SMSU University Mission

Southwest Minnesota State University prepares students to meet the complex challenges of this century as engaged citizens in their local and global communities. Our comprehensive degree programs, taught in the liberal arts tradition, are dedicated to connecting students’ academic and practical professional development experiences in southwestern Minnesota to the wider world.

All University Meeting

August 22, 2013

Dr. Lori Baker,

Self-Study Coordinator

Reaffirmation of Accreditation

• SMSU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), our regional accrediting agency

• Reaffirmation of accreditation is based on meeting five broad criteria and their core components and demonstrating certain federal compliance requirements. The five criteria:

—Mission—Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct—Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and

Support—Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement—Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness

The Self-Study: A Work in Progress

To demonstrate we meet all of the criteria and are compliant, we have to produce a self-study in which we evaluate ourselves and describe our future plans.

•A Steering Committee and Criterion Teams have been working on gathering information for the required self-study

•A Federal Compliance team has started work and will kick into high gear

The Self-Study: A Work in Progress

• The teams and Steering Committee will finish first drafts this fall

• By November, first drafts will be published on the web site for you to start reading and submitting feedback

• From January thru March, we will have a series of open university meetings dedicated to each criterion to gather and discuss your feedback

Looking Ahead

• April-May 2014 = Revisions

• Summer 2014 = Calling for third party comment by anyone (deadline one month before visit)

• August 20, 2014 = Self-Study sent to reviewers

• October 20-22, 2014 = HLC Reviewers visit campus

Other Tasks This Year

• Assembling and organizing all resources and documentation, both physical and electronic

• Creating the electronic design and formatting of the self-study document

• Putting together a hospitality team to organize the reviewers’ visit and guide them (who wants to help?)

YOU are SMSU

You can help by •Knowing what accreditation is and how it helps us identify what we do best and improve what we want to do better•Knowing your university mission•Raising awareness of the upcoming visit•Continuing to contribute your support to the teams working on the accreditation process•Engaging in the feedback about the self-study

Questions? lori.baker@smsu.edu