Mini Guide to Reflections on Accomplishments, Challenges, Ideas for Improvement, and Resource Needs

Background

  • Accomplishments are evidence-based reflections that explain what went well with the practice. Accomplishments do not simply restate the practice.
  • Challenges are evidence-based reflections that explain what issues arose with the practice.
  • Ideas for Improvement describe what changes your area wants to make and why.
  • Resource Needs describe what funds, technology, staffing, and/or space you need for your practice and why. (This does not replace official requests for resources through the College Business Office.)
  • Reflections provide qualitative information for Emergent Themes and reviewing collective progress toward Strategic Plan goals, so it is important to provide enough detail for someone outside of your area to understand.

Examples

  • Service Accomplishment: Our area exceeded its targets to increase students studying in and satisfaction with the Library/IC. Based on Guttman Student Survey feedback about a need for more study space, this year’s policy change rebranded the Library/IC as an exclusively academic environment and established a quiet study area.  Library/IC statistics report an increase in study usage by 25 percentage points and an increase in satisfaction by 30 percentage points from 60% to 90%.
  • Learning Outcomes Accomplishment: Our program met its target for students to demonstrate proficiency in our program learning outcome (PLO) related to research methods. A redesigned signature assignment introduced in the fall used a new, assignment-based rubric that was aligned with PLO 1.  The assignment-based rubric gave students a clearer understanding of expectations and also provided evidence for the PLO.  75% of students met or exceeded expectations about applying research methods to study a real world problem.
  • Operational Challenge: Our area was not able to decrease response time for information requests. Due to other college areas launching new data-intensive initiatives, our resources were diverted to support those projects.
    • Operational Ideas for Improvement: In an attempt to decrease response time for information requests, our area will revise its annual reporting calendar to include our area’s annual projects and other areas’ special projects. We will request other areas’ reporting deadlines, in advance, so we can better anticipate our workload for those projects and still maintain timely service to the college at large.
  • Activity Challenge: Our plan to coordinate 3 in-person time-management workshops was interrupted by the transition to distance education. We conducted one in-person workshop in the fall that did not meet the participation target.  We redesigned the workshop to be conducted remotely and hosted one session on BlackBoard Collaborate; it drew more students that the in-person workshop, but still did not meet our attendance target.
    • Activity Ideas for Improvement: Whether an in-person or remote activity, my area will build on lessons learned about streamlining communication. My area will consult with OSE and Communications on how to effectively publicize my area’s activity, in particular coordinating the schedule based on other known activities/events and including my listing in other college emails to students—rather than my area burdening students with our own individual messages.
  • Resource Needs: To accommodate the increased size in first-year cohorts, my area needs to increase its laptop budget to ensure there are enough laptops for classroom usage and long-term loans.
  • Resource Needs: To make the grant routing process more efficient, my area needs technology support to create an electronic form approval process.
  • Resource Needs: To continue the new employee mentorship program, my area needs to increase the number of volunteers who are willing to be trained and serve as mentors.