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Update on Institutional Reaccreditation and the Foundations of Excellence. Fall Faculty In-Service August 19, 2010. Foundations of Excellence® ( FoE ). Customized self-study for HLC reaccreditation site visit
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Update on Institutional Reaccreditation and the Foundations of Excellence Fall Faculty In-Service August 19, 2010
Foundations of Excellence® (FoE) • Customized self-study for HLC reaccreditation site visit • Developed by the Policy Center on the First College Year (now called the Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education) • Institution-wide assessment of first year using nine dimensions • Goal is to produce plan to improve student learning and engagement • www.uni.edu/foe
Foundations of Excellence® (FoE)Recommendations • Create a First-Year Council charged with the oversight of first-year programs. • Charge with setting strategic direction of 1st year programs and for the assessment, monitoring, and reporting of specified first-year initiatives • Joint leadership among Academic and Student Affairs • Develop a first-year philosophy statement and first-year learning outcomes.
Foundations of Excellence® (FoE)Recommendations • Develop a comprehensive plan for faculty development. • Task the First-Year Council to develop a first-year cornerstone experience for allfirst-year students. • Develop a systematic process to define, identify, and assess the needs of first-year students, especially underserved populations.
Foundations of Excellence® (FoE)Recommendations 6. Incorporate the findings of the Foundations of Excellence® process into other institutional improvement efforts that impact first-year students. • Liberal Arts Core (LAC) Task Force • Diversity Council • Academic Advising Council 7. Develop and implement a comprehensive plan for assessing and improving first-year programs.
First-Year Council Work: http://www.uni.edu/foe/council1.shtml Downloadable PDFs • First-Year Council Membership & Charge • First-Year Council Subcommittees • First-Year Learning Goals: Draft First-Year Council Meeting Minutes • February 15, 2010 • March 29, 2010 • April 19, 2010
Cornerstone Course • April 2010, First Year Council approved development of cornerstone course • 3 credit hour academic inquiry (academic focus) • Course developed by faculty in partnership with student affairs • Assignments and activities include focus on transition issues in the context of an interdisciplinary critical inquiry topic chosen by the faculty member • Consider as part of the Liberal Arts Core (LAC)
Cornerstone Development • Approval granted by Provost and VP Student Affairs to begin cornerstone course development • Committee of faculty (representing all colleges), student affairs staff, and students are developing curriculum proposal • Course must gain acceptance through regular curricular approval process • Committee to use learning outcomes, assessment, and best practices research in development
Early identification of first year student concerns • Transition survey completed after week 3 • Students receive immediate, customized feedback • Faculty and staff with professional connections to each student (direct connects) also obtain access to individual reports • Direct connects offer encouragement, support, information, and referrals to students who need it most
Foundations of Excellence® – Transfer Focus (FoE-TF) • John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Excellence • Steering Committee and Nine Dimension Committees similar process as used in previous FoE self-study • 33% of new students to UNI are transfer students and 2/3 of those are from two-year colleges
FoE Transfer Steering Committee • Mary Christ (CBA) • Kerri Clopton, Co-Chair (CoE) • Melissa Heston (CoE) • Christie Kangas, Co-Chair (Admissions) • Cherin Lee (CNS) • Drake Martin (Residence) • Gene Morales (Student) • Kristin Moser (Institutional Research) • Phil Patton (Registrar) • Gayle Rhineberger-Dunn (CSBS) • Jake Rudy (NISG) • Colice Sanders (Student Support Services) • Paul Sapp (Admissions) • Marilyn Shaw (CHFA) • Tony Smothers (Academic Advising) • Malcom Thomas (Graduate Student) • Kristin Woods (New Student Programs)
Involvement in FoE Transfer Self-Study • Faculty/Staff Survey • Available through MyUNIverse August 23rd through September 10th • Dimension Committees • Faculty interested in serving on a committee should contact Kerri Clopton