and which are synonyms.

The College’s 2016-17 Assessment Plan offers a brief overview of an assessment process but ispredominantly a collection of forms and AAC&U rubrics. A workshop was conducted in spring 2016to describe the new processes.

The College does have stated student learning outcomes at the course, program, and institutional


levels. Master Course Guides include student learning outcomes and student learning performanceobjectives. Program student learning outcomes appear on program web pages and in the Collegecatalog. The College broadly publicizes six general education outcomes.

The College’s assessment efforts appear to be centered on course assessment, though all the processesare still new and no data exists yet. The emphasis appears to be on identifying activities and methodsto assess each course outcome. The team found no evidence in the plan to assess the stated programstudent learning outcomes.

There seemed to be confusion on campus if both an Assessment Committee and General EducationCommittee still existed. The process for General Education assessment is unclear. One example ofgeneral education assessment consisted of a survey of faculty regarding the general educationoutcomes addressed in their respective courses. A PowerPoint slide from the spring workshopindicates “we are folding the assessment of general education core outcomes into the existing courseassessment process.” The team did not uncover additional clarification except that faculty are asked tomap general education outcomes to course outcomes.

Currently there is no assessment of achievement in co-curricular areas. The Director of InstitutionalEffectiveness and Research indicated the College is considering ways to assess the general educationoutcomes in co-curricular areas such as financial aid and the library.

It is not clear that all faculty can differentiate between assigning grades and assessing studentlearning. A lack of clarity in the basic principles of student learning assessment will impede efforts toidentify, collect and use information to systematically improve learning.

The institution has identified a variety of strategies to begin organizing a more effective,comprehensive assessment plan. Some of these priorities are described in a follow-up letter to theVice President of Academic Affairs from the internal team that participated in an HLC Assessmentworkshop. WVNCC would be well served to identify a faculty member to serve as AssessmentDirector to work closely with the Director of IE/IR and the VPAA to focus on building out a morerobust assessment plan and implementing those strategies that are currently in place. The teamremains concerned that even with the best of intentions, assessing student learning may not get theattention it needs given the immediate and significant enrollment and financial realities facing theinstitution.

The team finds that this Core Component is "met with concerns."

Interim Monitoring (if applicable)Because Core Component is "met with concerns," the College must development a comprehensiveAssessment Plan that includes program review, co-curricular review, assessment strategies for course,program and general education learning outcomes. The plan should reflect more refined definitions ofterms so that the current confusion about terminology is obviated. Further, the College must havebegun to implement the plan so that there will be at least one year of metrics/data to review andanalyze by the time of the focus visit. In addition, there should be evidence that the College hasreviewed and analyzed its assessment data and used it in the improvement of courses, programs,and/or services.



The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational improvement through ongoing attention toretention, persistence, and completion rates in its degree and certificate programs.

1. The institution has defined goals for student retention, persistence, and completion that areambitious but attainable and appropriate to its mission, student populations, and educationalofferings.

2. The institution collects and analyzes information on student retention, persistence, andcompletion of its programs.

3. The institution uses information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programsto make improvements as warranted by the data.

4. The institution’s processes and methodologies for collecting and analyzing information onstudent retention, persistence, and completion of programs reflect good practice. (Institutionsare not required to use IPEDS definitions in their determination of persistence or completionrates. Institutions are encouraged to choose measures that are suitable to their studentpopulations, but institutions are accountable for the validity of their measures.)


EvidenceWVNCC has incorporated ambitious institutional goals for student retention, persistence andcompletion into their strategic plan. While the goals are appropriate to the College mission, moremeasures of persistence and completion at the program level are needed.

Some goals seem unrealistic,such as increasing the number of first-time freshmen who successfullycomplete a college-level math course by the end of the first year from 12% to 80%, especially giventhe lack of clear steps to move towards the goal and the fact there are more than 90 other action itemsstated in the strategic plan. To confound this issue further, there are nearly $800,000 in grant fundsending soon with no clear sustainability plans to maintain the personnel or services currently providedby these grant dollars.

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research provides student retention, persistence andcompletion data to faculty. This data is included in program reviews for the state. Comparisons ofsuccess in face-to-face versus online courses are made, though it is not clear if this data informsscheduling or staffing decisions.

In many cases the counts are so small that decisions are difficult to make based on this data. Throughout the team visit, conversations seemed to emphasize recruitment over retention. Just a fewyears ago the developmental math program was redesigned based on the emporium model. TheCollege is now redesigning again, this time moving to a co-requisite model. The team did not reviewdirect measures of student learning or actual retention data so it is unclear if curricular change wasdriven by these measures or by State mandates and grant initiatives.


The College’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research follows good practices for collectionand analysis of institutional data. Data is available to departments and programs but the team foundlittle evidence of presentations or meetings where faculty and administration engaged in conversationabout the collected data. More internal program level measures should be developed and collected toengage faculty in the data collection and analysis process.

The team finds that Core Component 4.C is "met with concerns."

Interim Monitoring (if applicable)Monitoring for persistence, completion, and retention should include a realistic plan to improve thesemetrics/data and the College should be able to provide evidence that they are moving towardimplementing these plans during the follow-up.



The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learningenvironments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning throughprocesses designed to promote continuous improvement.

EvidenceThe team found the assessment culture and practice of assessing student learning to be considerablyless robust and mature than described in the assurance argument. Several key personnel changescontributed to the stagnation of assessment on campus. The College should make replacing theAssessment Director a priority to spearhead the faculty-directed assessment practices. There remainsconsiderable confusion with assessment vocabulary and the team is not certain that all faculty canclearly articulate the difference between assigning grades and assessing student learning.

In the past several months, numerous new forms and procedures have been developed to guide newassessment processes at the course level. A complete assessment cycle has not occurred with the newprocesses so the team was unable to review any collected data nor see results of how the data isanalyzed or used. No direct measures of actual student learning were included in more matureassessment processes. It is not clear how general education will be assessed although two of the sixgeneral education outcomes have been identified for measurement in the first round of assessment.Program reviews are conducted on a five-year rotation per a State requirement. There is no evidenceof assessing the program student learning outcomes in these program reviews and no plans wereuncovered to address this gap in assessment.

Faculty maintain master course guides to provide consistency and clarity in course student learningoutcomes and prerequisites. The College has a faculty credential matrix to identify minimumqualifications for each course offered. The team noted multiple instances where the matrix was notfollowed and where faculty were still teaching with an exception to the policy granted in 2013. SeeCore Component 3.C for a more thorough discussion of faculty credentials.

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research provides a reasonable array of success,completion and persistence data. Additionally employer, graduate and transfer surveys are conducted. The team found little evidence of how faculty are using this data to make programmaticimprovements. There is no demonstrable evidence of persistence, retention, and completion plansbased on realistic goals.

The College follows policies to ensure the quality of transfer credits. The West Virginia Council forCommunity and Technical College Education rules guide awarding undergraduate credit for priorlearning while the West Virginia Core Coursework Transfer Agreement and other transfer agreementswith regional colleges guide acceptance of traditional course credits. The necessary faculty expertiseis utilized to review both experiential and course credit decisions.

Students have reasonable access to computer labs and tutoring services. Particular attention should bepaid to the needs of developmental math students as the co-requisite model is implemented. Studentsreported continued frustration with delivery of online courses, particularly to the Weirton and NewMartinsville campuses.


The team found that Criterion Four is "met with concerns."


5 - Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness

The institution’s resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve thequality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities. The institutionplans for the future.


The institution’s resource base supports its current educational programs and its plans for maintainingand strengthening their quality in the future.

1. The institution has the fiscal and human resources and physical and technological infrastructuresufficient to support its operations wherever and however programs are delivered.

2. The institution’s resource allocation process ensures that its educational purposes are notadversely affected by elective resource allocations to other areas or disbursement of revenue toa superordinate entity.

3. The goals incorporated into mission statements or elaborations of mission statements arerealistic in light of the institution’s organization, resources, and opportunities.

4. The institution’s staff in all areas are appropriately qualified and trained.5. The institution has a well-developed process in place for budgeting and for monitoring expense.

RatingMet

EvidenceAt this time, the College has sufficient resources, both fiscal and human, to accomplish its plans todeliver programs and services to its service area. Academic and Student Support staffing as reportedin the Institutional Update 2015-16 is shown below and appears to be adequate to support the variousdegrees and certificate programs as well as non-credit course offerings. There are 50 full-time facultyand 72 part-time faculty; 39 full-time staff and three part-time staff; and 39 full-time administrativestaff and two part-time administrative staff. The Assurance Review identified that there are 55 full-time and 59 part-time faculty so there have been some changes since the Assurance Review waswritten

There have been significant enrollment declines in the last few years; the enrollment is now half ofwhat it was a few years ago. The decline in tuition revenue and budget cuts from the State combine tomake this a problematic financial situation for the College. It is also likely that the College will losesome grant-funded positions as soon as the timeline for certain grants expires. There are currentlystaff vacancies and remaining staff are picking up the workload. They acknowledge that this is theircurrent situation and they are doing the best they can to cope. The workload, coupled with the lack ofan annual salary increase for FY2017 appears to be leading to a morale problem for some employees. In addition, there is a perceived lack of communication, discussed in 5.E., further adding to low


morale.

There is a College Foundation Board for which the president is an "ex officio" member; in addition,the chief financial officer and the dean of community relations are also members of the FoundationBoard. Members are recruited from the communities the College serves and two of the threecampuses have a "friends of the college" group, the leaders of which also sit on the FoundationBoard. The Foundation supports the College by awarding scholarships to students and assisting withreal estate transactions. The president has recently begun to participate more actively in fund-raisingactivities and hopes to continue to help grow the Foundation's funds. The State has recently mandatedthat the Foundation audit be reviewed as part of the College audit. There is one employee sharedbetween the the College and the Foundation.

Student survey results and interviews with students on campus reinforced that they sometimes havedifficulty getting timely service from certain student services offices in terms of questions aboutadmissions and financial aid. Academic advising was also identified as a problem area by studentsalong with concerns about the consistency and rigor of online courses. Some complained aboutclasses getting out early on a frequent basis.

The Board of Governors by-laws require that members declare conflict of interest if there is anyconflict between the member's business interests and the College's plans and budgets. There is nosuper-ordinate entity that requires the College to provide a portion of its funds to their budget.

