3.1.1 Mission

The institution has a clear and comprehensive mission statement that guides it; is approved by the governing board; is periodically reviewed by the board; and is communicated to the institution’s constituencies.

St. Petersburg College is in compliance with this comprehensive standard because it has a clear, comprehensive mission that is periodically reviewed, approved by the governing board, and communicated to its constituencies.

… to provide accessible, learner-centered education for students pursuing selected baccalaureate degrees, associate degrees, technical certificates, applied technology diplomas and continuing education within our service area as well as globally in programs in which the College has special expertise. As a comprehensive, multi-campus postsecondary institution, St. Petersburg College seeks to be a creative leader and partner with students, communities, and other educational institutions to deliver enriched learning experiences and to promote economic and workforce development.

St. Petersburg College fulfills its mission by developing an outstanding team of diverse Faculty and staff providing students with advanced teaching and learning technologies in the classroom, distance education courses, international study opportunities, innovative teaching methods and a comprehensive library for promoting literacy and research. St. Petersburg College embraces continuous institutional self-evaluation to assure a climate for student success and an enduring commitment to excellence.

With its emphasis on being a creative leader and partner with students, communities, and other educational institutions St. Petersburg College has a distinctive mission. SPC’s President, Dr. Carl M. Kuttler, Jr., has published and spoken on the topic of entrepreneurial leadership for academic institutions. His idea is to use creative means such as partnerships and grants to create synergy that allows the offering of unique programs and services. Examples of this are the University Partnership Center, in which SPC provides the facilities and equipment and 15 other colleges and universities provide the courses and programs to increase access to baccalaureate and graduate programs in Pinellas County, and Worknet Pinellas, which offers one-stop career counseling centers at several campuses, jointly funded and staffed by SPC and Worknet.

The Mission is formally revised at least every five years with the latest formal revision completed in the 2004-2005 academic year by a committee representing Faculty, administrators, students, community leaders and members of the Board of Trustees and was approved by the Board of Trustees in May, 2005. The Mission also is reviewed annually by President’s Cabinet before the new strategic planning cycle begins. In the most recent review in January 2007, the President’s Cabinet recommended minor changes to the Board of Trustees Rule on the College’s mission and goals, including inserting the term “globally” in place of “in the State of Florida and other areas,” scheduled for consideration by the Board of Trustees on March 20, 2007. This change is included the latest revision to Board of Trustees Rule to incorporate the changes adopted by the Board, placed on the SPC Web site upon adoption, and revised in the printed College Catalog for 2007-2008. The prior revision in 2002 added the Baccalaureate degrees, published in the 2002-2003 College Catalog. SACS approved the addition of Baccalaureate degrees at St. Petersburg College January 11, 2002, and commended SPC for its thorough planning and preparation for all phases of the implementation plan, from the original idea for addressing the community need for 4-year programs, to securing funding, to upgrading facilities, to hiring Faculty, librarians, support staff and administrators, to fine-tuning infrastructure such as the library collections, to incorporating student support programs and services, saying,

“The Committee commends St. Petersburg College for their vision, planning, and implementation of a creative and innovative expansion of programs to include baccalaureate degrees in the high-need areas of Nursing, Teacher Education, and Technology Management in their service region.”

Strategic directions. The strategic planning process begins with the articulation of that charge which manifests itself as the College’s “Mission and Goals Statement” followed by the “Strategic Direction and Institutional Objectives Statement”. These statements form the foundation of the Strategic planning system while the annual budgeting and unit planning process transforms the vision into an operational reality.

Decisions. The Board carefully reviews and approves all strategic plans, budgets, and educational programs. Many of the decisions by the St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees support the College’s mission statement directly:

· Accessible. The Board of Trustees supports the open admission ideals of community colleges by building campuses that are within 30 minutes of anywhere in Pinellas County. Recent new locations in Midtown and Downtown increase accessibility in areas with limited access to transportation. SPC increases accessibility by supplementing available financial aid with scholarships offered through the St. Petersburg College Foundation.

· Comprehensive. The Board’s decisions to pursue a change to four-year status to offer baccalaureate degrees, increase outreach to high school students through a Charter High School and dual enrollment program, and support students across the academic spectrum: helping at-risk students through specialized programs and grants and offering challenges to “exceptionally dedicated students” through the Honors College and international offerings have made SPC a truly comprehensive institution.

