Institutional Effectiveness Summary Report 2006



Institutional Effectiveness Summary Report 2006 The 2006 Institutional Effectiveness summary report for Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC) includes the following required Institutional Effectiveness reports and assessment elements:REQUIRED INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS REPORTS 2006Majors and Concentrations on FDTC Reporting Schedule for 2006:Results of Professional ExamsFull or Interim Reports:Programs Eligible for Accreditation?N/A - 2006Majors and ConcentrationsTwo to Four Year TransfersMajors and Concentrations:Advising ProceduresHealth Information ManagementMedical Laboratory TechnologyFor Future Reporting:Radiologic TechnologyStudent Development and ServicesRespiratory CareLibrary ResourcesHeating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning TechnologyAlumni Survey -SatisfactionMachine Tool TechnologyAlumni Survey -Placement DataLegal Assistant/Paralegal TechnologyAssociate in Science/Associate in ArtsSurgical TechnologyOTHER REPORTING EXPECTANCIESIn addition to the reports and elements listed above, the Minority Student and Faculty Access and Equity assessment will be reported by the SC Commission on Higher Education.? The following elements of Institutional Effectiveness reporting are not currently applicable to the SC Technical College System Sector: Program Changes that have Occurred as a Result of External Program Evaluation, Success of Students in Developmental Courses, Success of Entering Students in Meeting College or University Admissions Prerequisites, Academic Performance of Student Athletes, and Students Participating in Sponsored Research.INTRODUCTION - FLORENCE-DARLINGTON TECHNICAL COLLEGEFlorence-Darlington Technical College is a post-secondary, public, two-year institution serving Florence, Darlington and Marion Counties, whose primary mission is to deliver an affordable, comprehensive technical education. The college has an open admissions policy and annually enrolls approximately 12,000 to 15,000 credit students and 10,000 to 18,000 continuing education students. Through technical, general and continuing education programs, the college responds to the educational, economic and cultural needs of a diverse traditional and non-traditional adult student population. The College's mission statement was approved by the Florence-Darlington County Commission in April 2005.As a vital organization in the community, the college fosters educational and economic growth opportunities that quantitatively and qualitatively contribute to the economic and cultural life and development of the South Carolina PeeDee region is serves. It offers comprehensive technical education in the traditional classroom setting and through on-line instruction, college transfer programs, specialized training for business and industry, continuing education, transitional studies, and student development services. The instruction provided at the college is designed to prepare individuals for careers, advancement, and growth in health services, business, engineering, human and public services, industrial technologies and other fields. In addition to the knowledge specific to their chosen program of study, graduates of the college are expected to have mastered competencies in written and oral communication, information processing, mathematics, problem solving, and interpersonal skills.Institutional Effectiveness And PlanningAt FDTC, strategic planning, operational planning, budget planning and the institutional effectiveness model are combined to create one annual master plan that serves as a vehicle for institution-wide evaluation. As a collaborative action the college has defined its mission and identified key performance indicators in support of its adopted mission to drive the planning process and provide a platform against which to judge success. As part of this institutional effectiveness process, the college conducts an open strategic planning retreat in the spring each year, including all college personnel in the planning process. Focus groups combining faculty, administrators, and staff, led by peer facilitators, meet on Planning Day to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, major opportunities, and major challenges of the College. As a result of the process, the college develops a comprehensive multi-phase plan of institutional goals that serve as the backbone of the institutional effectiveness strategy for the period.The divisions of the college meet and conduct planning sessions inclusive of all of their respective departments in April and May. They evaluate current operational objectives and institutional effectiveness initiatives for the next year. They revise the plans to include goals and objectives in line with the institutional endeavors appropriate to the coming year and these goals are submitted to the FDTC President, and subsequently to the Area Commission, for ratification of and inclusion in the College's Strategic Initiatives.All college departments follow a planning and evaluation cycle that is supervised by the Vice President for Student Services and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The planning and evaluation cycle is comprehensive, systematic, interrelated, and appropriate to the institution. Each FDTC academic and administrative department annually prepares an?Institutional Effectiveness Report Planning Document?including the development of evaluation criteria that tie directly to selected college goals and subsequently the College