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Academic Program Review

Computer Information Systems (2016-2017)

Program Description: The CIS program at College of the Desert offers certificates and degrees in Computer Information Systems, Office Administration Professional, and Office Administrative Assistant. It also includes courses that are part of many other programs: Accounting, Business Administration, Hospitality, Digital Design and Production, Retail Management, HR Specialist, and Automotive.

The CIS curriculum includes transferable courses that provide the computer literacy required for transfer to CSU, courses that provide a general overview of the discipline, and courses that deal with more advanced software concepts and tools used in the business environment.

Career paths chosen by students pursuing undergraduate studies in CIS commonly include office administration, general business, web design, software installation and maintenance, software quality control, database management, electronic bookkeeping, network administration, customer support, and soon Cyber Security. CIS classes also provide the combination of technical and business skills required for success in an entry level office/administrative assistant position and the foundation for careers in medical, insurance, law office positions, and IT Technical positions.

Careers in the discipline that generally require higher level degrees include programming, system analysis, database design, network design and administration, and security management.

Students who take advantage of our CIS coursework will find an improvement in their ability to think analytically, solve problems, organize thoughts and information, and utilize new technology more efficiently and effectively. Our discussions with industry representatives indicate that in today’s world employers expect and demand a certain minimum of computer skills as a given, much as they expect an employee to be able to read, write, and use basic math.

ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW College of the Desert

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CIS also has a robust online program and is preparing to work with the Online Education Initiative to offer our CIS online classes to students at other participating California Community Colleges.

Program Student Learning Outcomes: Students completing courses offered in the Computer Information Systems program at College of the Desert will:

• Demonstrate the ability to apply critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and mathematical computational skills to design, create, and implement computer application solutions to business problems.

• Demonstrate competency in the following areas: word processing, electronic spreadsheets, databases, records management, professional office skills, web development, Microsoft Windows, internet, web programming, Windows programming, network management and security, and computer hardware.

• Achieve these outcomes by the inclusion of exercises of increasing complexity in the courses designed to test the student’s ability to master the technical concepts and apply these skills in solving problems. Successful completion of these classes with a passing grade will be evidence that the student has mastered the skills and concepts.

Prepared for Desert Community College District by:

Pablo Romero, MSA, Professor of Computer Information System Felix Marhuenda-Donate, MSM, Professor of Computer Information Systems


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SECTION I MISSION

1. To which of the following District missions does this program contribute?

2. To which of the following District core curriculum competencies does this program contribute?

Description Yes No

2.1 Reading 2.2 Writing 2.3 Computation 2.4 Interpersonal Skills 2.5 Critical Thinking 2.6 Analytical Thinking 2.7 Problem Solving 2.8 Technology Competency 2.9 Information Competency 2.10 Other

A. Program Accomplishments

CIS has joined two state initiatives, the Information Technology Technician (ITT) and the Business Information Worker (BIW) certificate pathways program. These efforts are led by the Information and Communication Technology-Digital Media section (ICT-DM) with the objective of allowing students the opportunity to gain meaningful entry-level employment in as little as six months to a year.

We are currently in the process of aligning our Administrative Office Assistant and Administrative Office Professional certificates with the BIW. It is helpful that the ICT-DM section provides the college with branded material to promote the program as well as lead statewide efforts to recognize the certificate.

Yes No 1.1 Certificate 1.2 AA / AS Degree 1.3 Transfer 1.4 General Education

1.5 Vocational Preparation 1.6 Preparation for Other Programs 1.7 Adult Basic Education

1.8 Non-Credit 1.9 Student Development 1.10 Diversity 1.11 Other


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COD CIS faculty were present at the two Strong Workforce Program (SWP) sessions to discuss ideas for the use of the regionally allocated funds. The state has allocated almost $8 million to our region and $1.1 million to COD to develop strong CTE programs that will get students the necessary training to get into the workforce. We have also developed four proposals for local funding to develop exciting opportunities for our students.

CIS is the largest of the ASBU programs at 83 sections during 2016-2017 academic year and generated 247 FTES in the prior academic year.

With creative scheduling and increased cooperation between CIS faculty and the ASBU dean, we have been able to fill most of the courses we offer and were able to successfully increase our FTES by 21% from the 2014-2015 school year. Furthermore, our success and retention rates also showed modest increases in the last three years.

CIS has undergone a transformation in the last year. All CTE programs are periodically required to undergo a complete revision to stay current with changes in the employment forecast and to stay in touch with existing technologies. The Computer Information Systems program, under the leadership and initiative of Professor Marhuenda-Donate, has created a new Information Technology Technician Pathway and is currently offering one of such courses. This new pathway addition will provide our students with the necessary skills to obtain certifications which lead to real careers in today’s booming IT industry.

The Information Technology Technician Pathway (ITTP) is a series of identified courses that are tied to specific skills that business and industry have identified as critical for entry level employees. This pathway provides a roadmap for the creation of skills which lead to certificates of achievement and industry certifications that have recognition from potential employers.

The ITTP will be implemented over a three-year period. The first tier was mostly comprised of the traditional work involved in creating a pathway, for example, making changes to, creating, and approving new curricula; maintaining advisory committee; equipment procurement; and faculty training. Subsequent tiers will include implementation (currently) and improvements.

CIS faculty also created CODe, a club at the college. The goal of the club is to get students interested in coding, particularly from groups underrepresented in the tech industry, such as women and Hispanics. CODe’s goal is to provide our club students with enriching experiences that will enhance their technical knowledge and skill and to inspire students throughout the Coachella Valley toward careers in computer coding, cybersecurity, and/or other STEM disciplines.


