WELCOMEThank you for joining our webinar.We will begin at 1pm Eastern.

Please call into the audio portion of our presentation:Dial 800-501-8979

If you have difficulty, please call us at 716-270-0000 and press 1 for assistance.

@CampusLabsCo #labgab

Like us on Facebook!

www.campuslabs.com/blog

Accreditation as Purpose and

Practice

January 24, 2013

@CampusLabsCo #labgab

Like us on Facebook!

www.campuslabs.com/blog

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

slacount@campuslabs.com

716.270.0000

www.campuslabs.com

QUESTIONS?Steve Szopinski

Product Specialist, Campus Success

sszopinski@campuslabs.com

716.270.0000

www.campuslabs.com

THANK YOU!

@CampusLabsCo #labgab

Like us on Facebook!

www.campuslabs.com/blog