Goals for Student Success

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At Halifax Community College (HCC), goals for student achievement and success are assessed using a variety of measures to ensure that students are performing and progressing successfully toward completion. A myriad of measures provide important data regarding our results along with information that influences and drive strategies for improvement and maintenance of the quality in our programs. This is a comprehensive overview of the college-wide efforts of Halifax Community College where "Learning comes to life in the pursuit of excellence." (Student Outcomes Data Summary)

In this area, you will find separate links have been established for you to view the learning outcome data in a number of ways, including full documents. The 2017-2022 Strategic Plan identifies the institutional goals that drive our work and guides our operations. The Electronic Fact Book contains information regarding enrollment trends (by age, race/ethnicity and gender, county, and enrollment status), retention, graduation, along with other data trends from 2013-2019. The full Fact Book is available here: Electronic Factbook.

The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) tracks student progress and completion across institutions. Due to the nature of community college student enrollments and intentions, NSC provides a more complete picture of retention, persistence and completion. HCC institution-level data provided by NSC is presented alongside national benchmark comparison tables. (Fall 2011 and Fall 2012 Cohort Completions Reports, 2013 – 2017 Persistence and Retention Report)

IPEDS data compares HCC with 7500 colleges across the nation. IPEDS surveys collect institution-level data on students, particularly on enrollment and graduation rates, student charges, program completions, faculty, staff and finances. Parents often use this information when searching for colleges for their children and colleges use this information for benchmarking and peer analysis. Data Feedback Reports are provided to institutions as a means to measure student achievement against comparable institutions. HCC student achievement goals (graduation, retention, and transfer rates) for IPEDS metrics are to exceed that of the comparison group. (HCC 2017 , 2018 and 2019 IPEDS Data Feedback Reports)

The State of North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) uses performance measures to inform colleges and the public on the performance of our 58 community colleges. Colleges are assessed on seven (7) outcome measures and compared to each other. Benchmarks are established and target goals that challenge each of us to be accountable to ensuring student success are set by the system. The 2019 report shows HCC scored above the baseline on six measures and exceeded the goal for credit English Success. (Report Years 2018, 2017 and 2016)

Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCCSSE) provides colleges with invaluable information about how students interact and engage with the college. Engagement is key to student success. The CCSSE 2015 and CCSSE 2019 reports are very informative. These reports also tells us how we compare in a variety of areas that are important for student success and the college experience.

Two other surveys that provide our college with additional information and confirmation about the success of our programs and quality of our teaching are the Graduate Surveys 2016 and 2017 and 2018 and the Student Satisfaction Survey for Fall 2016, 2017 and 2018. These tell us more about the student experience and how satisfied they are with our curriculum, our facilities, the activities, parking, food, etc.

The Institutional Effectiveness Plan and Assessment along with the 2017-2019 List of Accomplishments Report provides evidence that HCC is continuously striving to promote the mission and goals identified in the Strategic Plan. These documents not only identify the goals and learning outcomes intended, but also indicate how we use the results of our work to inform continuous improvements.