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College Innovation Complete List
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Here is a complete alphabetical listing of all College Innovations.
Reduce the amount of 1098T tax forms that get submitted to the IRS that have incorrect or incomplete info.
The IRS requires educational institutions to file a 1098-T for each student that has qualified tuition and related expenses. DMACC's current policy doesn't require
students to enter a social security number during the admission or the registration process. The IRS has also been attempting to issue a $100 penalty for each
incorrect or incomplete 1098-T that is filed by the educational institution. For the 2011, 2012, and 2013 calendar year, the IRS attempted to levy a fine of over
$100,000 on DMACC for each year because of incomplete/incorrect 1098-Ts that were filed. The majority of the fines are due to DMACC not having the students
taxpayer identification number on file. Each fall, DMACC mails out letters to students that do not have a SSN# listed in Banner requesting the students to
complete that info.
Status: Complete
To streamline the process of checking headcounts at companies participating in the 260E Iowa New Jobs Training program.
Status: Complete
Implement an annual program evaluation for academic programs.
Currently, academic programs complete a five year program evaluation. One concern with this current process is that if there are significant concerns within a program, this is not discovered until the five year evaluation is completed. In order to continue to improve our programs, it is more effective to make small, incremental
changes annually. This process helps us identify issues before they get out of hand.
Status: Complete
Attending hours is a process built into Banner that allows us to pay financial aid only when students have begun attendance in their classes. It primarily impacts students in modular and late-starting courses who are receiving federal and state grants.
If students are expecting a refund from financial aid (money in their pocket), the amount of the refund will only be based on the courses they are attending as of the date of the refund. If a student is enrolled in 6 credits that begin at the start of the term, and 6 credits that begin in the middle of the term, grant assistance will only disburse for 6 credits (even though they are billed for 12). The other half of the grant remains authorized on a student's account until he or she begins attendance. This means a financial aid refund may be smaller than the originally authorized aid amount for all 12 credits. Once attendance is verified for any late-starting classes, aid will be processed and refunded.
Status: Complete
The purpose of this project is to create a more streamline process to collect Continuing Education course and conference evaluation data utilizing an online platform such as Qualtrix.
Status: In Progress
Review and improve communication and processes for the integrated services delivered by the Evelyn K. Davis Center of income and work supports, financial education and asset building, and education and workforce training. We will also review and improve communications and processes between Evelyn K. Davis Center partnering agencies to better serve clients and leverage resources to improve the integrated service delivery.
We know that if our clients receive all three of our core services, there will be a change in their life circumstances. We know that is what happens in a perfect world, so we want to make sure that all our clients receive at least two of our three core services. We have been able to work from a basic framework from when we started five years ago and have a some recent turnover with staff. We want to be able to ensure that we improve our current practices and improve our efficiencies for our clients benefits. We have had great success up to this point but with anticipated increases in our numbers as IWD closes from downtown, we want to make sure we have all of our internal process as smooth as possible to be able to handle the increase in client flow.
Status: Complete
To improve the adjunct orientation process in the first semester of teaching as measured by efficiency, effectiveness and consistency.
Status: In Progress
To improve Admissions process and communications as measured by:
1. Analyzing
number of students who start the application online and do no complete the
application.
2. Removing
the barrier of "incomplete applications".
3. Decreasing
the number of questions submitted by students in regards to admissions process.
4. Improving the process of
wait time for being admitted to DMACC.
Status: In Progress
Improve Admissions
application processes and access to post-secondary education as measured by
identifying reasons why students change programs, improving the program change
process for students and clarifying processes and communication for impacted
staff district-wide.
Status: In Progress
To improve the student experience through advising at DMACC, as measured by defining and communicating a system of processes, which include professional roles, expectations of student touch points and ultimately increasing engagement and satisfaction of all stakeholders (students, staff, community partners, alumni).
Status: Complete
We will enhance Advising district-wide by improving the communication process as measured by student satisfaction, advising participation rates, and in-term retention. We will do this by reviewing the type, timing, consistency, and content of the communication that goes from advisors to students.
Status: In Progress
This process will address the opportunity for customer service training district-wide at DMACC and tools needed to improve customer service behaviors, improve clarity of employee expectations of how we interact with students and employees, increase inclusion of customer service goals in evaluation, and increase use of technology to better serve students as measured by supervisor, staff, faculty, department, and student evaluations.
