Self-Study Organization

Self-Study Plan

Study Guides

Mission
Documents

I.  Introduction

Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) is one of ten colleges that comprise the Maricopa Community College District in metropolitan Phoenix Arizona. PVCC opened its doors in 1987, originally as an educational center of Scottsdale Community College. Since then, PVCC has served the educational needs of northern Maricopa County.

Following a comprehensive Self-Study and evaluation in 1989-1990, PVCC was awarded independent accreditation by the North Central Association. In 1995, PVCC completed another successful Self-Study and evaluation. The consultation team commended the college for its commitment to "creating a positive learning environment for students" and for "providing exceptional service to its community." PVCC is scheduled for its next evaluation in Spring 2005.

This Self-Study Plan has been created to guide our current Self-Study process. Although a Self-Study report is a required outcome of an evaluation visit, our college is using the study as an opportunity for deep organizational learning and to advance our ongoing transformation to become a more learning-centered college. We believe that the restructured Criteria for Accreditation, Core Components, and Cross-Cutting Themes, established by the Higher Learning Commission, fit well with our mission, strategic issues, and values. The Steering Committee has therefore chosen a theme to express the true internal purpose for this Self-Study: Reflecting Today -- Creating Tomorrow.

Since the Self-Study is a process, the focus of the Self-Study Steering Committee remains on evaluation and institutional improvement. As such, our team will reflect on the college's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges, as well as our points of pride and recommendations for improvement. Results will inform our college's strategic planning and budgeting process to generate action.

We are fortunate to have talented professional staff and faculty guiding this process. We welcome the opportunity to share our results with our external colleagues, and we are open to suggestions for improvement. Finally, we are confident that our goals for this process will be met. The entire college community is engaged in this process, and finally will all celebrate in and learn from the results.

| Title Page | Table of Contents | Introduction | Mission | Goals | Guidelines | Brief Timeline | | Detailed Timeline 1 2 3 4 | Organization: Chart & Criteria: 1 2 3 4 5 | | Executive Committee | Report Outline |

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