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CIS will be developing a team of COD instructors and students to reach out to local high and middle schools with activities to demystify the complexity of writing code. CIS will partner with GirlsWhoCode, CyberPatriot and Goolge CS organizations for activities and competitions. The hope is to attract these talented students to pursue their studies at COD and choose a career in coding.

The amount of job growth in technology fields is currently triple that of the national average of all jobs fields. Colleges, therefore, need to provide students with the necessary training to give them the skills to fill these labor demands. However, research shows that the number of students in these courses is not increasing and, in some instances, declining.

In CODe, CIS provides a multi-level student and educator focused program whose aim is acquiring skills necessary in the tech industry. The program is based on a two-tier approach. First, was creating a local student club, CODe, for COD students. These students will have the opportunity to participate in activities led by faculty in different areas of interest relating to technology. In turn, these students will assist with summer immersion programs that are aimed at the local high school and middle school student population. Research has repeatedly shown that intervention is crucial at the middle school level followed with a structured support through high school continuing through to college.

B. Program Challenges Unfortunately, CIS must constantly upgrade to new versions of software to stay current with industry standards and with versions that are available in the marketplace. This year CIS updated the CIS 10 course to cover Office 2016 in addition to Windows 10.

This decision was made because of ADA compliance issues with the SAM 2013 simulation software. The new software, SAM 2016, has presented numerous challenges for our faculty and students and may affect our success and retention rates for next year. Because of the numerous issues with the platform, we decided to change software yet again for the spring 2017 semester.

This change will present new challenges, such as faculty and student training. However, it is the right decision for the long-term wellbeing of the program. CIS continues to test all software to maximize compliance with all regulations.

CIS is actively promoting new IT courses to recruit interested students. The program will be offering the first set of IT technician courses in the fall of 2017. This will require the full cooperation of CIS full time faculty, adjunct instructors, and administration to start the program and grow the enrollments needed to make the program self-sufficient. There is a state-wide push to offer the program’s current curricula as a non-credit option. COD received a grant to expand our offering of non-credit courses. CIS faculty participated in all the AEBG committee meetings during the fall 2016 semester. CIS also decided to create most of the new ITTP curricula as credit and non-credit. CIS currently has six ITTP courses


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pending Chancellor’s approval for non-credit offering. This new model will hopefully help fill our new courses and open the door to those who cannot afford our tuition costs. Also, to remain current with technology, the program requires a commitment to both time and funds for faculty development. CIS is continuously hiring and losing adjunct faculty. These new faculty need to be trained by the full-time faculty who are already stretched thin. The growth of CIS projects and new IT pathways will require skilled professionals to join the department. CIS will be adding a new full-time faculty member to start in the fall 2017 semester.

C. Program Objectives • Closely monitor success and retention rates for CIS 10 course. The change in publisher

materials may have an effect on our rates for this year.

• Implement the use of virtual textbooks exclusively. This will greatly reduce the cost of materials for students as well as minimizing the chance of receiving the wrong books.

• Update CIS curricula to maintain relevance with changes in the industry and student needs.

• Align the Administrative Office certificates with the Business Information Worker pathway.

• Offer more industry-relevant coding language courses. The Visual Basic course is the only pure coding course in CIS. Students are very interested in learning languages like Swift, Java, and C#.

• Create an Associate’s Degree for Transfer based in Cyber Security. This degree will create a pathway to the Cyber Security and National Intelligence program at California State University, San Bernardino.

• CIS could offer some activities at the Palm Springs Campus to help promote the site.


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SECTION II NEED

1. How has the need for this program been established?

Description Applicable? Reference (Appendix)

1.1 Advisory Committee O 1.2 Labor Market Data X 1.3 Regional / State Agreements / Contracts CC 1.4 Enrollment T 1.5 Articulation I 1.6 Transfer Requirements I 1.7 Community Demand / Access DD 1.8 General Education Requirements J 1.9 College Prep Requirements H 1.10 Other

2. Current Status of the Program:

Description Ref. (App.) 2.1 Need for this Program is:

Increasing Decreasing Stable

2.2 Enrollments are: P Increasing Decreasing Stable

2.3 FTES is: S Increasing Decreasing Stable

2.4 Precollegiate Basic Skills courses: Fill quickly and more are needed Fill quickly but enough are being offered Fill Remain Open Not applicable to this program

2.5 Entry level collegiate courses: Fill quickly and more are needed Fill quickly but enough are being offered Fill Remain Open Not applicable to this program


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2.6 Second level collegiate courses: Fill quickly and more are needed Fill quickly but enough are being offered Fill Remain Open Not applicable to this program