Mission. In a college-wide accepted format the document that includes the program's general purpose, establishes select annual goals and objectives, and provides a methodology for periodically assessing student outcomes and operational goals.In the past, the Student Services Division has published a manual defining the IE process and providing a guide to its steps. The?Institutional Effectiveness Report Planning Document?includes a standardized form, The?Institutional Effectiveness Report?that is used by each department to guide its planning and evaluation efforts.?Institutional Effectiveness Reports?require a purpose statement that supports the College's mission statement, and two to three departmental objectives that tie directly to one of the College's six college wide goals. Additionally, departments must identify a means of assessing each of their objectives, and at the end of the cycle of IE, they must publish the results of their assessment, and propose how the assessment results will be used for the improvement of educational programs, services, and operations. These records are used to develop and revise curriculum offerings and instructional techniques and shape the college for the future. Through the?Institutional Effectiveness Reports?of all academic departments, the college defines its expected results and describes its methods for analyzing those results. Combined, these records constitute the College's?Institutional Effectiveness Summary Report.This year, the Student Services Division, created and installed a copy of the Institutional Effectiveness manual and produced an on-line Institutional Effectiveness Report form on the FDTC Intranet for use in updating IE plans and for review by constituencies college-wide. It is designed to make it easier to create the Report and to produce a more universal reporting format across the campus. As well, it provides a place on line where all departments of the college can make updates to their report as they complete tasks and objectives and IE information throughout the college can be shared thus keeping the process open and inter-relational.The budget planning component of the College's strategic and operational planning is based on the ratified Institutional Effectiveness goals and objectives and is conducted in May and June each year. The budget process consists of open budget hearings with the Institutional Effectiveness Report being used to support departmental budget requests.Florence-Darlington Technical College also utilizes the DACUM (Develop a Curriculum) process to assist in academic program review and enhancement. DACUM reviews are conducted for all academic disciplines according to a predetermined three-year cycle for each curriculum.In addition to the Institutional Effectiveness Reports and the DACUM process, all programs at Florence-Darlington Technical College collect and analyze Program Evaluation data in their annual assessments. This data set contains responses from a survey of graduates of the previous academic year regarding current employment status and participation in higher education at an advanced level. This process is annually coordinated by the SC State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education and called the Program Evaluation Report.Full and Interim Reports 2006AdvisingThe guiding philosophy of Academic Advising at FDTC is that well directed students are successful students. The College's faculty and staff are dedicated to providing students with their time and expertise to advise and counsel them on respective academic and career decisions.The advising process at FDTC is both directive and sustaining.? It focuses not only on guiding the student on what course to take, but also on providing the student some understanding of how to make particular curriculum choices that will lead to an achievement of their respective goals.? Student development, growth, and maturity are goals of the advising program, and advisors are trained to assist students in meeting the College's requirements and life's challenges.? Advisors take personal interest in students and assist them in choosing a program that will drive them to achieve their personal goals in life.All FDTC faculty receive training on student advising immediately upon employment with the College.? The Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs publishes and distributes an annually updated?Faculty Handbook and Academic Advising Guide.? The?Faculty Handbook and Academic Advising Guide?includes a copy of the College's?Advising Procedure 40-6 - Faculty Administration, which specifies advisors' responsibilities, and provides clear directions.? The Academic Advising portion of the handbook covers: Advisors Responsibilities and General Admissions Information as well as Student Placement guidelines including expected testing and transfer or advanced credit assignment policies. It also provides details on the FERPA and ADA administration at our institution. The College's Early Alert Academic Advising Process, facilitated by the Student Success Center, and advising students in transformational situations such as Developmental Studies, Transfer and Co-op Programs are also included in the guidelines. The manual is published on the FDTC Intranet for universal access. Faculty is also trained by department heads to use the appropriate Datatel Colleague student information screens to review and gather pertinent information on their advisees, and to create files and prepare and execute processes such as WebAdvisor, and Degree Audit regarding