Accreditation and Self Study Process

1. Accreditation and Self Study Process A presentation by: Joseph Saimon Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) (Director for Development and Community Relations)

2. What is Accreditation • Process for evaluating and assuring the quality of education • Used by the American higher education community. • This process involves institutions to: • Collectively set standards for good practice • Conduct peer-based evaluations of institutions on a regular basis • Confer accredited status on institutions, and • Make the results of accreditation review of institutions known to the public

3. What is Accreditation… cont • Through accreditation, the higher education community shoulders the responsibility for monitoring the quality of the programs and services of member institutions. • Agencies that develop and apply standards are often called accrediting commissions. • Accrediting commissions were created by the collective group of institutions that wished to engage in the quality review and assurance process • Institutions under an accrediting commission are called member institutions of a commission.

4. ? • What is the name of our accrediting commission? • What would be call ourselves in relation to our accrediting commission?

5. Different kinds of Accreditations • There are three types of accrediting agencies or commissions used in the United States. • Regional Accreditation • Programmatic Accreditation • National Accreditation

6. Different kinds of Accreditations… cont • Regional Accreditation • The most highly regarded form of institutional accreditation • Sought by most academic institutions with comprehensive missions • Conducted by accrediting agencies that have chosen to organize themselves into six broad geographic regions of the country • The geographic regions include New England states, the mid-Atlantic states, the southern states, the middle or north central states, the northwestern states, and the western states and U.S. territories of the Pacific (FAS, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa)

7. Different kinds of Accreditations… cont • Regional Accreditation • The commissions in these six regions, which have standards that cover the entire institution, require that a component of general education be included in all degree programs • These commissions issue a periodic report on the quality of the entire institution according to processes and procedures established by each commission • The regional accrediting commissions set a very high standard for the performance of the entire institution • (Note: Not all higher education institutions can meet these standards)

8. Different kinds of Accreditations… cont • Programmatic Accreditation • Programmatic accrediting agencies provide quality assurance for individual degree programs that may be offered within accredited institutions but that require special review because their graduates become licensed practitioners (for example, nursing, medical, or culinary programs, or law schools) • The programmatic accrediting agencies assure that the quality of the educational program meets the national and state standards and that graduates are prepared to pass licensure examinations

9. Different kinds of Accreditations… cont • National Accreditation • National accrediting agencies accredit institutions with specialized missions (for example, businesses colleges or colleges of art and design) • Often referred to as the specialized or national accrediting commissions.

10. ? • What kind of accreditation do we have? • What is the name of our accrediting commission?

11. Different kinds of Accreditations… cont • Regional Accrediting Commissions: • Middle States Association of Schools andColleges Commission on Higher Education • New England Association of Schools and Colleges • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges • Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

12. What is WASC • Consists of three separately organized commissions within the western region • Only accrediting body that separates the two kinds of higher education institutions (two-year and four-year) into separate commissions • The three commissions that make up WASC are: • The Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (ACSCU) • The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) • The Accrediting Commission for Schools (ACS)

13. ? • Which WASC commission accredits the College of Micronesia-FSM?

14. Purposes of ACCJC • Establishing standards of quality based upon excellent practices in higher education • Evaluating institutions with these standards using a three-part process that entails • Institutional Self Study • Peer Review • Commission Review

15. The ACCJC does the following: • The Commission determines the accredited status of a member institution. • The Commission communicates the accreditation decision to the institution. • The Commission communicates the accreditation decision to the public.

16. ? • What accreditation report will the college submit in 2010?

17. Self Study • Takes place after every six years • The reports contains: • Certification of the Self Study Report • Eligibility Requirements • Responses to prior team recommendations • Descriptive Summary • Self Evaluation (citing the standards in the text) and resulting in… • Planning Agenda (for institutional improvement with references to institutional plans)

18. Self Study • The Recommendations • Recommendation 1: Improve Communication • The college must develop and implement a collaborative process that: • (I) Includes faculty, staff, students, and administrators at the college’s six sites. • (II) Identifies the roles and scope of authority of the faculty, staff, students, and administrators in the decision-making processes. • (III) Identifies the roles and scope of authority of college committees in the decision-making processes. • (IV) Includes dialogue as a means to develop, document, implement, and evaluate assessment plans for student learning outcomes in both instruction and student services. • (V) Includes formal pathways for effective communication and recommendations are distributed across the college’s six sites

19. Self Study • The Recommendations • Recommendation 2: Improve Communication • The college must develop, document, and implement an organization of administrative responsibilities across the six sites that ensures continuity in student support and instruction and gives a clear, consistent line of administrative authority such as, • For all instructional programs cross all sites to the Vice President for Instructional Affairs • For all student service programs across the sites to the Vice President for Support and Student Affairs • For all learning resources programs across the sites to the Director of Learning Resources Center.