The CIS advisory committee was merged with the HR Certificate of Achievement’s advisory committee given the topic’s close relationships and constituent expertise. Most members of the HR advisory committee have insightful knowledge about the type of skills employers are looking for in the college’s graduates so it was a brilliant idea to do so. They provided valuable input to help guide and align the CIS A.S. degrees and CIS and Administrative Office Certificates of Achievements with current industry trends. For many years this strategic alliance proved very efficient and beneficial to the program and the committee members. However, it was decided to separate the two for our fall 2016 advisory committee meeting. The CIS program is in the midst of trying to expand into areas related to Information Technology (IT). Six C-ID approved courses have been created as a part of the push from the state to adopt the Information Technology Technician Pathway (ITTP). The ITTP is a sequence of stackable certificates that lead to employment. Topics of this nature would prove irrelevant for most of the constituents in the HR advisory committee. The first CIS advisory committee was very productive and provided solid guidance as to the direction of the IT portion of the CIS program. For the spring 2017 meeting, it was decided that given the newly diverse nature of the CIS program, it is appropriate for it to receive input from two different advisory committees: the newly formed CIS advisory committee and the same HR advisory committee from the previous model. The Employment Development Department (EDD) Labor Market Information (LMI) data is sufficient to justify the ITTP and the Administrative Office certificates. Office personnel has the highest projected job openings in California and, according to the advisory committee, the Administrative Office certificates provide appropriate training for these jobs. IT related careers are also in high demand according to all available LMI. With increased digitization and the advent of the Internet of Things, demands for cybersecurity, and hence IT professionals, is expected to skyrocket. With the creation of the ITTP, CIS will begin offering training for examinations in industry-recognized certifications, such as CISCO’s CCENT and CompTIA’s A+, Network+, Server+, Security+, and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). These certifications are common requirements for entry level IT careers and provide necessary skills for the IT entrepreneur. Furthermore, all these new IT courses are C-ID aligned and are currently being evaluated as part of an Associate’s Degree for Transfer (ADT) with California State University, San Bernardino’s (CSUSB) Cybersecurity Center. The Administrative Office Assistant and the Administrative Office Professional Certificates of Achievement were created as part of the last APR cycle’s objectives. They are comprised of courses aimed at helping students develop the valuable skills required of an office employee. The Administrative Office Assistant Certificate of Achievement consists of 18 – 20 units with requirements in CIS and electives in Business and CIS. The Administrative Office Professional consists of 29 – 30 units with requirements in CIS and Business and electives in CIS and Business. These certificates are structured for quick completion.


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The CIS 10 course was created from the need of offering transfer requirements in a more efficient and student friendly manner. The CIS faculty at the time decided to merge two existing transferable courses and create CIS 10. This new course was only 4 units as opposed to the 6 that its two parents were. It is currently aligned and registered equivalent with two different C-ID courses (BUS 140 and ITIS 120) and is articulated with CSUSB’s required IST 101 course. It is also easier to schedule, assign, and maintain one course rather than two. Data from the previous five years indicates that the program is effective at generating FTES (207 average with 247 in 2015-2016) and maintaining adequate success and retention rates (our average is close to that of the college overall at almost 70%). From 2011-2014 the program experienced a 15 point (or 7%) decline in the FTES generated; however, between 2014-2016, the program generated a 57 point (or 30%) increase in generated FTES. The healthy student demand for the CIS 10 course has helped keep the CIS program alive and given us the opportunity to expand. In addition, most CIS courses are offered online and so helps increase student accessibility.

B. Program Challenges The economic downturn and hiring freeze the college experienced a few years ago took a significant toll on the CIS program. The last Academic Program Review included four authors, none of whom are current CIS faculty. At one point, there was only one full time CIS faculty whose work load was distributed between two separate divisions. In the program’s view, this is the primary cause for most of the challenges outlined in this document. Lack of full-time faculty leaves a mortal wound in a program like CIS that requires constant updating, let alone implementation of the program’s goals and needs. The decision to create a new advisory committee for the ITTP proved difficult. Attendance at the first meeting was inadequate as the pool of IT professionals in our valley is small. With continued efforts, new members should be able to be identified and attendance improved. The creation of this additional advisory committee means that CIS faculty must now maintain two separate advisory committees. This is an increase in workload to an already stretched department. It is difficult to maintain articulation and program requirements associated with C-ID, CSUSB, and high schools while satisfying COD students’ needs. These entities do not always agree or align very well. Furthermore, course articulations are so restrictive that a change to a course produced by one of the entities may make it impossible for the course to be articulated with the others. CIS has not offered an Associate’s Degree for Transfer since the Computer Science program was lost to Math; only transferable courses have been offered. There has not been a sustained promotion plan for the program nor the resources to expand to more exciting areas, such as IT and cybersecurity. As a result, program enrollments are less than desirable. According to our data, we have not awarded more than 5 A.S. degrees in Employment Preparation and 4 certificates for any of the past five years. Students who are interested in computers do not want to major in CIS because it is focused around developing skills for careers in an office environment, which is not really what the name conveys. The Administrative Office Certificates of Achievement have not been promoted well


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nor its importance understood. As a result, they have not been successful; only one of these certificates was awarded in 2015. One of the main strategies to increase program enrollments includes the appeal of the new ITTP courses. However, the new ITTP will be based out of COD’s new Palm Springs campus. This could prove a challenge, or a blessing, or both. The state anticipated a huge increase in demand for cybersecurity professionals within the next 2 years. Although the ITTP courses provide a robust basis for these careers, the courses need to be further refined and maintained by an individual whose expertise is cybersecurity; current CIS full-time faculty do not possess expertise in cybersecurity. Offering online courses is not as easy as it once was. There are new training requirements imposed on faculty who wish to teach online and their course shell needs to be approved prior to delivery. To maintain online teaching certification, faculty need to attend conferences centered on the improvement of online teaching.

C. Program Objectives Most of the new ITTP courses should be articulated with CSUSB to establish an Associate’s Degree for Transfer. C-ID’s Model Curriculum provides the roadmap to follow for such an endeavor. The responsibility of creating this ADT will fall on the 2017 full-time CIS hire, since the program is looking for a faculty member with a cybersecurity background. The CIS program will apply to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree if State Assembly Bill No. 405 is signed into law. This bill would give 10 California Community Colleges the ability to offer Bachelor’s degrees in Cybersecurity. The first cohort of students would begin in the fall of 2019. To increase program enrollments, the CIS faculty will:

• Lead efforts to rebrand the CIS program into one that is related to computer/IT careers; • Work with counseling to attract more students; • Promote new ITTP courses (which students show enthusiasm for); • Align the Administrative Office certificates with the Business Information Worker certificates; • Increase the number of articulated courses with the California State University and the University of

California; • Create new course articulations with local high schools.