a student's status throughout his or her career at the College.A student's file will include such elements as transcripts, change of curriculum forms, their personal profile and personal record, advisor-advisee contact logs, long range program plans, progress checklist/graduation certification checklist, and other records deemed appropriate by the department head or advisor.The advisor is expected to maintain current files on an assigned student, unless and until the student is allowed to change programs and is appointed another advisor. The contents of student files include information pertinent to the students' academic life at the College, appropriate student information received from outside the institution, and those records developed internally to guide the student in marking their progress through their academic experience at FDTC.Students are required to see their advisor each semester to review the expectations of their chosen curriculum, discuss prerequisites for the program, and plan a schedule of classes for the semester.? Also advisors and advisees will discuss the student's career goals, present and future course load, grades, outside workload, absence policy, GPA expectations, and other issues pertinent to the student as necessary.? Advisors are responsible for telling students of changes in the registration and records maintenance processes and other academic policies and procedures, as they affect the student.The FDTC Academic Advising process is regularly reviewed and evaluated in response to the changing academic environment. Additionally, advisors are trained to be aware of current legal issues in today's society and understand how they may impact students' rights and the academic policies of the institution. During the most recent academic year, FDTC designed and implemented an Advising Center to serve new students entering the College. The center was installed in an area at the college that was able to house representatives of all the College's services and staffed by faculty advisors and other college staff? members to provide students with a one-stop approach to achieving college entrance and academic advisement. The center's goal was to assist new students in working through college processes including admissions, advising, financial aid and career counseling in efforts to maximize a student's potential for a successful college experience. During the registration period for Fall Semester 2005, 691 or 70% of? FDTC's? enrollment of new students was accomplished in the Advising Center.Faculty advisors are evaluated in accordance with the College's Evaluation/Performance Appraisals Policy and Procedures #30-07 which incorporates the annual Faculty Performance Management System review.? Additionally, students directly evaluate advisors on the College's Student Opinion of Instruction Survey administered each semester and in the graduate exit survey conducted at graduation each year.TransfersInstitutional Effectiveness reporting, in accordance with an agreement between the SC Commission on Higher Education and the SC Technical College System, requires that Technical Colleges review and analyze GPA data on the first semester of First-time Fall Transfer Students who have transferred from SC Technical Colleges to SC Four-year senior and Regional institutions.SC Four ?year institutions supply the SC Technical College System information, which is in turn provided to the respective Technical Colleges, on the number of students attending the senior institution from the College, the number of credits they transferred in, the student's ethnicity and their GPA during their initial Fall semester.In the following analysis Florence-Darlington Technical College is utilizing the data acquired, as compiled and described above, for students who fulfilled college requirements and statewide procedures to enter one of the State's Four-year Colleges in the Fall Semester 2005.The data reveals that 207 students from Florence-Darlington Technical College attempted to transfer from FDTC to one of the SC's Four-year Colleges for fall semester 2005.? Of those 207, 146 or 71% completed the application process and were accepted to the college of their choice.? One hundred and three (103) of those accepted, or again, 71%, enrolled in a senior institution.The data further reveals that 174 or 84% of the students who applied to senior institutions as First-Time Freshman in the Fall semester of 2005 applied for admission to four specific SC institutions, Francis Marion University, the University of South Carolina at Columbia, USC Upstate and Coastal Carolina University.Subsequently, the data examined indicates that 40% of the FDTC transfer student applicants who were accepted to Four-year institutions and Regionals enrolled at one Four-year institution within 15 miles of FDTC, while 65% of the transferred students applied and were accepted at institutions geographically located within 90 to 150 miles of Florence. The information on transfers conveyed from the SC higher education system for the Fall semester of 2005 also indicates that the total number of FDTC transfer students for which GPA's were reported, achieved a slightly greater GPA, on average, than the First-time native students at the Senior Institutions to which they transferred. Nonetheless, it may be noted that the total number of FDTC transfer students reported as having earned a GPA in the first semester with respect to the total number of First-time native students at the combined colleges is significantly smaller.FDTC will