Campus Forum on Institutional Accreditation

HLC Team

December 3, 2013

Agenda

New Process for Accreditation from HLC

Assurance Argument Evidence File Quality Initiative Next Steps What Campus Community Can Do

New Process, New Criteria

Criterion 1: Mission

Criterion 2: Integrity: Ethical and Responsible

Conduct

Criterion 3: Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources,

and Support

Criterion 4: Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and

Improvement

Criterion 5: Resources, Planning, and Institutional

Effectiveness

How the New Criteria Work

Criterion 2: Integrity2.E. The institution ensures that faculty, students, and staff acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly. 1. The institution provides effective oversight

and support services to ensure the integrity of research and scholarly practice conducted by its faculty, staff, and students.

2. Students are offered guidance in the ethical use of information resources.

3. The institution has and enforces policies on academic honesty and integrity.

Criterion

Core Component

Sub-Components

How to Find Out More

HLC Web Site: www.ncahlc.org HLC Criteria: http://

www.ncahlc.org/Information-for-Institutions/criteria-and-core-components.html

UIS Accreditation Web Site: www.uis.edu/accreditation

Continuous Improvement

No longer a “self-study” No longer a gearing up process 2 years

before the site visit Now – continual updating of evidence

and analysis through a web-based system

Pathways to Accreditation

Open Pathway vs. Standard Pathway Open Pathway

– For stable institutions– For institutions that have not undergone

major changes– For institutions in good standing with the

HLC– For institutions seeking improvement

Obligations of Open Pathway

10-year Cycle– Mini-review in year 4 (electronic

submission; no site visit)– Major review with site visit in year 10– Project (Quality Initiative) in years 5-9 of

each 10-year cycle

Open Pathway Elements

Assurance Argument Evidence File Quality Initiative

Assurance Argument

Word limit – 35,000 (half the size of our 2007 report)

Strictly organized by Criteria and Core Components

Specific clear examples and analysis

Evidence File

No longer a physical resource room Very limited links to our campus web

sites (e.g., catalog, schedule, personnel policies)

PDF documents – even web sites! Good, relevant pieces of information

Campus Participation

HLC Team needs – Specific, relevant examples of good

practices related to the HLC Criteria for the Assurance Argument

– Documentation of good practices for the Evidence File

• Formal documents• Informal descriptions or examples

Questionnaires – Spring 2014

Unit Questionnaire Academic Departments and Programs

Questionnaire Employee Questionnaire

To be released after the January 29 Campus Forum

HLC Team Subcommittees

Governance and Diversity - Villegas Academic Programs and Student Support

– M. Thibodeaux-Thompson Planning, Operations, and Management of

Resources - Shures Outreach and Scholarship - Wrighton Integrity and Assessment - McCaughan

Quality Initiative

Takes place between Years 5 and 9 of the 10-year cycle

Timeline for UIS: Fall 2013 to Spring 2017 (shortened timeline with transition)

A for Effort – we have to try Focus for QI – Assessment of GE, especially

ECCE HLC Assessment Academy

Why This Quality Initiative? 2007 Site Team Report: multiple references to our

new GE curriculum, to our “plans and efforts to improve assessment of general education,” and to our institutional mission of civic engagement

Interest from campus governance (GECo, CASL, & UGC)

Cuts across many departments, including graduate departments

Cuts across Student Affairs and Academic Affairs

HLC Assessment Academy

Provides targeted support for our project: Workshops, training, and consultants

Roundtable in October: very positive feedback on proposal

Focus on faculty participation in scholarship of teaching and learning

QI Organizers: Pardie, Moranski, Cornell, Burton, Bapat, Villegas, Wrighton, Wassenberg

Next Steps

Questionnaires – Spring 2014 Subcommittee work on Evidence File

and Assurance Argument Discussions about QI with governance

committees and faculty Development of Web Site Youtube videos

How You Can Help?

Immediate Future:– Make note best practices, on-going processes,

special projects– Respond to spring questionnaires and Subcommittee

requests for information– Visit the web site: www.uis.edu/accreditation– Learn about the Criteria– Keep informed and email us with ideas or thoughts to

accreditation@uis.edu

How Can You Help? Plan ahead

– Focus on projects about student learning – Make program review, unit assessment

reports, and CASL reports meaningful– Document your processes and special

projects– Talk with students and encourage their

participation in institutional surveys (NSSE, SSI, alumni surveys)