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SECTION III ATTRIBUTES

1. Faculty Section

Description Yes No Ref. (App.) 1.1 Full time faculty are qualified for subjects being taught. A 1.2 Adjunct faculty are qualified for subjects being taught. A 1.3 Full time faculty required to teach overload? B 1.4 Faculty meet committee requirements? C 1.5 Faculty actively involved in Academic Senate? C 1.6 Faculty participate in faculty development/ conferences? D 1.7 Full time faculty (FTF) / FTEF Ratio: B 1.8 Above District average 1.9 At District Average (34% ?) 1.10 Below District Average 1.11 FTES/ FTE Ratio: E/F 1.12 Above District Average 1.13 At District Average ( 15.2) 1.14 Below District Average


Full-time and adjunct faculty resources will be almost adequate after the program hires a third CIS full-time faculty in the fall 2017 semester. Full-time faculty are currently required to carry an overload to meet student demand, especially with the creation of the new ITTP. CIS hired two adjunct faculty last semester that have helped breathe new life into existing courses and develop new ones. Their strengths lie in Web Programming and IT. New Distance Education (DE) regulations impose new demands on instructors. Instructors wishing to teach online need to complete two different four-week courses in addition to the online orientation to become certified to teach online. These demands are meant to create a better-rounded online instructor that can deliver efficient and enriching lessons using best practices for DE delivery. Although the college has offered permanent assistance to help with part of these demands, it could have a negative effect on a program if it is not handled correctly at the department level. Fortunately, all CIS full-time and adjunct faculty are certified to teach online and most courses have been designated as Model Courses, meaning that any faculty member who is certified to teach online can pick up the model shell and teach the course without having to be preapproved by the DE committee. Although this was originally a big challenge for the program, given the large volume of DE courses we offer, it has turned out to be quite an accomplishment. The scheduling of the program’s classes would be much more difficult, or impossible, if these courses we not preapproved for DE delivery. CIS faculty actively participate in hiring committees, department and school meetings, conferences, flex, new faculty orientation, amongst many other responsibilities. They were also present at the Strong Workforce Program (SWP) sessions in San Bernardino to discuss ideas for the use of the regionally allocated funds. The state has allocated almost $8 million to the region and $1.1 million to COD to develop strong CTE programs


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that will allow students to undertake the necessary training to enter the workforce. CIS faculty has also developed four proposals for local funding to develop exciting opportunities for the program’s students. More importantly, it provided funds to start the offering of one of the program’s most exciting new projects, the CODe Club. Recent changes to the CIS program and courses have included new software simulation technology which has provided significant challenges to students and instructors alike; the program has changed publisher materials three times in the last two years because of software issues. This has been a constant challenge to the program. However, in the spring of 2017, CIS decided to use McGraw-Hill as the program’s main publisher. Professor Romero led an exemplary transition to the new publisher. He scheduled presentations, tested the software, and trained all CIS faculty on a one-on-one basis. This was at his initiative and was his responsibility fully. Furthermore, Professor Romero, despite having limited hours because of the new training requirements and the publisher transition, has been responsible for the scheduling of all CIS courses. This has allowed for a balancing of the workload that originally rested on only one full-time faculty. He has performed this new responsibility flawlessly; he is exactly what this program needed. The CIS program, under the tireless efforts of Professor Marhuenda-Donate, has created a new Information Technology Technician Pathway and is currently offering one of these courses. This new pathway addition will provide CIS students with the necessary skills to obtain certifications which lead to real careers in today’s booming IT industry. The list of approved courses is listed under the Information and Communication Technology and Digital Media website at http://ict-dm.net/it-pathways-home/category/inland-empire-itp Program FTES to full time equivalent ratio stands at 18 which is remarkably close the district average of 18.9. This reflects responsible course offerings and retention. In the past five years, CIS full-time faculty has served as Senate Committee Chairs, Academic Senate President, and members of the State Curriculum Committee. Currently, Professor Deutsch servers as the ASBU representative in the Educational Policies and Practices committee.

B. Program Challenges

In the spring of 2016, part-time to full-time faculty equivalent ratio was almost 90%. The average drops to 71% when considering the data since 2011; however, it is still well above the district average of 63% . The full-time faculty to FTEF ratio is 27%, which is lower than that of the district at 37%. It was impossible to effectively run such an unsupported program that generated more than 240 FTES in the 2015-2016 academic year. However, these numbers do not reflect the current situation. The program has since hired one full-time faculty member and are in the process of hiring another. These numbers should improve the next Program Review Update.

Current full-time faculty are not qualified to teach the ITTP courses that are being offered in the fall. New full-time CIS faculty who are hired should possess the minimum qualifications to teach those courses.

http://ict-dm.net/it-pathways-home/category/inland-empire-itp


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The state has identified Career Technical Programs as key to the future of California Community Colleges and is putting more demands on CTE faculty. In addition to the 15 SIU teaching load, CIS full-time faculty are expected to maintain advisory committees; participate in the Coachella Valley Economic Summit, the Doing What Matters state pathways, and Coachella Valley Voc-Tech Job fair; evaluate the 14 adjunct instructors; hire and train new adjuncts; develop new curricula, programs, and certificates; maintain existing curricula; complete Academic Program Reviews and Program Review Updates; apply for Perkins and Strong Workforce funds; attend local and state meetings; develop pathways and articulations with local high schools; dual and concurrent enrollment; develop noncredit curricula; stay current with perpetually changing technology; manage textbook publishers; complete DE certifications and requirements, etc. Unlike many other programs on campus, CIS must constantly update courses and programs to stay current with technology. It is not possible to manage all these responsibilities and maintain a quality program of study without proper staffing levels.

