The University of Arkansas at Monticello Self Study Fall 2014

1. The University of Arkansas at MonticelloSelf StudyFall 2014 Submitted to the Higher Learning Commission A Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

2. Criteria for Accreditation • Designed to seek evidence of continual improvement and aspiration rather than to define minimum expectations • Criterion Statements –broad statement of Commission expectations related to the Criterion • Core Components—identify areas of particular focus within the Criteria

3. Core Components and Sub-Components • Elaborate certain aspects of the Core Components • Do not fully constitute the Core component • Provide evidence with regard to those sub-components of the Core Components that apply to the institution • Institution may identify topics or issues related to a Core Component other than those specified in the sub-components

4. HLC Evaluation of Core Components • The institution meets the Core Component if the Core Component • Is met without concerns: it meets or exceeds the expectations embodied in the Component • Is met with concerns: it demonstrates the characteristics expected by the Component, but performance in relation to some aspect of the Component must be improved

5. HLC Evaluation of Core Components • The institution does not meet the Core Component if the institution • Fails to meet the Component in its entirety or • is so deficient in one or more aspects that the Component is judged not to be met

6. HLC Evaluation of Criteria • The institution meets the Criterion if the Criterion • Is met without concerns: the institution meets or exceeds the expectations embedded in the Criterion • Is met with concerns: the institution demonstrates the characteristics expected by the Criterion, but performance in relation to some Core Components of the Criterion must be improved

7. HLC Evaluation of Criteria • The institution does not meet the Criterion if the institution • Fails to meet the Criterion in its entirety or is so deficient in one or more Core Components of the Criterion is judged not to be met

8. HLC Action • The institution meets the Criterion only if all Core Components are met. • The institution must be judged to meet all five Criteria for Accreditation to merit reaccreditation • The Commission will grant or continue accreditation (with or without conditions or sanctions) or withdraw accreditation based on the outcome of its review

9. Ten Guiding Values • The Commission articulates ten guiding values so as to offer a better understanding of the Criteria and the intentions that underlie them • Focus on Student Learning • Education as a public purpose • Education for a diverse, technological, globally connected world • A culture of continuous improvement • Evidence-based institutional and self-presentation

10. Ten Guiding Values • The Commission articulates ten guiding values so as to offer a better understanding of the Criteria and the intentions that underlie them • Integrity, transparency, and ethical behavior and practices • Governance for the well-being of the institution • Planning and management of resources to ensure institutional sustainability • Mission-centered evaluation • Accreditation through peer review

11. Focus on Student Learning • For the purpose of accreditation, the HLC regards the teaching mission of any institution as primary. • Other missions, such as research, public service, etc., may have a shaping and highly valuable effect on the education the institution provides • These missions should be recognized and considered in relation to the teaching mission

12. Education as a Public Purpose “What the students buy, with money, time, and effort, is not merely a good, like a credential, but experiences that have the potential to transform lives, or to harm them. What institutions do constitutes a solemn responsibility for which they should hold themselves accountable..”

13. Education for a Diverse, Technological, Globally Connected World “Even for the most technical qualification, students need the civic learning and broader intellectual capabilities that underlie success in the workforce. The Commission distinguishes higher education in part on the basis of its reach beyond narrow vocational training to a broader intellectual and social context.”

14. The Five Criteria • Criterion One. Mission • Criterion Two. Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct • Criterion Three. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support • Criterion Four: Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement • Criterion Five: Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness

15. Criterion One: Mission The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.

16. Mission: Core Component One • The Institution’s mission is broadly understood within the institution and guides its operations. • Mission statement is developed through a suitable process and adopted by the governing board • Academic programs, student support services, and enrollment profile are consistent with mission • Planning and budgeting priorities align with and support mission

17. Mission: Core Component Two • The mission is articulated publicly • Articulates its mission through one or more public documents, such as statements of purpose, vision, values, goals, plans, or institutional priorities • Mission document(s) are current and explain emphasis on various aspects of its mission, such as instruction, research, public service • Mission document(s) identify the nature, scope, and intended constituents of programs and services offered

18. Mission: Core Component Three • The institution understands the relationship between its mission and the diversity of society • Addresses its role in a multicultural society • Processes and activities reflect attention to diversity as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves

19. Mission: Core Component Four • The institution’s mission demonstrates commitment to the public good. • Actions reflect understanding that it serves the public, not solely the institution • Educational responsibilities take primacy over other purposes, such as generating revenue • Institution engages with its identified external constituencies and communities of interest

20. Criterion Two: Integrity The institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.

21. Integrity: Core Component One • The institution operates with integrity in its financial, academic, personnel, and auxiliary functions; it established and follows fair and ethical policies and processes for its governing board, administration, faculty, and staff.

22. Integrity: Core Component Two • The institution presents itself clearly and completely to its students and to the public with regard to its programs, requirements, faculty and staff, costs to students, control, and accreditation relationships.

23. Integrity: Core Component Three • The governing board of the institution is sufficiently autonomous to make decisions in the best interest of the institution and to assure its integrity • Deliberations reflect priorities to preserve and enhance the institution • Reviews and considers the interests of internal and external constituencies during its decision-making deliberations

24. Integrity-Component Three, cont’d • Preserves its independence from undue influence on the part of donors…external parties, when such would not be in best interests of institution • Delegates day to day management of institution to the administration and expects faculty to oversee academic matters

25. Integrity: Core Component Four • The institution is committed to freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning

26. Integrity: Core Component Five • The institution ensures that faculty, students, and staff acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly. • Effective oversight & support services to ensure integrity of research and scholarly practice • Student offered guidance in ethical use of information resources • Has and enforces policies on academic honesty and integrity

27. Criterion Three: Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support The institution provides high quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.

