August 12, 2015 Dr. Reagan Romali President City Colleges of

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August 12, 2015
Dr. Reagan Romali
President
City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S. Truman College
1145 W. Wilson Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
Dear President Romali:
This letter is accompanied by the Quality Initiative Proposal (QIP) Review form completed by a
peer review panel. City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S. Truman College’s QIP is approved.
Within the QIP Review form, you will find comments from the panel for your consideration as
you proceed with your Quality Initiative. The panel reviewed the QIP for four areas:
! Sufficiency of initiative’s scope and significance
! Clarity of initiative’s purpose
! Evidence of commitment to and capacity for accomplishing the initiative
! Appropriateness of the timeline for the initiative
If you have questions about the panel’s review please contact either Kathy Bijak
(kbijak@hlcommission.org) or Pat Newton-Curran (pnewton@hlcommission.org). For any
questions about your Quality Initiative contact your Commission liaison Robert R. Appleson,
@hlcommission.org.
The Higher Learning Commission
Enclosure
Open Pathway
Quality Initiative Proposal Review Form
Date of Review: July 16, 2015
Name of Institution: Harry S. Truman College
State: Illinois
Institutional ID:
Reviewers: Dr. Brian Dille, Professor of Political Science, Mesa Community College. Tom Hughes, Director of
Institutional Effectiveness and Research, Yavapai College.
Review Categories and Findings
1.
Sufficiency of the Initiative’s Scope and Significance
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Potential for significant impact on the institution and its academic quality
Alignment with the institution’s mission and vision
Connection with the institution’s planning processes
Evidence of significance and relevance at this time
Finding:
___X__ The Quality Initiative proposal demonstrates acceptable scope and significance.
_____ The Quality Initiative proposal does not demonstrate acceptable scope and significance.
Rationale and Comments: (Provide two to three statements justifying the finding and recommending minor
modifications, if applicable. Provide any comments, such as highlighting strong points, raising minor concerns or
cautions, or identifying questions.)
Harry S. Truman College makes a compelling argument for the relevance and significance of its Quality
Initiative project. Given the College’s prior experience with learning communities and linked (corequisite) programs for special populations the timing seems right to build on this momentum. The
project will assist the College in better serving its non-traditional student population. It builds on existing
efforts to expand the Learning Community cohort. Improving success and retention in math and English
developmental education is innovation at the core of the institution, expanding the Learning Community
cohort from a “boutique” to a systemic institution at Truman. Consequently, the project should have a
positive impact on student persistence and completion.
The project’s scope is ambitious but achievable in the two-year timeline presented. It is a strength that
the project is aligned with the City of Chicago College’s Reinvention goals for the system colleges.
2.
Clarity of the Initiative’s Purpose
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Clear purposes and goals reflective of the scope and significance of the initiative
Defined milestones and intended goals
Clear processes for evaluating progress
Open Pathway: Quality Initiative Proposal Review Form
Finding:
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X ___ The Quality Initiative proposal demonstrates clarity of purpose.
_____ The Quality Initiative proposal does not demonstrate clarity of purpose.
Rationale and Comments:
The project’s intended outcomes are clearly stated: to increase student success and retention in
developmental education courses, which affect most of the first year student body. This will have a
significant impact on students if successful. The timeline is clear. Expansion of the learning communities
and linked courses is an attainable goal, but given the potential challenges presented in the proposal, the
project timeline should serve as an aspirational goal. If more time and discussion leads to a better
process this should be valued over meeting timeline goals at all costs.
The program evaluation process will assist Truman College in assessing the effectiveness of the initiative.
The proposal promised “detailed analysis” of student success, but appears to only compare aggregate
success and retention rates to a baseline. It is good that in addition, Truman is reviving the
Developmental Education Student Experience Engagement survey and focus groups, which should
provide invaluable feedback to the College. The mixed methods evaluation using institutional student
data and qualitative student feedback is a strength for this project.
3.
Evidence of Commitment to and Capacity for Accomplishing the Initiative
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Commitment of senior leadership
Commitment and involvement of key people and groups
Sufficiency of the human, financial, technological, and other resources
Defined plan for integrating the initiative into the ongoing work of the institution and sustaining its results
Clear understanding of and capacity to address potential obstacles
Finding:
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X ___The Quality Initiative proposal demonstrates evidence of commitment and capacity.
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The Quality Initiative proposal does not demonstrate evidence of commitment and capacity.
Rationale and Comments:
The quality initiative has the commitment of executive leadership and is aligned with the City Colleges of
Chicago strategic goals. The selection of the quality initiative included broad input from faculty, staff,
and administrators. This inclusive process should ensure that the project has buy in and support that will
sustain the initiative through inevitable challenges and lead to successful implementation.
It appears that the College has identified a broad representation of employees to serve on the project’s
steering committee. The human resources to support the project appear appropriate, but will the
initiative require additional financial resources? No specific budget was included, but the proposal does
not appear to require additional staff or significant software purchases, as it utilizes existing capacity
and expertise.
4.
Appropriateness of the Timeline for the Initiative
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Consistency with intended purposes and goals
Alignment with the implementation of other institutional priorities
Open Pathway: Quality Initiative Proposal Review Form
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Reasonable implementation plan for the time period
Finding
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X ___ The Quality Initiative proposal demonstrates an appropriate timeline.
_____ The Quality Initiative proposal does not demonstrate an appropriate timeline.
Rationale and Comments:
The timeline aligns with the purposes and goals of this project. As stated earlier the timeline should be
aspirational given potential challenges. Regardless, there will be sufficient accomplishments and
milestones to report on at the end of year two. The proposal would have been stronger had it included a
plan or timeline for how the rest of the institution will review the lessons learned from these
developmental Learning Communities to determine how to scale them up to the institutional level.
5.
General Observations and Recommended Modifications: (Panel members may provide considerations and
suggested modifications that the institution should note related to its proposed Quality Initiative.)
See appropriate sections above for observations and recommendations.
6.
Conclusion:
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X ___ Approve the proposed Quality Initiative with or without recommended minor modifications. No further
review required.
_____ Request resubmission of the proposed Quality Initiative
Your project is timely as the progression through transitional studies to college-level work is vital for
student success, especially for non-traditional, at risk students. This initiative allows Truman College to
build on the momentum it has gained with its demonstration learning communities and linked courses
projects. The project has many strengths, including broad participation in the development of the
initiative and a strong tie to the institution’s goals and the City College of Chicago goals. While this is
an ambitious project, the reward for Truman’s students will be significant. We also hope the success of
Truman College can help other institutions strengthen their transitional studies processes. With interest,
we will watch to see the outcomes of this project, and wish the College our best in its endeavors.
Rationale and Expectations if Requesting Resubmission
Timeline and Process for Resubmission (the Commission staff will add this section if the
recommendation is for resubmission)