Accreditation. Academic Offerings. Campuses. Parishes

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1 Focusing and trusting our people made a tremendous difference at SLCC. By doing so, we ve improved our work environment and our services to students. - Natalie Harder, Chancellor SLCC is committed to providing skills and knowledge through a dynamic learning environment where students realize their potential, compete in today s global economy and advance to solve the complex problems of tomorrow. 1 Accreditation SLCC is accredited by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and strives to excel in providing innovative educational solutions to empower learners. SLCC s mission is to transform and enrich the lives of individuals and communities. 11 Campuses 8 Parishes Based in Lafayette, South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) is one of Louisiana s largest, most comprehensive colleges. Academic Offerings include technical diplomas, workforce training, high school dual enrollment and two-year degree programs that transfer to four-year universities.

2 THE CHALLENGE In 2012, a merger with Acadiana Technical College created challenges within differences in culture, processes, and goals. The Chancellor, Dr. Natalie Harder, embarked on a focused transformational effort to solve issues ranging from lack of financial stability, overall merger challenges and poor student outcomes. Leader and employee groups collected data which showed financial issues led by the college s inability to meet student needs, directly resulting in enrollment decline. By 2015, SLCC was able to stabilize the situation through rigorous use of practices initiated by executive leadership. However, this approach alienated internal and external stakeholders by cultivating a high level of mistrust, poor communication, lack of direction, lack of meaningful partnerships (internal and external), student dissatisfaction, continued substandard student outcomes, and lack of community recognition. The need for a total transformation in SLCC s culture was necessary for the college to become a place which truly embodies excellence for its staff, faculty, students, and the community.

3 ACTIONS SLCC recognized the need for a total shift in culture and joined forces with Studer Education to implement The Evidence-Based Leadership framework as part of SLCC s strategic planning process. 2 Throughout the process, two members of the Studer Education team, Dr. Janet Pilcher and Dr. Julie Kunselman, have provided leadership coaching to the SLCC team. This partnership has led to a focused effort in leading a strategic cultural shift within a three-year period. STRATEGIC PLANNING A crucial first step was to hold focus groups with faculty, staff, students, community stakeholders, business leaders, the SLCC Foundation board and the executive leadership team. Additionally, a survey was administered campus-wide to all faculty and staff. The feedback was then used to develop the strategic plan. To begin shifting the culture in the right direction, the SLCC s executive leadership team committed to a strategic planning process where a Steering Committee of select employees and leaders could drive strategic planning. A Studer Education coach facilitates these sessions and the executive team is not part of this committee in any capacity and the team is comprised of a wide mixture of employees, from the enthusiastic to the skeptics of the administration and the overall process. Focus groups were held and surveys were administered and funneled through this Steering Committee alongside institutional-level data (e.g. student enrollment, retention, progression, graduation). This process resulted in a full understanding of the organization s culture, including areas of success and opportunities for improvement? The executive team remained committed to this effort and began to bridge the gaps of mistrust and respect.

4 ACTIONS The Steering Committee identified 4 key areas, or pillars, as part of their strategic plan. These pillars are: 1. Student Success 2. People 3. Community 4. Sustainability These pillars are the basis in which the SLCC core values were developed. These core values are: 1. Accountability 2. Collaboration 3. Innovation 4. Integrity 5. Respect 6. Service 7. Trust In years two and three of the partnership with Studer Education, each program, department and division operationalized the values by specifying how they are evidenced within the individual functional units. Operationalizing the values helped to focus the passion and purpose that draws employees into their roles and aligns actions and behaviors that helps SLCC stay on the path towards organizational excellence.

5 ACTIONS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT To further support the process, the executive leadership team also uses scorecards based on the strategic plan. A scorecard is a tool that outlines an organization s key annual goals, progress monitoring measures, and prioritized strategic actions. SLCC found the scorecards to be a great way for employees to see their performance and focus communication on priorities and action planning aligned to their primary objectives. SLCC also administers employee engagement surveys and considers this a central component of the feedback and improvement process. The Steering Committee reviews and discusses potential opportunities based on specific feedback from the surveys.

