Academic Renewal & Innovation

Massasoit Community College will offer credential pathways that best meets student and community social and economic mobility goals by facilitating innovative curriculum reform and providing student-centered, universally designed, racially equitable learning environments.

Strategy 1 – Create and implement an academic program review dashboard to determine program health and ROI for existing and proposed programs.
Responsibility	Academic Affairs/ Institutional Research
Baseline Expectation	Determine shared metrics for program review criteria and standards. Establish baseline assessment expectations for determining academic program health.
Desired Outcome	Use dashboard tool to establish equitable criteria for weeding, improving, and adding new programs.
Strategy 2 – Prioritize the greater South Shore region by adding appropriately resourced programs that highlight Massasoit’s versatility (credit and continuing education courses) and align with community economic mobility and social goals.
Responsibility	Academic Affairs
Baseline Expectation	Develop process to assess curriculum proposals that adheres to program review criteria dashboard [*See Table 1 of potential new programs to research]. Assess current and future advisory groups to increase community, industry, and partner involvement. Establish advisory board criteria that best leverage expectations for continuous improvement, community outreach, regional distribution and strengthening institutional development network. Assess to what extent community and corporate education services are meeting the needs of the community.
Desired Outcome	Provide a sustainable program mix of credit and continuing education programs that are appropriate at the community college level and align with community economic mobility and social goals.
Strategy 3 – Reform curriculum design models to intentionally remove barriers to student success and completion while maintaining articulation standards.
Responsibility	Academic Affairs
Baseline Expectation	Audit academic programs to identify gatekeeper courses. Assess to what extent supplementary support systems align with gateway courses. Assess prerequisite expectations to ensure to what extent the prerequisite knowledge is needed for success. Establish standards for including open electives in programs. Establish Purposeful Pathways Standards (on and off ramps – connections across curriculum –credit credentials/continuing education).
Desired Outcome	Improve retention and completion rates

*Table 1. Potential new academic programs to research

Animal Studies	Education/ Adult Learner Tutor Track	Journalism
Artificial Intelligence Adaptation	Entrepreneurship	Juvenile justice / Social Justice
Community Health/Home Health/	Environmental Engineering Technician	Nutrition and Dietetics
Community Organizing	ELL Instructor certificate	Personal Finance
Construction Mgt./ Engineering	Exercise Science & Personal Training	Physical Therapy Assistant
Creative Writing	Family Business	Private security
Cultural Studies (Indigenous People, Caribbean, African, Spanish, Chinese, Black, Gender)	Game Design	Project Management
Cybersecurity	Hospitality/Event Planning	Sports Management
Data Analytics	IT Help Desk Technician	Sustainable Agriculture/ Landscaping