There are four primary goals identified in the college's strategic plan that mirror the State's MasterPlan. WVNCC goals are as follows:

1. Provide access to affordable community and technical college education in all regions of the state(sic, in the specific college service area)

2. Improve the success of students by increasing college completion

3. Meet the workforce demands of employers and enhance economic development efforts in WestVirginia

4. Ensure fiscal stability to effectively deliver comprehensive community and technical collegeeducation.

There are 92 sub-goals/activities that the College must attend to in support of the primary goals. Theteam reviewed a matrix of the plan that identifies accountability for the activities, a timeline by whichactivities will be completed or significant progress made, and metrics for when it can determined thatthe goals have been accomplished. Members of the Strategic Planning Committee confirmed thatthere is accountability, tracked through the employee evaluation process, so that each employeeunderstands which part(s) of the strategic plan relates to his/her own responsibilities and what theymust do to make progress towards the goals. Planning Committee members affirmed that they believethe plan is realistic and there are numerous strategies that do not require additional financial resourcesbut just need staff attention or processes to make departmental activities more effective.

Staff members seem to be appropriately qualified for their positions, both in terms of academicpreparation and experiences. There is a discussion about faculty credentials, which remain a problemfor the institution, in Criterion 3.C.

The team interviewed numerous individuals and groups at the College and they indicated that there


are new processes that align initiatives in the strategic plan with the budget process. The College useszero-based budgeting, i.e., the new year's budget is not simply an iteration of the last year. Fundingfor elements of the budget (for example, supplies) may be based on what the expenditures were forthe prior year.

There are forms in the Assurance Review that document the budgeting process. The College has anew form that compels the individual completing it to identify to which component it links in theplan. Because the process is so new, the team did not see many examples of a completed form. Anycapital purchase with a value of $5000 or over must be linked to an initiative in the strategic plan.This process is being facilitated by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who is also fairly new to thecollege. He intends to hold a quarterly review meeting with each department to talk with them abouthow the year is going for their department.




The institution’s governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and supportcollaborative processes that enable the institution to fulfill its mission.

1. The governing board is knowledgeable about the institution; it provides oversight of theinstitution’s financial and academic policies and practices and meets its legal and fiduciaryresponsibilities.

2. The institution has and employs policies and procedures to engage its internal constituencies—including its governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students—in the institution’sgovernance.

3. Administration, faculty, staff, and students are involved in setting academic requirements,policy, and processes through effective structures for contribution and collaborative effort.

RatingMet

EvidenceThe team met with the WVNCC Board of Governors and found them to be knowledgeable about theirrole in governing as evidenced by their understanding of the difference between advocacy, advice,and governance (all of which they may contribute in the course of performing their responsibilities). The president, her cabinet, and other faculty, staff, and student groups routinely make presentations tothe Board to keep them updated on current College initiatives, progress toward strategic planninggoals, and to present recommendations for new or modified policies. The inclusion of employee andstudent members on the Board also contributes to the Board's understanding of the College'soperations.

By State statute and its own by-laws, the Board hires and evaluates the president of the College;establishes and updates the College mission; approves tuition and fee rates; approves new programsand policy; and reviews and approves the College budget, including real estate transactions. Once theBoard approves the plan and budget, it forwards them to the Council on Community and TechnicalCollege Education (CCTCE) for its review and approval. Planning and budgeting guidelines must beconsistent with and reflect the State Master Plan for community and technical colleges and also reflectthe State's current priorities, along with budget increases or cuts for higher education.

Minutes of Board of Governors' meetings were available to the team and confirmed that the Board isfulfilling its responsibilities appropriately and is delegating the administration and management of theCollege to the president and her delegates.

The Assurance Review provided evidence of how rules are developed (the flowchart) and movedthrough a participative review process. In the comprehensive review of 2012, the team learned thatthere was no policy on Intellectual Property or on Copyright. The current team found that aCopyright policy has been developed and that a new Intellectual Property policy is moving throughthe steps of the approval process at this time. The Intellectual Property is very limited in scope and


addresses only the development and ownership of online courses. The College may want to considerexpanding the scope of this policy.

There are a number of College committees that meet regularly to work on initiatives, attend toongoing practices (e.g., assessment and strategic planning), or to address ad hoc concerns (e.g., newfaculty evaluation procedures). Membership on the committees is representative of cross-functionalareas and a few include student members. Minutes from the standing committees were available tothe team and available on the website. The team asked to see minutes from advisory committees andwere furnished with two examples. There is a College Council that includes the President's Cabinetalong with other key representatives from functional areas; minutes of both the Cabinet and theCollege Council are shared across the campus.

State Code now requires each West Virginia college to have a Faculty Assembly and a ClassifiedStaff Council and actually prescribes the membership for the staff council. There is a studentgovernment group as well. These three groups meet regularly and share their concerns with eachother and with the administration. Members of the administration may be invited to some meetings inorder to share information from the State, the Board, and the Cabinet.

In spite of the numerous avenues for communication described above, the team found that theinstitution is still wrestling with a concern identified in the 2012 comprehensive visit, that of poorcommunications and mistrust of the administration. The president is aware that this perception existsand has added some formal communications strategies, such as regular e-mails from the president'soffice. However, it was clear to the team that there is a pervasive sense that communication is nottimely, not consistent and that some information is simply not broadly shared across the threecampuses and across the functional departments and levels. Further, there appears to be mistrust of theadministration or at least certain members at that level. Staff members reported that there are notfrequent staff meetings within departmental units.

The team also heard that questions about communications from the administration or from meetingminutes are often viewed as bothersome at best and as an attack at worst. There is much concern anddisappointment with a recent decision by the Board not to give an annual salary increases on July 1st.While it is clear that the employee community is aware of the financial challenges brought about bydeclining enrollments and state budget cuts, they were not told ahead of time that there would be noincreases and discovered it when the July 1 payroll did not reflect their expected increase. TheCollege will need to continue to identify strategies for better communication and for the implicationsof the environment in which the impact of lower enrollments leads to difficult decisions.




The institution engages in systematic and integrated planning.

1. The institution allocates its resources in alignment with its mission and priorities.2. The institution links its processes for assessment of student learning, evaluation of operations,

planning, and budgeting.3. The planning process encompasses the institution as a whole and considers the perspectives of

internal and external constituent groups.4. The institution plans on the basis of a sound understanding of its current capacity. Institutional

plans anticipate the possible impact of fluctuations in the institution’s sources of revenue, suchas enrollment, the economy, and state support.

5. Institutional planning anticipates emerging factors, such as technology, demographic shifts, andglobalization.

RatingMet

EvidenceThe College has a strategic plan that is modeled on the State's Master Plan for community colleges.Goals mirror the state goals and metrics are set based on the individual college's particular status interms of enrollments, fiscal situation, capital and program needs, and other considerations. WVNCChas a five-year strategic plan, Renewing Our Commitment, that is reviewed annually and modifiedas changes occur in its immediate environment related to enrollment, economic development andworkforce needs, and financial resources.

There are new processes in place that compel budget managers to link each new request to anobjective in the strategic plan and identify that objective on the budget request forms. Requests movethrough departmental and division leadership for approval, then on to the Budget Committee, andultimately through the chief financial officer and other Cabinet level review. The Board of Governorsthen reviews and approves requests that make it through the approval pipeline based on institutionalpriorities and available resources. Much of the process that links budgeting and planning is new andthere was little to analyze at this time to determine how closely the College adheres to the newprinciples for how funding is awarded.

Major institutional goals are framed around student access and success, including recruitment,retention,and completion. In addition, there are goals aimed at serving the local workforce needs, andensuring that the College has adequate resources, human and fiscal, to carry out its mission.

The planning process is appropriately participative and includes cross-functional representation fromacademic and support departments and individuals at all levels of the organization. The president isactive in the local community and Board members assured the team that they and the president surveyand listen to the needs of the local communities served by the College. Program Advisory Boardmembers further represent the local business and industry community to the College and provide


important input into how the College plans and assesses its activities.

The fiscal health of the College is stressed by declining enrollment and the resulting loss in tuitionrevenue and State support. This has led to vacancies in some important College positions with somestaff and faculty burdened with large workloads. There are ambitious goals in place, such as an 80%rate of successful completion of skills development courses in the next five years. Currently, there issome grant funding that provides much needed student support in pursuit of such goals but thosegrants will expire soon and there does not appear to be a plan in place to sustain such positions.

College reserves are healthy at this time, above expected levels given the overall College financialsituation. The State closely reviews reserve balances and may suggest that a College is holding toomuch in reserve relative to its immediate needs for personnel and capital expenditures. There has beeninternal discussion about spending the reserves down to a more moderate level in the next fewmonths.

Some new programs have been developed and offered that reflect local workforce needs, such asPetroleum Technology, Welding, and Chemical Operator. There is an initiative to acquire more spacein downtown Wheeling for some of the career and technical programs and it is ready to move forwardfor State level approval. There is funding designated for this particular capital project and morerequested from the West Virginia Community and Technical College Council, per state guidelines, inorder to complete it in time for a fall 2018 start-up. Like many other community colleges, WVNCC isgrowing its dual credit and online enrollments, not without some growing pains such as studentcomplaints about the quality and consistency of online courses. The Enrollments ManagementCommittee has renewed its efforts and is identifying strategic target populations and effectiveoutreach means to appeal to them.




The institution works systematically to improve its performance.

1. The institution develops and documents evidence of performance in its operations.2. The institution learns from its operational experience and applies that learning to improve its

institutional effectiveness, capabilities, and sustainability, overall and in its component parts.

RatingMet

EvidenceWVNCC has established a variety of internal processes and forms to collect evidence of academicperformance including master course guides, a new program review process, and a faculty credentialmatrix. The College has an aggressive strategic plan but many of the goals lack clear data collectionprocesses and benchmarks. The College completes IPEDS reports, submits data to West VirginiaHigher Education Policy Commission (HEPC), and participates in CCSSE and conducts and internalstudent satisfaction survey. The College also complies with grant reporting requirements. Two largegrants providing additional data include the Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant and Bridging theGap TAACCCT Grant in which the College is a partner with several other West Virginia communitycolleges.

Institutional data sources allow for the necessary federal, state and grant compliance reporting. Itseems much of the data is collected and used for reactive, not proactive purposes. The Office ofInstitutional Effectiveness and Research is consumed by meeting external reporting demands andbasic data requests leaving little time to engage with faculty in formative assessment of programoutcomes. The College needs to prioritize collection of student learning outcomes assessment data toinform curriculum design and faculty professional development needs. Some course level data iscollected but the process seems largely completed at an individual level and reduces the results to awritten report which is primarily summative in nature. The emphasis should shift to actively engagefaculty in data collection at a program level. Faculty conversations about what data to collect andwhat analyses are most useful to support programmatic improvement are essential.




The institution’s resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve thequality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities. The institutionplans for the future.

EvidenceThe College has sufficient fiscal and human resources at this time to carry out its mission and toprovide the programs and services for which it is responsible. It is important to note that enrollmentdeclines have the potential to have a negative impact on its ability to continue to do so.

