What does the institution perceive as its strengths and challenges based, for example, on internal planning and evaluation?
How has the institution responded to earlier WSCUC recommendations?
How does the institution demonstrate its contribution to the public good?
What are the institution’s current priorities and plans?
How did the institution prepare for this review? Who was involved? What was the process? How did this work connect with existing priorities and projects?
What theme(s), if any, will be discussed and where in the report do they appear?
Has the institution provided any additional guidance that will help readers follow the organization of the report?
Topics:
1a. History of the institution
1b. Mission and strategic plan
1c. Overview of the university: “who we are”, people (student, faculty, staff), structure, capacity, infrastructure, etc.
1f. External relations: Transparency, autonomy, governing board, community engagement, etc.
1g. Broader planning: Future directions, AMP, efforts to adapt to higher education environment, etc.
1h. Response to previous WASC reviews
1i. Preparation for the accreditation review
1j. Overview of the report: organization, guidance to readers, etc.
2. Review under the WSCUC Standards and Compliance with Federal Requirements; Inventory of Educational Effectiveness Indicators
Prompts:
Who participated in the Review under the WSCUC Standards and Compliance with Federal Requirements? What perspectives did different constituencies contribute?
What was learned from completing this worksheet? What are the institution’s strengths and challenges? What issues and areas of improvement emerged?
Who participated in the completion of the Inventory of Educational Effectiveness Indicators? What perspectives did different constituencies contribute?
What was learned from the Inventory of Educational Effectiveness Indicators? What are the institution’s strengths and challenges? What issues and areas of improvement emerged?
What plans are in place to address areas needing improvement? What resources, fiscal or otherwise, may be required?
Topics:
2a. Worksheet for Review under WSCUC standards and compliance with federal requirements
2b. IEEI
2c. Process of developing the worksheet and IEEI
2d. Compliance with federal requirements (see info on 4 forms) i. Credit hour and program length ii. Marketing and recruitment iii. Student complaints review iv. Transfer credit policy
2e. Areas of strength
2f. Areas of challenges and plans to address them
3. Degree Programs: Meaning, Quality, and Integrity of Degrees (CFRs 1.2, 2.2-4, 2.6, 2.7, 4.3)
Prompts:
What does it mean for a graduate to hold a degree from the institution, i.e., what are the distinctive experiences and learning outcomes? For each degree level offered, what level of proficiency is expected? What is the overall student experience? How do these outcomes flow from the mission? (CFRs 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2) [Note: The discussion may focus on institutional learning outcomes that apply to all degree levels, or on the meaning of the degree at each level offered, i.e., associate, baccalaureate, master’s, doctoral.]
What are the processes used at the institution to ensure the quality and rigor of the degrees offered? How are these degrees evaluated to assure that the degrees awarded meet institutional standards of quality and consistency? (CFRs 2.6, 2.7, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.6)
What was identified in the process of considering the meaning, quality, and integrity of the degrees that may require deeper reflection, changes, restructuring, etc.? What will be done as a result? What resources will be required?
What role does program review play in assessing the quality, meaning, and integrity of the institution’s degree programs? (CFRs 2.7, 4.1)
Topics:
3a. Meaning, quality integrity of the degree (MQID): Meaning of degree; degree roadmap;
3b. Overview of quality assurance processes: assessment, PPR, NSSE, CLA, etc.
3c. Assessment alignment for SLOs: process, participation, results, closing the loop, etc.
3d. PLO alignment with strategic plan goals, ULGs, and Core Competencies
3e. Graduate programs: curriculum overview, graduate learning goals, assessment, etc.
3f. PPR’s relationship to MQID
3g. Overview of program offerings: credit/non-credit, content/length/standards, GE-major integration, curriculum/program approval process, grading/grievance policies, etc.