continue to examine the information provided and analyze how it may be used effectively in conjunction with the College's policies and practices to continue to increase academic success for students transferring to SC four-year institutions.Majors and Concentrations 2006The following academic degree programs will be considered in the FDTC cycle of assessment for the CHE Institutional Effectiveness Process:Health Information ManagementMedical Laboratory TechnologyRadiologic TechnologyRespiratory CareAssociate in Science & Art DegreeMachine Tool TechnologyLegal Assistant ParalegalHeating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning TechnologySurgical TechnologyThe goal of the?Health Information Management (HIM) Program?is to provide quality HIM graduates in response to the educational, economic, and area healthcare delivery system needs.? The department's 2005-2006 objectives, which can be directly linked to the FDTC's Learning Environment goal, included increasing enrollment in the HIM degree program and in the Medical Coding and Medical Transcription Certificate programs. Additionally, they have developed strategies to maintain an 85% graduation rate in the Medical Coding program as well as the 80% graduation rate in the HIM degree program.The department increased the HIM enrollment from Fall 2004 to Fall 2005 by 50% and department members, for the first time, have created a waiting list for the HIM program for Fall 2006. The department has determined to continue the recruiting strategies such as working to raise the awareness of opportunities in the Health Information Management profession in high schools and creating a more effective presentation of such opportunities to students incoming to the college for 2006-2007. In addition, the department endeavored to enroll 10 students in the new HIM-Medical Transcription Certificate program students for Fall 2005. They will continue to work to meet their goal for a class of 10 students for 2006-07.The department also strove to increase graduation rates for the departmental programs. The Medical Coding graduate job placement rate was targeted to increase by 18% (from 67% to 85%) by February 2006. This goal was met and exceeded as a placement rate of 100% was achieved. Further, strategies to continue to maintain 80% or greater graduation rate and placement rate of all HIM curriculum students entering the college in 2005 are being developed. Department members have created a new methodology for individual student evaluations of progress to include mid-term evaluations, and to address all issues that may prevent student advancement in the program. The department has, in addition to departmental assistance, created a tutoring module for all HIM courses that is available to HIM students through alternate college resources.The?Medical Laboratory Technology?(MLT)?Program?of the FDTC Allied Health Department supports the college mission and goals by providing a comprehensive technical education program that prepares its graduates in the Medical Laboratory Technology degree program and the Medical Assisting Certificate program to work in physician office practices, clinics, and other health care settings in the College's service area.This year of review, the department increased the enrollment and decreased attrition from the Medical Assisting Certificate Program for Fall semester. Students were given additional one on one advisement opportunities as a strategy for increasing commitment to the curriculum. The department's increased enrollment objective was met. To retain students in the three semester program the department implemented a supplemental academic support program for coordinated delivery by the college-wide tutoring resources.?The assessment activities to reduce the attrition rate in the Medical Assisting curriculum at the end of the first semester by 10% and also reduce the second semester attrition by 10% as well in the Spring 2006 with no increase in the existing departmental budget was successful.? As a result of this progress the department will strongly recommend students take Biology review modules and seek additional academic and career counseling to increase an individual's successful matriculation through the program.Additionally, the department scored a more than 90% student pass rate this year on the American Society of Clinical Pathologist's (ASCP) Board of Registry external certification exam in the 2005 July-September testing cycle.The?Radiologic Department?of the Allied Health Programs department prepares its degree program students for clinical careers in the Pee Dee region and beyond by creating a learning environment that is customer oriented and emphasizes certification, work experience and competence.During this year of review, the Radiologic Department retained 10% more first year students while using several newly delivered tools of assessment. They provided a revised syllabi format addressing the learning objections of all for the Radiologic courses, provided mid-term progress reports on all students regarding their respective course work; and lastly, implemented a program providing students with instructors to serve as tutors for all classes and labs.In addition, the department increased its Spring 2006 graduation rate by 10% after applying revised assessment methodologies to the second year students of the curriculum. Instructors enhanced their advising efforts to provide additional, regular progress reports on academic and clinical work throughout their courses. They also re-designed additional testing