About Assessment & Institutional Effectiveness
The Division of Assessment & Institutional Effectiveness (AIE) is committed to facilitating and supporting a culture of Continuous Quality Improvement at CCAC. Through strategic and systematic engagement with CCAC administrators, faculty and community stakeholders, AIE positively impacts CCAC's academic and student services programs, resource development and administrative services by:
- Managing activities related to the assessment of all collegewide academic programs and administrative units
- Facilitating the development and evaluation of all collegewide planning activities
- Providing leadership and support for the development and implementation of research mechanisms and studies that support collegewide improvement
- Facilitating the development, implementation and evaluation of initiatives that increase operational efficiency
AIE oversees all Assessment, Planning, Research and Effectiveness initiatives at CCAC.
This content can also be found on Institutional Effectiveness' CCAC Portal page.
Middle States Accreditation
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is one of six regional agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education to conduct accreditation activities. Middle States is a membership association that defines, maintains and promotes educational excellence. Accreditation through peer review provides for self-governance and keeps the business of education in our control. Middle States accreditation is reaffirmed through comprehensive self-study every eight years.
The purpose of the self-study is to remain an accredited, degree-granting institution by documenting compliance with Middle States standards as well as our value to the community and society. It is also an opportunity for self-reflection, planning and improving an institution's culture.
Core documents from the 2017 self-study process can be found here.
Community College of Allegheny County is an accredited institution and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) www.msche.org. Community College of Allegheny County’s accreditation status is accredited. The Commission’s most recent action on the institution’s accreditation status on June 21, 2018, was to reaffirm. MSCHE is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Assessment
Assessment is a priority at CCAC and is conducted at multiple levels. From classroom to program to general education to strategic initiatives, we are constantly trying to improve the student experience. As Linda Suskie articulates, assessment is a multi-faceted process that:
- Establishes clear, observable expected goals for student learning
- Ensures that students have sufficient opportunities to achieve those goals
- Systematically gathers, analyzes, and interprets evidence of how well student learning meets those goals
- Uses the resulting information to understand and improve student learning
Suskie, Linda. Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide, 3rd Edition, 2018
At CCAC, a culture of assessment means:
- Our core values are based on continuous improvement of student learning
- Faculty, staff and administration engage in meaningful, reflective assessment work
- Results of assessment activities lead to changes that improve learning outcomes as well as curriculum
- Results of assessment activities are used to distribute resources throughout the college
Faculty at CCAC follow assessment guidelines and timetables to assess student learning in all programs, including general education. Assessment results provide evidence that students are achieving key institutional and program learning outcomes. Faculty members document their use of assessment results to inform their teaching. This data also provides the basis for the allocation of resources across the college.
This content can also be found on Institutional Effectiveness' CCAC Portal page.
Research
AIE conducts extensive research in support of collegewide initiatives. Our office provides major support for the Accreditation, Strategic Planning, Program Review and Enrollment Management processes at CCAC. AIE reporting provides key metrics that illustrate collegewide effectiveness, growth and areas for improvement.
AIE oversees the maintenance, production and analysis of data at CCAC. Projects include:
- State and federal reporting
- Collegewide data analysis
- Program review data
- Enrollment projections
- Common Data Set
- Surveys (engagement, graduate, etc.)
- Data support for grants
- Data support for Workforce Development
Planning
Strategic Plan
At CCAC, strategic planning is a dynamic process. The evidence-based strategic planning and policy analysis performed by AIE ensures greater institutional effectiveness and better outcomes for CCAC students.
2021-2026 Strategic PlanReports About The College
AIE conducts extensive research about the college and reports the results to faculty, administrators, national education data aggregators and whoever else requires it.
IPEDS 2021
As an institution of higher education receiving federal funding, CCAC is required to submit certain information to the Integrated Postsecondary Data Collection System. This report provides 2021 statistics about the student body, faculty, cost of attendance and more.
IPEDS 12 Month Enrollment 2021-2022
Economic Impact Report
This EMSI report demonstrates how CCAC benefits the economy of Allegheny County through workforce training.
Civic Engagement Study
The Institute for Democracy and Higher Education collects data on how many students vote in federal elections. This report shows CCAC students' engagement with the 2020 election.