Accountability measures for North Carolina's 58 community colleges based on 2007-08 academic year data confirm that community college students found success in college readiness, workforce preparedness and as college transfers. Eleven community colleges met the standards for "Exceptional Institutional Performance."

Annually, the NC Community College System measures colleges' performance in eight core areas using the most recently available data, which is from the previous academic year. The 2009 Critical Success Factors report shows that, taken as a system, the community colleges produced students well prepared to:

● Pass 23 different licensure and certification exams as first-time test takers (Forty-five colleges met the system standard of an 80 percent passing rate with 9,007 out of 10,490 students succeeding on their first try.)
● Be successful as college transfer students at four-year institutions (Forty-four colleges met or exceeded the system's standard of 83 percent of students in four-year institutions having a 2.0 or better after two semesters. Thirty colleges met or exceeded the 87 percent success rate of students who began in, rather than transferred into, the UNC System.)
● Move successfully from developmental to college-level courses (Fifty-seven colleges combined for a system average of 88 percent of students who were doing well in college-level courses after having started at the developmental level.)

"These accountability measures show that North Carolina Community Colleges are providing a great foundation for our students whether they are headed to the workplace or into baccalaureate institutions," said Dr. R. Scott Ralls, President of the NC Community College System. "We're providing a well-trained workforce for our state and our business community."

Additionally, 11 colleges met "Exceptional Institutional Performance" standards in the 2009 report, which means meeting or exceeding all 8 system standards. They must also meet the additional performance goals of achieving the college performance rates of students who began in, rather than transferred into, the UNC System and attaining at least a 70 percent passing rate for students who sit for a licensure or certification exam for the first time. The EIP colleges in the 2009 report were: Alamance, Asheville-Buncombe, Blue Ridge, Central Piedmont, Coastal Carolina, McDowell, Mitchell, Pitt, Randolph, Wake and Wilkes.

For more than 20 years, the NC Community College System has annually compiled an assessment of its 58 colleges based on a variety of indicators related to service, student success and performance during the previous academic year. Over time, the assessment has evolved into eight core accountability standards. In addition to the three areas listed previously, the colleges are expected to meet system standards in the progress of basic skills students, passing rates in developmental courses, student satisfaction, retention, graduation and transfer rates of curriculum students, and client satisfaction with small business center services. Any college not achieving any of the eight standards is required to submit an action plan for improving performance to the State Board of Community Colleges.

On the accountability standards measured in the 2009 Critical Success Factors report each core indicator was met or exceeded by at least 44 colleges, while 26 colleges met or exceeded the requirement of all eight core indicators, which were raised last year. This year, the number of colleges achieving each standard improved except in one category over the 2008 report. In the measurement of "Client Approval of Services Received at Small Business Centers," 53 colleges met the system goal of 90 percent for 2007-08. The 2006-07 data showed that all 58 colleges were successful in meeting that requirement.

"Attaining these standards is a matter of pride and achievement among our colleges, our faculty and our staff," Ralls said. "When the budget allows, we are able to provide performance based funding to the colleges based on the number of measures they meet or if they rise to the exceptional level. However, this year our colleges understand that there won't be any additional dollars, only the satisfaction of achieving their mission of preparing students for their next step whether it's college or work. With more than 200,000 full-time students and record enrollment growth, that's a big accomplishment."

A summary of the 2009 Core Indicators of Student Success, as well as the full report, can be found on the NC Community Colleges website.