Year Seven Self-Evaluation Workshop OR Getting from Here to There Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Purposes of Accreditation Self-Regulation through Continuous Improvement Academic Integrity Demonstrated by Mission Fulfillment Collective Responsibility of Higher Education Institutions to Constituents

Institutional Integrity – Quality Assurance – Degree to which institutional intentions match institutional accomplishments Feeds into accountability and quality assurance What do you claim to do? How well are you doing it? What evidence do you have to support your claim?

Bookend - Mission Intended Purpose (1.A and 1.B) Contract with constituencies Promise to students Honors diversity of institutions Judge an institution in terms of its own distinctive expectations of itself (targets, benchmarks, thresholds, accomplishments)

Mission – Intended Purpose Core Theme 1 Objective 1 Indicator1Indicator1 Objective N Core Theme N... IndicatorNIndicatorN Indicator1Indicator1 IndicatorNIndicatorN Indicator1Indicator1 IndicatorNIndicatorN Indicator1Indicator1 IndicatorNIndicatorN Objective 1Objective N... Generalized Mission Fulfillment Stated As Outcomes or Accomplishments 1.A.1 1.A.2 1.B.1 1.B.2

Bookend - Adaptation and Sustainability (5B) Preserving infrastructural needs and distinctiveness in the face of a changing higher education context Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

Achievement of Core Theme Objectives (Standard 4.B: Analysis and Reflection) Mission Fulfillment Adaptation (Standard 5: Sustained Integrity) Assessment of Core Theme Objectives (Standard 4.A: Data Collection) Aligned Core Themes, Objectives, Indicators (Standard 1.B: Measures) Mission Statement And Benchmarks (Standard 1.A: Intentions) Planning and Resource Allocation (Stds 2 and 3: Necessary Conditions)

Where are we now in our Collective Responsibility as Higher Education Institutions? Assess and explicitly document achievement of intended institutional and student outcomes to substantiate claims of quality and effectiveness (mission fulfillment) “Show Me” emphasis from constituents; NWCCU terminology - Culture of Evidence YEAR SEVEN!

How do we know we are fulfilling our mission? Skeptics question the validity of the quality (value added) of an institution based solely on intentions (mission and planning – Standards 1 and 3) and resources (inputs – Standard 2) Evidence demanded for achievement of outcomes and incorporation of results for improvement upon mission fulfillment (Standards 4 and 5)

Clarity in Assessment (Evidence) Standard 4 Sense of purpose for assessment? Core Theme Outcome (objective) aligned with Mission What is to be assessed? Data for Core Theme Indicators aligned with Core Theme Outcome (objectives) How will results be used to determine degree of Mission Fulfillment – what is the feedback mechanism at an institutional level? Lack of Clarity leads to being DATA RICH and INFORMATION POOR, i.e., not effective for assessing mission fulfillment

Clarity in Assessment Efforts: Improvement over Time (4.B) Leads to ADAPTATION and SUSTAINABILITY (5.B) Preserved Infrastructure and Effective Processes Monitoring and Identifying Current and emerging patterns Trends Revising Expectations

Example of a Design – Standard 1 The Mission of the College is to foster student success among diverse learners to economically and culturally provide enrichment to our community. Mission Fulfillment: Achieving an acceptable rate of success (72% in 2015) on the collective Core Theme Objectives. Core Theme: Provide Workforce Development for our Community

An Example Continued: Standard 1 Core Theme: Workforce Development Core Theme Objective 1: The majority of students of the technical programs will be prepared for entry level positions. Core Theme Indicator 3: Graduates have passing scores on standard industry certification exams (a direct measure of the core theme objective)  Benchmark: 90% pass rate among students

An Example Continued: Resources Standards 2 and 3 Faculty develop student learning outcomes – programs and courses – to support the categories of knowledge required by the industry.

An Example Continued: Core Theme Specific Planning – Standards 2 and 3 The College’s strategic plan reviews emerging patterns of industry growth and particular demands in the region The Workforce Development Core Theme Committee reviews employment and certification scores of students as compared to national averages, regional requirements, and by industry specialties

An Example Continued: Assessment and Improvement Processes – Standard 4 Program Director receives feedback from advisory committees reviews technical program outcomes in support of knowledge areas of industrial certification Program Faculty adjust curricula to add student learning outcomes devoted to recent technological advances – a dedicated capstone project which contributes as another direct measure for future assessments (New Core Theme Objective Indicator #4 – or perhaps a replacement indicator determined more effective)

An Example Continued: Mission Fulfillment, Adaption, and Sustainability – Standard 5 The College achieves an acceptable 75% institutional success rate for its collective Core Theme Objectives including a specific objective of 84% passing rate for professional certification of students in technical programs The institution engages its internal organizational structures and processes in assessing its potential and capacity, its planning efforts, and its environment with respect to the improvement of successful objectives as well as objectives not realized

Standards 3, 4, and 5 in Review: Getting from here to there with a Mission Roadmap Indentifying an institution’s self-regulation planning, processes, and methodologies for establishing institutional integrity through evidence of mission fulfillment In other words, linking to the language of the accreditation standards --

Standard Three Formative - Alignment Standard 3 – Planning Institutional (3.A) and Core Themes (3.B) Appropriate Overlap of Strategic Institutional (Comprehensive) Plans and Core Theme Planning  Where is assessment data planned for in the evaluation of mission fulfillment ? Standard 3.A.3 (strategic) and Standard 3.B.3 (core themes)

Standard Four Does Clarity Exist? Standard 4A – Assessment Meaningful Evaluation Formalized documentation, integration of evaluation with outcomes/intentions, student achievement, and resource allocation Review of process, is it effective?

How do you know that your institution is effective in determining the extent of mission fulfillment? Standard 4.B – Improvements Are Made Results of Assessment are fed back into informed planning, decision making, allocation of resources, capacity (Standard 4.B.1) Results of Assessment are fed back into enhanced student learning achievement (Standard 4.B.2)

Standard Five Summative – Mission Promise Kept Sustained Over Time Standard Five Summative – Mission Promise Kept Sustained Over Time Mission FulfillmentAdaptation and Sustainability Core Theme Objectives Realized to a Sufficient Level Infrastructure Preserved through Planning Efforts Quality Education Outcomes – Value Added Processes are Effective and Enhanced To what extent?Monitoring Patterns, Trends, and Expectations

NWCCU Accreditation: “Getting There” Assistance with Navigation toward Institutional Destinations Student Achievement With Institutional Distinctiveness

Thank you from NWCCU’s Lighthouse Staff