methodologies to measure the level at which testing covers the objectives put forth in class syllabi across the curriculum and appropriately aligned instructional material to reflect the appropriate learning objectives. Further, students were provided additional opportunities for tutoring for class work and lab as needed.The goal of the?Respiratory Care Technology?Program?of the Allied Health Programs department at FDTC is to prepare students of the degree program to be competent Advanced Level respiratory care practitioners. To improve the College's Learning Environment the department addressed several assessment issues throughout the year, increased it's retention of first year students by 10% over the previous class and exceeded its goal to retain second year students by 10%. The department worked in partnership to validate test material against course objectives across the curriculum and used this source data to provide additional academic counseling to students regarding their progress. Also, students were provided additional instructor lead and peer tutoring in open lab learning sessions to maximize the use of learning models and time.By providing students additional opportunities for preparation, the department also assisted students in increasing the pass rate on the Certification Examination for Entry Level Respiratory Therapy Practitioner across the department for 2006 to 90%.The department instructors created a program to assist students in mastering the review material and prepared a schedule of specially created mock exams.? The program included the academic support as well as programming including feedback on individual student strengths and weaknesses, and practices to overcome testing anxiety.The?Legal Assistant/Paralegal Program?supports the college mission and goals by preparing graduates with technical, communication, and interpersonal skills required for research, and other legal tasks under an attorney's supervision.Among other assessment goals for the year being measured, the Legal Assistant/Paralegal department examined and addressed recruitment and retention process mechanisms. The department increased its students enrollment by strategically arranging visits with local high schools and participating in service area college fairs.? Further, they contacted identified prospective students by phone and by mail to answer any program questions and provide assistance with the admissions process.Equally, the department has increased its retention rate of first year students to 80% for Spring 2006 by raising the number of opportunities for students to receive academic counseling throughout the semester.? By conducting midterm conferences, referring struggling students to additional tutoring at the end of their fall semester, the department determined that additional early intervention of academic assistance benefited students and the program.The Manufacturing and Mechanical Technologies Department addresses the FDTC mission statement and goals by instructing students in theHeating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology (HVAC) and Machine Tool Technology (MTT) Degree and Certificate Programs?as well as several other industrial engineering disciplines. The HVAC and MTT programs will be reviewed in this paper for this academic year.The HVAC degree and certificate program students master the theory and operation of electric, gas, and oil furnaces; window air conditioners; heat pumps; refrigerators; freezers; coolers; and walk-in boxes to facilitate the functions of businesses, residences and learning institutions and health care facilities in the community. Two of the focal points for the HVAC assessment program during this period of review were to increase the number of graduates in the degree program and to produce one online tutorial in support of both the first year certificate course and the degree course respectively.Instructors gathered required resources to produce a refrigerant pressure temperature chart tutorial.? Tutorial materials were designed, produced, converted to HTML and uploaded to the web server. The tutorials will be accessible online beginning the summer of 2006.In efforts to strengthen retention and therefore increase the program graduation rate department instructors implemented midterm advising appointments with students to ensure that program requirements are being achieved in a consistent manner and that students were being offered all college resources for which they are eligible. This intervention did result in a 16% increase in the degree program graduation rate.The FDTC?Machine Tool Technologies (MTT) Program?of the Manufacturing and Mechanical Technologies Department provides training for students to perform basic machine tool operations with manual and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) equipment and produces an apprentice tool and die maker basically trained in all areas of tool and die work. This year the MMT department successfully increased the enrollment to the degree and the certificate program, and, as well, increased the retention rate to the two year degree program.The department presented a career day program at the Darlington County High School job fair in 2005. Fifteen prospects for Fall 2006 were cultivated from that event.A CNC certificate was offered for the first time in evening classes for students who are currently working in the machine tool field. The department had 5 graduates of this program for summer 2006. The college plans to acquire more sophisticated machine tool