· Partnering with other educational institutions to deliver enriched learning experiences. Another unique arrangement has been authorized by the Florida State Legislature to increase access to additional baccalaureate degrees and graduate degrees in Pinellas County using St. Petersburg College facilities and equipment. Through the University Partnership Center SPC offers access to junior and senior level courses for 14 different colleges and universities.

· Partnering with communities to deliver enriched learning experiences. The libraries on the St. Petersburg/Gibbs campus and the Seminole campus are joint-use libraries between the College and the City of St. Petersburg and Seminole that are both flexible and innovative, providing all users with a great range of library materials and services in one place. The libraries enhance the use of public funds by sharing operating and staffing costs and access to electronic resources.

· Promoting literacy and research. The Board provides substantial budgetary support for the library system at St. Petersburg College. The SPC library is ranked first in circulation of materials of the 28 community colleges in Florida with a circulation of 290,048 and second in collection size (326,792 items including public library collections) As a result, The SPC library is consistently ranked first by students in the annual Enrolled Student Surveys, which gathers information on student satisfaction.

Activities. A wide variety of student activities is offered at St. Petersburg College designed to complement the instructional program of the College and to aid students in their individual personal academic and career development. Activities around the College are geared to support the College mission as well. The following are examples of some of the activities at St. Petersburg College:

· Learner-centered, assuring a climate for student success. Through specialized programs and grants, SPC schedules numerous activities for Faculty and students aimed at helping at-risk students. In the Women on the Way program, for example, weekly workshops provide a variety of life skill topics for people (primarily single mothers) entering or re-entering college after a period of absence. This program has been expanded from its Clearwater location to the St. Petersburg/Gibbs, Seminole, and Tarpon Springs campuses and SPC has created a parallel program, Men Achieving Excellence (MAX), for at-risk men. The College also offers a variety of extra-curricular activities such as symposiums, seminars, field trips, in addition to research and internship opportunities for the “exceptionally dedicated students” through the Honors College.

· International study opportunities. SPC has sought a variety of ties with institutions in other countries, allowing unique opportunities for students. Some international activities and honors include:

o Recent agreements for International Business practica, and Faculty and student exchanges and internships with: St. Petersburg [Russia] State University and Rostov State University.

o Working with Tallinn University of Technology and other Estonia institutions of higher education through the Estonia e-University to explore cooperative development projects.

o In November, 2006, hosted Open World delegation of high-level Russian government officials

o An English as a Second Language (ESL) program and international centers at the three largest campuses that offer information, guidance and support to international students during the transition period from their countries to the United States. Two years ago, 111 countries were represented in the St. Petersburg College student body. In addition, SPC’s online learners include students from approximately 10 different countries.

o SPC has offered extensive study abroad opportunities in the past. As a result of serious safety and security problems at another institution, SPC took the extraordinary step this year of temporarily suspending its international study abroad programs to research best safety and security practices and redevelop College procedures to benchmark the most effective institutions. SPC will resume study abroad programs as soon as possible. When reinstated, study abroad programs will use the same course outlines, Faculty, and contact hour requirements as traditional courses.

· Partnering with students to deliver enriched learning experiences. Leadership development opportunities are available on campus through participation in the Student Government Association (SGA). Also, scholastic, special interest, service, social and religious clubs and organizations are active on multiple campuses. One example of partnering with students is the Volunteer Connection at the Clearwater Campus, which was started in 1994 by students who were interested in constructing an organized alliance with other volunteer agencies around the state of Florida. It is a student-implemented and managed office. The students have incorporated academic participation into the activity through the development of Service Learning, a method and philosophy of experiential learning through which participants in community service meet community needs while developing their abilities in critical thinking and group problem solving, their commitments and values, and the skills needed for effective citizenship.

Policies. The Board of Trustees is specifically authorized to adopt rules, procedures, and policies, consistent with State law and rules of the State Board of Education, to guide college governance, personnel, budget and finance, administration, programs, curriculum and instruction, buildings and grounds, travel and purchasing, technology, students, contracts and grants, or college property. Board of Trustees policies are aligned with the College’s mission as well.

· Accessible. St. Petersburg College follows the guidelines of the Florida Statutes regarding admission of students, i.e., to provide opportunities to all by combining high standards with an open-door admission policy. While adding baccalaureate programs, St. Petersburg College has remained an open door college at the point of initial admittance to lower division programs, but admission to the upper division is driven by state and discipline admittance requirements such as the RN license in the BSN program.