4. Educational Quality: Student Learning, Core Competencies, and Standards of Performance at Graduation (CFRs 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 4.3)
Prompts:
What knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes should students possess when they graduate with a degree from the institution? What are the key learning outcomes for each level of degree? o For undergraduate programs, how do the institution’s key learning outcomes align with the core competencies set forth in CFR 2.2a? (CFRs 2.3, 2.4.) o For graduate programs, how are graduate level outcomes developed? How do these outcomes align with CFR 2.2b? (CFRs 2.3, 2.4)
What are the standards of performance for students? How are these standards set, communicated, and validated? (CFR 2.6)
What methods are used to assess student learning and achievement of these standards? When is learning assessed in these areas (e.g., close to graduation or at some other milestone? (CFRs 2.4, 2.6, 4.3)
What evidence is there that key learning outcomes are being met? (CFR 2.6)
What steps are taken when achievement gaps are identified? How are teaching and learning improved as a result of assessment findings? (CFRs 2.4, 2.6, 4.3, 4.4)
What role does program review play in assessing and improving the quality of learning? (CFRs 2.7, 4.1)
How deeply embedded is learning-centeredness across the institution? What is the evidence? (CFRs 4.1-4.3)
Topics:
4a. National assessment participation: CLA;
4b. Program-level SLO assessment process and activities: detailed six-step assessment process i. Evidence for undergrad student learning ii. Evidence for grad student learning
4c. GE: program overview, assessment, etc.
4d. Institutional effort to enhance learning and teaching and to close achievement gaps i. High impact practice ii. CRT iii. QM/Online iv. Other programs (???)
4e. Culture of assessment: perception; campus-wide participation
How is student success defined (accounting for both completion and learning), given the distinctive mission, values, and programs offered, and the characteristics of the students being served? (CFRs 2.4, 2.6, 2.10, 2.13)
How is student success promoted, including both completion and learning? What has been learned about different student subpopulations as a result of disaggregating data? (CFRs 2.3, 2.10-2.14)
What role does program review play in assessing and improving student success? (CFRs 2.7, 4.1)
Which programs are particularly effective in retaining and graduating their majors? What can be learned from them? What is the students’ experience like? (CFRs 2.6, 2.10, 2.13)
How well do students meet the institution’s definition of student success? In what ways does the institution need to improve so that more students are successful? What is the time- line for improvement? How will these goals be achieved? (CFRs 2.6, 4.1-4.4)
Topics:
5a. Defining, identifying and tracking student success
5b. Graduation and retention rates
5c. Student success efforts for first-time students: i. Remediation ii. Enrollment management: Admission; Orientation iii. Academic advising iv. Student support services: Tutoring; Disability support; Financial aid; Counseling; etc. v. Early warning system vi. Support for graduate students
5d. Student success efforts for transfer students: i. Remediation ii. Enrollment management: Admission; Orientation iii. Academic advising iv. Student support services: Tutoring; Disability support; Financial aid; Counseling; etc. v. Early warning system vi. Support for graduate students
5e. Programs and initiatives for student success: i. FYE ii. Learning communities iii. Internships/Civic engagement/Service learning iv. Study abroad v. Undergraduate research vi. Honors program
5f. Co-curricular initiatives: i. Scholarship programs ii. Male success initiative; etc. iii. Other programs (???)
5g. Student satisfaction: NSSE; Campus Climate; Exit survey, etc.
6. Quality Assurance and Improvement: Program Review; Assessment; Use of Data and Evidence (CFRs 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 2.10, 4.1-4.7)
Prompts:
How have the results of program review been used to inform decision making and improve instruction and student learning outcomes? (CFRs 2.7, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4)
What was identified in the process of examining the institution’s program review process that may require deeper reflection, changes, restructuring? What will be done as a result? What resources will be required? (CFRs 2.7, 4.1, 4.4, 4.6)
What has the program or institution learned as it carried out assessments of students’ learning? How have assessment protocols, faculty development, choices of instruments, or other aspects of assessment changed as a result? (CFR 4.1)
How adequate is the institutional research function? How effectively does it support and inform institutional decision-making, planning, and improvement?