technology, and offer additional advanced classes are scheduled to be offered for skilled machinists currently in the field.Further, the Machine Tool Technologies department increased its annual retention rate by 10% during the year. They interviewed students from the previous three academic years on their reasons for leaving the College. The data gathered was analyzed and has allowed the department to offer alternatives in learning methodologies and other college resources to program students to increase their options to stay in college.? The MTT administrators also purchased Pro-talk lathe and Pro-talk software for use in the MTT 290 lecture class giving students the opportunity to learn to program diverse machine controls.In accordance with agreements created between the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education and the SC Commission on Higher Education, FDTC offers?Associate in Arts and Associate in Science?degree programs to give students preparation to transfer courses, or degrees in their entirety, to another two year or four year senior institution within the state of South Carolina.In the?Associate in Science (AS) Degree Program, FDTC provides students instruction in biology, chemistry, and physics for college transfer credits, and enables students to learn to perform basic scientific procedures and to develop critical thinking skills on which to build future academic achievement.?The AS program represents approximately 6-7% of the College's total fall semester enrollment on average and provides science instruction for the health sciences and other technical programs requiring the natural sciences.The AS program is annually subjected to Program Evaluation, an assessment tool of the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education, and participates in the College's inclusive Institutional Effectiveness planning and improvement cycle.The Natural and Physical Sciences department in support of the Associate of Science program provides instruction in biology, chemistry, and physics to enable students to complete their Associate in Science degree program and respective curricular programs or transfer units. It also provides specialized training to meet the workplace requirements of local business and industry. The department's goals for this year of review included, among others, objectives across the department to examine student success rates per class, and to assess the placement rate of AS students.Having 70% of students achieving a successful completion rate with a grade of "C" or better for each and every credit course offered in the natural sciences department was one of the several objectives of the department. The objective was met and in 70% of the courses offered across the department and the instructors will continue to make improvements on the courses for which the goal was not met.? They have made plans to review and revise pre-requisites to specific courses to ensure students have been offered appropriate preparation and opportunity to succeed in the advanced courses. Preparations have been made to teach additional laboratory skills and incorporate more progressive collaborative learning exercises and to review and revise instructor assignments to maximize the use of instructor proficiencies in the learning environment.Also, during this year of evaluation, the department has been analyzing the Program Evaluation data from the previous year and noted that the successful transfer rate of graduates from FDTC to other two or four year institutions from the AS program is 70%. Department instructors and advisors are increasing their efforts to identify careers available to FDTC graduates with a 2-year AS degree.? They are currently exploring career information to make available to AS advisees and are creating a mechanism to have graduates share update such information with enrolled students and current departmental personnel.The?Associate of Arts (AA) Degree Program?at FDTC, currently representing approximately 9-10% of the FDTC student enrollment, prepares students to transfer specific courses, or a degree in its entirety, to a four-year college or university.?The program functions in alliance with many departments across the college to provide instruction in English, math, humanities, and the sciences. Students are also expected to become skilled in the use of technology in course activity and demonstrate that they can successfully function collaboratively and accomplish tasks in teams.In order to accomplish this, the?Humanities Department?faculty works collaboratively with all curricular programs across campus to provide the specific general knowledge and intellectual skills needed for students to successfully complete their respective programs. During this year of assessment the department chose to focus on assisting students to succeed in history and Spanish course work.? They analyzed students' critical thinking and comprehensive skills and inserted assessment tools to measure entry level skills in these disciplines. They then added appropriate technology interventions and skill building exercises to increase competencies.The use of technology was required in all sections of HSS 205, Technology and Society, and a departmentally common course final was developed and implemented for all sections of HSS 205. Results were varied, with some sections performing much better than others in regards to the final evaluative instrument used in all sections.In the Spanish tract of coursework, a new textbook, VIVA, was used. Web-based assignments and