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WELCOMEThank you for joining our webinar.We will begin at 1pm Eastern.
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Accreditation as Purpose and
Practice
January 24, 2013
@CampusLabsCo #labgab
Like us on Facebook!
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Shannon LaCount, Ed.D. Director, Campus Success
Steve Szopinski, MAProduct Specialist, Campus Success
About this Webinar1. We will send the PowerPoint via email afterwards using
the email address you just registered with.
2. The lines will be muted for the presentation to eliminate ambient noise.
3. Please feel free to chat in questions throughout the presentation.
4. We will stop for questions throughout the session. When we do so, please raise your hand or chat in your question.
THE ELEMENTS OF CAMPUS SUCCESS
Outcomes: Participants will...
– Explain the history and development of accreditation in higher education
– Describe the general processes and characteristics of accreditation
– Discuss factors affecting the future of accreditation
Accreditation Defined
“Accreditation in higher education is a collegial process based on self and peer assessment for public accountability and improvement of academic quality.” - Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
Why Accreditation?
• Provide Accountability• Ensure access and quality• Assure Consistency• Promote Improvement
Improvement vs. Accountability
Improvement• Formative (development)• Internal• Engagement• Multiple/triangulation• Quantitative and
qualitative• Over time, comparative • Multiple internal
channels• Multiple feedback loops
Accountability• Summative (judgment)• External• Compliance• Standardized• Quantitative• Comparative or fixed
standard• Public communication• Reporting
Who’s Who in Accreditation
– CHEA is a primary representative of accreditation to Congress and the Department of Education
A Brief History of Accreditation in Higher Education:
• Land Grant Institutions• 1880s-First regional accreditation
agencies• Post World War II Expansion • 1965: Higher Education Act
Higher Education Act
• Determines how federal dollars are awarded to campuses and students
• 5 year reauthorization by Congress– 2008 reauthorization: cost and
accountability– Next reauthorization
scheduled for 2014
What is Recognition?
● Accrediting bodies themselves go through their own reviews called “recognition”.
● Typically these reviews are carried out by the Department of Education for public institutions and Council for Higher Education Accreditation for private sector
● Every five to ten years these organizations will be checked upon to make sure they are still holding high standards
Accreditation in the United States -Status:
• Recognition: The US Depart of Education and/or CHEA
• Institutional and Programmatic• Regional, National or Specialized
– 6 Regional accreditors– 52 National accrediting bodies – 60 institutional and programmatic
accrediting organizations (CHEA)
Regional Accrediting Bodies
Who’s Who in Accreditation
Who’s Who in Accreditation (cont.)
Examples of National Accreditors
Faith Related Career Related
Regional Accrediting BodiesSouthern Association of College and Schools (SACS)
Commission on Colleges
to assure the educational quality and improve the effectiveness of its member institutions
www.sacscoc.org/
Regional Accrediting BodiesMiddle States Association of Schools and Colleges
dedicated to quality assurance and improvement through accreditation via peer evaluation
www.msche.org
Regional Accrediting BodiesWestern Association of Schools and Colleges
www.wascsenior.org
Regional Accrediting BodiesNorth Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC)
The purpose of the Association shall be to require its Commission members to have accrediting processes that foster quality, encourage academic excellence,
and improve teaching and learning.
Regional Accrediting BodiesNew England Association Schools and Colleges
...makes public and applies criteria for the assessment of educational effectiveness among institutions of higher education leading to actions on their institutional
accreditation. --nihe.neasc.org
Regional Accrediting BodiesNorthwest Association of Schools and Colleges-- www.nwccu.org
While accreditation criteria and procedures of regional accrediting agencies differ from region to region, the principles underlying eligibility and levels of expectation are similar in their intent to:
• foster excellence through the development of criteria and guidelines for assessing educational quality and institutional effectiveness;
• encourage institutional improvement through continuous self-study and evaluation;
• ensure the educational community, the general public, and other organizations that an institution has clearly defined and appropriate educational objectives, has established conditions under which their achievement can reasonably be expected, appears in fact to be substantially accomplishing them, and is so organized, staffed, and supported that it can be expected to continue to do so; and
• provide counsel and assistance to established and developing institutions.
Accreditation Process– Self Study
• “...generally regarded as the most valuable element of the
accreditation process.”-CHEA
– Peer Review• Professionals evaluating professionals
– Judgment• Status
Accreditation Process• Self-Study
• Peer Review
• Site Visit
• Action (judgment)
• Monitoring and Oversight
Self-Study
A major portion of most accreditation processes is a self study. In a self study, schools will typical analyze the following:
• Examination of problem solving procedures• Follow-up data from graduates and employers of
graduates• Application of knowledge• How programs are assessed
– How data will be collected– Review procedure– Monitoring of progress
• Analyze institution’s vision of the future
Self-Study
Mission-
Institutional Effectiveness“Institutional effectiveness is the systematic, explicit, and
documented process of measuring performance against mission in all aspects of an institution.” (SACS/COCs resource manual)
Resources
● Faculty and staff
● Financial
● Physical
Improvements
Why Assessment?
