Program Review Benchmark FAQ

Q: The program review form asks Faculty and staff to consider how the program is faring in relation to subject-level and college-level benchmarks. What are these benchmarks, and why am I being asked to reference them?

A: In the process of completing your program review, you are asked to reference five benchmarks: the College-level Course Retention Benchmark, the College-level Successful Course Completion Benchmark, the Subject-level Course Retention Benchmark, the Subject-level Successful Course Completion Benchmark, and Awards benchmark. These benchmarks are designed to ignite conversation with your fellow faculty about your programs’ strengths and weaknesses; practices, policies, or programs you could initiate or amplify to further support your students; and your goals for improvement. Remember, course retention and success are only two measures of student learning and well-being. They do not and cannot tell the whole story about what’s happening in your program to support student learning and well-being and what additional steps might be taken in achieving this goal. Definitions for each benchmark are included below:

  • The College-level Course Retention Benchmark is a five-year average of the percentage of students who complete a course with a grade of A, B, C, D, F, P, NP, I or RD out of total official census enrollments at Miramar College. Tutoring and cancelled classes are excluded.
  • The College-level Successful Course Completion Benchmark is a five-year average of students who complete a course with a grade of A, B, C, or P out of total official census enrollments at Miramar College. Tutoring, non-credit, and cancelled classes are excluded.
  • The Subject-level Course Retention Benchmark is a five-year average of the percentage of students who complete a course with a grade of A, B, C, D, F, P, NP, I or RD out of total official census enrollments in your subject. Tutoring and cancelled classes are excluded.
  • The Subject-level Successful Course Completion Benchmark is a five-year average of students who complete a course with a grade of A, B, C, or P out of total official census enrollments in your subject. Tutoring, non-credit, and cancelled classes are excluded.
  • The Awards Benchmark is the five-year average of the total number of associate degrees and certificates awarded in an academic year, plus half a standard deviation.

Q: I'm ready to engage in conversation within my program about how we can better support student success and learning. Where can I access the benchmarks?

A: The college-level benchmarks are included in the Miramar College 2020-2027 Strategic Plan Assessment Scorecard 2.0 (SPAS 2.0), which is available on Miramar College’s highly interactive Planning Website. Here you can learn more about the Student Success Framework for Long-Term Integrated Planning, Fall 2020–Spring 2027.

Overview of the Miramar College Planning Website

 

Navigate to the SPAS by clicking the area circled in red on the College Planning page:

 

 

The College-level Course Retention Benchmark is found on page 4 of the SPAS 2.0, and is 90%.

 

The College-level Successful Course Completion Benchmark is found on page 4 of the SPAS 2.0, and is 78%.

 

Data to calculate your subject-level benchmarks are in the Program Review Data Packets. They are called out in the table of contents, which is hyperlinked for easy access to the charts you need.

Student Outcomes section of the Program Review Data Packet table of contents

You can follow the hyperlinked Table of Contents to the correct tables. The benchmarks are the five-year averages of the retention rate and success rate.

The Subject-level Course Retention Benchmark is the five-year average of retention in your subject ((Total Fall Retention Counts + Total Spring Retention Counts)/ (Total Fall Enrollment + Total Spring Enrollment)), or in the case of this subject, (2,797+2,829) / (3,045+ 3,092) = .92. For Art History Visual Studies, the Subject-level Course Retention Benchmark is 92%.

The Subject-level Successful Course Completion Benchmark is the five-year average of successful course completion in your subject (Total Fall Success Counts + Total Spring Success Counts/Total Fall Enrollment + Total Spring Enrollment), or in the case of this subject, (2,523+2545) / (3,045+ 3,092) = .83. For Art History Visual Studies, the Subject-level Course Completion Benchmark is 83%.

Below is the table of awards conferred for Art History Visual Studies, also called out in the hyperlinked table of contents.

Productivity section of the Program Review Data Packet table of contents

The Awards Benchmark is the five-year average of the total number of associate degrees and certificates awarded in an academic year, plus half a standard deviation. The average of all the degrees awarded over a five-year period is (13+11+13+18+12)/5= 13.4. The standard deviation of this data is 2.7019. Half a standard deviation is 1.35. 13.4+1.35= 14.75, which rounds to 15. The Awards Benchmark for Art History Visual Studies is 15.