The College's strategic plan reflects the Master Plan for the State's colleges and includes a focus onstudent completion and success along with serving the workforce development needs of the servicearea. The strategic plan has been developed with participation of all the constituencies andstakeholders at the college. The planning process takes into account the local environment in terms ofpopulation changes, new business and industry workforce needs, and other elements of change towhich the college must respond. There is a new process that more closely links budgeting andplanning than has been the case in the past. Because it is so new, there is little evidence accumulatedyet that it will be effective; however, the process as described would seem to provide that link.

As first noted in the 2013 team visit report, there continues to be a serious problem withcommunications at the College. There is animosity and mistrust as expressed in interviews with bothfaculty and staff groups. While some of the discontent stems from not receiving salary increases thisyear, this appears to be symptomatic of a more pervasive concern. It seems that while employeesknow about and understand the College's fiscal situation, there was no communication directly tothem about not getting a salary increase for the first time in more than a decade. They learned about itwhen an increase did not appear in the July 1 pay period. This was just one example of complaintsand concerns from the interviews which extended to the other two campuses as well. Some of theconcerns revolved around not being consulted or having an opportunity to participate in decision-making.

The College's Board of Governors understands the institution and meets its responsibilities forgovernance, such as approving the plan and budget of the College, approving its policies, and hiringand evaluating the College leadership. There are numerous committees which include theparticipation of faculty, staff and, in some cases, students. Faculty "own" the curriculum and areresponsible for developing, revising, and implementing appropriate curricula.

The College's Office of Institutional Research appears to be a more robust operation than was foundby the previous comprehensive visit team, providing information to College stakeholders to help themmake decisions and responding to various reporting requirements of the local, state, and federalgovernments.

The team finds that Criterion Five is met. However, it is imperative that the institution must internallyaddress its communications issues.


Review Dashboard

Number Title Rating

1 Mission

1.A Core Component 1.A Met

1.B Core Component 1.B Met

1.C Core Component 1.C Met

1.D Core Component 1.D Met

1.S Criterion 1 - Summary Met

2 Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct

2.A Core Component 2.A Met With Concerns




2.E Core Component 2.E Met

2.S Criterion 2 - Summary Met With Concerns

3 Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support



3.C Core Component 3.C Not Met


3.E Core Component 3.E Met

3.S Criterion 3 - Summary Not Met

4 Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement


4.B Core Component 4.B Met With Concerns

4.C Core Component 4.C Met With Concerns

4.S Criterion 4 - Summary Met With Concerns

5 Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness





5.S Criterion 5 - Summary Met


Review Summary

Focused Visit(s)

Due Date5/31/2019

Visit FocusThe team recommends that the College have a Focus Visit on May 31, 2019, to address faculty credentials, financialreporting, and assessment.

The team found evidence that the Colleges continues to have faculty teaching who do not meet its own credentialingrequirements. When exceptions have been made (which are to be for only one semester), those exceptions haveextended over a three-year period with no additional review. The College must review its credentialing requirementsand address the following issues: extended exceptions to its own policy; more refined definitions for years of serviceand business and industry experience; determine when substitutions are appropriate; and, in some cases, addressrequirements that may be unnecessarily stringent. (Core Component 3.C).

There are concerns about the College's two financial systems, Banner and Argos, reporting differing budgetinformation, leading to faculty not knowing the accurate budget balances for their areas of responsibility. There hasbeen non-payment of bills in some departments that has led to students not having access to needed materials fortheir classes. Budget managers report not having much opportunity for input into budget development. Aspreparation for the Focus Visit, the College must determine where the problems lie with inaccurate reporting, fixthose problems, and respond to issues of non-payment of bills to vendors and provide more input for faculty and staffinto the budget development process. (Core component 2.A).

Further, the team found that the assessment activities at the College were not as robust and comprehensive asdescribed in the Assurance Review. The team recommends that, by the time of the Focus Visit, the College mustsubmit evidence of a new Assessment Plan that includes program review, co-curricular review, and assessmentstrategies for course, program, and general education learning outcomes. The plan should reflect more refineddefinitions of terms so the current confusion about terminology is obviated. In addition, the College should havebegun to implement the plan so that there is at least one year of metrics/data available for review and analysis alongwith evidence that the data has been used to make course, program, and service improvements. Monitoring forretention, persistence, and completion should include a realistic plan to improve these metrics/data and the Collegeshould be able to provide evidence that they are moving toward implementing these plans. (Core Components 4.Band 4.C).

ConclusionThe team found that the WVNCC continues to have faculty teaching courses for which they do not appear to becredentialed according to the College's own credentials policy. In addition when exceptions have been made (whichare to be for only one semester), those exceptions have extended over a three-year period with no additional review. The College must review its credentialing requirements and address the following issues: extended exceptions to its


own policy; more refined definitions for years of service and business and industry experience; determine whensubstitutions are appropriate; and, in some cases, address requirements that may be unnecessarily stringent. Thisissue resulted in a finding of "not met" for Core Component 3.C and a recommendation of probation for theinstitution.

There are concerns about the College's two financial systems, Banner and Argos, reporting differing budgetinformation, leading to faculty not knowing the accurate budget balances for their areas of responsibility.There hasbeen non-payment of bills for some departments that has led to students not having access to needed materials fortheir classes. The College must determine where the problems lie with inaccurate reporting, fix those problems, andrespond to issues of non-payment of bills to vendors and provide more input for faculty and staff into the budgetdevelopment process.

Further the team found that the assessment activities at the College were not as robust and comprehensive asdescribed in the Assurance Review. The College must submit evidence of a new Assessment Plan that includesprogram review, co-curricular review, and assessment strategies for course, program, and general education learningoutcomes. The plan should reflect more refined definitions of terms so the current confusion about terminology isobviated. The College should begin the plan's implementation soon so that there is at least one year of metrics/dataavailable for review and analysis along with evidence that the data has been used to make course, program, andservice improvements. The team also found that there is no demonstrable evidence of persistence, retention, andcompletion plans based on realistic goals. Monitoring should include a plan to improve these metrics/data and theCollege should be able to provide evidence that they are moving toward implementing these plans.

Overall Recommendations

Criteria For AccreditationNot Met

Pathways RecommendationNot Applicable to This Review


Audience: Peer Reviewers Process: Federal Compliance Review Form Contact: 800.621.7440 Published: 2016 © Higher Learning Commission Page 1

Federal Compliance Worksheet for Evaluation Teams

Evaluation of Federal Compliance Components

The team reviews each item identified in the Federal Compliance Filing by Institutions (FCFI) and documents its findings in the appropriate spaces below. Teams should expect institutions to address these requirements with brief narrative responses and provide supporting documentation where necessary. Generally, if the team finds in the course of this review that there are substantive issues related to the institution’s ability to fulfill the Criteria for Accreditation, such issues should be raised in the appropriate parts of the Assurance Review or Comprehensive Quality Review. This worksheet is to be completed by the peer review team or a Federal Compliance reviewer in relation to the federal requirements. The team should refer to the Federal Compliance Overview for information about applicable HLC policies and explanations of each requirement. Peer reviewers are expected to supply a rationale for each section of the Federal Compliance Evaluation. The worksheet becomes an appendix in the team report. If the team recommends monitoring on a Federal Compliance Requirement in the form of a report or focused visit, the recommendation should be included in the Federal Compliance monitoring sections below and added to the appropriate section of the Assurance Review or Comprehensive Quality Review.

Institution under review: West Virginia Northern Community College

Please indicate who completed this worksheet:

Evaluation team

Federal Compliance reviewer

To be completed by the Evaluation Team Chair if a Federal Compliance reviewer conducted this part of the evaluation:

Name: Rebecca Nickoli

I confirm that the Evaluation Team reviewed the findings provided in this worksheet.


Assignment of Credits, Program Length and Tuition (See FCFI Questions 1–3 and Appendix A)

1. Complete the Team Worksheet for Evaluating an Institution’s Assignment of Credit Hours and Clock Hours. Submit the completed worksheet with this form.

• Identify the institution’s principal degree levels and the number of credit hours for degrees at each level (see the institution’s Appendix A if necessary). The following minimum number of credit hours should apply at a semester institution:

o Associate’s degrees = 60 hours

o Bachelor’s degrees = 120 hours

o Master’s or other degrees beyond the bachelor’s = At least 30 hours beyond the bachelor’s degree

• Note that 1 quarter hour = 0.67 semester hour.

• Any exceptions to this requirement must be explained and justified.

• Review any differences in tuition reported for different programs and the rationale provided for such differences.

2. Check the response that reflects the evaluation team or Federal Compliance reviewer’s conclusions after reviewing this component of Federal Compliance:

The institution meets HLC’s requirements.

The institution meets HLC’s requirements, but additional monitoring is recommended.

The institution does not meet HLC’s requirements and additional monitoring is recommended.

The Federal Compliance reviewer/evaluation team also has comments that relate to the institution’s compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation. See Criterion (insert appropriate reference).

Rationale:

Degree offerings are consistent with HLC credit hour expectations. The college offers both associate degrees and certificates. Each degree is designed to be completed in 4 semesters with exception of Surgical Technology which requires a fifth term during the summer.

WVNCC utilizes the Carnegie unit as the basis for it awarding of college credit. Courses offer standard hours of credit and those offering six hours or more include extensive laboratory or preceptorship training experiences; the allotted credit hours are typical for these courses. Forty class syllabi were reviewed representing different disciplines, delivery modes, term lengths, and academic levels. Each included student outcomes consistent with the credit assigned.

The college offers no direct assessment or competency-based programs and no clock hour programming.


Additional monitoring, if any:

None.

Institutional Records of Student Complaints (See FCFI Questions 4–7 and Appendixes B and C)

1. Verify that the institution has documented a process for addressing student complaints and appears to by systematically processing such complaints, as evidenced by the data on student complaints since the last comprehensive evaluation.

• Review the process that the institution uses to manage complaints, its complaints policy and procedure, and the history of complaints received and resolved since the last comprehensive evaluation by HLC.

• Determine whether the institution has a process to review and resolve complaints in a timely manner.

• Verify that the evidence shows that the institution can, and does, follow this process and that it is able to integrate any relevant findings from this process into improvements in services or in teaching and learning.

• Advise the institution of any improvements that might be appropriate.

• Consider whether the record of student complaints indicates any pattern of complaints or otherwise raises concerns about the institution’s compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation or Assumed Practices.

