ALLEN INSIGHTS
FALL 2023
FINANCE & OPERATIONS
Tonya Johnson, Vice President for Finance and Operations
Announcing that the college for the first time is receiving allocation of grant funding for business and industry partnership funds from the state in the amount of $413,833, Perkins funds in the amount of $42,759, and Capital outlay funds of $174,711.
Allen and all the other Community and Technical Colleges also receive one-time dollars totaling $250,000 for cyber security enhancement.
Monetary Support for Students:
· For Fall 2023, Allen awarded Academic Presidential, Dean’s, and Merit Scholarships totaling $377,885.
· For Fall 2023, Allen awarded Activity Scholarships totaling $79,730.
· Athletic Scholarships totaling $237,015.
· For Fall 2023, Allen awarded Faculty & Staff Tuition Waivers totaling $6,920.
· For Fall 2023, Allen awarded Spouse/Dependent Grants totaling $22,000.
· For Fall 2023, Allen awarded Seabury Scholarships totaling $2550.
· For Fall 2023, Allen awarded Scarlet and Black Scholarships totaling $1050.
· For Fall 2023, Allen awarded Foster Care Tuition Waivers totaling $750.
· For Fall 2023, Allen awarded Endowed Scholarships totaling $305,000.
Allen awarded Institutional and Endowed Student Aid totaling $1,043,795.
Allen is financially sound, with more than $20,000,000 invested as certificate of deposits in local Iola, Kansas financial institutions.
DEPARTMENT INSIGHTS
FINANCE & OPERATIONS
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN ATHLETICS
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT
STUDENT AFFAIRS
INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS & RESEARCH
ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN ATHLETICS
Six teams made All-NJCAA academic team for GPA above 3.0
3.22 GPA
MEN'S SOCCER
3.73 GPA
SOFTBALL
3.31 GPA
BASEBALL
3.36 GPA
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
3.06 GPA
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
3.18 GPA
VOLLEYBALL
ATHLETIC SUCCESS
Doug Desmarteau, Director of Athletics
Outdoor Track Nationals:
Women’s 4 X 100m finished 10th in the nation and broke the school record. Devan Crow finished 2nd in the nation in the 1500m and 5th in the 5000m to become a two time All-American.
Softball:
Brooklyn Goehring was named First team All-Conference and Ashley Tribble was Second team All-Conference.
Baseball:
John James was First team All-Conference and First team All-Region. Blake Venneman was Honorable Mention All-Conference. Carson Shepard was named the Gold Glove First Baseman for the Region.
67 Allen Red Devil athletes received NJCAA All American with a GPA above 3.6:
Men’s Soccer 15
Baseball 13
Softball 17
Women’s Basketball 4
Men’s Cross Country 2
Volleyball 3
Women’s Soccer 5
Women’s Track 4
Men’s Track 4
6 Allen Red Devil teams received All-NJCAA academic team for having a team GPA above 3.0:
Men’s soccer 3.22
Baseball 3.31
Softball 3.73
Women’s basketball 3.36
Men’s Cross Country 3.06
Volleyball 3.18
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Dr. Kara Wheeler, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Academics
The Curriculum committee is starting the project of Guided Pathways for all curriculum at the college. Guided pathways involve clearly mapping programs to specify course sequences, progress milestones, and program learning outcomes so that students know what they need to do to prepare for a career and further education and training in their field of interest. This will be a three-year project to align our students with their end goals. Year 1 will focus on re-alignment of our curriculum, Year 2 will focus on the life cycle of the student (communication, on-time advisement, etc.), and Year 3 will focus on co-curricular activities.
The projects we will be working on due to our Performance Funding Agreement with KBOR are below as well as updates in any of the areas:
a. Math faculty will begin designing gateway math courses for math pathways.
i. A training webinar was held this past month guiding us on this project.
b. Math faculty will begin designing corequisite math support developmental education for each math pathway course.
c. English faculty will design corequisite English support dev ed.
d. Update all degree maps for students to a guided pathway model to be put in place for students beginning next fall.
Hy-Flex Classroom Modality
The college is in the process of implementing a HyFlex classroom to be ready for Fall 2024. The equipment has been ordered and will be installed during the Spring 2024 semester. This HyFlex classroom will allow instructors the ability to offer classes to students here on campus, students in high schools where
concurrent class may not be an option or to students who want to take a face-to-face class but cannot come to the Iola campus. This type of class offers great flexibility to the students. Instructors will be able to record their lectures and post them to our Learning Management System, Canvas, for students who may miss a class or for students who wish to go back and re-watch the lecture for reinforcement of the topic. We are excited to pilot some HyFlex courses in Fall 2024.