Program new hires are limited in the amount of work they are able to complete for the program because of new training requirements placed on new full-time hires. The new full-time CIS faculty will not be able to participate in many critical and necessary program requirements because of this new year-long training that all new faculty are required to attend. The small size of the program makes every working hour indispensable. Because of the current condition of the CIS program, small staffing levels, and new year-long training requirements required of new faculty, CIS full time faculty have been unable to be actively involved in the Academic Senate.

C. Program Objectives

CIS’ objective is to continue to contribute to the success of COD students and the overall excellence of COD. CIS faculty are committed to carrying on the standards of excellence and service, as evidenced thus far.

2. Course Section

Description Yes No Ref. (App.) 2.1 Course outlines updated as required? G 2.2 Course outlines include SLO’s? G/K 2.3 Course Syllabi consistent within program? L 2.4 Unit values appropriate? G 2.5 Lecture/lab appropriate? G 2.6 Prerequisites consistent with transfer requirements? G 2.7 Articulation agreements complete and appropriate? I 2.8 Prerequisites validated? H 2.9 General education designation appropriate? J 2.10 Methods of delivery meet the needs of all populations? M


The CIS program is in the midst of expanding into areas related to Information Technology (IT). CIS has created six C-ID approved courses as a part of the push from the State to adopt the Information Technology Technician Pathway (ITTP). The ITTP is a sequence of stackable certificates that lead to employment. These


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courses should prove popular amongst students as it relates to topics directly related to jobs in IT. Furthermore, these courses are being considered for articulation with CSUSB and their Cyber Security Center. Course syllabi within the program are consistent, accessible, and of the highest quality. They all include their appropriate Student Learning Outcomes and other required content. They are shared with all CIS faculty for face-to-face and online courses. Copies are available in the ASBU office. All CIS courses are offered online as well as in the classroom when appropriate, which provides accommodation for many different populations. Most courses are lecture/lab combination, which is appropriate for the content. Students have access to the ISA during TBA lab hours. The CIS 10 course was created from the need of offering transfer requirements in a more efficient and student friendly manner. The CIS faculty at the time decided to merge two existing transferable courses and create CIS 10. This new course was only 4 units as opposed to the 6 that its two parents were. It is currently aligned and registered equivalent with two different C-ID courses (BUS 140 and ITIS 120) and is articulated with CSUSB’s required IST 101 course. It is also easier to schedule, assign, and maintain one course rather than two. CIS 10 is also required or elective in almost all the vocational programs at COD.

COD received a grant to expand the offering of CIS non-credit courses because of a statewide push to offer the current curricula as a non-credit option. CIS faculty participated in all the AEBG committee meetings during the fall 2016 semester and decided to create most of the new ITTP curricula as credit and non-credit. CIS currently has five courses pending Chancellor’s approval for non-credit offering. This new model will hopefully help fill the new courses and open the door to those who cannot afford tuition costs.

B. Program Challenges The program currently offers an abundance of one-unit courses. These courses are difficult to schedule because of DE requirements, have low enrollments, and require the same maintenance as other courses that generate more FTES. They are in need of evaluation for their effectiveness. CIS 17 – Records Management was cancelled this semester because of low enrollment. This course is only offered once per year. The course needs to be reevaluated and implement necessary changes to make it more appealing to students. CIS 85C has not been offered since 2011 for various reasons. This class is very appealing to students who wish to know the architecture of the modern web. CIS 20 has been deactivated because of low enrollment.


The program will add a database design course that is C-ID aligned and articulated with CSUSB to replace CIS 17. Evaluate the effectiveness of CIS 3 and CIS 4, the one unit Microsoft Office courses, and determine if they belong within the Business Information Worker certificates.


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Evaluate whether the new ITTP courses need lab components; most are only lecture. Rebrand CIS 82C and 85C to attract more students.

3. Program Section

Description Yes No Ref. (App.) 3.1 Program allows college level prepared students to complete degree in 2 years? N 3.2 Program allows college level prepared students to complete certificate in 1

year? N

3.3 Courses are offered to allow students to complete degree in 2 years? N/M 3.4 Courses are offered to allow students to complete certificate in 1 year? N/M 3.5 Program supports State and District emphasis on critical thinking? K/L 3.6 Program supports State and District emphasis on problem solving? K/L 3.7 Program supports State and District emphasis on written expression? K/L 3.8 Courses meet Advisory Committee suggestions? O 3.9 Program provides support for other programs? H 3.10 Program Student Learning Outcomes completed?


Although enrollment levels do not allow every course to be offered every semester, course offerings are carefully planned to allow completion of both certificates and degrees in the appropriate time frame. There are three entry-level paths into the program geared toward the different categories of students arriving at COD: CIS 5 is the basic survival course for those with no, or very limited, computer experience; CIS 10 is the computer literacy course for those who have completed a computer course in high school or are comfortable with both computer concepts and applications software; CIS 11 is the technology topics course for those who have worked with computers for several years but who need exposure to current changes. Courses are reviewed and modified as required to stay current with local, state, and transfer institution requirements as well as changes in the technology. This usually necessitates a complete change of software and textbooks every two to three years. CIS 10 is included in the Accounting, Hospitality, Business, DDP, Auto, Natural Resources and many other programs and as transfer requirement for other colleges and universities. It also provides a much more effective transfer solution for students, requiring only four units rather than the previous six.

