Student Achievement
As an institution accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), Henderson Community College (HCC) is obligated to provide to its students, constituents, and the public information about its goals for student achievement and the success of students in achieving those goals.
Information on student success may include reliable information on retention, graduation, course completion, licensure examinations, and job placement rates and other measures of student success appropriate to institutional mission.
Outcome Definition: The percentage of first-time students who return to the institution to continue their studies the following fall, as defined by official IPEDS data. HCC will increase the retention rate of this cohort by 1% per year during the 2016-2022 strategic plan.
- Rationale: Retention is an institutional priority based on HCC’s Strategic Plan Goal 4: Improve student learning, engagement, support, experiences, and success with exceptional academic and student services.
Threshold of Acceptability: 44.6%.
- Rationale: Institutional leadership does not wish to fall below 44.6%, which was the low mark in the four-year window prior to the strategic plan’s implementation.
Goal: Meet the HCC retention rate performance measure as outlined in the 2016-2022 HCC Strategic Plan.
- Rationale: The benchmarks above demonstrate a commitment to improve retention by 1% per year over the life of the plan. Baseline benchmarks were derived from averages in the four-year window prior to the plan’s implementation.
Evaluation:
- N/A values exist because these benchmarks did not exist prior to the 2016-2022 strategic plan.
Source: Official data as reported to CPE.
Criteria: Total Graduation Rate, a measure in the Henderson Community College 2016-2022 Strategic Plan.
Outcome Definition: Cohort of first-time, full-time, credential-seeking undergraduates who complete their program within 150% of normal time as reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).HCC will increase the graduation rate of this cohort by 1% per year during the 2016-2022 strategic plan.
- Rationale: Graduation is an institutional priority based on HCC’s Strategic Plan Goal 1: Raise the level of educational attainment in the Commonwealth by positioning KCTCS as the accessible, affordable, and relevant postsecondary education choice for Kentuckians.
Threshold of Acceptability: 20.7%.
- Rationale: Institutional leadership does not wish to fall below 20.7%, which was the low mark in the four-year window prior to the strategic plan’s implementation.
Goal: Meet the HCC graduation rate performance measure as outlined in the 2016-2022 HCC Strategic Plan.
- Rationale: The benchmarks above demonstrate a commitment to improve graduation by 1% per year over the life of the plan. Baseline benchmarks were derived from averages in the four-year window prior to the plan’s implementation.
Evaluation:
Source: Official data as reported to CPE.
Criteria: Job Placement Rate
Outcome Definition: Track the employment outcomes of AAS graduates.
- Rationale: Job placement speaks to the value and market relevance of the credentials offered by Henderson Community College. Graduates should be able to obtain employment upon completing a credential.
Threshold of Acceptability: 70%
- Rationale: 70% of the institution’s AAS graduates will either be employed in a job in their chosen major or continue their education.
Goal: Each program will strive to meet its benchmark for job placement as detailed in the table below.
- Rationale: HCC’s mission statement is committed to “enhancing the employability of the community”. In addition Strategic Plan Goal 5 is to align programs and curricula with needs of employers that enhance the employability, job placement, and career development of HCC's graduates. Institutional leadership believes that each program should assess the employability of its graduates. Due to the small size of some programs, as well as difficulty in contacting graduates, it may be difficult to assess placement for those programs.
Evaluation:
Source: Official data as reported to TEDS.
Outcome Definition: Licensure or certification pass rate of AAS graduates.
- Rationale: Professional licensure enables many of HCC’s AAS graduates to work in their chosen major.
- Rationale: Depending on the program, 50% to 90% of the institution’s AAS graduates will pass their licensure or certification exams. The benchmark is lower for certification-only programs.
- Rationale: HCC’s Strategic Plan Goal 5 is to align programs and curricula with needs of employers that enhance the employability, job placement, and career development of HCC's graduates. Licensure pass rate is a strong measure of this goal.
The institutional pass rate for licensure and certification the most recent year was 81.3%.
The pass rate by program is listed below.
Source: KCTCS Records, HCC Testing Office, Voluntary Framework of Accountability.
Criteria: Transfer Rate, a performance measure in the 2016-2022 HCC Strategic Plan.
Outcome Definition: The percentage of Associate earners in an academic year who enrolled at a four-year in that academic year after the term end date of the term the first Associate credential was earned or in the next academic year.
- Rationale: Transfer is an institutional priority based on HCC’s Strategic Plan Goal 3: Develop clear pathways through all levels of postsecondary education with an emphasis on experiential learning that leads to successful employment outcomes for HCC's graduates.
Threshold of Acceptability: 23.3%.
- Rationale: Institutional leadership does not wish to fall below 23.3%, which was the low mark in the four-year window prior to the strategic plan’s implementation.
Goal: Meet the HCC transfer rate performance measure as outlined in the 2016-2022 HCC Strategic Plan.
- Rationale: The benchmarks above demonstrate a commitment to improve the transfer rate by 1% per year over the life of the plan. Baseline benchmarks were derived from averages in the four-year window prior to the plan’s implementation.
Evaluation:
Source: Official data from National Student Clearinghouse.