Recommendations are:
1. Make Customer Service training mandatory for all DMACC employees (Staff, Faculty, Temporary, and Adjunct Faculty)
2. District-wide Customer Service Training on February 2019 President's Day Create Customer Service PLUS 1 standards (Appendix B)
3. Create Customer Service Videos for on-going customer service training
4. Make customer service part of hiring and evaluation process
5. Make the Ask a Question button viewable on the DMACC home page
6. Move student services mailboxes into a ticket system
Status: In Progress
To improve data input, accuracy, and accessibility as measured by common definitions, the creation of a defined data request process, the establishment of Standard Operating Procedures for data entry, and analysis of the current state for end users.
Status: In Progress
To develop a clear purpose and procedure for performance evaluations that leads to an increase in timely completion and submission of evaluations and enhances the value of the evaluation between the supervisor and employee.
Note: This project is for non-union evaluation process only
Status: In Progress
To improve the DMACC admissions process for applicants not yet
admitted as measured by:
A. Higher percentage of admitted students
B. Applicant satisfaction of services provided by DMACC
C. Decrease staff time spent on processing applications for
admission
Status: Complete
Improve
communication and processes as it relates to the modernization and daily
maintenance needs of all DMACC facilities to meet the needs of the 21st century educational environment as measured by:
1.
Room
Condition Inventory-As set by Facility Standard Definition (set by committee).
2.
Quantity
of submitted requests for maintenance or updating.
3.
Time
between open and close of ticket for service.
Status: In Progress
To improve the administration of financial aid as measured by the introduction of technology to reduce verification completion time, increase the number of students completing financial aid requirements, and increase the number of students offered financial aid.
Status: In Progress
To improve preparedness to support mental health wellness as measured by:
1. Greater mental health
awareness
2. The ability to meet the
needs of students who present
3. Increased access to
counselors, other supportive faculty and staff, and resources
4. Identified required trainings.
Status: In Progress
To
improve all DMACC employee's sense of unity as well as organizational
consistency as measured by:
Status: In Progress
To improve the student experience in online courses by providing quality design and
oversight of online credit courses as measured by the percentage of courses that meet
the criteria of DMACC Online Course Rubric, the regularity of online course evaluation
and oversight, and the increased used of the Signature Course process.
Status: In Progress
To improve student access to online education as measured
1. by number of seats offered in online courses for
regular parts of term in a semester
2. by number
of faculty trained to teach blended/online courses
3. increase percentage of
courses offered online
Status: In Progress
To improve the student experience through the orientation process as measured by fully implementing a consistent process across the district, enhancing and developing communications related to the process and expectations, and creating a branding campaign and resources for all districtwide DMACC staff regarding the model and processes.
Status: Complete
To improve DMACC's recruitment processes and access to post-secondary education as measured by identifying student populations and their goals, improving the effectiveness of contact points, and the diversification of recruitment methods.
Status: In Progress
To improve access to technology training for staff and
faculty as measured by
One location online (Tech support site and maintained and updated by new position)
Delivery method/ format (classroom, video, screenshots, etc)
Instructor/ Person to Contact
Measure (a part of evaluations to be completed by a certain time and supervisors are aware and allot time)
Status: In Progress
There has been an increased interest in Work-based Learning in industry and education as evidenced by the Future Ready Iowa initiative, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds' Executive Order Number 1, and the creation of the WORRC (Work-based Opportunity Regional Referral Consortium). DMACC recognizes the value of effective and meaningful Work-based Learning experiences offered to our stakeholders in a variety of formats.
This team was brought together to determine what types of Work-Based Learning activities are currently in place at DMACC, and make recommendations for improvements.
Status: In Progress
The goal of the CRM
is to utilize the Salesforce platform via TargetX to help create a strategic enrollment
management plan by allowing stakeholders to track, communicated and engage with
students throughout their prospective student journey.
Here are the steps to achieve our goal:
1. Clearly
define recruitment territories using Group Assignments
a. Determine
who will nurture students through the prospective student journey, and build
group assignments within TargetX.
2. Determine how students will enter the CRM
a. Build
an outward facing “request information” form to gather student data from the
DMACC homepage with a mobile-first design.
3. Build
a strategic communication plan
4. Build
recruitment events within the CRM
a. Allow
students to easily register for events using a mobile-first design
5. Data
a. Determine
what data, reports and dashboards need to be created in order to provide prospective
student information to key stakeholders.
Status: In Progress
Goal: Assure accessibility per Section 508/ADA and movement toward Universal Design
Targeted Areas: Blackboard, DMACC Websites, Classroom media, publisher curriculum, and exams
Outcomes were to include an accessibility statement added to the DMACC website, development of a new procedure (ES 4085 Digital and Web based Content Accessibility), development of a website (https://dc.dmacc.edu/access/Pages/default.aspx, completion of a college wide inventory of software and other media, purchase of a screen reader for Blackboard, support for faculty to develop and use closed captioning within digital content, development of "how to" documents, and teaching and learning support for faculty.
