About WCTC

There are nine specific AQIP criteria that WCTC must demonstrate in order to maintain accreditation.  They are described below and include specific areas within each criterion.

Helping Students Learn

Helping Students Learn identifies the shared purpose of all higher education organizations and is the priority of any institutional analysis. It focuses on the teaching-learning process within a formal instructional context, yet also addressed how the entire institution contributes to helping students learn and overall student development.

• Clear learning objectives, performance, improvement
• Teaching excellence, faculty/others’ roles in teaching and learning
• Assessing and improving learning, learning environment, technology
• Student preparation, intellectual climate
• Academic programs and courses – currency
• Student advising, counseling, library – instructional support
• Learning - Information - Focus

Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives

Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives addresses the processes that contribute to the achievement of the institution’s major objectives, that complement student learning, and that fulfill other portions of the mission.

• Other institutional work/mission (civic, cultural, environmental, etc.)
• Aligning other work with the priorities of teaching/learning
• Faculty and others’ roles in relationship to other objectives (service)
• Preserving a distinct culture related to a unique mission/objective (training, niche markets)
• Evaluating the “other work” of the institution
• Leadership - Foresight

Understanding students' and other stakeholders' needs

Understanding students' and other stakeholders' needs examines how the institution works actively to understand student and other stakeholder needs.

• Defining different students and others we serve
• Analyzing needs and designing programs and services
• Use of complaints, evaluations, feedback from students/others
• Improving satisfaction of students/stakeholders
• Process for getting information from students, employers, other stakeholders
• Information - Focus - Agility

Valuing People

Valuing People explores our commitment to the development of staff, faculty, and administrators since the efforts of all are required for institutional success.

• Work and job environment, clear job roles, responsibilities
• Recruiting, selecting, hiring, orienting, evaluating processes
• Investing in people – professional development, trust, respect, motivation
• Recognizing and rewarding – aligned with priorities
• Safety, satisfaction, well-being of all employees
• People - Involvement

Leading and Communicating

Leading and Communicating addresses how the institution’s leadership and communication structures, networks, and processes guide the college in setting directions, making decisions, seeking future opportunities, and building and sustaining a learning environment.

• Governance, decision-making structures, processes
• Leadership developed across employees
• Information available to do job well
• Setting directions, communicating the vision, mission, goals
• Supporting overall institutional movement and development
• Committee, team, other structures for accomplishing work
• Building and sustaining a learning environment
• Communicating across the institution, departments, etc.
• Leadership - Involvement - Foresight

Supporting Institutional Operations

Supporting Institutional Operations addresses the variety of institutional support processes that help to provide an environment in which learning can thrive.

• Budgeting, endowment, fund-raising processes
• Security, campus facilities, institutional technology
• Food service, extra-mural activities
• Administrative support systems
• Contribution to learning and other objectives
• Day to day operations
• Safety, satisfaction, well-being of all employees
• Leadership - Focus - People

Measuring Effectiveness

Measuring Effectiveness examines how we collect, analyze, and use information to manage ourselves and to drive performance improvement.

• System for gathering and using information and data
• Analyzing and acting on information in a timely fashion
• Tracking and measuring improvement
• Processes to compare institution to other peer institutions
• Processes for determining what data to gather when and how…and processes for using data for improvement
• Processes for discussing and acting on information
• Information - Leadership - Agility - Foresight

Planning Continuous Improvement

Planning Continuous Improvement examines WCTC’s planning processes and how our strategies and action plans are helping us achieve our mission and vision.

• Supporting – actually strategizing and pursuing innovation, change, improvement
• Turning the vision, mission, strategic plan into real action
• Pursuing resource needs – building people’s capacity for institutional work
• Measuring, evaluating, improving the institution’s effectiveness as a whole
• Aligning priorities, planning, and work across all levels and areas of the college
• Leadership - Foresight - Agility

Building Collaborative Relationships

Building Collaborative Relationships examines WCTC’s relationships and partnerships – current and potential – to analyze how they contribute to accomplishing our mission.

• Partnerships with other educational institutions, businesses, agencies, organizations
• Current structures and processes that encourage internal and external collaboration
• How we create and build relationship at WCTC
• Support for teamwork, new collaborative projects – work that includes people from across the institution
• People - Involvement - Collaboration

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