2. Check the response that reflects the team’s conclusions after reviewing this component of Federal Compliance:





Rationale:

West Virginia Northern Community College utilizes a three-tier process for addressing student issues. Tier one covers student concerns expressed orally and for which no formal response is required. These generally relate to preferences or suggestions for improving processes or expanding options for students. These concerns are reviewed periodically. Tier two is defined by complaints that have been reduced to writing utilizing the Student Complaint Form available from service centers. Complaints may be related to discriminatory practice,


safety issues, or barriers to student success. Tier three manages student grievances that conflict with WVNCC policies. To be pursued, these must follow the Student Grievance Reporting Process described in the Code of Conduct portion of the Student Handbook, beginning on page 37 or found on the college’s website at http://www.wvncc.edu/uploads/12_2013Handbook.pdf. Both Tiers two and three are logged and formal responses are provided for students. Process steps, timelines, disciplinary sanctions and opportunities for appeals before the Student Appeals Committee (non-academic) or the Academic Appeals Committee (academic) are defined in the Student Handbook and on the website.

The college reports that no complaints or grievances have been logged during the past three years. This may be a result of the proactive steps taken by the college to gather information from students through the survey, “You Spoke, We Listened,” student focus groups, suggestion boxes across campuses, personally shared concerns with staff and faculty, and the Student Government.


None.

Publication of Transfer Policies (See FCFI Questions 8–10 and Appendixes D–F)

1. Verify that the institution has demonstrated it is appropriately disclosing its transfer policies to students and to the public. Policies should contain information about the criteria the institution uses to make transfer decisions.

• Review the institution’s transfer policies.

• Review any articulation agreements the institution has in place, including articulation agreements at the institution level and for specific programs and how the institution publicly discloses information about those articulation agreements.

• Consider where the institution discloses these policies (e.g., in its catalog, on its website) and how easily current and prospective students can access that information.

• Determine whether the disclosed information clearly explains any articulation arrangements the institution has with other institutions. The information the institution provides to students should explain any program-specific articulation agreements in place and should clearly identify program-specific articulation agreements as such. Also, the information the institution provides should include whether the articulation agreement anticipates that the institution (1) accepts credits from the other institution(s) in the articulation agreement; (2) sends credits to the other institution(s) in the articulation agreements; (3) both offers and accepts credits with the institution(s) in the articulation agreement; and (4) what specific credits articulate through the agreement (e.g., general education only; pre-professional nursing courses only; etc.). Note that the institution need not make public the entire articulation agreement, but it needs to make public to students relevant information about these agreements so that they can better plan their education.


• Verify that the institution has an appropriate process to align the disclosed transfer policies with the criteria and procedures used by the institution in making transfer decisions.






Rationale:

The West Virginia State Code, Series 17 regulates the transfer of credit among West Virginia public colleges and universities. Transfer policies are easily accessible on the college’s website on the Board of Governor’s Rules Webpage and in the college catalog, beginning on page 86. Coursework transferrable through articulation agreements is listed in the catalog beginning on page 106, on the transfer webpages (http://www..wvncc.edu/transfer) and through a link: Core Transfer Agreement from the WV HEPC.

Steps to receive transfer credit are defined in the catalog and on the webpage. Records of all credit transfer requests and decisions are maintained by the Certification Analyst in the Registrar’s Office, and supporting spreadsheets were provided documenting decisions made in Appendix F.


None.

Practices for Verification of Student Identity (See FCFI Questions 11–16 and Appendix G)

1. Confirm that the institution verifies the identity of students who participate in courses or programs provided through distance or correspondence education. Confirm that it appropriately discloses additional fees related to verification to students, and that the method of verification makes reasonable efforts to protect students’ privacy.

• Determine how the institution verifies that the student who enrolls in a course is the same student who submits assignments, takes exams and earns a final grade. The team should ensure that the institution’s approach respects student privacy.


• Check that any costs related to verification (e.g., fees associated with test proctoring) and charged directly to students are explained to the students prior to enrollment in distance or correspondence courses.






Rationale:

The college utilizes student identification numbers and passwords as a means of verifying identity and for access to the college’s computer system and online course management systems. Proctors for testing are available at off-campus sites where coursework is provided, as well as on-campus. No additional costs for proctoring are required of students.

At this time, usernames/numbers and passwords are the standard for verifying student identity in online classwork.


None.

Title IV Program Responsibilities (See FCFI Questions 17–24 and Appendixes H–Q)

1. This requirement has several components the institution must address.

• The team should verify that the following requirements are met:

o General Program Requirements. The institution has provided HLC with information about the fulfillment of its Title IV program responsibilities, particularly findings from any review activities by the Department of Education. It has, as necessary, addressed any issues the Department has raised regarding the institution’s fulfillment of its responsibilities.

o Financial Responsibility Requirements. The institution has provided HLC with information about the Department’s review of composite ratios and financial audits. It has, as necessary, addressed any issues the Department has raised regarding the institution’s fulfillment of its responsibilities in this area. (Note that the team should also be commenting under Criterion 5 if an institution has significant issues with financial responsibility as demonstrated through ratios that are below acceptable levels or other financial responsibility findings by its auditor.)


o Default Rates. The institution has provided HLC with information about its three-year default rate. It has a responsible program to work with students to minimize default rates. It has, as necessary, addressed any issues the Department has raised regarding the institution’s fulfillment of its responsibilities in this area. Note that for 2012 and thereafter, institutions and teams should be using the three-year default rate based on revised default rate data published by the Department in September 2012; if the institution does not provide the default rate for three years leading up to the comprehensive evaluation visit, the team should contact the HLC staff.

o Campus Crime Information, Athletic Participation and Financial Aid, and Related Disclosures. The institution has provided HLC with information about its disclosures. It has demonstrated, and the team has reviewed, the institution’s policies and practices for ensuring compliance with these regulations.

o Student Right to Know/Equity in Athletics. The institution has provided HLC with information about its disclosures. It has demonstrated, and the team has reviewed, the institution’s policies and practices for ensuring compliance with these regulations. The disclosures are accurate and provide appropriate information to students. (Note that the team should also be commenting under Criterion 2, Core Component 2.A if the team determines that the disclosures are not accurate or appropriate.)

o Satisfactory Academic Progress and Attendance Policies. The institution has provided HLC with information about its policies and practices for ensuring compliance with these regulations. The institution has demonstrated that the policies and practices meet state or federal requirements and that the institution is appropriately applying these policies and practices to students. In most cases, teams should verify that these policies exist and are available to students, typically in the course catalog or student handbook and online. Note that HLC does not necessarily require that the institution take attendance unless required to do so by state or federal regulations but does anticipate that institutional attendance policies will provide information to students about attendance at the institution.

o Contractual Relationships. The institution has presented a list of its contractual relationships related to its academic programs and evidence of its compliance with HLC policies requiring notification or approval for contractual relationships. (If the team learns that the institution has a contractual relationship that may require HLC approval and has not received HLC approval, the team must require that the institution complete and file the change request form as soon as possible. The team should direct the institution to review the Substantive Change Application for Programs Offered Through Contractual Arrangements on HLC’s website for more information.)

o Consortial Relationships. The institution has presented a list of its consortial relationships related to its academic programs and evidence of its compliance with HLC policies requiring notification or approval for consortial relationships. (If the team learns that the institution has a consortial relationship that may require HLC approval and has not received HLC approval, the team must require that the institution complete and file the form as soon as possible. The team should direct the institution to review the Substantive Change Application for Programs


Offered Through Consortial Arrangements on HLC’s website for more information.)

• Review all of the information that the institution discloses having to do with its Title IV program responsibilities.

• Determine whether the Department has raised any issues related to the institution’s compliance or whether the institution’s auditor has raised any issues in the A-133 about the institution’s compliance, and also look to see how carefully and effectively the institution handles its Title IV responsibilities.

• If the institution has been cited or is not handling these responsibilities effectively, indicate that finding within the Federal Compliance portion of the team report and whether the institution appears to be moving forward with the corrective action that the Department has determined to be appropriate.

• If issues have been raised concerning the institution’s compliance, decide whether these issues relate to the institution’s ability to satisfy the Criteria for Accreditation, particularly with regard to whether its disclosures to students are candid and complete and demonstrate appropriate integrity (Core Components 2.A and 2.B).






Rationale:

WVNCC underwent a Title IV review in October, 2012 and it was determined the college was in full compliance with the Higher Education Act Reauthorization, with the Program Participation Agreement, and with the Eligibility and Certification Approval Report. The institution has been given no limitations, suspensions or termination actions, verifiable by audits provided in Appendix H.

Corrective action was taken for two audit findings of the 2012-2013 financial aid years while the auditors were on campus. These changes resulted in updates in the Policies and Procedures Manual regarding Return of Title IV. No audit findings have been identified since as verified by documents in Appendix H.

Default rates for WVNCC have decreased from 2010-2011. Rates were 33.7% in 2010-2011, 28.8% in 2011-2012, and 23.2% in 2012-2013. While higher than peer institutions, the rates are decreasing, perhaps due to the implementation of a Default Management Plan submitted to the DOE in 2013. The college is working with an outside vendor, Edfinancial, to further monitor student payment activity.


The Vice President of Student Services, the Institutional Research Office, the Wheeling campus Security Liaison officer, and the Human Resources Office share in the responsibility for maintaining accurate and up-to-date information regarding campus crime, athletic participation, financial aid, etc., to students and community members. (APPENDIX M) Notices are sent to faculty and staff and to students reporting crimes having occurred. Also, a Crime Awareness and Campus Security Report is produced that provides the sexual assault policy and reporting process, contact information, emergency procedures, and the listing of any campus crimes resulting in disciplinary actions or reported to police.

The Institutional Research and Effectiveness website provides information on graduation rates/completion rates, financial aid, cost of attendance, refund/return of Title IV policies, academic programming, etc. (http://www.wvncc.edu/offices-and-services/institutional-research-and-effectiveness/674) Policies and procedures are also available in the 2016-2017 catalog.

The Satisfactory Academic Progress and Attendance Policies are available from the Financial Aid Office, the Registrar’s Office and the College Catalog. Definitions of terms, explanations of policies, appeals forms and appeal deadline dates are defined clearly.

West Virginia Northern Community College has no contractual or consortial agreements where more than 25% of the academic content for any degree is provided.


None.

Required Information for Students and the Public (See FCFI Questions 25–27 and Appendixes R and S)

1. Verify that the institution publishes accurate, timely and appropriate information on institutional programs, fees, policies and related required information. Verify that the institution provides this required information in the course catalog and student handbook and on its website.






Rationale:


The institution has provided access to the college’s catalog and Student Handbook, both of which provide information about admission, registration, finances, grades and transcripts, and transfer practices. Programs are described in the catalog, along with tuition and fees. Resources are also available on the website at http://www.wvncc.edu/potential-students. The Office of Community Relations is responsible for the timely updating and maintenance of the catalog and the website once the Board Has approved any changes.


None.

Advertising and Recruitment Materials and Other Public Information (See FCFI Questions 28–31 and Appendixes T and U)

1. Verify that the institution has documented that it provides accurate, timely and appropriately detailed information to current and prospective students and the public about its accreditation status with HLC and other agencies as well as about its programs, locations and policies.

