Goals of the Self Study

The MCC Self-Study Committee met on February 28, 2003. One important activity at that meeting was for committee members to provide their perspectives on the goals of the self study. Each table group brainstormed about the goals, discussed the results, and summarized the most important ideas from their group. The verbatim responses from each group were reviewed, sorted into categories, and analyzed for themes. The five major goals that emerged from this activity are summarized below.

Achieve 10-year accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.

Through the self-study process, the preparation of the self-study report, and the site visit from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association team, Mesa Community College will attain accreditation for 10 years without the stipulation of progress reports, monitoring reports, or focus visits.



Confirm that our college practices and actions are aligned with our statements of vision, mission, values, and strategic directions.

The college has made a considerable investment over the past 10 years in implementing a strategic and operational planning process, reexamining and revising our mission and vision, and affirming our college values. Through the self-study, we will validate the continuing viability of the vision, mission, values, and strategic directions. We will also ascertain whether we are putting these statements into practice, to what degree, and in what ways. We will identify new ways to accomplish our vision, mission, and values and recommend revisions to current practices to better align with them.



Document the college’s strengths and challenges, capitalizing on our strengths and systematically addressing our challenges.

By conducting the self study and critically analyzing our entire college organization, we will document our many strengths and assets and share them with our internal and external constituents. We will become aware of our challenges and develop effective strategies for addressing them.



Develop a strong sense of community through communication, collaboration, and connectedness among all college constituencies.

Our self study brings together people representing all aspects of college life to work together for the common good of the college. This process itself is a tool for all facets of the college to communicate, examine our common purpose, and reaffirm our connections to each other and the communities we serve. It will also help us to develop ways to become better communicators and collaborators.



Position the college for the future.

Through the completion of the self study we, as members of the college community, will have a clearer picture of who we are presently and of what we need to do to better position ourselves for the future. The self-study report will provide a foundation upon which we can continually build and improve over the next decade.