28. Criterion 3: Core Component One • The institution’s degree programs are appropriate to higher education. • Courses and programs current and require student performance appropriate to degree/certificate • Articulates and differentiates learning goals for undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs • Program quality and learning goals consistent across all modes of delivery and all locations

29. Criterion 3: Core Component Two • The institution demonstrates that the exercise of intellectual inquiry and the acquisition, application, and integration of broad learning and skills are integral to its educational programs • general education program appropriate to mission, educational offerings, and degree levels • Articulates purposes, content, and learning outcomes of general education program.

30. Criterion 3: Core Component Two, cont’d • Every degree program engages students in collecting, analyzing, and communicating information; in mastering modes of inquiry or create work - Recognizes human and cultural diversity of world in which students live and work - Faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work, and discovery of knowledge to extent appropriate to programs and institutional mission

31. Criterion 3: Core Component Three • The institution has the faculty and staff needed for effective, high-quality programs and student services. • Sufficient numbers and continuity of faculty to carry out classroom and non-classroom roles • All instructors are appropriately credentialed • Instructors are evaluated regularly • Institution has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are current in disciplines; it supports their professional development

32. Criterion 3: Core Component 3, cont’d • Instructors are accessible for student inquiry • Staff members providing student support services are appropriately qualified, trained, and supported in their professional development

33. Criterion 3: Core Component Four • The institution provides support for student learning and effective teaching. • Provides student support services suited to needs of student population • Provides for learning support and preparatory instruction to address academic needs of students. Has process for directing entering students to courses and programs for which they are adequately prepared • Provides academic advising suited to its programs and needs of its students

34. Criterion 3: Core Component Four, cont’d -provides students and instructors the infrastructure and resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (libraries, labs) - Provides guidance to students in effective use of research and information resources

35. Criterion 3: Core Component Five • The institution fulfills the claims it makes for an enriched educational environment • Co-curricular programs are suited to the institution’s mission, contribute to the educational experience of students • Institution demonstrates any claims it makes about contribution to students’ educational experience by virtue of aspects of its mission, such as research, community, engagement, service learning

36. Criterion Four: Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.

37. Criterion 4: Core Component One • The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs. • A practice of regular program review • Evaluates all the credit that it transcripts, including what is awarded for prior learning • Has policies that assure the quality of credit it accepts in transfer • Maintains and exercises authority over prerequisites for courses, rigor of courses, expectations for student learning, access to learning resources, and faculty qualifications for all its programs, including dual credit programs

38. Criterion 4: Core Component One, cont’d • Maintains specialized accreditation for its programs as appropriate to its educational purposes • Evaluates the success of its graduates. Assures that degree/certificate programs that it represents as preparation for advanced study or employment accomplish these purposes. For all programs, it looks to indicators it views as appropriate to its mission, such as employment rates & admission to advanced degree programs

39. Criterion 4: Core Component Two • The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational achievement and improvement through ongoing assessment of student learning. • Has clearly stated goals for student learning & effective processes for assessment of student learning and achievement of learning goals • Assesses achievement of the learning outcomes for curricular and co-curricular programs

40. Criterion 4: Core Component Two cont’d • Uses the information gained from assessment to improve student learning • Processes and methodologies used to assess student learning reflect good practice, including the substantial participation of faculty

41. Criterion 4: Core Component Three • The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational improvement through ongoing attention to retention, persistence, and completion rates in its degree and certificate programs. • Has defined goals for student retention, persistence, and completion that are ambitious but attainable and appropriate to mission, student population, and educational offerings

42. Criterion 4: Core Component 3, cont’d • Collects and analyzes information on retention, persistence, and program completion • Uses the information to make improvements as warranted by the data • Processes and methodologies for collection and analyzing these data reflect good practice

43. Criterion Five: Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness The institution’s resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities. The institution plans for the future.

44. Criterion 5: Core Component One • The institution’s resource base supports its current educational programs and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future. • has the fiscal & human resources, physical & technological infrastructure sufficient to support its operations wherever and however programs are delivered

45. Criterion 5: Core Component One, cont’d • Resource allocation process ensures that educational purposes are not adversely affected by elective allocation to other areas • Goals incorporated into mission statement are realistic in light of institution’s organization, resources, and opportunities • Staff in all areas are appropriately qualified & trained • Has a well-developed process in place for budgeting and monitoring expense

46. Criterion 5: Core Component Two • The institution’s governance and administrative structures promote effective behavior and support collaborative processes that enable the institution to fulfill its mission. • Has and employs policies & procedures to engage internal constituencies –governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students-in the institution’s governance

47. Criterion 5: Core Component Two, cont’d • Governing board is knowledgeable about the institution; provides oversight for its financial & academic policies and practices and meets its legal & fiduciary responsibilities • Enables the involvement of its administration, faculty, staff, & students in setting academic regulations, policy, and processes through effective structures for contribution and collaborative effort

48. Criterion 5: Core Component Three • The institution engages in systematic and integrated planning. • Allocates its resources in alignment with mission & priorities • Links its processes for assessment of student learning, evaluation of operations, planning, & budgeting • Planning process encompasses the institution as a whole & considers perspectives of internal and external constituencies

49. Criterion 5: Core Component Three, cont’d • Plans on the basis of a sound understanding of its current capacity. Plans anticipate possible fluctuations in sources of revenue, such as enrollment, the economy, and state support • Institutional planning anticipates emerging factors, such as technology, demographic shifts, and globalization

50. Criterion 5: Core Component Four • The institution works systematically to improve its performance. • Develops and documents evidence of performance in its operations • Learns from its operational experience and applies that learning to improve its institutional effectiveness, capabilities, and sustainability and in its component parts