• Review the institution’s disclosure about its accreditation status with HLC to determine whether the information it provides is accurate, complete and appropriately formatted and contains HLC’s web address.

• Review the institution’s disclosures about its relationship with other accrediting agencies for accuracy and for appropriate consumer information, particularly regarding the link between specialized/professional accreditation and the licensure necessary for employment in many professional or specialized areas.

• Review the institution’s catalog, brochures, recruiting materials, website and information provided by the institution’s advisors or counselors to determine whether the institution provides accurate, timely and appropriate information to current and prospective students about its programs, locations and policies.

• Verify that the institution correctly displays the Mark of Affiliation on its website.






Rationale:


The Office of Community Relations is responsible for all advertising and recruiting information. The Dean of Community Relations reviews all materials distributed to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and appropriateness.

WVNCC publishes information about its academic programs and courses on three separate pages of its website. These include: http://www.wvncc.edu/potential-students, http://wvncc.edu/about; and http://www.wvncc.edu/offices-and-services/admissions-office/197. Policies provided reflect processes for reviewing and updating information at program, department and institutional levels. Updated materials are posted to the website and published in hard copy for use by recruiting, admissions, and advising personnel.

The logo of the Higher Learning commission is posted to the website on the bottom of the homepage from the button entitled Awards & Accreditation. http://www.wvncc.edu/other-information/awards-and-accreditation/2193.


None.

Review of Student Outcome Data (See FCFI Questions 32–35 and Appendix V)

1. Review the student outcome data the institution collects to determine whether they are appropriate and sufficient based on the kinds of academic programs the institution offers and the students it serves.

• Determine whether the institution uses this information effectively to make decisions about planning, academic program review, assessment of student learning, consideration of institutional effectiveness and other topics.

• Review the institution’s explanation of its use of information from the College Scorecard, including student retention and completion and the loan repayment rate.





The Federal Compliance reviewer/evaluation team also has comments that relate to the institution’s compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation. See Criterion 4, particularly 4.B.

Rationale:

The Office of Institutional Research is charged with securing all student outcome data from state and IPEDS reporting, from student follow-up surveys regarding placement, and from an optional graduation


survey. The State Report Card, program review data, and College Scoreboard results are also used during the Strategic Planning Process and reflected in the State Master Plan and Compact. Data provided in the State Report Card publication defines graduation rates, one-year retention rates, lists the 20 institutions considered as peers for IPEDS evaluation, and includes the IPEDS Feedback Report.


See Core Component 4B.

Publication of Student Outcome Data (See FCFI Questions 36–38)

1. Verify that the institution makes student outcome data available and easily accessible to the public. Data may be provided at the institutional or departmental level or both, but the institution must disclose student outcome data that address the broad variety of its programs.

• Verify that student outcome data are made available to the public on the institution’s website—for instance, linked to from the institution’s home page, included within the top three levels of the website or easily found through a search of related terms on the website—and are clearly labeled as such.

• Determine whether the publication of these data accurately reflects the range of programs at the institution.






Rationale:

Student Outcome data is available to student and external stakeholders through the website, http://www,wvncc.edu/offices-and-services/institutional-data/675.


None.


Standing With State and Other Accrediting Agencies (See FCFI Questions 39–40 and Appendixes W and X)

1. Verify that the institution discloses accurately to the public and HLC its relationship with any other specialized, professional or institutional accreditors and with all governing or coordinating bodies in states in which the institution may have a presence.

The team should consider any potential implications for accreditation by HLC of a sanction or loss of status by the institution with any other accrediting agency or of loss of authorization in any state.

Note: If the team is recommending initial or continued status, and the institution is now or has been in the past five years under sanction or show-cause with, or has received an adverse action (i.e., withdrawal, suspension, denial or termination) from, any other federally recognized specialized or institutional accreditor or a state entity, then the team must explain the sanction or adverse action of the other agency in the body of the assurance section of the team report and provide its rationale for recommending HLC status in light of this action.

• Review the list of relationships the institution has with all other accreditors and state governing or coordinating bodies, along with the evaluation reports, action letters and interim monitoring plans issued by each accrediting agency.

• Verify that the institution’s standing with state agencies and accrediting bodies is appropriately disclosed to students.

• Determine whether this information provides any indication about the institution’s capacity to meet HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation. Should the team learn that the institution is at risk of losing, or has lost, its degree or program authorization in any state in which it meets state presence requirements, it should contact the HLC staff liaison immediately.






Rationale:

WVNCC maintains specialized accreditation with 10 Accreditation Agencies. Letters of formal status notification were provided in Appendix W from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), the Accreditation Review Council in Education in Surgical Technology & Surgical Assisting, the American Culinary Federation, the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education, and The Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology.



None.

Public Notification of Opportunity to Comment (FCFI Questions 41–43 and Appendix Y)

1. Verify that the institution has made an appropriate and timely effort to solicit third-party comments. The team should evaluate any comments received and complete any necessary follow-up on issues raised in these comments.

Note: If the team has determined that any issues raised by third-party comments relate to the team’s review of the institution’s compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation, it must discuss this information and its analysis in the body of the assurance section of the team report.

• Review information about the public disclosure of the upcoming visit, including copies of the institution’s notices, to determine whether the institution made an appropriate and timely effort to notify the public and seek comments.

• Evaluate the comments to determine whether the team needs to follow up on any issues through its interviews and review of documentation during the visit process.






Rationale:

The institution has made the public aware of the upcoming HLC visit to campus. The public was invited to provide comments through news media by October 10, 2016. A notice specifying the dates of the visit and the HLC mailing and email addresses was sent to the area newspaper and a copy of the media notice was forwarded to the HLC.


None.

Competency-Based Programs Including Direct Assessment Programs/Faculty-


Student Engagement (See FCFI Questions 44–47)

1. Verify that students and faculty in any direct assessment or competency-based programs offered by the institution have regular and substantive interactions: the faculty and students communicate on some regular basis that is at least equivalent to contact in a traditional classroom, and that in the tasks mastered to assure competency, faculty and students interact about critical thinking, analytical skills, and written and oral communication abilities, as well as about core ideas, important theories, current knowledge, etc. (Also, confirm that the institution has explained the credit hour equivalencies for these programs in the credit hour sections of the Federal Compliance Filing.)

• Review the list of direct assessment or competency-based programs offered by the institution.

• Determine whether the institution has effective methods for ensuring that faculty in these programs regularly communicate and interact with students about the subject matter of the course.

• Determine whether the institution has effective methods for ensuring that faculty and students in these programs interact about key skills and ideas in the students’ mastery of tasks to assure competency.






Rationale:

West Virginia Northern Community College offers no direct assessment programming.


Institutional Materials Related to Federal Compliance Reviewed by the Team

Provide a list of materials reviewed here:

Institutional complaint policy and procedure (Appendix B) and complaint Log (Appendix C)


Transfer policy, articulation agreement listing, supporting evidence document (Appendixes D-F)

Appendix G, Disclosures of Additional costs related to verification

Program Review and Audit Reports (Appendix H)

Appendixes I – Q, documents verifying Title IV compliance

Course Catalogs (Appendix R)

Student Handbooks (Appendix R)

Advertising and Recruitment policies and procedures (Appendix T and U)

Student Outcome Data and comprehensive evaluation reports and action letters (Appendix W and X)

Public Notification (Appendix Y)

Syllabi: Accounting, 123, 224

Allied Health Sciences 207

Applied Technology 150, 155

Art 150

Biology 110, (traditional and online), 114, 115

Business Administration 240

Chemistry 108 (Traditional and online), 109

Computer Information Technology 106, 250

Criminal Justice 115, 221 (traditional and compressed)

Culinary Arts 159 (traditional and compressed)

Economics 120

English 200, 201

Health Information Technology 240

History 110 (traditional and online), 111

Human Services 204

Marketing 230

Mathematics 205, 210

Nursing 134, 234

Paralegal 250

Petroleum Technology 206

Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating Technology 102, 211


Welding 110 (traditional and compressed), 112 (traditional and compressed)

Audience: Peer Reviewers Process: Multi-Location Visit Form Contact: [email protected] Published: 2015 © Higher Learning Commission Page 1

Multi-Location Visit Peer Review Report

Institution: West Virginia Northern Community College

Additional Locations Visited:

Location Name Location Address (street, city, state and ZIP code) Date Reviewed

New Martinsville campus 141 Main Street, New Martinsville, WV 26155 11/16/2016

Peer Reviewer

Name: Antoinette Baldin

Institution: Rhodes State College Title: Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs

Instructions In order to document effective administrative systems for managing multiple additional locations, please complete the following. For each item, check adequate or attention needed, and indicate in Comments the institution’s strengths and/or opportunities for improvement in controlling and delivering degree programs off-campus. If comments pertain to a specific location, they should be included along with the identity of that location.

Submit the completed report in PDF format at http://www.hlcommission.org/document_upload. When submitting, be sure to select the following: Role – Peer Reviewer, HLC Process – Required Reports, File Type – Multi-Location Report. The report is due within 30 days after the last additional location is visited.

Overview Statement

Provide information about current additional locations and the institution’s general approach to off-campus instruction. Describe the growth pattern at the institution since the last review of off-campus instruction. Provide information about the involvement of external organizations or other higher education institutions.

Judgment of reviewer. Check appropriate box: Adequate Attention Needed

Comments:


West Virginia Northern Community College maintains two regional campuses: Weirton and New Martinsville.

The New Martinsville campus is located 36 miles south of Wheeling and 50 miles north of Parkersburg in a region known locally as Chemical Alley. WVNCC began offering classes in New Martinsville and opened the campus in 1975. The campus is located downtown, adjacent to the New Martinsville Municipal Building. This campus houses ten classrooms, a chemistry/biology lab, computer labs, IP video classroom, a nursing lab, a new chemical operator laboratory, a tutoring center, developmental education classrooms, a library, faculty and staff offices and student spaces.

Programs offered at New Martinsville include Associate in Arts, AA; Associate in Science, AS; Associate in Science, Business Administration, AS; Accounting, Business Career Studies, CAS; Accounting, Business Studies, AAS; Business Administration, Business Studies, AAS; Computer Information Technology, AAS; Medical Assisting, Administrative Medical Assistant, CAS; Patient Care Technician, CAS; and Small Business Management, Business Career Studies, CAS. Enrollments have slightly increased 13% from 387 in Fall 2013 to 442 degree and non-degree seeking students in Fall 2015 with further increases anticipated due to new chemical operator certificate program.

Institutional Planning

What evidence demonstrates that the institution effectively plans for growth and maintenance of additional locations? Identify whether the institution has adequate controls in place to ensure that information presented to students is adequate. Describe whether the financial planning and budgeting process has proven effective at additional locations.