B. Program Challenges The cancelling, and lack of offering, of the courses mentioned above may dampen the ability of students to complete the program in two years. The program has been granting course equivalencies to numerous students because of these issues. Counseling has been offering faculty paid time in the counseling center to help promote and advise potential program students. CIS faculty have not been able to participate in these CTE advising activities because of the current workload.


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Explore adding prerequisites to CIS 10 as a way of increasing its success and retention rates. Participate in the CTE advising activities in the counseling center once new faculty have completed the New Faculty Orientation.

4. Students Section

Description Above Dist. Avg. Below Dist. Avg. Ref. (App.) 4.1 Student Success Rate T


The program’s overall success rates are comparable to those of the district; they hover close to 87%. The overall retention rates do lag behind those of the district by at least 5 percentage points. This is especially impressive when consider that online courses traditionally have much lower success rates than those offered in the classroom. Half of all CIS enrollments are from online courses which is considerably higher than the college’s 10%. By offering courses online, the program provides them a time and place available to most students and eliminates conflicts with other courses and schedules. It is believed that this increases program persistence since students can progress through the program more efficiently. By offering courses in the classroom, the needs are met for those students for whom online education is not a desirable option. It is believed that this increases program retention.


The CIS 10 course is not entry level and students are expected to have some degree of expertise with a computer. Unfortunately, there is no effective way to implement a prerequisite without creating a very difficult block for students. The program would prefer to require that students complete CIS 5, 6, or 11 or have successfully completed a high school computer course before enrolling in CIS 10. The program can implement the course prerequisites but there is no effective way to implement the high school equivalency. Even with a high school articulation agreement, most students would have to see a counselor or advisor for an override, which, unfortunately, is simply not feasible. To the casual observer, the program’s success/retention rates may seem below average, when in fact they are all above average. This form needs to account for the difference in success/retention rates between online and face-to-face courses.

C. Program Objectives Explore adding prerequisites to CIS 10 as a way of increasing success and retention rates. Draw noticeable distinctions between student success rates for online and face-to-face courses as compared to the college’s overall data.


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SECTION IV STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES and ASSESSMENT

Description Yes No Ref. (App.) 1.1 Course SLOs are complete for all courses G 1.2 Course rubric complete for all courses 1.3 Course assessments are in progress based on

established schedule G

1.4 Course SLOs are aligned with PROGRAM SLOs

1.5 Improvements have been implemented


In order to improve the learning experience and meet program objectives and all expectations set by the program’s student learning outcomes, CIS successfully completed a transition to a new online based simulation technology. The idea of this transition is to provide a more solid base for student learning, a more in depth platform to learn applications and a more accurate and reliable outcomes assessment method. Professor Romero led an exemplary transition to the new publisher. He scheduled presentations, tested the software, and trained all CIS faculty on a one-on-one basis. This was at his initiative and was his responsibility fully. Furthermore, Professor Romero, despite having limited hours because of the new training requirements and the publisher transition, has been responsible for the scheduling of all CIS courses. This has allowed for a balancing of the workload that originally rested on only one full-time faculty.


Recent changes to the CIS courses and program have included new software simulation technology which has provided a learning curve that has brought significant challenges to students and instructors alike. We have changed publisher materials three times in the last two years because of software issues. This has been a constant challenge to the program. However, in the spring of 2017, it was decided to use McGraw-Hill as the program’s main publisher. The latest SLO assessments have found a positive outcome. As an example, 94% of the students met the target when outcome number two was assessed in the most current popular course CIS 10. This outcome states that students are to “Demonstrate an understanding of the development and use of information systems in business.” However, it was found that it is hard to increase the size of the sample and make it more inclusive of all students. Only a 59.7% of the active student population enrolled in CIS 10 participated in the assessment of outcomes (see schedule G for further information). Currently, the program does not issue any point rewards to students for outcome assessment. This is done in order to not add any additional pressure on the student. However, not having a reward reduces active participation.


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D. Program Objectives

To improve the sampling of SLO assessments by evaluating all active students in all CIS courses. The system uses an automated SLO assessment module embedded in the class capstone projects. Students will be required to demonstrate the skill established by the SLO (in progress).

Maintain a high percentage of students meeting the target expected on each assessment.

Create an active way for students to demonstrate other skills developed, such as creativity and critical thinking.

SECTION V COMPLIANCE

Description Yes No N/A Ref (App.)

1.1 Program meets Federal agency requirements 1.2 Program meets State agency requirements 1.3 Course outlines meet Title V Standards 1.4 Program course outlines meet State and District

requirements

1.5 Program meets accreditation requirements (SLO’s) 1.6 Prerequisites and Co-requisites meet State and District

standards

1.7 Prerequisites have been validated 1.8 Advisory Committee meetings are held regularly


All CIS full-time and adjunct faculty are certified to teach online. Also, most of our courses have been designated as Model Courses, meaning that any faculty member who is certified to teach online can pick up the model shell and teach the course without having to be preapproved by the DE committee. Although this was originally a big challenge for the program, given the large volume of DE courses we offer, it has turned out to be quite an accomplishment. The scheduling of the program’s classes would be much more difficult, or impossible, if these courses we not preapproved for DE delivery. All online resources are being tested for accessibility for a wide range of disabilities, even though some of them provide more challenges than others. A relationship has been established between the DSPS Department, the publisher, and the CIS department. Appropriate accommodations and alternative assignments have been created to ensure that DSPS students receive the same quality education and learning experience as other students. Faculty have been prepared to know how to respond to the demands


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of accessibility in an appropriate way. Also, CIS faculty have been advised to consult, maintain a close relationship, and reach out for the assistance of the DSPS department.

