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Statement of Values

• Integrity: Value trust and honesty
• Caring: Committed to meet the needs of others
• Responsibility: Do competently what is supposed to be done, when it is supposed to be done
• Respect: Treat people with dignity and fairness
• Quality: Take pride in excellence

Statement of Purpose

To change lives, build futures, and improve communities through higher learning.

Mission Statement, 2006 - 2009

As a college that exists to change lives, build futures, and improve communities through higher learning, Rhodes State College seeks to become the College of choice in west-central Ohio.

Extended Statement of Institutional Mission and Purpose

Institutional Role & Scope

Rhodes State College is a public, state-assisted institution of higher learning which is chartered to provide degree granting career education programs, non-credit workforce development, and consulting for business and industry. The College prepares students for entry into careers, develops the regional workforce through credit and non-credit occupational training, and offers curricular programs that prepare students for transfer completion baccalaureate programs at selected colleges and universities. Our core institutional values of integrity, caring, responsibility, respect, and quality guide our policies and practices. We are dedicated to providing an accessible quality education for students of all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Curricular Focus

The academic focus of the College curriculum is career preparation programs leading to associates in applied science, applied business, and technical studies degree. A focus is placed on foundational skill development and general education core skills and abilities in preparing students for effective citizenship in a diverse and global society and to achieve success in a chosen field. In addition, the College contributes to the community by providing workforce development and training, continuing education, economic development services, community outreach, and cultural enrichment opportunities.

Environment

To achieve our mission and purpose, we recruit, develop, and retain faculty and staff who are dedicated to upholding the core values of the institution. The faculty and staff provide a learning-centered environment which promotes student engagement; the acquisition of career building technical competencies and core general education skills for written communication and critical thinking; and the ability to understand and deal with diverse ideas, populations, and cultures in a global society. The College believes in, and practices, non-discrimination in all activities involving the employees, students, and constituents it serves. The human, physical, and financial resources are managed with integrity, in a caring, respectful, and responsible manner that facilitates a working and learning environment focused on continuous improvement and institutional effectiveness.

Core Functional Indicators of Effectiveness

The 11 mission criteria and 29 core indicators of institutional effectiveness are established through leadership and derived from the mission of Rhodes State College. These criteria include: (1) access, (2) student progress, (3) general education (4) technical competencies, (5) lifelong learning, (6) developmental skills, (7) workforce development, (8) transfer preparation, (9) quality environment, (10) community outreach, and (11) fiscal viability. Access to educational services and academic programs is provided to students with diverse socio-economic, academic, and cultural backgrounds in order to assure that students have the opportunities and tools they need to complete their educational goals. Student progress and educational goal attainment is facilitated both inside and outside of the classroom by engaging students in meaningful student development and learning opportunities. General education is designed to imbed specific foundational competencies and abilities across the curriculum of all academic programs and to address the breadth and depth of knowledge relating to courses from communications and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, mathematics, and/or natural and physical sciences. Technical competencies are taught through major programs for professional positions requiring specific technical skill sets for performance and often, professional licensure or certification. Lifelong learning is facilitated through learning experiences that promote personal and professional attitudes and behaviors of growth through learning over the course of the graduate's life. Developmental Skills instruction is provided to equip incoming students with the general education foundation, personal development, and study skills for successfully completing college level work. Workforce development is provided to the service area through both credit and non-credit educational opportunities that serve the stakeholders’ employment needs. Transfer preparation enables a student to transfer coursework completed at Rhodes to other state institutions, and to persist at another institution. Although not a chartered responsibility, transfer preparation is a mission criterion because campus data demonstrates a substantial movement to four- year campuses. A quality environment is established through a commitment to the continuous improvement of the human and organizational infrastructures of Rhodes State College resulting in increased satisfaction and engagement of the stakeholders. Community outreach is planned collaboration between Rhodes State College and the service area to meet community needs through the provision of institutional leadership, expertise and/or facilities. Fiscal viability demonstrates the availability and allocation of institutional resources to support the mission effectively and efficiently.

Teaching, Research, and Service Functions

Rhodes State places emphasis on teaching, research and public service in a manner relative to the institutional mission. Teaching and learning is a core process of the organization. Through this teaching and learning process the faculty and staff provide learning opportunities that develop students’ cognitive, psychomotor, affective and social skills needed for entry or advancement in career occupations and/or occupational training. Faculty and staff facilitate a life-long learning process by engaging students in activities in which they learn to access and apply knowledge. In turn, faculty and staff model lifelong learning by pursing professional development to support continuous improvement and growth in their professional lives as teachers and administrators. In relation to the mission, faculty and staff pursue research and service activities that enrich and improve the teaching and learning process. Research conducted by administrators and/or staff is focused on the improvement of services and processes.

Approved by the Board of Trustees/February 18, 2003 [Revised October 17, 2006]
Faculty Association voted to support March 21, 2003