IUP Middle States Accreditation and Self Study Process

Co-Chairs of IUP MSCHE Steering Committee Hilliary Creely Laura Delbrugge 2

What is Middle States? The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) is a voluntary, non-governmental, membership association that is dedicated to quality assurance and improvement through accreditation via peer evaluation. Middle States accreditation instills public confidence in institutional mission, goals, performance, and resources through its rigorous accreditation standards and their enforcement. 3

Middle States Accreditation at IUP Consecutive MSCHE accreditation at IUP since its first review in 1941; most recent review in IUP will address fourteen MSCHE Standards of Excellence as part of a thorough and engaged process of institutional reflection, the Self Study. 4

Goals of the Self Study Process Earn reaffirmation of accreditation after a meaningful and participatory review process. Address the 14 Standards of Excellence as defined by Middle States in an IUP context. Review analytically, and with a balance between positives and negatives. Keep university strategic visioning and planning processes in mind during the Middle States review. 5

IUP since the last MSCHE review in 2005 Since 2005 there has been significant turnover in University leadership, including five presidents and five provosts. The Residential Revival and KCAC have changed the campus landscape. New academic buildings, dining halls, and parking areas will continue this development trend for years to come. In 2005, IUP had only recently been “wired” in all offices. Many IUP employees did not yet use on a regular basis. In 2005, there was no IUP Daily or “Beyond Expectations.” (Facebook was only one year old). Student enrollment was 14,081. IUP enjoyed more financial flexibility due to greater support from PASSHE and a relatively easier economic environment. 6

Self-Study Participants Co-Chairs of Steering Committee Self-study writer Steering Committee (members also can serve as Subcommittee co-Chairs) Subcommittees (diverse membership from across campus constituency groups) Data Collection Point Person Students, Staff, Faculty, Administration University leadership University community and Indiana community 7

Middle States 14 Standards of Excellence 1.Mission & Goals 2.Planning, Resource Allocation, & Institutional Renewal 3.Institutional Resources 4.Leadership & Governance 5.Administration 6.Integrity 7.Institutional Assessment 8.Student Admissions & Retention 9.Student Support Services 10.Faculty 11.Educational Offerings 12.General Education 13.Related Educational Activities 14.Assessment of Student Learning 8

Grouping Standards Comprehensive Review (like 2005) 2005 Review had 14 Subcommittees Review will have 7 Subcommittees Subcommittees will have people and appointments will be made with cross-campus representation in mind. 9

IUP MSCHE Subcommittees SUBCOMMITTEETOPICCO-CHAIRS Subcommittee 1 (Standards 1 & 6) Mission, Goals and IntegrityBill Balint & Fredalene Bowers Subcommittee 2 (Standards 2 & 3) Planning, Resource Allocation, Institutional Renewal and Institutional Resources John Kilmarx & Shari Robertson Subcommittee 3 (Standards 4 & 5) Leadership, Governance, and Administration Edel Reilly & Yaw Asamoah Subcommittee 4 (Standards 8 & 9) Student Admissions, Retention and Support Services Kate Linder & Jack Makara Subcommittee 5 (Standards 10 & 11) Faculty and Educational OfferingsRamesh Soni & Steve Hovan Subcommittee 6 (Standards 12 & 13) General Education and Related Educational Activities Terry Appolonia & Gail Wilson Subcommittee 7 (Standards 7 & 14) Institutional Assessment and Student Learning Assessment Tim Runge & Barbe Moore 10

Timeline TERM STEERING COMMITTEE FORMS Spring 2013 PRE-PLANNING  Steering Committee Formed  First meeting of Steering Committee May 7, 2013 Summer 2013  Self-study organizational model chosen  Subcommittees Chairs selected; appointments to Subcommittees begin  Some draft research questions created by Co-Chairs  IUP Middle States website created  Data sharing wiki chosen (Confluence) YEAR 1SUBCOMMITTEES FORM AND WORK BEGINS Fall 2013  MSCHE 2015 Review Process communicated to IUP community  Subcommittee appointments finalized  Steering Committee and Subcommittees finalize Research Questions; Communication plan finalized  Initial meetings of Subcommittees (September/October)  Self-Study Design finalized by Steering Committee before December 15  Self-Study Design sent to MSCHE staff liaison by December 31 (will be revised in Spring 2014 during visit from MSCHE Staff liaison ) 11

Spring 2014  Site visit by MSCHE Staff liaison to review Self-Study Design; revisions made  Subcommittees request Data and begin analysis YEAR 2DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS BY SUBCOMMITTEES/ CREATION OF DRAFT SELF-STUDY REPORT Fall 2014  Subcommittees continue to collect and analyze data  MSCHE Master Survey conducted via Qualtrics to IUP community  Subcommittees submit drafts of Chapter Outlines to Steering Committee Spring 2015  Subcommittees finalize data analysis  Steering Committee makes recommendations to Faculty writer by May 15 Summer 2015  Faculty writer synthesizes report and drafts Self-Study Report YEAR 3 CREATION OF THE FINAL REPORT AND ON-CAMPUS MSCHE TEAM VISIT Fall 2015  Self-Study Report (revised draft version) shared with IUP Community  Final Self-Study Report Submitted to MSCHE by November 30  MSCHE Evaluation Team Chair visits IUP campus (December) Spring 2016  MSCHE Evaluation Team site visit  MSCHE sends its evaluation report to IUP 12 Timeline (Con’t.)

Ways to get involved Consider submitting your name for a subcommittee by responding to the campus-wide invitation (sent in early September). If you are a supervisor encourage members of your team to participate. Participate in surveys Participate in public forums Review draft documents when made available to the public and offer feedback Read updates in the IUP Daily Visit the website for info 13