interactive software for student enhanced learning was adopted and used for the 2005-2006 school year. The ancillary materials to the text allowed students additional practice of newly acquired language skills outside the classroom. Software tutorial programs were employed by the instructor during class and use was required by the students outside class for additional practice and reinforcement of basic language concepts.The?Mathematics Department?works cooperatively with all curricular programs across campus to provide appropriate mathematics instruction in order for students to successfully complete their respective programs. The Mathematics Department is also responsible for providing course work in support of the Associate of Arts Degree providing graduates with a strong foundation in general education, thereby preparing them to transfer to a four-year college or university in pursuit of a bachelor's degree, or enter the workplace with knowledge and skills necessary for a variety of career choices.The assessment objectives for this year for the Mathematics Department were focused on several learning environments including course success rates, increased learning opportunities in the FDTC Math HUB and recruiting service area high schools for participation in the College's annual Math Contest. To continue to have students demonstrate mastery of course competencies without significant deviation from the 5-year moving statistics of the department, instructors designed and implemented revised departmental final exams for all math sections each semester this year. The department's goal to slightly increase the previous 5-year moving average of the mean score across the department was met.Further, the department endeavored to increase the mean success rate on the courses offered in the College's technology enhanced Math Hub.? They designed pre and post tests for all of the applicable courses offered at the Center and analyzed the results throughout the period. They determined that there is an indication of increased learning in the technology-based sections as compared to the traditional sections, but that additional data is required at this point to make a statistically sound comparison regarding these courses.Finally, the department was successful in increasing the number of high schools participating in the FDTC Technical College's Annual Mathematics Contest from 4 to 11 in February, 2006. The department contacted 23 public and private high schools within Darlington, Florence, and Marion counties regarding the contest. Eleven high schools, seven public and four private, sponsored teams.The FDTC?English Department?offers English, reading, and college skills courses beginning at the developmental level through the associate degree level to respond to the educational, economic, and cultural needs of a diverse traditional and nontraditional population. To accomplish this mission, the English Department cooperates with all curricular programs to provide graduates with competencies needed to be successful.The goals of the department during the current review period were to improve student outcomes in reading and writing and to enhance their instruction with technology. The department integrated a self-paced software based reading program and instructed students on its use.? The pass rate of this set of courses was improved by 5% during the fall semester of 2005. A user friendly correlated online software was selected to provide opportunity for guided individual practice for students. Students and faculty were trained on the use of the software for maximum impact. Following the first semester, the pass rate of the two sequential English 031 and English 032 courses were increased by 7% and 13% respectively.The last goal that the department tackled this review period was to develop a grammar component for English 101 to provide extensive practice on the rules of grammar, parts of speech, patterns and punctuation rules to assist students in improving their writing skills. Students enrolled in English 101 were given a grammar pre-test during the first week of instruction, and at the end of the semester a post-test was administered. At the end of the semester, students demonstrated at least 30% improvement on the post-test given at the semester's conclusion. Further, students having completed the grammar component demonstrated at least 25% improvement on the essays they composed during the semester by incorporating the correct rules of grammar, parts of speech, patterns, and punctuation.Diploma ProgramsThe?Surgical Technology Department?seeks to develop growth opportunities that contribute to the quality of life and economic development in FDTC's service area by offering comprehensive technical education specializing in surgical technology.? The department was successful this year in enrolling 24 qualified students in the Surgical Technology in Fall Semester 2005. This represents a significant increase in enrollment to the program and was based on increased efforts by the instructors to meet with new and continuing students and advise them as to the qualifications and benefits of completing a Surgical Technology diploma program.Additionally, the program administration coordinated exercises to increase the pass rate on the 2005 Surgical Technology Certification Exam.? They provided weekly study conferences with certification exam mock-ups and trained and evaluated students for the annually administered professional evaluation. ................
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