In keeping with the College mission to provide access to higher education for all who may benefit, a comprehensive, integrated program of student support services should be available to strengthen learning outcomes. These services need to be flexible and responsive to the needs of the diverse student population served by the College. Equally important is the protection of students' rights and the recognition by students of their responsibility in the educational process.

For the purpose of this study, student support services are divided into two key units: Enrollment Management (Recruitment, Admissions, Financial Aid, Orientation, Assessment Center, Retention); and Student Life (Counseling, Advising, Athletics, Co-curricular Activities, Health Services). The degree to which these services are comprehensive, integrated and designed to meet the needs of students is critical to the ultimate goal of strengthening institutional effectiveness.

• For each of the two units of service described above:
  • Examine if and how the services provided are consistent with the College mission.
  • Describe and evaluate the extent to which the range of services provided by the College are comprehensive, integrated and designed to meet the needs of its diverse student body.
  • Describe and evaluate the accessibility and effectiveness of these services to students regardless of location (Main Campus, Regional Centers, Neighborhood/Corporate sites) or method by which students enroll (traditional classroom, distance education).
  • In what ways are services provided flexible and appropriate to the needs of the various populations served by the College (older students, students with disabilities, international students, etc.)?
  • e. Describe and evaluate how the services are integrated with academic departments and academic support services (Library, Center on Disability, Advising).
• Describe and evaluate policies designed to protect students' rights.
  • Are student grievance policies and procedures clearly defined?
  • How consistently are they applied?
  • How well are they disseminated to the student body?
  • Describe and evaluate policies and procedures for protecting confidentiality of student records.
• Describe and evaluate how effectively assessment results are used for improvement of student support services leading to strengthened learning outcomes.