• Accountability
• Evidence of Quality
• Strengths/Limitations
• Greater Efficiencies
Future of Accreditation
“There is a sobering and serious matter before the accreditation and academic communities. Congress, many policy and opinion leaders and the public as represented through the press have clearly and forcefully indicated their lack of satisfaction with traditional accreditation and the role that it plays.”
-Judith S. Eaton
CHEA President
How accreditation is changing
● Visibility● Competition ● Innovations
Accreditation in the News . . .
For more information on Accreditation:
Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
US Department of Education
National Institute for Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)
Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU)
How can Campus Labs help?
Accreditation Module
Utilized for all regional accrediting bodies
Compatible with national program agencies
Document multiple reports and initiatives over time – all housed in one place
Electronic submission
Preloaded templates and unlimited support
Preloaded report with up to date standards for your accreditation initiative
Table of Contents
Enter narrative, upload images or tables, attach sources
Preloaded number, title and description
Generate relevant credentials information
Sample Report Item
Edit Accreditation ItemNarrative text box similar to MS Word
Custom fields
Determine which users can edit which fields
Document Directory
Upload multiple files at a time
Create folders to house documents
Easily rename, replace or delete files
View document references in site
Custom permissions
Reference Planning Documentation
Link Sources in Narrative
Project Management
View activity for report
See who is currently working on items
Track judgment, status, due date and assigned user
Credentials Module
Upload courses, sections and faculty
Link sections to courses and courses to faculty
Attach syllabi, transcripts and more
Reference as Accreditation evidence
Courses
Filter or search courses by subject, number, program, type and moreUpload relevant documents
Import courses from excel spreadsheet
Sections
View by term, filter by course
Sections are linked to courses
Faculty Members
Generate FacultyRosters
Assign roster form to report(s)
Various filtering options
Information automatically pulled from Credentials module
Attach Roster Forms to Accreditation Items
Filter by course or faculty fieldsReference roster form as evidence in relevant items
Filter by academic college or program
Faculty Roster Form
Faculty Credentials Table
Read-only view of faculty and courses they’re assigned to
Allows reviewer to filter view
Resources
Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (2001, September). Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Retrieved January 2014, from The Role of Accreditation and Assuring Quality in Electronically Delivered Distance Learning: http://www.chea.org/pdf/fact_sheet_2_dist_learn_02.pdf
Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (2002, September). Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Retrieved January 2014, from The Fundamentals of Accreditation What Do You Need to Know?: http://www.chea.org/pdf/fund_accred_20ques_02.pdf
Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (2010, June). Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Retrieved January 2014, from The Value of Accreditation: http://www.chea.org/pdf/Value%20of%20US%20Accreditation%2006.29.2010_buttons.pdf
Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (n.d.). Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Retrieved January 2014, from Update: Accreditation Actions CHEA~ and USDE-Recognized Accrediting Organizations: http://www.chea.org/2011-2012%20Almanac%20Online/index.asp
Covington, O. (2013, December 10). The Business Journal. Retrieved January 2014, from Greensboro College removed from probation by accrediting body: http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2013/12/10/greensboro-college-removed-from.html
ResourcesEaton, J. S. (2012, April). Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Retrieved January 2014, from The Future of Accreditation: http://www.chea.org/pdf/The%20Future%20of%20Accreditation_Planning_HE_JE.pdf
National Center for Postsecondary Improvement. (2003). National Center for Postsecondary Improvement. Retrieved January 2014, from State Government and Regional Accreditation Association Policies for Assessment of Student Learning Tools for Policymakers and Administrators: http://www.stanford.edu/group/ncpi/unspecified/assessment_states/
Nelson, R. (2013, November 26). San Francisco Bay Guardian Online. Retrieved January 2014, from City and teachers seek injunction against City College closure: http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2013/11/26/city-and-teachers-seek-injunction-against-city-college-closure
St. John Fisher College. (2014, January 9). Retrieved January 2014, from St. John Fisher College Maintains Prestigious AACSB Business Accreditation: http://www.sjfc.edu/news/detail.dot?id=151fde11-dbf3-4d8c-a5a6-b022c7ed5326
Stanford University. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2014, from Benchmarking Assessment: Assessment of Teaching and Learning for Improvement and Public Accountability: State Governing, Coordinating Board & Regional Accreditation Association Policies and Practices: http://www.stanford.edu/group/ncpi/unspecified/assessment_states/pdf/Benchmarking%20Assessment.pdf
U.S. Department of Education. (2010, September). Retrieved January 2014, from An Overview of the U.S. Department of Education: http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/whattoc.html
Shannon LaCount
Director, Campus Success
716.270.0000
www.campuslabs.com
QUESTIONS?Steve Szopinski
Product Specialist, Campus Success
716.270.0000
www.campuslabs.com
THANK YOU!
@CampusLabsCo #labgab
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www.campuslabs.com/blog