Judgment of reviewer. Check appropriate box: Adequate Attention needed

Comments:

The enrollment at the New Martinsville campus is about 443 students with campus administration, faculty and staff concerned about the continued decline in enrollment. The lack of College's overall enrollment growth has affected the administrative leadership of the regional campuses. At the last visit in 2013, each regional campus had a dedicated Campus Dean; in 2015 the College restructured to a single shared Campus Dean for both campuses who reports to the president and serves on the President's Cabinet. During the site visit, the President announced that the current Campus Dean was being promoted to Vice President of Economic Development with no plans to replace the Campus Dean. Instead, the single Campus Dean position is being replaced with a Campus Coordinator on each campus.

Faculty and staff indicated that their campus has the needed facilities, lab and supply resources, but faculty positions have decreased due to the closing of the nursing program at New Martinsville. Both faculty and staff believe that the lack of investment in the technology infrastructure, specifically, the bandwidth and IP video conferencing, is affecting enrollment at campus.

Participants in a community meeting at New Martinsville articulated the importance of the campus to the region, industry and local community it serves.


Facilities

What evidence demonstrates that the facilities at the additional locations meet the needs of the students and the curriculum? Consider, in particular, classrooms and laboratories (size, maintenance, temperature, etc.); faculty and administrative offices (site, visibility, privacy for meetings, etc.); parking or access to public transit; bookstore or text purchasing services; security; handicapped access; and other (food or snack services, study and meeting areas, etc.)


Comments:

The New Martinsville campus is showing some wear but is a well maintained facility. The single two story building contains adequate classroom spaces, office spaces and computer resources. The labs are fully equipped for the programs offered. There are lounges, computer resources, and ample parking available for students. In the past year, this campus closed the bookstore, but a pop-up bookstore is available at the beginning of every term for two weeks; students expressed frustration about the hours of operation. This campus has a library accessible Monday through Friday. Students would like to see the College invest in transportation options for students to get to this campus.

Technology within the classroom is start-of the-art, but bandwidth limitations continue to be a growing concern with students and faculty at this location. IP video equipment is dated and unreliable according to student and faculty interviews and both groups cited frustration at recurring "dropped" connections during classes and also on lack of internet accessibility to adequately meet their needs. This information was highlighted in the 2013 report and still is a concern at both New Martinsville and Weirton.

Instructional Oversight

What evidence demonstrates that the institution effectively oversees instruction at the additional locations? Consider, in particular, consistency of curricular expectations and policies, availability of courses needed for program and graduation requirements, faculty qualifications, performance of instructional duties, availability of faculty to students, orientation of faculty/professional development, attention to student concerns.


Comments:

One Campus Dean had oversight of the regional campuses and shared time between Weirton and New Martinsville campuses. During the site visit, the College President announced that that the Campus Dean would be replaced with a campus coordinator at each location. Faculty and staff interviewed expressed concern about the recent announcement and wondered whether a Campus Coordinator (not on the Cabinet) be able to be an advocate for the campus. They expressed concern about not being included in the decision-making that affected their regional campus; their suggestions and ideas were not listened to or valued; there is no shared governance process; decisions are made by Wheeling personnel not New Martinsville personnel. Faculty and staff also commented that the President and Cabinet members rarely visited the campus, the President attended the campus twice in past year for student activities.


Program oversight is handled by division chairpersons who are located on the main campus. Those chairpersons determine course schedules and assign faculty to the courses. Faculty assigned to courses taught at regional campuses follow the same College faculty credential guidelines; any exceptions have to be approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs similar to the main campus. New Martinsville faculty stated they "are family" and help each other as needed; occasionally they have to attend professional development and meetings at the Wheeling campus.

Students interviewed stated that depending on the program, they could complete all their requirements at the New Martinsville campus or they might have to attend courses at Wheeling or online and would like to see more courses offered on campus. Students and faculty at both locations cited frustration at recurring "dropped" connections during classes and also on lack of internet accessibility to adequately meet their needs. This information was highlighted in the 2013 report and still is a concern cited at both locations.

Students did comment that they did have access to the same information and services concerning programs and certificates that are available at Wheeling main campus including course schedules, orientations, student services and catalogs. Students use the student government organization to voice their concerns to the President and find faculty very supportive.

Institutional Staffing and Faculty Support

What evidence demonstrates that the institution has appropriately qualified and sufficient staff and faculty in place for the location, and that the institution supports and evaluates personnel at off-campus locations? Consider the processes in place for selecting, training, and orienting faculty at the location.


Comments:

WVNCC follows the same processes for hiring and evaluating faculty and staff at the regional campuses as with main campuses. Human Resources is responsible for posting and advertising the available positions with the appropriate Cabinet member ultimately responsible for recommendation to hire to the President. The Chief Human Resources Officer travels to both campuses as necessary to facilitate interviews and the hiring process. New Martinsville campus has qualified faculty who teach general education, chemical operations and nursing. However, faculty expressed concern in finding an adequate number of qualified nursing full-time faculty and adjunct faculty due to recent changes in the credentialing requirements. Main campus faculty also teach at the New Martinsville campus and travel as necessary to cover courses; main campus division chairpersons assign workload for all campus locations.

Faculty and staff typically travel to the main campus for professional development or access training through IP video conferencing. Interviews with staff and faculty also indicated that they have a professional development budget to attend conferences and were overall satisfied with quality and quantity of professional development opportunities.

Student Support

What evidence demonstrates that the institution delivers, supports, and manages necessary student services at the additional locations? Consider, in particular, the level of student access (in person, by


computer, by phone, etc.) to academic advising/placement, remedial/tutorial services, and library materials/services. Also, consider the level of access to admissions, registration/student records, financial aid, and job placement services, as well as attention to student concerns.


Comments:

New Martinsville has one campus advisor to meet the needs of the students; this advisor handles admission, registration, academic advising and contact to main campus departments for all New Martinsville students. In interviews, staff expressed concern with the number of advisors to meet the needs all current New Martinsville students and need to recruit new students. The campus has testing facilities, a developmental education computer laboratory, a library, adequate office and student spaces for students to meet as groups, for student activities and for meetings. This campus has tutors and coaches available though that grant is ending soon and uncertainty exists with faculty and students about whether services will continue. Financial Aid, career services, student records and counseling are obtained from main campus as requested. Interviews with students indicated they were very happy with the advising and support services offered at each location.

Student activities are held at both locations usually on a smaller scale and the students interviewed were happy with the quantity and quality of student activities.

Evaluation and Assessment

What evidence demonstrates that the institution measures, documents, and analyzes student academic performance sufficiently to maintain academic quality at the additional locations? How are measures and techniques employed at a location equivalent to those for assessment and evaluation on the main campus? Consider, in particular, the setting of measurable learning objectives, the actual measurement of performance, and the analysis and use of assessment data to maintain/improve quality.


Comments:

The College does have stated learning objectives, outcomes at the course, program and institutional level and broadly publicizes the six general education outcomes. The College’s assessment efforts appear to be centered on course assessment, though all the processes are still new and no data exists yet for New Martinsville campus. The emphasis appears to be on identifying activities and methods to assess each course outcome. There was no evidence of current practices to assess the stated program student learning outcomes for the programs offered at the Weirton campus.

Faculty supported the findings on the main campus which indicated that the College's assessment vocabulary is unclear and/or redundant, causing confusion and inhibiting progress on assessment. A lack of clarity in the basic principles of student learning assessment will impede efforts to identify, collect and use information to systematically improve learning.

Staff interviews did not indicate any formalized assessment of services ever being conducted which was also highlighted in the New Martinsville 2013 campus visit. Staff and faculty interviewed were unsure of resources and budgets available and commented on lack of master plan of the campus for new programs and industry partnerships. A formalized assessment needs to be developed and implemented to improve quality of programs and services provided.


Continuous Improvement

What evidence demonstrates that the institution encourages and ensures continuous quality improvement at its additional locations? Consider in particular the institution's planning and evaluation processes that ensure regular review and improvement of additional locations and ensure alignment of additional locations with the mission and goals of the institution as a whole.


Comments:

Interviews with the Campus Dean, faculty, and staff expressed the importance of this campus to the community that it serves. During the New Martinsville campus visit, a community group articulated the importance of the campus to the region, industry and local community it serves. However, faculty and staff interviews expressed apprehension and uncertainty of the campus as enrollments continue to decline and plans for future. Both groups stated that communication between Wheeling main campus and New Martinsville campus needs improvement; staff and faculty believe they are overlooked by main campus decisions.

A review of the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan does not clearly outline specific goals for each regional campus. The plan does address increasing student enrollment, expanding partnerships, and regularly assessing regional needs for programming.

Marketing and Recruiting Information

What evidence confirms that the information presented to students in advertising, brochures, and other communications is accurate?


Comments:

Fall 2015 student surveys indicated students selected WVNCC and/or a regional campus for affordability, proximity and program choice.

Educational programs, student services programs and student activities materials are displayed and accessible to students at both locations. The main office has computers and brochures nearby for students. Bulletin boards show up-to-date information about upcoming student activities, clubs, scholarships and important College information. Besides posted and printed materials, students receive College information and updates on email, Facebook, within the College's Learning Management system, Blackboard and from faculty and friends.

Students interviewed at New Martinsville learned about the College and this campus from their high school counselor, friends and marketing materials. They expressed their satisfaction with their college experience and felt very connected the College.


Summary Recommendation

Select one of the following statements. Include, as appropriate, a summary of findings.

Overall, the pattern of this institution’s operations at its additional locations appears to be adequate, and no further review or monitoring by the Higher Learning Commission is necessary.

Overall, the pattern of this institution’s operations at its additional locations needs some attention as defined in this report. The institution can be expected to follow up on these matters without monitoring by the Higher Learning Commission. The next scheduled comprehensive review can serve to document that the matters identified have been addressed. [Identify specific areas needing organizational attention.]

The overall pattern of this institution’s operations at its additional locations is inadequate and requires attention from the Higher Learning Commission. [Identify the specific concerns and provide a recommendation for HLC follow-up monitoring.]

Summary of Findings:

The New Martinsville campus is located 36miles south of Wheeling and 50 miles north of Parkersburg in a region known locally as Chemical Alley. The campus is an important entity in the community and region that it serves. The facilities are adequate to meet the needs of faculty, staff and students and are well maintained. Faculty, staff and students complained about the lack of adequate IP video conferencing technology and bandwidth issues continue to plague operations and course delivery; this concerned was raised in the 2013 visit and has not been corrected.