B. Program Challenges A campus wide prerequisite validation process is being examined. There are certain prerequisites in the program that are absolutely required, but there are some that will need to be validated once the process is in place.

New DE regulations require new demands on instructors. These demands are meant to create a better-rounded online instructor that can deliver efficient and enriching lessons using best practices for Distance Education delivery. Although, the college has offered permanent assistance to help with part of these demands, it could have a negative effect on a program if it is not handled correctly at the department level.


To maintain a considerable amount of regular effective contact hours with students by using: • Weekly announcements posted for students highlighting the week’s work, assignments due,

and/or relevant readings; • Individual emails to students who are struggling; • Individual emails praising students and acknowledging hard work and dedication; • Provide virtual office hours in addition to face-to-face office hours, by using appropriate virtual,

chat, or video service; • Provide individualized asynchronous digital media communications, such as video messages.

To maintain a clear differentiation of lecture assignments and lab assignments.

To continue an active and cooperative relationship with the DSPS department of College of the Desert in order to maintain the highest quality of accessibility tools and comply with all mandated accommodations.


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SECTION VI RESOURCES

1. Faculty and Staff

Description Sufficient?

Yes No N/A Ref (App.)

1.1 Number of Full time faculty 1.2 Number of Adjunct faculty 1.3 Number of Full time classified staff 1.4 Number of Part time classified staff 1.5 Number of Administrators


CIS’ accomplishments are nothing short of spectacular considering it had less than one full-time faculty just over a year ago. Programs have been set in motion, like ITTP and CODe, which will undoubtedly generate more FTES for the college and attract local talent. One of the new adjunct hires has been instrumental in the development of these two programs. CIS had one full-time hire last year and will have another for next year. This will undoubtedly help redistribute the workload and allow CIS to continue offering high quality programs. Another adjunct faculty member has served as the CIS representative in the Strong Workforce committee. This committee has been given the task of sorting and ranking all the Strong Workforce funding applications. Our CIS ISA is spectacular! He is always assisting the faculty in the classroom and with technical issues. He is an indispensable part of the program.

B. Program Challenges We will be losing two adjunct faculty members this semester and possibly one more, depending on the fall full-time hire. The program can always open the adjunct pool to recruit new instructors, however, they would need to complete DE training to teach online. Half of CIS courses are offered online so it is important that an adjunct instructor is certified. In addition to the 15 SIU teaching load, CIS full-time faculty are expected to maintain advisory committees; participate in the Coachella Valley Economic Summit, the Doing What Matters state pathways, Coachella Valley Voc-Tech Job fair; evaluate 14 adjunct instructors; hire and train new adjunct instructors; develop new curricula, programs and certificates; maintain existing curricula; complete Academic Program Review and Program Review Updates; apply for Perkins and Strong Workforce funds; attend local and state meetings; develop pathways and articulations with local high schools; dual and concurrent enrollment; develop noncredit curricula; stay current with perpetual changing technology; manage textbook publishers; complete DE certifications and requirements, etc. Unlike many other programs on campus, CIS must constantly update courses and programs to stay current with technology. It is not possible to manage all these responsibilities


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and maintain a quality program of study without proper staffing levels. Furthermore, these responsibilities could be coordinated by an administrative support staff member rather than full-time faculty. The program is in the process of evaluating applicants for the CIS full-time position. The new faculty member should be capable of teaching the new ITTP sequence of courses in addition to the existing CIS courses. The CIS program operated with less than one full-time faculty, 0.6 to be precise, for some time. The program, therefore, was not well maintained nor promoted. The program is now in rebuilding mode, but it has taken considerable effort from everyone involved.


CIS has been put on the right track with the development of the ITTP courses, noncredit offerings, CODe, Model Courses, etc. The program aims to increase momentum with the new hire and expand into areas that were inconceivable a year ago, like articulation agreements with high schools and the Associate Degree for Transfer.

2. Facilities

Description Sufficient? Yes No

N/A Ref (App.)

2.1 Classrooms 2.2 Labs (all types) * Computer * 2.3 Storage 2.4 Faculty Offices


CIS offers half of its courses online, so there has not been any classroom or lab limitation on the Palm Desert campus. The facilities at the Wenzlaff Education Center are also appropriate.

B. Program Challenges The ITTP program is being housed in the new COD campus in Palm Springs. This could prove a challenge since there are currently no existing facilities in Palm Springs and classes are scheduled to begin in the fall. It may prove catastrophic if the facility is not operative in a timely fashion. Although the ASBU building was recently remodeled, there are no additional faculty offices and storage space. The storage situation is particularly troublesome since the program will be purchasing large computer equipment (e.g. servers, racks, switches, carts, etc.) that need a safe storage space in both locations, the Palm Desert campus and the upcoming Palm Springs campus.

C. Program Objectives It is an exceptional opportunity for the CIS program and COD for the ITTP courses to be house at the new Palm Springs campus. There is student demand for the ITTP courses and students will travel to Palm Springs for those offerings.


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3. Equipment


N/A Ref (App.)

3.1 Classroom equipment 3.2 Lab equipment 3.3 Office equipment


The existing B6 and B7 computers are up to district standards thanks, in part, to diligent work done by the faculty and administration. The program’s ISA keeps them well maintained and updated. CIS has also purchased Virtual Reality equipment through Perkins funding. This equipment has generated buzz at the college and at career fairs and will be used for game design purposes. It is undoubtedly attracting positive attention to the CIS program and has helped promote the CODe club. The program has used Equity and Strong Workforce funding to purchase equipment for the CODe club that can also be used for the new ITTP courses.

