1. SERVICE, ENGAGEMENT, AND ACCREDITATION Presidential Summit Commitment to Civic Engagement October 3, 2006 Oklahoma City, OK Dr. Steven Crow Executive Director, HLC/NCA

2. Accreditation Criteria  Restructuring Expectations Project, 2001- 2003 Informed by new mission statement, “Serving the common good...” Extensive participation from many constituencies Criterion Five: “As called for by its mission, the organization identifies its constituencies and serves them in ways both value.”

3. CRITERION FIVE: CORE COMPONENTS  Learn from constituencies and analyze capacity to serve  Commitment and capacity to engage and provide service  Demonstrate responsiveness to dependent constituencies  Internal and external constituencies value the organization’s services

4. FIT WITH OTHER CRITERIA  Engagement/service is mission driven (especially 1a, 1b)  Engagement/service is a commitment now and in the future (especially 2a, 2c)  Engagement/service is shaped by capacity (especially 2b, 2d)  Engagement/service relates to student learning (especially 3c)  Engagement/service is fit to purpose (especially 4a, 4c)

5. GOALS AND HOPES  Trigger organization-wide conversations  Stimulate conscious reconnections between the academy and the society it serves Relevance of learning/curriculum Preparation for productive lives  Contribute to more transparent pathways of learning  Prepare for new conversations on national accountability

6. APPLICATION Standard responses:  Civic/national memberships  Continuing education unit  Community events and services (faculty/student)  Internships and clinicals  Research/studies Larger possibilities:  Curriculum advisory groups  Integrate service learning  Cooperative endeavors and partnerships  New programming  State initiatives

7. PEER REVIEWER ANALYSIS  Too many lists; too little evaluation  Often skimpy because good evidence was used elsewhere to prove other points  Institutions are missing the point of the Criterion: pervasiveness of engagement and service in institutional culture  Might be better understood if it came right after Criterion One  The place to talk about serving the “common good,” but the opportunity is missed

8. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS  Can an institution be engaged and not have formal partnerships with other organizations?  Doesn’t effective service and engagement require more specialization within IHEs?  How do accountability and engagement differ?  Must every institution’s mission involve serving external constituencies?

9. SUPPORT AND SERVICES  Annual Meeting programming (Collected Papers)  Policy Center for the First Year of College: Special emphasis self-study  “Best Practice in Partnering: Developing Capacity” workshop  Participation at state and regional meetings and initiatives  Support for Campus Compact and CCNCCE

10. THE HIGHER LEARNING COMMISSION Steve Crow, Executive Director 30 N. LaSalle, #2400 Chicago, IL 60602 800-621-7440 x 102 www.ncahlc.org