20. Self Study • The Recommendations • Recommendation 3: Improve Communication • Once the collaborative processes (Recommendation 1) and the organization of administrative responsibilities (Recommendation 2) are developed, documented, and implemented, they must be periodically and systematically evaluated to facilitate a cycle of continued improvement.

21. Self Study • The Recommendations • Recommendation 4: Integrate Planning • The college must develop and implement college-wide planning that • (I) Includes all sites • (II) Integrates all aspects of planning, evaluation, and resource allocation • (III) Includes a technology plan and evaluates, supports, and plans for the future of instructional student services and administrative functions across the college’s six sites. • (IV) Is driven by the college mission and goals • (V) Relies on involvement of faculty and staff across the college’s sites • (VI) Incorporates research and data in a strategic plan that contains measurable outcomes • (VII) Guides decision-making for both short-term and long-term planning • (VIII) Is well-documented and widely disseminated • (IX) Is periodically reviewed to assess the validity of the process.

22. Self Study • The Recommendations • Recommendation 5: Identify and Assess Student Learning Outcomes • The college must develop and implement student learning outcomes across the six sites in order to determine the effectiveness of college programs and services on student learning including: • (I) Instructional programs at course, program, degree and certificate levels • (II) Student services throughout the students’ matriculation at the College of Micronesia-FSM Links between student learning outcomes and the planning process • (III) Mechanisms for measuring student learning outcomes • (IV) Mechanisms for using those measurements to improve courses, programs, and services

23. Self Study • The Recommendations • Recommendation 6: Create Continuity • The college needs to standardize instruction, student services, learning environment, and quality instruction across the college’s six sites. Specifically areas that require greater continuity at this time are: • (I) A written policy manual for the Board of Regents • (II) Full-time and part-time faculty and staff hiring procedures, assignments appropriate to qualifications, and performance evaluation • (III) The delivery of comprehensive and consistent student services at each of the college’s sites • (IV) The provision of adequate facilities for instruction at all sites; at this time, the college must immediately provide an adequate facility for student learning at the Chuuk site

24. Self Study • The Recommendations • Recommendation 7: Diversity Board Membership • Membership of the college’s Board of Regents must have the diversity of viewpoint that is required by its own policy, national law and accrediting standards (Standard IV 1.a, IV 1.e).

25. Self Study • The Recommendations • Recommendation 8: Securing Permanent Campus for Chuuk • The college must make significant progress in securing the Chuuk High School campus as the site for COM-FSM’s permanent Chuuk state campus or, if it unable to within its deadline of 2008, find another acceptable site.

26. Self Study • The Recommendations • Recommendation 9: Develop Physical Master Plans • The college must develop physical master plans, with the appropriate financial plans for each state campus to ensure facilities equity with the national campus, and allow the state campuses to provide instructional and student services that are consistent [with] the strategic and educational master plans of the college.

27. Self Study • Planning Agendas • College to rate itself against the details of the four standards and sets plans for improvements: • Standard I: Institutional Mission and Effectiveness • Standard II: Student Learning Programs and Services • Standard III: Resources • Standard IV: Leadership and Governance

28. ?

29. ACCJC “accreditation” • The ACCJC has its “accreditation” renewed by the US Department of Education for the maximum term of five years • The ACCJC was found to be not fully meeting the so called two-year rule • Rule requires accreditors to terminate accreditation if two-year time limit is not met • Rule requires member institutions

30. Two-Year Rule • Requires member institutions found to be not complying with ACCJC standards and eligibility requirements to “comply” within two • Most citations issued by the commission to member institutions fall in the areas of program review and evaluation • Out goes the days of “significant improvement” and in comes the days of “compliance” • Progress Report is now changed to Follow-up Report

31. 2010 Expectations • Program Review: • Program review processes are ongoing, systematic and used to assess and improve student learning and achievement • The institution reviews and refines its program review processes to improve institutional effectiveness • The results of program review are used to continually refine and improve program practices resulting in appropriate improvements in student achievement and learning.

32. 2010 Expectations • Planning: • The institution uses ongoing and systematic evaluation and planning to refine its key processes and improve student learning • There is dialogue about institutional effectiveness that is ongoing, robust and pervasive; data and analyses are widely distributed and used throughout the institution • There is ongoing review and adaptation of evaluation and planning processes • There is consistent and continuous commitment to improving student learning; and educational effectiveness is a demonstrable priority in all planning structures and   processes.