The Performance Measures for Student Success Report is the North Carolina Community College system’s major accountability document. This annual performance report is based on data compiled from the previous year and serves to inform colleges and the public on the performance of our 58 community colleges.
In 1993, the State Board of Community Colleges began monitoring performance data on specific measures to ensure public accountability for programs and services. In 1998, the General Assembly directed the State Board to review past performance measures and define standards to ensure programs and services offered by community colleges in North Carolina were of sufficient quality.
In 2010, a review process was established to ensure the measures and methods for evaluating colleges were current and remained focused on improving student success. Every three years, a committee that is inclusive of college leaders; subject matter experts; and research and assessment professionals are appointed to review the measures and recommend deletions, revisions, and additions. Recommendations from the most recent review were approved in 2018 and this is the inaugural report representing the updated measures.
The current list of measures includes:
- Basic Skills Student Progress
- Student Success Rate in College‐Level English Courses
- Student Success Rate in College‐Level Math Courses
- First Year Progression
- Curriculum Student Completion
- Licensure and Certification Passing Rate
- College Transfer Performance
Baselines and Excellence Levels
The outcomes funding model associated with the performance measures was implemented in 2013. A major component of this model is the establishment of system‐wide baseline and excellence levels for each measure. These statistically defined levels were developed to provide consistency and promote transparency, simplicity, and objectivity.
Based on three years of data (if available) for each measure, baseline levels are set two standard deviations below the system mean, and excellence levels are set one standard deviation above the system mean. These levels remain static for three years and are reset with the implementation of a new three‐year cycle. Additional information regarding the state performance measures are available on the North Carolina Community Colleges website. Carteret CC annually publishes student achievement data on the college’s website.