How well does it support assessment of student learning? (CFRs 4.2-4.7)
Topics:
6a. Assessment process: SLO and PO annual assessment; Improvements overtime; assessing of the assessment process
6b. PPR process: assessing of the PPR process
6c. Center/Institute review process: assessing of the review process
6d. Faculty/staff professional development relates to PPR, assessment, etc.
6e. Institutional data collection, analysis and impact i. IRAS function ii. Impact on decision making, planning and improvement
7. Sustainability: Financial Viability; Preparing for the Changing Higher Education Environment (CFRs 3.4, 3.7, 4.1, 4.3-4.7)
Prompts:
Under Standard 3, institutions are expected to “develop and apply resources and organizational structures to ensure sustainability.” How can the institution demonstrate that its operations will remain financially sustainable over the next 6 to 10 years? (CFRs 3.4 and 4.6)
How well do financial allocations align with institutional priorities, particularly those related to the meaning, quality, and integrity of degrees offered; student learning and success; and processes for quality assurance, account- ability, and improvement? (CFRs 3.4, 4.3)
Under Standard 2, how does the institution identify and enhance the competencies that students will need to succeed in the future? (CFRs 1.2, 2.2)
What role does program review play in developing a vision of 21st century education for individual programs and for the institution as a whole? (CFR 4.7)
In what ways can the institution ensure that educational effectiveness will continue during the period from the present to the next reaffirmation of accreditation? What systems and processes are in place? How deeply embedded are these initiatives in institutional systems and culture? How is educational effectiveness prioritized in the institution’s formal plans? (CFRs 3.1-3.10, 4.1, 4.2, 4.6)
How does the institution demonstrate that it is a learning organization? What evidence can be put forward? (CFRs 4.3-4.7)
What resources have been committed to assessment of learning and improvement of student performance? How are decisions about levels of support made? How is support maintained even in times of constrained resources? (CFRs 3.6, 3.7, 4.3, 4.4)
Of the changes taking place globally, nationally, locally, and in higher education, which ones will affect the institution most strongly in the next seven to 10 years? What is the institution’s vision of education for the coming decade? For the more distant future? How is the institution anticipating, planning for, and adapting to such changes? (CFRs 4.6, 4.7)
What specific skills does the institution possess or need to develop in order to engage with developments impacting its future, including those occurring globally? (CFRs 3.1, 3.2, 4.6, 4.7)
Topics:
7a. Financial condition and stability for the next 6 to 10 years
7b. Funding priorities and decision-making process
7c. Resource commitment to assessment, program review, and institutional effectiveness
7d. Enrollment management
7e. Facilities and environment: Deferred maintenance; space issues; physical capacity, etc.
7f. IT resources
7g. Vision for the future - Responding to changing ecology of higher education
8. [Institution-specific Themes(s) (optional) (CFRs as appropriate)] High quality, diverse faculty and staff (CFR 2.8, 2.9, 3.1-3.3)
Prompts:
What one or two themes would advance institutional priorities and add value to the accreditation review?
What are the institution’s goals or outcomes in pursuing this theme? What is the timeline, what evidence and metrics will show progress, and what resources (financial, human, other) will be required?
Topics:
8a. Faculty/staff recruitment
8b. Scholarly and creative activities; Academic freedom
8c. RTP and faculty/staff evaluation process
8d. Professional development for faculty/staff
8e. Efforts to enhance diversity
9. Conclusion: Reflection and Plans for Improvement
Topics:
9a. Areas of success
9b. Areas of and plans for improvements
Index of CFRs
Acknowledgements
Appendix
Completed Review under the WSCUC Standards and Compliance with Federal Requirements
Completed Inventory of Educational Effectiveness Indicators
Institution-selected exhibits that support the institutional report’s narrative
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