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Academic Master Plan 2016-2021

Executive Summary

INTRODUCTION

WITH THIS ACADEMIC MASTER PLAN, Montgomery College embraces the opportunity to examine our academic enterprise and to agree upon the focus and direction of our programs and practices for the next five to ten years. We have, as of 2016, 70 years of history that we must honor and evaluate as we move forward to fulfill our mission to empower our students, enrich our community, and hold ourselves accountable for our results.

A clear, intentional, and innovative Academic Master Plan is more important than ever in today’s higher education climate, as government, industry, accreditors, and students expect measurable results from colleges and universities. Internally, these institutions struggle to adapt and adopt disruptive technologies as they attempt to address changes in demography as well as the changing needs of a global economy. We acknowledge that the very meaning of “education” has evolved in this information age and that our methods of instruction must also evolve to meet the needs of students whose cognitive processes are very different from those of yesterday’s students. Externally, even as funding streams are reduced, redirected, or cut off entirely, colleges are called upon to improve completion rates and align programs with workforce needs—all while adapting our strategies to serve an ever-changing student body.

ACADEMIC MASTER PLAN GOALS AND OUTCOMES

In light of current realities in the world of higher education, a thoughtful, focused, and forward-thinking Academic Master Plan is crucial to meeting the needs of students and our community. This Master Plan seeks to achieve the following outcomes:

  • Setting academic priorities that impact other College units;
  • Benchmarking data to gauge progress on the Academic Affairs student success matrix;
  • Establishing criteria for effective academic program review, curriculum development, and
     assessment of the Academic Affairs Division’s initiatives;
  • Identifying major academic initiatives that will drive academic unit planning and budgeting;
  • Coordinating the Academic Master Plan with Montgomery College 2020, the College’s strategic plan, and the Middle States Self-Study process.

INSTITUTIONAL LEARNING OUTCOMES

Montgomery College students demonstrate excellence in learning and achieve personal, career, and academic goals because they are able to:
Think: Solve problems by inquiring, interpreting, evaluating, and applying knowledge and skills.
Communicate: Pursue common understanding through effective exchange and expression of ideas.
Create: Apply curiosity, creativity, and flexible thinking to develop new ideas.
Engage: Collaborate effectively to discover and achieve common objectives.
Connect: Integrate learning across courses, over time, and between campus and community to recognize interdependence and interconnectedness.
Grow: Develop knowledge and skills to be resilient, self-confident, and independent life-long learners.
Achieve: Apply the experience, knowledge, and skills attained at Montgomery College to complete personal, educational, and professional goals.

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS DIVISION GOALS

The faculty, staff, and administrators of the Academic Affairs unit hold ourselves to the same standards of excellence by committing to the following actions:
Think: Use qualitative and quantitative information to make informed decisions that promote student success while maintaining academic excellence. [Tracking Software and Student Success Software]
Communicate: Initiate, deepen, or expand conversations with internal and external partners to help students succeed. [Improved Advisory Groups, DS Roundtable]
Create: Foster and celebrate innovation at all levels of the institution. [Innovation Works]
Engage: Interact with students beyond the classroom, individually and in small groups, to support academic success. [Mentoring, Micro-Interventions]
Connect: Embrace interdisciplinary perspectives and promote collaboration among disciplines, programs, and faculty. [Programs Across the Disciplines, Assignment Clearinghouse]
Grow: Offer meaningful professional development for all employees. [PD Pathways]
Achieve: Foster a culture of empowerment and accountability whereby all employees in the Academic Affairs unit have both agency and responsibility to make positive changes for students. [Revised Faculty Evaluation Process, Revised Curriculum Process]

ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW

Building upon our current CAR (College Area Review) process, the new Academic Program Review model will examine a program or discipline within the context of the college’s current goals, priorities, and resources. More importantly, the revised process will contain components used to guide the development of new programs and recommendations for continuance or discontinuance of existing programs.
Strategy 1: Establish a task group to collect feedback and propose an Academic Program Review Process by December 2016 for implementation the following academic year, 2017.
Strategy 2: Immediately implement an “early alert” system for programs that will likely face scrutiny as a result of Academic Program Review.
Strategy 3: Implement a training program for faculty and academic leaders—chairs, deans, and VP/Ps—to create a common understanding of the purpose and goals of Academic Program Review

2016–2021 INITIATIVES

Between 2016 and 2021, the Academic Affairs unit will pursue increased rates of graduation and transfer, reduced time and cost to completion, and better alignment with industry and transfer institutions by implementing the following initiatives:

  • Embed Classroom Support: In-classroom support from tutors, librarians, student learning assistants, community volunteers, and others.
  • Offer Alternative Scheduling and Delivery: Evening and Weekend College, accelerated scheduling, flex-terms.
  • Implement Alternative and Customized Assessment and Placement: Assessment of Prior Learning, multiple measures for developmental placement, expanded credit by exam.
  • Design Alternative and Customized Credentialing and Pathways: Competency Based Education, stackable credentials, badges, Technical Professional Skills (TPS) degrees, and multiple exit points from developmental studies.
  • Enhance Student Pathways from MCPS and to USG: Middle College, dual enrollment, Career and Technical Education, and college readiness.
  • Expand Global Partnerships and International Opportunities: Global partnerships, business partnerships enhanced in the areas of entrepreneurship, global education.

FUTURE INITIATIVES

  1. Integrate High School, Associates, and Bachelor’s Degrees
  2. Offer Expanded Academic Orientation
  3. Enhance Scheduling (Block, Cohort, Accelerated)
  4. Offer MC Curriculum and Credentials Globally
  5. Institutionalize On-line Training for Academic and Career Success

CONCLUSION

As Montgomery College pursues its mission to empower our students, enrich our community, and hold ourselves accountable, the Academic Affairs division is committed to the success of student learning. Building on the strong foundation of excellent programs, highly-qualified faculty and staff, and meaningful internal and external collaborations, the Academic Master Plan serves as a blueprint for the next five years of learning, growing, and improving as a division and an institution. As President Pollard said in a recent interview, “Our job—this is the next level of work for higher education and community colleges specifically—is to ensure that everyone has the ability to be successful in college by redesigning our institutions to meet these outcomes."

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