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment
The HLC Quality Initiative to redesign the assessment and program review has been drafted based on the plans put forth by the assessment committee. The final initiative will be submitted before the close of the calendar year. It will be evaluated by a team of peer reviewers. If accepted, we will post the Quality Initiative publicly, and more communication and updates will follow at future Convocation and Assessment Days.
Allen is in the approval process for a CNC Operators Certificate. We have been working with B&W Trailer Hitches out of Humboldt, KS to finalize curriculum for the certificate. The curriculum will now be submitted to the Technical Education Authority at the state level. Once approved by the HLC and Education Department we will be hiring an individual to oversee the program and teach classes. Implementation of classes is planned for
Fall 2024.
We are also in the process of building a Medical Assisting program and Billing/Coding program.
Online Learning
The Online department is dedicated to providing a great experience to our students. During Fall 2023, 81% of courses are being offered in the Online modality. With such a large Online presence, and all onsite and online courses using the Learning Management System, it is crucial to have efficient processes and systems to support our Online students.
Every student starts the semester with an Online Orientation that provides them with information and resources for a successful experience as a student at Allen -- from how to navigate the Educational Technologies to how to access Academic Resources such as tutoring, the library, and other resources that are available as an Allen student.
The Online team recently assisted with the implementation of Brainfuse, an Online tutoring company that provides live tutoring to students in a wide variety of subjects. All students, onsite and online, have access to free tutoring options 24/7 through Brainfuse, in addition to Allen’s existing tutoring options provided by our Writing Center and Student Tutors.
All Online courses at Allen are designed by a Subject Matter Expert in conjunction with Online Learning Team members to ensure students have a seamless online experience. This collaboration also provides consistency across our courses to make it easy for students to find and access the content in their courses. The Online Department also provides technical assistance to students from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., including weekends.
We currently have the following personnel searches in progress: Dean for CTE & Industry Partnerships, Health Professions Coordinator, and Math Faculty.
STUDENT AFFAIRS
Cynthia Jacobson, Vice President for Student Affairs
The institution is revising its admissions recruitment and marketing strategy, with a focus on Career and Technical Education (CTE). Instead of just listing course offerings, they are now emphasizing CTE certificate options and collaborating with high schools to align with student pathways.
They are also targeting the Hispanic population for their Early Childhood Education (ECE) program, acknowledging the need to reach out to underserved student groups as per the Clarus Market Analysis.
A shift in recruitment tactics involves follow-up with students who have applied but not enrolled, using emails and phone calls to engage them. The strategy now centers on continuously recruiting new students and supporting current students to completion.
Staff allocation is being restructured, with a division into northern and southern tiers for high school outreach. Amy Ogleby and Chris Mileham will lead these efforts, and meetings are planned to transition schools. Additionally, on-campus counselors and advisors are cross-training to better meet student needs.
The overarching goal is to enhance enrollment, retention, and support for students by aligning marketing efforts, expanding outreach to underrepresented groups, and optimizing staff allocation.
INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS & RESEARCH
Stephen Ebel, Director for Institutional Effectiveness & Research
Institutional Effectiveness and Research completed Allen's first Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) which will help us discover why some entering students persist and succeed and others do not. The results are being analyzed and will be reported back to us in March. Thank you to everyone who helped us administer the SENSE.
In the spring, we will administer the first Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) that focuses on good educational practice and areas where we can improve for all students.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the fall 2023 perceptions survey. The results are being analyzed and strategies for improvement are being formulated.
Online compliance training is nearly ready for full adoption. Training ranging from Cybersecurity Basics to Workplace Harassment will be available in November 2023.
Allen Community College is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, and disability in admissions, educational programs or activities, and employment; all as required by applicable laws and regulations under the Title VI Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Title IX Regulations of 1972, Section 504 of the Social Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disability Act of 1990. Responsibility for coordination of compliance and receipt of inquiries has been delegated to the Vice President for Student Affairs, Allen Community College, 1801 North Cottonwood Street, Iola, Kansas 66749, 620-365-5116, vpsa@allencc.edu.