B. Program Challenges The offering of the new IT courses means the program need to purchase a multitude of expensive and/or large pieces of equipment and locate a storage solution. Not only is the equipment expensive but it also needs to be current. Teaching with tools that are no longer utilized in the field is a waste of time and counterproductive. The program needs to be continually making large purchases so we can offer a viable and current program. Unfortunately, the term “current” in IT translates to expensive. It is expected that this equipment will become damaged since they will be used as teaching tools. This means that the program will need access to funds year-round to replace any damaged items and to order any overlooked equipment, such as cables and adapters. CIS competes with all other CTE programs for limited funds and are frequently overlooked. It is CIS’ hope that all necessary classroom equipment is ordered and installed at the new Palm Springs campus before courses are scheduled to begin. The projectors and media centers in the B6 and B7 lab do not functioning properly. Unfortunately, every time a company is contracted to update them, the problem worsens.


The program will apply for funding from multiple sources to support existing equipment, new courses, and program locations.


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Forecast the equipment needs for the ITTP courses. Join the NetLab User group to run simulations. Explore the offering of the ITTP courses in the Distance Education modality to reduce the need for expensive equipment.

4. Services

Description Sufficient?

Yes No N/A Ref (App.)

4.1 Library resources and services 4.2 Counseling resources and services 4.3 Advising resources and services 4.4 Evening programs and services 4.5 Off campus programs and services 4.6 Online services


The library has a computer lab available for students to use. CIS students should be able to complete most CIS assignments using these computers. CIS faculty presented the new ITTP courses at the counselors’ meeting and were met with incredibly positive feedback. They are excited cybersecurity courses at COD will be offered and are confident that enough student interest will be generated to allow the program to be a success. Though the program has not officially started, the counselors are already sending students to the department. CIS course offerings are very flexible with sections being offered during the day, evening, and online. There is no other department on campus that offers anywhere close to half of their sections online.

B. Program Challenges Although there is a computer lab available for student use in the library, it does not contain the latest version of Microsoft Office. As a result, CIS students cannot use the facility for their projects. As explained previously, CIS faculty have not been able to participate in the CTE advising hosted at the counseling center. This is indeed an issue since the program is missing a valuable opportunity to increase program enrollments. As explained previously, in order to offer courses online, instructors need to be certified to teach online and have their shell approved for delivery.


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C. Program Objectives Work with IT to install latest version of Microsoft Office in the library student computer lab. Work together with the counseling staff to better promote the program and advise students. Faculty will also take part in the CTE advising opportunity once the new faculty are relieved of the New Faculty Orientation year-long commitment.

5. Other


N/A Ref (App.)

5.1 5.2 5.3

D. Program Accomplishments

E. Program Challenges

F. Program Objectives


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SECTION VII Program/Unit/Division Objectives

(Five Year Outlook)

Unit Name: Section and

Number Objective Name Objective-What will be achieved? Justification/rationale (Use/Cite program review evidence)

Section II – 1.4 Increase in Enrollment

Promote the CIS program and its new ITTP course offerings through a series of strategies

We awarded few degrees or certificates in the last 5 years

Section II – 1.5, 1.6 Articulation Establish new articulation agreements with CSUSB and local high schools

Increase program enrollments, stay current and to offer majors relevant to the workforce

Section III – 1.1 New Faculty Hire one new full time faculty with a strong

background in cybersecurity

We are starting the ITTP course sequence in the fall without a full time faculty that’s qualified to teach it.

Section III – 2.4 Evaluate Courses Evaluate the effectiveness of our courses.

One unit courses are difficult to schedule. CIS 17 and 85C are constantly being cancelled because of low enrollment.

Section IV – 1.3 Assessment Cycle Improvement

Assessments will be automated through the Learning Management System to a bigger sample.

SLO sampling has not been satisfactory event thought the assessments results are.

Section VI – 1.2 New Adjuncts Increase our adjunct pool to ensure we can

cover all our classes every semester

Certifying an online instructor takes considerable time. Last minute emergency hires are difficult to train as most of them are not from academia.

Section VI – 2.3

Storage Store our equipment in a secure location We are currently using open faculty offices to store most of our equipment. We need a permanent solution. These offices won’t be available in the fall.


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SECTION VIII Program Review Appendix Index

Appendix Description Provided by: Reviewed by: Included

A Faculty with qualifications HR Faculty B Percentage of full time / adjunct Dean Faculty

C Faculty Committee assignments and participation Dean Faculty

D Faculty Conference and Faculty Development Faculty Faculty

E Courses not offered in 2 years Research Faculty

F Course codes, descriptions, units, lecture/lab,date, Curriculum Faculty

G Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment

Outcomes & Assessment Committee (OAC) Faculty

H Course prerequisites and co-requisites Curriculum Faculty I Course articulation agreements Articulation Faculty J Course degree status and general ed Curriculum Faculty K Sample Course Outlines Faculty Committee L Sample Course Syllabi Faculty/Dean Committee

M

Academic Year schedule showing:

• sections offered • day/ evening / virtual • PDC / EVC/ Other locations

Dean/Faculty Committee

N Sequence of Courses in Program Catalog Faculty O Advisory Committee Minutes Faculty Faculty

P Enrollments by course ( 3 - 5 years) and trends analysis Research

Q Completers by course ( 3 - 5 years) and percent Research

R Grade Distribution by Course ( 3 - 5 years) Research

S FTES by course ( 3 - 5 years) Research T Enrollment by section Research

U FTES summary and analysis for Fall of previous year Research

V Degrees / Certificates awarded Research W Labor Market Data Research/Faculty Faculty X Classrooms and usage ISA Y Equipment ISA/IS Z Library Resources Library

academic program review computer information …...academic program review computer information...

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