The enrollment at the New Martinsville campus is about 443 students with campus administration, faculty and staff concerned about the continued decline in enrollment. The lack of College's overall enrollment growth has affected the administrative leadership of the regional campuses. A campus coordinator will now be responsible for the overall operation, but this leadership change is viewed by faculty and staff with trepidation and uncertainty and they wondered if a coordinator-level advocate would be able to bring forth the concerns of students, faculty and staff at this campus.

Faculty supported the findings on the main campus which indicated that the College's assessment vocabulary is unclear and/or redundant, causing confusion and inhibiting progress on assessment. Staff interviews did not indicate any formalized assessment of services ever being conducted which was also highlighted in the New Martinsville 2013 campus visit. Staff and faculty interviewed were unsure of resources and budgets available and commented on lack of master plan for the campus. A formalized assessment needs to be developed and implemented to improve quality of programs and services provided. Interviews with students indicated their satisfaction with academic delivery, services and faculty. Faculty are concerned about the lack of finding qualified faculty at this location.

Fall 2015 student surveys indicated students selected WVNCC and/or a regional campus for affordability, proximity and program choice. Students commented that they did have access to the same information and services concerning programs and certificates that are available at Wheeling main campus including course schedules, orientations, student services and catalogs. New Martinsville has one campus advisor to meet the needs of the student; this advisor handles admission, registration, academic advising and contact to main campus departments for all New


Martinsville students. Staff expressed concern with the number of advisors to meet the needs all current New Martinsville students and to meet the need to recruit new students. Overall, students expressed their satisfaction with their college experience and felt very connected the College.


Notification Program for Additional Locations Approval Form

Complete this form only if an institution has been granted access to the Notification Program for Additional Locations. The Institutional Status and Requirements Report for the institution will indicate whether the institution has access to the Program under “Location Stipulation.”

Yes No The institution has been accredited by HLC for at least 10 consecutive years with no record of any action during that period for sanction or show-cause.

Yes No HLC has not required monitoring of issues related to the quality of instruction or to the oversight of existing additional locations or campuses in the past 10 years.

Yes No The institution has demonstrated success in overseeing at least three locations.

Yes No The institution has no other HLC or other legal restrictions on additional locations and/or programs offered off campus.

Yes No The institution has appropriate systems to ensure quality control of locations that include clearly identified academic controls; regular evaluation by the institution of its locations; a pattern of adequate faculty, facilities, resources and academic/support systems; financial stability; and long-range planning for future expansion.


Multi-Location Visit Peer Review Report

Institution: West Virginia Northern Community College

Additional Locations Visited:

Location Name Location Address (street, city, state and ZIP code) Date Reviewed

Weirton Campus 150 Park Avenue, Weirton, WV 26062 11/15/2016

Peer Reviewer

Name: Antoinette Baldin

Institution: Rhodes State College Title: Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs

Instructions In order to document effective administrative systems for managing multiple additional locations, please complete the following. For each item, check adequate or attention needed, and indicate in Comments the institution’s strengths and/or opportunities for improvement in controlling and delivering degree programs off-campus. If comments pertain to a specific location, they should be included along with the identity of that location.

Submit the completed report in PDF format at http://www.hlcommission.org/document_upload. When submitting, be sure to select the following: Role – Peer Reviewer, HLC Process – Required Reports, File Type – Multi-Location Report. The report is due within 30 days after the last additional location is visited.

Overview Statement

Provide information about current additional locations and the institution’s general approach to off-campus instruction. Describe the growth pattern at the institution since the last review of off-campus instruction. Provide information about the involvement of external organizations or other higher education institutions.

Judgment of reviewer. Check appropriate box: Adequate Attention Needed

Comments:


West Virginia Northern Community College maintains two regional campuses: Weirton and New Martinsville.

The Weirton campus is located 40 miles north of Wheeling and 45 miles south of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and across the river from Steubenville, Ohio. WVNCC began offering classes in Weirton in 1972. The campus is located in a former branch campus of West Liberty State College adjacent to a private high school. The campus expanded in 1999 and again in 2012 to meet employment needs in health care and manufacturing industries. This campus houses classrooms, two chemistry/biology labs, computer labs, IP video classrooms, a nursing lab, a tutoring center, developmental education classrooms, a library, faculty and staff offices and student spaces.

Programs offered at Weirton include Associate in Arts, AA; Associate in Science, AS; Associate in Science, Business Administration, AS; Accounting, Business Studies, AAS; Business Administration, Business Studies, AAS; Computer Information Technology, AAS; Criminal Justice, AAS; Patient Care Technology, CAS; Legal Office, Business Career Studies, CAS; Mechatronics, AAS; Medical Assisting, Administrative Medical Assistant, CAS; Nursing, AAS; Small Business Management, Business Career Studies, CA and Surgical Technology, AAS. Enrollments have decreased 16% from 599 in Fall 2013 to 506 degree and non-degree seeking students in Fall 2015 with decreases primarily the result of a nursing program decline.

Institutional Planning

What evidence demonstrates that the institution effectively plans for growth and maintenance of additional locations? Identify whether the institution has adequate controls in place to ensure that information presented to students is adequate. Describe whether the financial planning and budgeting process has proven effective at additional locations.


Comments:

The enrollment at the Weirton campus is 506 students with campus administration, faculty and staff concerned about the continued decline in enrollment. The lack of College's overall enrollment growth has affected the administrative leadership of the regional campuses. At the last visit in 2013, each regional campus had a dedicated Campus Dean; in 2015 the College restructured to a single shared Campus Dean for both campuses who reports to the President and serves on the President's Cabinet. During the site visit, the President announced that the current Campus Dean was being promoted to Vice President of Economic Development with no plans to replace the Campus Dean. Instead, the single Campus Dean position is being replaced with a Campus Coordinator on each campus.

Faculty and staff indicated that their campus has the needed facilities, lab and supply resources, but faculty positions have decreased due to decrease in enrollment in the nursing program at Weirton and the decline in industries in the region, along with competition from Eastern-Gateway Community College less than ten minutes away in Stuebenville, Ohio. Both faculty and staff believe that the lack of investment in the technology infrastructure; specifically, the bandwidth and IP video conferencing, is also affecting enrollment on campus.

Facilities


What evidence demonstrates that the facilities at the additional locations meet the needs of the students and the curriculum? Consider, in particular, classrooms and laboratories (size, maintenance, temperature, etc.); faculty and administrative offices (site, visibility, privacy for meetings, etc.); parking or access to public transit; bookstore or text purchasing services; security; handicapped access; and other (food or snack services, study and meeting areas, etc.)


Comments:

The Weirton campus is a well maintained facility. The two story building contains adequate classroom spaces, office spaces and computer resources. The labs are fully equipped for the programs offered. There is ample parking, lounges and computer resources available for students. In the past year, the bookstore has closed but a pop-up bookstore is available at the beginning of every term for two weeks. This location has a library accessible Monday through Friday. Weirton has experienced two building additions in 1999 and another in 2012.

Technology within the classroom is start-of-the-art, but bandwidth limitations continue to be a growing concern with students and faculty. IP video equipment is dated and unreliable and students and faculty cited frustration at recurring "dropped" connections during classes and also on lack of internet accessibility to adequately meet their needs.

Instructional Oversight

What evidence demonstrates that the institution effectively oversees instruction at the additional locations? Consider, in particular, consistency of curricular expectations and policies, availability of courses needed for program and graduation requirements, faculty qualifications, performance of instructional duties, availability of faculty to students, orientation of faculty/professional development, attention to student concerns.


Comments:

One Campus Dean had oversight of the regional campuses and shared time between Weirton and New Martinsville campuses. During the site visit, the College President announced that the Campus Dean would be replaced with a campus coordinator at each location. Faculty and staff interviewed expressed concern about the recent announcement and whether a Campus Coordinator (not a member of Cabinet) be able to be an advocate for the campus. They expressed concern that main campus does not understand what they do at this campus and that decisions are made by Wheeling personnel, not Weirton personnel.

Program oversight is handled by division chairpersons who are located on the main campus. Those chairpersons determine course schedules and assign faculty to the courses. Faculty assigned to courses taught at regional campuses follow the same College faculty credential guidelines; any exceptions have to be approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs similar to the main campus. Weirton faculty enjoy being separated from the main campus; occasionally they have to attend professional development and meetings at the Wheeling campus.

Students interviewed stated that depending on the program, they could complete all their requirements at the Weirton campus or they might have to attend courses at Wheeling or online and would like to see more courses offered on campus. Students and faculty at both locations


cited frustration at recurring "dropped" connections during classes and also on lack of internet accessibility to adequately meet their needs.

Students did comment that they did have access to the same information and services concerning programs and certificates that are available at Wheeling main campus including course schedules, orientations, student services and catalogs. Students use the student government organization to voice their concerns to the President and find faculty very supportive.

Institutional Staffing and Faculty Support

What evidence demonstrates that the institution has appropriately qualified and sufficient staff and faculty in place for the location, and that the institution supports and evaluates personnel at off-campus locations? Consider the processes in place for selecting, training, and orienting faculty at the location.


Comments:

WVNCC follows the same processes for hiring and evaluating faculty and staff at the regional campuses as with main campuses. Human Resources is responsible for posting and advertising the available positions with the appropriate Cabinet member ultimately responsible for making a recommendation to the President to hire. The Chief Human Resources Officer travels to both campuses as necessary to facilitate interviews and the hiring process. Weirton has six full time faculty and thirteen adjuncts assigned to the campus in nursing, surgical technology, information technology and general education. Faculty indicated college-wide difficulty in finding and hiring qualified full time nursing and adjunct faculty due to recent changes in the credentialing requirements. Main campus faculty also teach at the Weirton campus and travel as necessary to cover courses; main campus division chairpersons assign workload for all campus locations. Interviews with faculty and staff expressed concern about the perceived power of the Human Resources officer.

Faculty and staff typically travel to the main campus for professional development or access training through IP video conferencing. Interviews with staff and faculty also indicated that they have a professional development budget to attend conferences and were overall satisfied with quality and quantity of professional development opportunities.

Student Support

What evidence demonstrates that the institution delivers, supports, and manages necessary student services at the additional locations? Consider, in particular, the level of student access (in person, by computer, by phone, etc.) to academic advising/placement, remedial/tutorial services, and library materials/services. Also, consider the level of access to admissions, registration/student records, financial aid, and job placement services, as well as attention to student concerns.


Comments:

Weirton has one campus advisor to meet the needs of the student; this advisor handles admission, registration, academic advising and contact to main campus departments for all


Weirton students. Staff expressed concern with the number of advisors to meet the needs all current Weirton students and the need to recruit new students. The campus has testing facilities, a developmental education computer laboratory, a library, adequate office and student spaces for students to meet as groups, for student activities, and for meetings. This campus has tutors and coaches available though their grant funding is ending soon and uncertainty about theis situation exists among faculty and students. Financial Aid, career services, student records and counseling are obtained from main campus as requested. Interviews with students indicated they were very happy with the advising and support services offered at each location.