Status: Complete
Evaluate how students are admitted to DMACC and determine whether it is best to select a program before admission or after advisement
Conduct a thorough review of our admissions process from beginning to end
Review other institutions – comparison to open admissions schools
Determine if students should be admitted to program or to the college and select a program at a future date
Status: In Progress
Improve our communication with applicants and reduce the wait time for them to hear if they were or weren't getting an interview and when the position had been filled. Candidates who do not meet minimum qualifications are now being notified through email that they have not been selected for the position as soon as HR receives the applicant scoring for the position. HR has also implemented an electronic hiring proposal which speeds up the hiring approval process. Once the hiring proposal has all appropriate approvals, HR notifies other candidates who did meet qualifications but who did not get an interview that the position has been
filled through email.
Status: Complete
The DMACC Foundation Scholarship Program is expanding (more students applying—more scholarship opportunities) and there is concern the currentprocesses are becoming cumbersome. The purpose of the project is to map our current processes and identify areas to reduce inefficiencies.
For the last five years the Foundation has increased the number of scholarship available through fundraising efforts and with the support of the DMACC Foundation Board of Directors, increased the number of scholarships available to DMACC students. The DMACC Foundation Scholarship Program requires the communication between three DMACC departments: Foundation, Business Office, and Financial Aid. Each department uses different databases to collect and store information and an excel spreadsheet to communicate and reconcile scholarship awards. The use of an excel spreadsheet to communicate current funds, fund amounts, and fund usage between databases requires a lot of time and manual entry. Information is not stored in a convenient area for access and when reports are required, three different databases are used to provide the information. As more students are receiving scholarships and more donors are giving to the DMACC Foundation, the current process needs to be reviewed and if necessary revamped to support the increased demand and use.
Status: Cancelled
To create an updated systematic set of policies that reflect the governance of the college
Identify who should be involved in policy development
Identify what is policy vs. procedure
Develop a format for how we, as a college, will write policies
Develop a format for how we will write procedures (look and feel)
Identify whether we have the correct policies and their continued relevance
Determine which of the policies need procedures
Determine which departments would be responsible for creating the procedures
Establish an advisory policy committee
Determine what is the threshold for how something becomes policy or a policy change (i.e. law change, philosophy)
Establish a regular cycle for reviewing (i.e. 3-5 years)
Increase clarity and consistency
Determine where and how to best store policies and procedures
Determine accountability measure
Status: In Progress
To streamline communication, reporting tools and provide a centralized location for forms and other documents. Information was located in multiple places and there was not an easy way to manage reporting tools and current processes.
Status: Complete
We moved to appointment only advising on October 3, 2016 at the Ankeny Campus. Goals for this are to create better connections between advisors and students, help both students and advisors be better prepared for the advising session, provide a higher quality advising session, and ultimately improve student retention.
Status: Complete
Programs have identified entry cut scores. There doesn’t always appear to have a consistent method to identify appropriate cut. We’d like to develop a process in which programs are confident in the cut scores identified for their program.
Cut scores are often waived for students. If cut scores aren’t applied, why do we use them?
Not using the identified cut scores creates a confusing message to students. It depends on who the students talk to…admissions, advising, faculty…they might receive different answers.
Students may test, not achieve the stated cut score, and then never move forward with DMACC. If cut scores are waived, then we have missed out on students that we never knew who were interested.
Some programs are not sure of how the cut scores for their programs were determined. It could have been that “this is how it’s always been” and scores are used year after year without analysis to determine if scores are appropriate.
There has been an inconsistent method to determine how cut scores should be identified for programs.
Are cut scores an indicator to student success? Many programs feel that students are successful, regardless of certain scores, if they have strong work ethic, come to class every day, etc.
- There is concern that the mechanical reasoning test is not written well and is outdated. DMACC may benefit from a new test being used.
Status: Complete
The process by which a DMACC staff member requests a Federal Work Study position is unclear. The steps required for a student to apply for a Work Study position is confusing, and they are not standardized across campuses. Recently, the US Department of Education cited DMACC as having failed to maintain compliance within the institution’s Work Study job descriptions. DMACC must improve the process by analyzing the current workflow, the forms utilized, the established points of communication with students and staff, and labor required to administer the current program shared by multiple DMACC departments.