6Hx23-4.01 Students, Admission, Programs, and Activities – General. Describes the general admission policies of the College. It is the policy of the College to provide equal access to and equal opportunity within all College programs and activities including admissions, without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, sex, age or disability. The Rule also states that the College will not discriminate in any services program or activity against any qualified individual with a disability. Except where accommodation would result in a fundamental alteration of a program, the College admits to any qualified individual with a disability

6Hx23-4.02 Admission Requirements require standard high school diploma or successful completion of the General Education Development test (GED) for admission to programs that award associate and bachelor degrees, college credit certificates, and applied technology diplomas. College policy also provides a waiver process for students who have not obtained a standard high school diploma or GED, giving consideration to other factors such as career and life experiences, demonstrated success in post-secondary coursework, special certifications, and military training and experience.

6Hx23-4.53 Health Related Programs – Special Rules. Due to the high demand for these programs, the Rule provides fair guidelines that promote maximum accessibility for the College’s service area. Preference may be given to Pinellas County residents for filling specialty courses. For programs where the number of eligible students exceeds the positions available, students will be admitted on a point system based on program GPA and total program credits earned. Minimum program GPA in health-related programs is 2.75 except for Dental Hygiene, which is 3.0. Students with disabilities must be able to perform the essential functions and occupational requirements with or without reasonable accommodations of the particular health related program.

6Hx23-4.02 Admission Requirements and 6Hx23-4.72 College of Education Programs—Special Rules, address additional state or discipline requirements for admission to SPC’s baccalaureate programs. For example, for admittance to the College of Education, students must have Earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, demonstrated mastery of general knowledge, including the ability to read, write, and compute by passing one of several college-level general knowledge tests, and completed an Associate in Arts degree or equivalent coursework. To be eligible for admission to the Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing Program, students must complete an articulated Associate in Science degree in Nursing with a grade point average of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale and have a valid unrestricted, unencumbered RN license.

· An outstanding team. Board Rule 6Hx23-2.022 on Faculty Qualifications sets out a requirement for all full-time Faculty to complete six hours of graduate level courses on college teaching and the community college (or, beginning in Fall 2006, an equivalent noncredit course for new Faculty with doctorates) before they are offered continuing contract. Additionally, all full-time Faculty members meet annually with their Program Directors to discuss and finalize an individual professional development plan proposed by the Faculty member for the next two-year period.

· Promoting literacy and research. The Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx23-4.32 on General Education Requirements for Associate Degree Programs requires all students to demonstrate competency in computer and information literacy or take a course that that includes library research skills. The course introduces students to the core concepts of information literacy and essential techniques for locating, analyzing, organizing and presenting information for research purposes. The course stresses strategies for using a variety of electronic resources emphasizing technological skills and critical thinking abilities as well as coping with the changing nature of information resources.

· Learner-centered, assuring a climate for student success. In order to promote student success, the Board has established the requirement in Board of Trustees Procedures P6Hx23-2.141, Duty Hours for Instructors for Faculty members teaching 15 hours to have 15 hours per week of office hours to be available for help to individual students. Faculty teaching distance education courses provide equivalent access for students through specific “office hours” online.

· Continuous institutional self-evaluation. SPC evaluates all aspects of its academic and support programs and includes a self-evaluation of the institution’s success in achieving its goals in the President’s evaluation, as described in the Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Manual, the General Education Manual, and the A.S. Program Assessment Manual.

· Diverse faculty and staff. SPC values diversity and includes an EA/EO review of the process used for every open Faculty and administrator position. A College Board Rule requires a diverse membership on each screening committee for administrative, professional, and Faculty positions. The EA/EO coordinator has a dedicated budget used to recruit executive administrative and Faculty in area departments where minorities are underrepresented. When reviewing the pool of candidates, the President reviews workforce analysis data to determine if departments are underrepresented in ethnic minorities and women and if so, will request that the applicant pool be revisited or the job announcement be extended and may request that the EA/EO officer assist in finding qualified ethnic minorities and women for a department.

· Distance education courses. The Project Eagle office developed a Flexible Access Review Process now institutionalized in the Curriculum and Instruction Manual that describes the conversion process of traditional courses to assure their equivalency with traditional lecture and lab courses.

St. Petersburg College’s Mission published and distributed widely in the College Catalog; Board of Trustees’ Rules and Procedures Manual; St. Petersburg College Faculty Manual; Student Handbook and Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Manual, also are directly accessible on the College Web Site from the Prospective Student page, Interested Visitor page, and Potential Employee page, as well as through the College Catalog and Student Handbook links on the Current Student page and the Institutional Research pages on the employees’ Staff Central.