Back See this section in context: Criterion 5 Core Component 5D

5D.3: Evaluation of Services Involves the Community

Sauk maintains a "Community Correspondence" file in the President's office for communication from constituents and community leaders. The President routinely shares the positive comments with appropriate staff and faculty. Negative communications receive a personal response from the President or his designee. The file contains hundreds of letters, notes, emails, and letters to the editors providing testimony to the positive impact the college, its staff, and its programs have on the community. It is clear from the constituent correspondence that Sauk is considered a community asset.

Other types of evaluation from the community are elicited in response to specific programs and activities:

• Internships: Internships which place students with community employers have value to the business constituents as well as the student participants. Although individual academic programs have consistently tracked employer evaluation, the college has not collected or analyzed this data at an institutional level. As of spring 2011, the use of a standardized internship contract and the alignment of program objectives for career programs will allow employer evaluations to provide institution-wide data that can be used to improve externship opportunities both for students and for business partners.
• Personal and Professional Development (PPD) courses: The office asks all PPD students to evaluate the classes in which they participate. These are reviewed by the Coordinator and shared with the instructor. The evaluation survey provides qualitative as well as quantitative data, plus an opportunity for students to request additional programs. When they make requests, students commonly request more or advanced classes in the topics they have just completed. PPD attempts to honor such requests whenever possible.
• Program review: Program review teams are encouraged to involve a community member or industry expert to provide an outside perspective (Appendix). A survey of FY10 Program Reviews showed that about half involved an outside participant on the team.