Status: Complete
Federal regulations outline that a student may only receive financial aid funds for courses that count towards their current DMACC degree/certificate. To comply with this regulation, DMACC must track the courses that a student is registered for and ensure that they count towards their current DMACC degree, diploma, or certificate program. Using "Course Program of Study" the DMACC Financial Aid Department will routinely review a student’s coursework each term. If a student is taking coursework that is not needed to graduate from their current DMACC program, the student’s financial aid may be adjusted. This means that a student may receive less aid because he or she is taking such courses at DMACC.
Status: In Progress
Working with high school Career Advantage students and their parents/guardians to bring about awareness of what an associate's degree is, how it can benefit the student and to develop a school specific form to show student progress toward the degree. This is an attempt to more thoroughly educate all involved in this programming about college credit accumulation and how that translates toward degree completion at DMACC. This project should enhance their awareness and allow them to thoroughly understand how DMACC credits can be utilized toward completion of their degree.
Status: Complete
Every two years cosmetologists must take a two hour Iowa Law and Sanitation class in order to maintain their license. Currently this class is offered in two formats, face-to-face or through a self-study. Each fall and spring we have a significant number of students take the class through the self-study. This process involves creating a packet and final test, mailing the packet to the student, student completing the self-study and final test, mailing the final test back to DMACC, a DMACC employee grading the final test and if the student passes mailing a certificate.
DMACC has been approved through the Bureau of Processional Licensure which oversees the Iowa Board of Cosmetology to offer this class through an online modality. The online class would allow students to register for the class and almost immediately begin the class instead of waiting for paperwork to me mailed to them. In addition their final test would be graded on the spot and if they pass they are able to print and save their certificate. This would provide the students with an immediate response on to whether or not they passed and allow them to have their certificate instantly.
Status: Complete
To improve Management and Marketing programs by aligning competencies, courses, course scheduling and delivery methods to meet the career needs of our students and business who hire them.
We have 3 new faculty in the last 5 years, and have found that students and industry are suggesting updates to our course offerings and curriculum to meet industry's changing landscape. We need to bring our fashion program to a digital age, reduce duplication of competencies in courses in the program.
Status: In Progress
To create an online final Marketing Print Library that streamlines the ordering process for printed marketing materials for departments/campuses. Issues with the current process include:
- Cumbersome material request process
- Confusion about final version of materials
- Only marketing staff can order marketing materials for departments vs. individuals
- Volume of nonstandard pieces being ordered/printed
Status: In Progress
To standardize and improve the non-credit course master, course input and course editing processes. There is great concern with Kay Kirby's (scheduling dept.) retirement in December. In addition there is a high level of frustration with the current process. Everyone
seems to be setting up classes differently. There is confusion about what information is needed on the forms, what several of the items are and what can be
changed. There is also a lack of documentation/training materials for new people setting up non-credit classes.
Status: In Progress
At all locations, with the exception of Urban Campus, the first portion of orientation (general DMACC information) will be delivered online in our learning management system, Blackboard. After students complete the DMACC101 portion of Blackboard, they will be directed to their unique program protocol to learn about their program and get registered for classes.
Status: Complete
Returning to Learning information sessions are designed to support the needs of prospective students who are considering credit enrollment at DMACC. The sessions occur every Thursday at 5:30pm in Building 5 on the Ankeny Campus. Sessions are not held when the college is closed. Sessions provide general information about getting started at DMACC and are designed for prospective students who are not currently in high school, although high school students are welcomed to attend. On the Ankeny Campus, there has not been a general information activity designed for this population of prospective students. Returning to Learning sessions are designed to provide prospective students a friendly, informative, welcoming first experience with DMACC at a time that is convenient. RSVP and promotional information for Returning to Learning is housed on the "Adult Learner" tab on the DMACC homepage and can also be reached at the you.dmacc.edu shortened URL.
Status: Complete
Review the current processes in the DMACC Academic Achievement Centers, review marketing approaches, assess possible need areas, and then develop a
plan to put in place 2-3 strategies to increase the numbers of students using the centers and 2-3 approaches for improving services in general. Individualize the
plan for each campus based on the review and assessment. Determine how to collect data.
We have noted through evaluations that student who use the AACs report favorable classroom outcomes and a greater connection to the college. Given the AACs
have a favorable outcome for students, we need to market the service in a way to reach more students and creatively improve the services offered. Also to
discuss the role of the AACs as a referral agent.
Status: Complete
To work with the One DMACC CPI team and marketing and others to create design audits (Audit = do the design elements have the overall look and feel of the DMACC brand which include colors, fonts, logos, photography, branding elements) to ensure the look and feel of marketing materials that go out to students are consistent across campuses. Also, to help make it easier for people to create materials that support the One DMACC vision.
Status: In Progress
