Mission, Vision, Values, Goals and Objectives, Institutional Learning Outcomes & Accreditation

Vision Statement

West Hills College Coalinga will provide a vibrant learning environment that delivers on our commitment to the relentless pursuit of student success. 

Mission Statement

West Hills College Coalinga inspires all learners to recognize their potential and achieve their goals through the delivery of high-quality academic instruction, programs, and support services. The college fosters equity and economic mobility by providing the environment to think critically, communicate effectively, and develop leadership skills to support our diverse communities.

Values

Core Value: Connectedness and Engagement

  1. We foster a culture of belonging where students, faculty and staff feel like they are part of the college community.
  2. We empower individuals to be the difference in cultivating an environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and supportive of diverse perspectives.
  3. We model collaboration and purposeful connections.
  4. We facilitate purposeful connections through service-oriented programs and building strong relationships with business, industry, and community organizations.

Core Value: Nurturing Success Holistically

  1. We demonstrate compassion, support, encouragement, and a holistic approach to the success of students, faculty, and staff.
  2. We ensure that all students, faculty, and staff have opportunities to contribute on campus and feel their contributions are appreciated.
  3. We are committed to building a campus community that is built on trust, inclusivity, empathy, and kindness.
  4. We recognize, respect, and appreciate the skills, talents, abilities, and experiences of each individual.
  5. We nourish a growth mindset and aspire to be a campus community where everybody feels as though somebody wants them to succeed.
  6. We strive to be experts in transforming the lives of our students and the communities served by the college through excellence, innovation, creativity, data informed decisions, evidenced based practices – If we think there is a better way we will make an informed decision to take a risk and try it.

Core Value: Focus and Direction

  1. We collectively contribute to student and institutional success by promoting and supporting planning, efficiency, consistency, accountability, progression, and persistence.

Objectives & Goals

WHCC Strategic Objective 1: Provide high quality teaching and learning opportunities  aligned with intentional, well-communicated pathways that reduce student costs, expand student access, accelerate success, and increase completion.

  • Goal: 90% of students will have an education plan by the end of year 1
  • Goal: 1-3 degrees, certificates, pathways coded as Zero Textbook (ZTC), Open Educational Resources (OER), or Low Textbook Cost (LTC) by Fall 2023

WHCC Strategic Objective 2: Eliminate/Reduce Equity & Achievement Gaps.

  • Goal: Increase the number of Latinx/Hispanic and African American students who complete transfer English and Math by the end of year 1 by 20%

WHCC Strategic Objective 3: Provide integrated,  holistic services that support affordability, student basic needs, student success, and completion.

  • Goal: Increase the number of students with FAFSA application on file by the end of Term 1 by 20%

WHCC Strategic Objective 4: Foster campus and  community engagement that promotes exemplary learning and working environments.

  • Goal: Establish a student advisory group for student and community engagement

WHCC Strategic Objective 5: Continue to build institutional efficiency and effectiveness.

  • Goal: Provide culturally relevant professional learning opportunities

Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

Communication Competency- Written and Oral Communication

  • Students will demonstrate effective communication skills in reading, writing, listening, speaking and communicating in different formats.
  • Students will develop and present cogent, coherent and substantially error-free writing for communication to general and specialized audiences.
  • Students will demonstrate effective interactive communication through discussion, i.e., by listening actively and responding constructively and through structured oral presentations to general and specialized audiences.
  • Students will negotiate with peers an action plan for a practical task and communicate the results of the negotiation either orally or in writing.

 Analytical Inquiry- Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

  • Students will demonstrate the ability to collect information in response to a question or problem; analyze and draw valid conclusions from statements, images, data, and other forms of evidence; and assess the implications and consequences of conclusions.
  • Students will identify and frame a problem or question in selected areas of study and distinguish among elements of ideas, concepts, theories or practical approaches to the problem or question.

Quantitative Reasoning- Mathematical and Scientific Reasoning

  • Students will be able to: analyze, estimate, use, and evaluate quantitative information using words, data, graphs, and symbols; and apply the scientific method to questions regarding observable natural, physical and social phenomena.
  • Students will present accurate interpretations of quantitative information on political, economic, health-related or technological topics and explain how both calculations and symbolic operations are used in those offerings.
  • Students will create and explain graphs or other visual depictions of trends, relationships or changes in status.

Information Competency- Technology and Media Literacy

  • Students will be able to locate, evaluate, synthesize and use multiple forms of information, data, media, and technology.
  • Students will identify, categorize, evaluate and cite multiple information resources so as to create projects, papers or performances in either a specialized field of study or with respect to a general theme within the arts and sciences.

Ethical Reasoning

  • Students will describe the ethical issues present in prominent problems in politics, economics, health care, technology or the arts and show how ethical principles or frameworks help to inform decision making with respect to such problems.

Ability to Engage Diverse Perspectives

  • Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of significant social, cultural, environmental and aesthetic perspectives.
  • Students will describe how knowledge from different cultural perspectives might affect interpretations of prominent problems in politics, society, the arts and global relations.
  • Students will describe, explain and evaluate the sources of his/her own perspective on selected issues in culture, society, politics, the arts or global relations and compare that perspective with other views.

Personal, Academic, and Career Development

  • Students will assess their own knowledge, skills, and abilities, set personal, educational, and career goals, work independently and in group settings, and identify lifestyle choices that promote self-reliance, financial literacy, and physical, mental and social health. 

 

Accreditation

West Hills College Coalinga is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, 331 J Street, Suite 200, Sacramento, CA 95814, 415.506.0234, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. This is an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. It is listed in the Directory of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and in the Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Organizations, 1990-91, a publication of the American Council on Education.

West Hills College Coalinga is a member of the California Association of Community and Junior Colleges and the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges. The college is approved by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to accept international students.