Student activities are held at both locations usually on a smaller scale and the students interviewed were happy with the quantity and quality of student activities.

Evaluation and Assessment

What evidence demonstrates that the institution measures, documents, and analyzes student academic performance sufficiently to maintain academic quality at the additional locations? How are measures and techniques employed at a location equivalent to those for assessment and evaluation on the main campus? Consider, in particular, the setting of measurable learning objectives, the actual measurement of performance, and the analysis and use of assessment data to maintain/improve quality.


Comments:

The College does have stated learning objectives, outcomes at the course, program and institutional level and broadly publicizes the six general education outcomes. The College’s assessment efforts appear to be centered on course assessment. The emphasis appears to be on identifying activities and methods to assess each course outcome. There was no evidence of current practices to assess the stated program student learning outcomes for the programs offered at the Weirton campus.

Faculty interviews supported the findings on the main campus which indicated that the College's assessment vocabulary is unclear and/or redundant, causing confusion and inhibiting progress on assessment. A lack of clarity in the basic principles of student learning assessment will impede efforts to identify, collect and use information to systematically improve learning.

Staff did not indicate any formalized assessment of services ever being conducted which was also highlighted in the Weirton 2013 campus visit. A formalized assessment needs to be developed and implemented to improve quality of programs and services provided. Staff and faculty interviewed mentioned that the College is investigating the opening of respiratory care and radiographic technology programs at the Weirton Campus.

Continuous Improvement

What evidence demonstrates that the institution encourages and ensures continuous quality improvement at its additional locations? Consider in particular the institution's planning and evaluation processes that ensure regular review and improvement of additional locations and ensure alignment of additional locations with the mission and goals of the institution as a whole.



Comments:

Interviews with the Campus Dean, faculty, and staff expressed the importance of this campus to the community that it serves yet faculty and staff interviews expressed apprehension and uncertainty as enrollments continue to decline. Both groups stated that communication between Wheeling main campus and Weirton campus needs improvement; staff and faculty believe they are overlooked by main campus decisions.

A review of the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan does not clearly outline specific goals for Weirton campus, though the plan does speak about increasing student enrollment, expanding partnerships, and regularly assessing regional needs for programming.

Marketing and Recruiting Information

What evidence confirms that the information presented to students in advertising, brochures, and other communications is accurate?


Comments:

Fall 2015 student surveys indicated students selected WVNCC and/or a regional campus for affordability, proximity and program choice.

Educational programs, student services programs and student activities materials are displayed and accessible to students at this location with two kiosks for student use. The main office has computers and brochures nearby for students. Bulletin boards show up-to-date information about upcoming student activities, clubs, scholarships and important College information. Besides posted and printed materials, students receive College information and updates on email, Facebook, within the College's Learning Management system, Blackboard and from faculty and friends.

Students interviewed at Weirton campus learned about the College from their high school counselor, friends and marketing materials. They expressed their satisfaction with their college experience. This is a campus that cares and instructors are very accommodating and helpful. Students felt very connected the College; specifically, the advisor at this campus.


Summary Recommendation

Select one of the following statements. Include, as appropriate, a summary of findings.

Overall, the pattern of this institution’s operations at its additional locations appears to be adequate, and no further review or monitoring by the Higher Learning Commission is necessary.

Overall, the pattern of this institution’s operations at its additional locations needs some attention as defined in this report. The institution can be expected to follow up on these matters without monitoring by the Higher Learning Commission. The next scheduled comprehensive review can serve to document that the matters identified have been addressed. [Identify specific areas needing organizational attention.]

The overall pattern of this institution’s operations at its additional locations is inadequate and requires attention from the Higher Learning Commission. [Identify the specific concerns and provide a recommendation for HLC follow-up monitoring.]

Summary of Findings:

The Weirton campus is located 40 miles north of Wheeling and 45 miles south of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and across the river from Steubenville, Ohio. The campus expanded in 1999 and again in 2012 to meet employment needs in health care and manufacturing industries. The facilities are adequate to meet the needs of faculty, staff and students and are well maintained. Faculty, staff and students complained about the lack of adequate IP video conferencing technology and bandwidth continues to plague operations and course delivery.

The enrollment at the Weirton campus is 599 students in Fall 2015 with campus administration, faculty and staff concerned about the continued decline in enrollment. The lack of the College's overall enrollment growth has affected the administrative leadership of the regional campuses. A campus coordinator will now be responsible for the overall operation, but this leadership change was viewed by faculty and staff with trepidation and uncertainty and they wondered if an advocate would be able to bring forth the concerns of students, faculty and staff at this campus.

Faculty supported the findings on the main campus which indicated that the College's assessment vocabulary is unclear and/or redundant, causing confusion and inhibiting progress on assessment. A formalized assessment needs to be developed and implemented to improve quality of programs and services provided. Interviews with students indicated their satisfaction with academic delivery, services and faculty. Faculty are concerned about the lack of finding qualified faculty at this location.

Fall 2015 student surveys indicated students selected WVNCC and/or a regional campus for affordability, proximity and program choice. Students commented that they have access to the same information and services concerning programs and certificates that are available at Wheeling main campus including course schedules, orientations, student services and catalogs. Weirton has one campus advisor to meet the needs of the student. This advisor handles admission, registration, academic advising and contact to main campus departments for all Weirton students. Staff interviews expressed concern with the number of advisors to meet the needs od all current Weirton students and the need to recruit new students. Overall, students expressed their satisfaction with their college experience and felt very connected the College, the staff and faculty, and specifically the advisor at this campus.


Notification Program for Additional Locations Approval Form

Complete this form only if an institution has been granted access to the Notification Program for Additional Locations. The Institutional Status and Requirements Report for the institution will indicate whether the institution has access to the Program under “Location Stipulation.”

Yes No The institution has been accredited by HLC for at least 10 consecutive years with no record of any action during that period for sanction or show-cause.

Yes No HLC has not required monitoring of issues related to the quality of instruction or to the oversight of existing additional locations or campuses in the past 10 years.

Yes No The institution has demonstrated success in overseeing at least three locations.

Yes No The institution has no other HLC or other legal restrictions on additional locations and/or programs offered off campus.

Yes No The institution has appropriate systems to ensure quality control of locations that include clearly identified academic controls; regular evaluation by the institution of its locations; a pattern of adequate faculty, facilities, resources and academic/support systems; financial stability; and long-range planning for future expansion.

STATEMENT OF AFFILIATION STATUS WORKSHEET

INSTITUTION and STATE: West Virginia Northern Community College WV TYPE OF REVIEW: Comprehensive Evaluation DESCRIPTION OF REVIEW: Year 4 Comprehensive Evaluation. A multi-campus visit will occur in conjunction with the comprehensive evaluation to New Martinsville Campus,141 Main Street, New Martinsville,WV 26155-1113 and Weirton Campus,150 Park Avenue,Weirton,WV 26062-3741. Visit should include an emphasis on Faculty and Staff Qualifications. Comprehensive evaluation to include Federal Compliance Reviewer. DATES OF REVIEW: 11/14/2016 - 11/15/2016

No Change in Statement of Affiliation Status

Nature of Organization

CONTROL: Public RECOMMENDATION: DEGREES AWARDED: Associates, Certificate RECOMMENDATION: no change

Conditions of Affiliation STIPULATIONS ON AFFILIATION STATUS: Prior Commission approval is required for substantive change as stated in Commission policy. RECOMMENDATION: no change APPROVAL OF NEW ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS: Prior Commission approval required. RECOMMENDATION: no change

Recommendations for the STATEMENT OF AFFILIATION STATUS

APPROVAL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION DEGREES: Approved for distance education courses and programs. The institution has not been approved for correspondence education. RECOMMENDATION: no change ACCREDITATION ACTIVITIES: Multi Campus Visits, Multi Campus Visit: 2016 - 2017 Standard Pathway, Comprehensive Evaluation: 11/14/2016 Year 4 Comprehensive Evaluation. A multi-campus visit will occur in conjunction with the comprehensive evaluation to New Martinsville Campus,141 Main Street, New Martinsville,WV 26155-1113 and Weirton Campus,150 Park Avenue,Weirton,WV 26062-3741. Visit should include an emphasis on Faculty and Staff Qualifications. Comprehensive evaluation to include Federal Compliance Reviewer. RECOMMENDATION:

Probation recommendation

Focused Visit due May 31, 2019 to address faculty credentials, financial reporting, and assessment.

Summary of Commission Review

YEAR OF LAST REAFFIRMATION OF ACCREDITATION: 2012 - 2013 YEAR FOR NEXT REAFFIRMATION OF ACCREDITATION: 2022 - 2023 RECOMMENDATION: no change

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE WORKSHEET

INSTITUTION and STATE: 1675 West Virginia Northern Community College WV TYPE OF REVIEW: Standard Pathway: Comprehensive Evaluation DESCRIPTION OF REVIEW: Year 4 Comprehensive Evaluation. A multi-campus visit will occur in conjunction with the comprehensive evaluation to New Martinsville Campus,141 Main Street, New Martinsville,WV 26155-1113 and Weirton Campus,150 Park Avenue,Weirton,WV 26062-3741. Visit should include an emphasis on Faculty and Staff Qualifications. Comprehensive evaluation to include Federal Compliance Reviewer.

No change to Organization Profile

Educational Programs Programs leading to Undergraduate Program Distribution Associates 21 Bachelors 0 Programs leading to Graduate Doctors 0 Masters 0 Specialist 0 Certificate programs Certificate 9 Recommended Change: Off-Campus Activities: In State - Present Activity Campuses: New Martinsville Campus - New Martinsville, WV Weirton Campus - Weirton, WV Additional Locations: None. Recommended Change:


Out Of State - Present Activity Campuses: None. Additional Locations: None. Recommended Change: Out of USA - Present Activity Campuses: None. Additional Locations: None. Recommended Change: Distance Education Programs: Present Offerings: Associate 11.0201 Computer Programming/Programmer, General Computer Information Technology, AAS Internet Associate 52.0101 Business/Commerce, General Business Administration, AAS Internet Associate 24.0199 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities, Other Associate in Science, AS Internet Associate 24.0101 Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies Associate in Arts, AA Internet Associate 43.0107 Criminal Justice/Police Science Criminal Justice, AAS Internet Associate 44.0701 Social Work Human Services, AAS Internet Associate 51.0707 Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician Health Information Technology, AAS Internet Certificate 11.0201 Computer Programming/Programmer, General CIT Microsoft Applications Internet Recommended Change: Correspondence Education Programs: Present Offerings: None. Recommended Change: Contractual Relationships: Present Offerings:


None. Recommended Change: Consortial Relationships: Present Offerings: None. Recommended Change: