Summary Report on Institutional Effectiveness
Northeastern Technical College
August 2002

Introduction :
This summary report for Northeastern Technical College includes the following components: General Education, Majors or Concentrations, Achievement of Students Transferring from Two-Year to Four-Year Institutions, and Library Resources and Services.

The following components will be reported on in the year indicated: Academic Advising (2004) and Procedures for Student Development (2004).

General Education:            
To be submitted under separate cover

Majors or Concentrations: 

Associate in Arts:  
The Associate in Arts and the Associate in Science faculty have been united in one division reporting to the Dean of Arts, Sciences and Computing since the last report.  The Dean of this division teaches computer technology and has provided leadership to the Arts & Sciences faculty in addressing technology as an instructional tool.  Faculty in this division have developed several on-line classes which have been made available to SCTechOnline, have incorporated technology in their courses by requiring Internet research, computer-assisted instructional activities, message boards and chat rooms to encourage student participation in the course, along with developing instruction using the Smart Classroom to present information in multimedia formats.

In order to enhance student opportunities to take a variety of transferable courses, although enrolled at a small, rural college, Northeastern Technical College has collaborated with other technical colleges to bring classes, including Spanish, French, German, Art, Music and Theatre Appreciation, Economics, Government, via compressed video from York, Aiken, and Spartanburg Technical Colleges.  Additionally, NETC faculty provide Psychology and other classes to Williamsburg and Spartanburg Technical Colleges. In a unique collaboration with York Technical College, NETC provided University Physics I and II to students from a local industry who are enrolled in an engineering baccalaureate distance-learning program at Michigan Technical University.  York provided the lecture classes and NETC provided the lab sessions, guided by the York Tech instructor.   NETC also provides compressed video classes in English, Psychology, Sociology and History from the Arts & Sciences Division to three service area high schools.

Articulation is an important factor for the success of the Associate in Arts major at NETC.  The Statewide Articulation Agreement is an important aspect of orientation and advisement for the students. Several publications, including the College website, provide detailed information regarding these agreements and others, such as Social Work Agreement (AA.SW) with Coker College and Elementary Education (AA.EE) with Francis Marion University.  NETC faculty meet with faculty from the local senior institutions through advisory committees or scheduled meetings to discuss articulation, course requirements and prerequisites to assure accurate advising and instruction for students in the Associate in Arts majors. 

Enrollment in the Associate in Arts major increased by 25% over last fall. The success of the Associate in Arts majors is reflected in the transfer and placement rates, which have exceeded 90% of graduates annually.  Through self-reporting, many students identify having the associate degree has enabled them to find employment or promotions while waiting to be able to transfer, which is often delayed by financial needs or family responsibilities. 

The Associate in Arts major at NETC serves the citizens of Chesterfield, Marlboro and Dillon counties by providing students access to a general education in communications, mathematics, social and natural sciences in a rural area, with the option of transferring to a senior institution

Associate in Science:  
The Associate in Arts and the Associate in Science faculty have been united as one division reporting to the Dean of Arts, Sciences and Computing since the last report.  The Dean of this division teaches computer technology and has provided leadership to the Arts & Sciences faculty in addressing technology as an instructional tool.  Faculty in this division have developed several on-line classes which have been made available to SCTechOnline, have incorporated technology in their courses by requiring Internet research, computer-assisted instructional activities, message boards and chat rooms to encourage student participation in the course, along with developing instruction using the Smart Classroom to present information in multimedia formats.

In order to enhance student opportunities to take a variety of transferable courses, although enrolled at a small, rural college, Northeastern Technical College has collaborated with other technical colleges to bring classes, including Spanish, French, German, Art, Music and Theatre Appreciation, Economics, Government, via compressed video from York, Aiken, and Spartanburg Technical Colleges.  Additionally, NETC faculty provide Psychology and other classes to Williamsburg and Spartanburg Technical Colleges. In a unique collaboration with York Technical College, NETC provided University Physics I and II to students from a local industry who are enrolled in an engineering baccalaureate distance-learning program at Michigan Technical University.  York provided the lecture classes and NETC provided the lab sessions, guided by the York Tech instructor.   NETC also provides compressed video classes in English, Psychology, Sociology and History from the Arts & Sciences Division to three service area high schools.

Articulation is an important factor for the success of the Associate in Science major at NETC.  The Statewide Articulation Agreement is an important aspect of orientation and advisement for the students. Several publications, including the College website, provide detailed information regarding these agreements and others, such as Social Work Agreement with Coker College and Elementary Education with Francis Marion University.  NETC faculty meet with faculty from the local senior institutions through advisory committees or scheduled meetings to discuss articulation, course requirements and prerequisites to assure accurate advising and instruction for students in the Arts and Sciences majors. 

Enrollment in the Associate in Science major has increased significantly over the past years and is currently 52% higher than last fall. This increase is attributed to continued interest by students in allied health programs, as reflected in student surveys and advisor reporting.  The success of the Associate in Sciences majors is reflected in the transfer and placement rates, which have exceeded 90% of graduates annually.  Through self-reporting, many students identify having the associate degree has enabled them to find employment or promotions while waiting to be able to transfer, which is often delayed by financial needs or family responsibilities. 

The Associate in Science major at NETC serves the citizens of Chesterfield, Marlboro and Dillon counties by providing students access to a general education in communications, mathematics, social and natural sciences in a rural area, with the option of transferring to a senior institution or to associate degree health careers programs.

Achievement of Students Transferring from Two-Year to Four-Year Institutions:
NETC’s Transfer Study is an assessment of four-year transfers from NETC. The South Carolina public institution data comes from information supplied by CHE every two years in the form of a Fall Transfer Academic Performance Report.

According to the Fall 2001 Transfer Academic Performance Report from CHE, seventy-four (74) NETC students applied for admission at five (5) public South Carolina colleges.  Out of the 74 applicants 51 or 68.9% were accepted.  Six students (8%) were rejected.  Twenty-three students (45%) out of fifty-one (51) accepted actually enrolled. Seventeen of the seventy-four students or 23% did not complete the applications process which is more troubling than the number rejected.

Since 1990 NETC has conducted its own transfer study.  A locally developed process was used to determine the number of students transferring and their progress after they transfer to other colleges. Privacy constraints, however, have caused most four-year colleges to stop releasing GPA information.  This has been valuable over the years in assessing transfer performance (grades) by comparing GPAs achieved by transfer students with those achieved by the native students.

NETC’s transcript log and information from the National Student Clearinghouse database were used to identify students and colleges to which their transcripts were sent.  Data reviewed revealed that during the report year, a total of 455 transcripts were sent to 105 institutions. Of these, 132 (29%) were sent out of state, mostly to public technical and community colleges and four-year private colleges (47 in each category.) Data regarding transfer enrollment is requested from the colleges at the time transcripts are forwarded. Of the 105 recipients of NETC transcripts, 80 institutions (76%) responded. NETC transfers enrolled in or had attended 56 (70%) of the responding schools.  Of these, 26 (46.4%) were located in South Carolina and 30 (53.6%) were located in other states. Further examination verified the enrollment and/or attendance of 290 students.

NETC will examine ways to expand the usage of available transfer data during the next review period.

Library Resources and Services:
The Library at Northeastern Technical College continues to grow as a resource to support the learning activities of students and the community.  In 2000, a new Librarian who brought technical college and university experience was employed; using input from the library Committee, faculty, administrators and students, she conducted an assessment of the state of the Library and library operations.  As part of this assessment, the mission, goals and objectives of the Library were reviewed and modified to reflect greater emphasis on collection development procedures for both hard copy and electronic materials, cataloging and patron services.

Then, in May 2000, the Library moved to a new location in Harris Hall with 11,336 square feet, including four study rooms, workroom and storage, increased space for patron seating and for housing materials for reference and leisure reading; this new facility provides more than double the previous space.  Following the site visit by the SACS team in 1998, the administration and board of trustees of the College pledged financial support to increase Library holdings and electronic access.  As a result of this action, the current Library holdings exceed 20,000 based on an accurate inventory created through automation processes (MARC records, retrospective conversion).  In addition, patrons have access to electronic databases (DISCUS, Gale, ProQuest, Facts.com), electronic books, audio and video checkouts, and computers for research purposes.  Library usage has significantly increased as a result of the attractive new location and the newly improved services. 

In November 1997, Northeastern Technical College joined the SCILS Consortium, currently composed of ten technical colleges, who collaborate to make the total collections and periodical resources available to the patrons of the member colleges.  The cost of membership is based on enrollment and is, therefore, a cost-effective solution to access needs for NETC students who can search the consortium’s union catalog of over 200,000 holdings.

Additionally, students can access the NETC library and catalog remotely due to the development of a comprehensive web page that includes a virtual tour, access to the catalog of holdings of NETC and the SCILS Consortium, and access to electronic databases.  The College continues membership in PASCAL (Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries) as an additional effort to assure that students and local citizens have “immediate access to library information and services regardless of their location and at the time they are most needed.” (PASCAL Mission and Goals)  This membership, as does SCILS, allows the college to better serve the community with widely expanded resources at a reasonable cost.  

The focus of the mission, goals and objectives of the Library is addressed in the College planning processes and implementation so that the College provides easy access to quality resources to support the learning activities.  To further support the assessment of the quality of Library services, a Library survey is conducted annually to assure satisfaction.

Results indicate satisfaction with services, holdings, and staff support. Fall 2002 surveys indicated patron requests for additional computers, due to increased usage.  This need, which had been identified in the 2001-2002 planning documents, was met when additional computers for Internet access were installed for Spring 2002 semester.