6 RESULTS SLCC MOST RECENT RESULTS ACROSS KEY AREAS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT RESULTS (2016 TO ) The table offers a category range comparison from seven survey administrations of Studer Education Higher Education partners now via 15 administrations across higher education partners. The CI Rating column includes a color rating for continuous improvement as defined by: Green = On track to creating great place to work. Star is defined as SLCC mean is higher than the high range endpoint. Personal Feelings about My Work Immediate Supervisor Items SLCC 2017 SLCC 2017 SLCC 2018 SLCC Range 1 (N=34 to 1198) Low High Senior Leadership Chancellor Communication Culture/ Treatment of Employees Pay and Benefits Summary Overall Mean CI Rating 2018 CI Rating CI Rating 1 Includes data from 15 separate higher education survey administrations.

7 RESULTS OVERALL EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT RESULTS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT RESULTS BY YEAR AND ENGAGEMENT CATEGORY The table shows results by year and engagement category for SLCC. This is one of the many ways the SLCC employees know their organization is constantly improving. As shown in the above data, Senior Leadership remained the same at 4.47, all other categories increased. Each of the scorecard pillar areas (Student Success, People, Community, and Sustainability) continue to define key measures and annual targets, and SLCC team members continue to learn how to assess goals and organize evidence in more powerful ways. Personal Feelings about My Work (Items 1-14) Immediate Supervisor (Items 15-28) Department Leadership (Items 29-35) Institutional Leadership (Items 36-42) Senior Leadership (Items 43-49) Chancellor (Items 50-56) Communication (Items 57-59) Treatment of Faculty and Staff (Items 60-64) Pay and Benefits (Items 65-67) Summary (Items 68-69) 2016 N= N= N= N=290 Mean Change Baseline to Overall Mean When baseline value is not available, the mean for the earliest administration is used (department leader, institutional leader 2017, chancellor 2018)

8 RESULTS TO DATE, SLCC HAS SEEN SIGNIFICANT RESULTS ACROSS KEY AREAS ENROLLMENT Twenty-six percent (26%) increase in unduplicated headcount of students served through credit, non-credit and adult basic education instruction [from 12,700 in to 15,995 in ] STUDENT RETENTION 4.4 percentage point increase in Fall to Spring retention rate of all entering forcredit students [from 70.8% in to 75.2% in ] COMPLETIONS Forty-four percent (44%) increase in unduplicated headcount of students awarded one or more postsecondary (for-credit) credential or nationally recognized Industry-Based Credential [from 1,839 in to 2,656 in ] EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SLCC Employee Engagement Survey overall mean (on 1-5 scale) increased from 3.51 (2016) to 4.05 (2017) to 4.17 (2018) to current at 4.29 ( ). EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION Seventeen (17) percentage point increase in employee overall positive perception measured by the Chronicle of Higher Education s Great Colleges to Work for Survey [from 53% in 2016 to 70% in 2018] EMPLOYEE RETENTION 4.6 percentage point increase in employee retention [from 80.6% in 2015 to 85.2% in 2017] FINANCIAL SOLVENCY More than $10 million raised and $32 million in new facilities added. A 5,000% increase in foundation assets and quadrupling of endowment portfolio [since 2012 merger] GRADUATION RATE Six (6) percentage point increase in 150%-time graduation rate as reported to the U.S. DOE [from 24% in 2015 to 30% in 2017]

9 LOOKING AHEAD Progress at SLCC has been significant. As SLCC completed a second merger in 2018, programs and people collectively experienced a smoother transition because of the implementation of the organizational excellence framework. SLCC is committed to the worthwhile work of continuous improvement to be the best place for people to work and learn. 1. See Institutional, Faculty & Student Profile (HCR 69): South Louisiana Community College Information at 2. See South Louisiana Community College Everyday Excellence explanation at,