ACADEMIC QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

Institutional Overview

Distinctive Features

New Mexico State University at Carlsbad, New Mexico’s first community college, was established in 1950. Located in southeastern New Mexico, it is one of four branches of New Mexico’s land grant college, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. It is an open-door, full-service community college that serves Carlsbad and Eddy County.

An open-door policy means that NMSU-C accepts all students regardless of their level of academic preparedness and provides them the opportunity to achieve their educational and career goals. Of the approximately 1100 students it enrolls each semester, 80% or more test initially into at least one developmental course; many are single parents; 36% are Hispanic; most work full-or part-time. As Table O.1 suggests, non-traditional students (students not entering college directly out of high school) comprise a substantial portion of NMSU-C’s student population. As of the 2000 census, median income for a family of four in Eddy County is $36,789; for the state of New Mexico it is $39,425; for the nation, %50,046.

Table 0.1. Fall 2002 Student Demographics (Updated to Fall 2006)
Male	Female	Hispanic	Financial Aid (Pell Grant)	Average Age
32%	68%	36%	43% (approx.)	29
34%	66%	32%	45% (approx.)	28

Some of these factors are indicative of possible at-risk students, whose success can be ensured only through highly individualized advisement and instruction, a supportive and nurturing academic and social environment, and enough institutional flexibility to respond rapidly to perceived needs. NMSU-C is committed to the success of its students, who, because of family and personal situations, lack of adequate academic preparation, and the financial hardships inflicted by the area’s relatively impoverished rural community, have few opportunities other than those afforded by NMSU-C to better their lives. As its Vision and Mission Statements illustrate, the college embraces its role in helping the population it serves become resourceful, productive, and self-reliant citizens.

Vision: New Mexico State University at Carlsbad will be the foremost institution of higher education in southeastern New Mexico.

Mission: The mission of New Mexico State University at Carlsbad is to provide access to quality education and support the economic and cultural life of our community.

As one of the North Central Accreditation Association’s AQIP pilot colleges, NMSU-C is also committed to on-going institutional assessment. Supportive of the college mission and vision statements are the core values that NMSU-C has adopted to guide its efforts to plan and assess its performance at all levels:

· Continuous improvement and organizational learning

· Design quality and prevention

· Fast response leadership

· Learning-centered education

· Long-range outlook

· Management by fact

· Partnership development

· Public responsibility and citizenship

· Results orientation

· Valuing employees

Scope of Offerings

NMSU-C provides a variety of educational opportunities to its stakeholders. Eddy County’s Adult Basic Education (ABE) program is housed on campus, providing basic English, reading, and math skills for students preparing to take GED tests. NMSU-C’s Student Services Office, with the help of the school’s Title V program, provides information and counseling for those successful completers of the GED who wish to enroll in college classes.

The college offers a sequence of developmental studies classes in English, math, and reading, designed to prepare students academically for college-level courses. Careful pre-enrollment testing tries to ensure accurate placement of students into these sequences or into gateway (freshman-level) courses. In Fall, 2001 and Spring, 2002, 68% of students tested placed in developmental English, 90% placed into developmental math, and 43% placed into developmental reading.

After successfully completing developmental courses, students can work toward any of the following:

· 18 certificate programs (30-36 credit hours)

· 13 Associate of Arts degree programs

· 14 Associate of Applied Science degree programs

· 15 transfer programs

· 2 Bachelor’s degree-completion programs

· Several Master’s and Ed.D program in education administration hosted on campus.

The 2002 graduating classes of NMSU-C conferred 17 certificates and 100 degrees.

The 2006 graduating classes of NMSU-C conferred 27 certificates and 133 degrees.

NMSU-C also hosts continuing education programs to help public school teachers earn graduate-level degrees and has recently been awarded a grant to assist teachers’ aides in the public school system to meet newly instituted state competency requirements. It also hosts the regional Small Business Developmental Center and the Manufacturing Sector Development Program. Its Department of Community Services offers non-credit educational classes and various enrichment programs.

Faculty and Staff

NMSU-C’s faculty is comprised of 26 full-time faculty members (8 tenured, 17 tenure-track, and 1 college instructor) and 50 part-time instructors. Twenty-seven people make up the administrative staff and 38 the classified staff. NMSU-C strongly encourages all its employees to participate in every phase of its operation. For example, every employee group is represented on all committees.

Table 0.2. Employee Demographics (2005 – 2006 Update)

Key Stakeholders and Collaborations

Each program and service area of the college is advised by a committee whose membership is representative of all stakeholders, including students, alumni, college employees, local employers, public and private schools, and government agencies. Committee members help to identify program priorities, act as liaisons between the community and the college, and provide advice as experts in their respective fields. Table O.3 shows NMSU-C’s most critical stakeholders and their expectations and needs:

Table 0.3. Key Stakeholders’ Needs and Expectations
Key Stakeholders	Needs and Expectations
Students	Timely access to quality education
Employees	Suitable and rewarding employment
Local community	Access to quality education
Local employers	Qualified employees
Local K-12 schools	Access to higher education and enrichment programs
Transfer Institutions	Qualified transfer student admissions
Government Agencies	Compliance with laws and regulations

To best serve its stakeholders, NMSU-C has entered into a variety of collaborative arrangements, including the following:

Partnerships with local public school districts
Subcontracted to ENMU to provide transitional training to welfare clients
Regional provider of specialized training under the Workforce Investment Act
Membership in New Mexico Educational Resources Consortium
Articulation and service agreements with NMSU-Las Cruces (parent campus) and Northwood University.

Facilities, Equipment and Technology

Three buildings totaling 142,000 sq. feet, with an estimated value of $13.1 million, make up the campus. A Title V grant awarded in 1999 has allowed the institution to bring state-of-the-art technology into its classrooms, including Web CT, the PLATO tutorial program and StudentSpace™ software. All faculty and staff members have personal computers in their offices. Students have access to 636 computers, 570 of which are networked and have Internet access. The Manufacturing Sector Development Programs (MSDP) is equipped with state-of-the-art systems, including CAD, CAM, and CNC. Update: Estimated value of the buildings is now 16.4 million. The campus has 722 computers, all networked and with internet access.

Regulatory Environment

NMSU-Carlsbad is a public institution holding authority from the State of New Mexico to exist and grant degrees. It is governed by the Board of Regents of New Mexico State University as a subunit overseen by the provost. The Carlsbad Public School Board of Ed. serves as advisory board and maintains a working agreement with NMSU.

NMSU-C was last accredited in 1997 by the North Central Association. It joined AQIP in the fall of 1998. Specialized accreditation of certificates is on-going from the National League for Nursing, the New Mexico Board of Nursing, and the New Mexico State Department of Education. NMSU-C is in compliance with all other regulatory agencies pertaining to publicly funded institutions, including the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Update: NMSU-C was last accredited by AQIP in 2003.

Competitive Environment

NMSU-C is the only regionally accredited comprehensive community college in Eddy County, but there are several degree-granting institutions in the area:

· College of the Southwest – expected to enter the freshman- and sophomore-level market in the near future; tuition costs much higher than NMSU-C’s.

· Northwood University – recruits many local students into business program; offers no freshman and sophomore classes; NMSU-C sophomore classes receive junior-level credit at Northwood

· Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell (ENMU-R) Roswell, New Mexico – Academic courses very similar to those offered by NMSU-C; very strong vo/tech education program; dorm facilities; tuition costs are similar to NMSU-C’s

· New Mexico Junior College (NMJC), Hobbs, New Mexico – provides standard community college academic course and strong vo/tech program; dorm facilities; tuition costs are much less than those at NMSU-C

· Web-based instruction

NMSU-C needs aggressive marketing and publicity programs to counter very viable competitive entities. The two-year institutions in Roswell and Hobbs provide academic programs similar to NMSU-C’s and some courses leading to a four-year degree. Both schools are within easy commuting distance of Carlsbad and are able to attract students from NMSU-C’s service area. College of the Southwest, which has a branch in Carlsbad, offers baccalaureate degrees in education and business. Northwood University, which operates a satellite campus in Carlsbad, offers a bachelor’s degree in management and in management information systems. NMSU-C maintains articulation agreements with all these schools and with other upper-division institutions across the region. Update: College of the Southwest no longer has a branch in Carlsbad but offers extensive curriculum online.

Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats

The unemployment rate in Eddy County is higher than state and national averages. Consequently, southeastern New Mexico has one of the lowest per-capita incomes in the nation, and NMSU-Carlsbad has had to develop strategies to address these conditions. One such strategy was to compete for and win a Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) grant from the Ford Foundation. At the RCCI national conference in January, 2002, NMSU-Carlsbad was recognized as having “best practices” in the RCCI program to identify and correct adverse economic conditions. Careful evaluation of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (see TableO.4 below) allows NMSU-Carlsbad to anticipate problems and initiate action to address them.

Table 0.4 NMSU Carlsbad S.W.O.T. Analysis
Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
New Mexico Quality program award winner	Salaries are low compared with local school district’s	To offer 4-year degree programs in secondary ed. and business	Decreased student enrollment, leading to staff and faculty cuts
Three-time Green Zia Award winner	Difficulty in changing local cultural attitudes	To assume a leadership role in the community	Increased competition from area competitors
One of the first New Mexico schools to use AQIP program	No prior experience in AQIP	To increase use of consortia	Inability to maintain a portion of the physical plant
Only 2-year community college in immediate area	Flawed funding procedure for state funds	To explore alternative programs (engineering, science, and geology)	Faculty and staff defecting to higher paying jobs
Connection with NMSU-Las Cruces	Status of branches relative to main campus colleges	To expand public school partnerships (Carlsbad, Loving, and Artesia)	Inability to fully fund formula for higher education
State funding	Poor public image of higher education in general	To establish a foundation to support the college	Pressure to lower standards and increase student numbers
Highly rated nursing and welding programs	Keeping standards high enough	More completion programs in other non-ed. areas	Distance programs could be abandoned at NMSU-C because of cost
Four-year degree program in education	No financial support for hosting 4-yr. programs

AQIP Project Status

At the time that NMSU-C became an AQIP school, it chose improving communication and improving employee morale as its action projects (in addition to student retention). The current status of these projects is shown in the table below.

Table 0.5. AQIP Project Status
Key Improvement Areas	Project status
Intra-campus communication	Faculty and staff · Luncheons and meetings · Birthday celebrations · Town Hall meetings · On Campus Connection · Advisory Board meetings · E-mail · Suggestion boxes · AQIP web site
Student retention	College 101 Improved placement testing Purchase of student tracking system (Title V) Faculty Development program (Title V) Faculty workshops (Title V) StudentSpace™ (Title V) Safety Net classes
Employee recognition	Recognition and awards for outstanding performance and special service (VIP Committee)

NMSU-C is in the process of institutionalizing all three action priorities; it will begin work on three new projects, which will be the following: (1) measuring effectiveness, with a focus on the database development process, benchmarking, and using a balanced scorecard approach to assessment; (2) building collaborative relationships, with a focus on community outreach programs, joint high school-college programs, and partnerships with other institutions; and (3) accomplishing other distinctive objectives, with a focus on community enrichment programs, contracted training and licensure, and economic development efforts.

NMSU-C Organizational Chart

In 2002, NMSU-C realigned its organizational chart so that areas of responsibility and supervisors were more appropriately matched. (See following page.) For example, developmental studies and ABE were moved from Student Services to the academic arena and Special Needs was shifted from the Learning Assistance Center to Student Services.

Conclusion

NMSU-C prides itself in the degree to which it cares for its students and in the increasingly vital role it is playing in making the region a better place to live. The data used throughout this report was collected during the 2001/2002 academic year. They will become the baseline for all future AQIP reports.

NMSU Organization Chart goes on this page.