PAINLESS PERIODIC REVIEW

1. PAINLESS PERIODIC REVIEW Cynthia Steinhoff Anne Arundel Community College Arnold, Maryland

2. Agenda • Cindy’s Top 5 Periodic Review Tips • The painless way to a successful periodic review report. • Cindy’s Top 5 Periodic Review Tips • Questions

3. Top 5 Periodic Review Tops • Select the right chair and steering committee members early in the process. • Select the writer and editor for your report and involve them from the beginning. • Make the Handbook for Periodic Review Reports your new best friend.

4. Top 5 Periodic Review Tops • Develop a detailed outline for each section of the report, based on information presented in the Handbook. • Mind the timeline, deadlines, and report length.

5. Periodic Review - General Considerations • Not a mini self-study, yet is a significant component of the accreditation cycle. • Middle States definition of a PRR - a “retrospective, current, and prospective analysis of an institution.” • Emphasis on brevity, yet completeness, in a 50-page report. • Report should be useful to the institution, not just a response to Middle States.

6. Leading the Periodic Review Process • PRR Chair – Chair of the self-study steering committee? Someone else? • AACC chose the self-study chair • Steering Committee – New group? Team that led the self-study? Existing institutional team? • AACC chose a new group, with representation from all segments of the institution’s community, and included the needed expertise.

7. Preparing for Periodic Review • Handbook for Periodic Review Reports will become your best friend. • Attend PRR training session sponsored by Middle States. • Attend sessions such as this one at Middle States conferences. • Start 18-24 months prior to the due date • AACC’s steering committee began meeting in October 2007 for a PRR due in June 2009.

8. Organize • Who will collect information needed for the report? • AACC - Steering Committee divided into teams. • Chair wrote charge for each group, based on the outline in the PRR Handbook. • Who will write and edit the report? • AACC Steering Committee Chair wrote report and did some editing. • Editing done by at least one other steering committee member and an administrator in the area covered by the section.

9. Organize • What materials will be collected to support the content of the report? • Some items listed in the Handbook must be included. • At AACC, those collecting information for the PRR and the Chair identified other items. • Chair prepared a timeline • Stick to it!

10. Publicize the PRR Process • AACC did this in several ways: • Presentations at College Orientation and constituency group meetings. • Regular updates at college leadership team meetings. • Regular reports to executive leadership at meetings and by e-mail. • Intranet site for PRR materials. • College wide announcements at key points.

11. Report Contents • Outline of content provided by Middle States in the Handbook. • Content of the PRR is much more prescribed than a self-study. • 50 pages, not including appendices, exhibits, and other supporting materials. • Be sure to include items specifically mentioned in the Handbook.

12. Six Sections of the PRR • Executive Summary • Write it last • Response to recommendations in the self-study and the visiting team reports. • Good starting point - most recommendations should have been addressed by this time. • AACC created a grid, listing person responsible for and status of each, updating when necessary.

13. Six Sections of the PRR • Major challenges and opportunities facing the institution. • Enlisted assistance of AACC’s Institute for the Future and sought input from entire college community. • Enrollment trends and projections / Finance trends and projections. • AACC involved finance and enrollment development staff in developing this section.

14. Six Sections of the PRR • Assessment efforts – institutional and student learning assessment. • AACC faculty compiled student LOA information and collected many examples for the exhibits. • Institutional research staff provided information and data about institutional assessment efforts. • Linked institutional planning and budgeting processes. • AACC finance and planning staff contributed.

15. After Writing the Report • Draft of report posted to intranet for college-wide review and comment. • Open, on-ground sessions. • Comments accepted via web form, e-mail, snail mail. • Set a deadline for making changes to report. • Final updating and editing. • Organizing materials for appendices. • Examples of assessing student learning are important. • Don’t forget the items on the list of specific materials that Middle States wants included!

16. Report Format • All paper, all electronic, or a mix? • Check with your Middle States liaison often, as report formats that are accepted by Middle States may change. • Originally, the AACC report was to be all paper, but ended up as a mix of paper and electronic.

17. Report Format • AACC produced a printed, spiral-bound report, exactly 50 pages in length, with 4 disks: • Disk 1 – the report hyperlinked to appendices. • Disk 2 – learning outcomes assessment exhibits. • Disk 3 – financial and strategic planning resources, as required and detailed in the Handbook. • Disk 4 – DVD of work produced by Communication Arts Technology students.

18. Success! • Periodic Review Report sent to Middle States by June 1, where is it is read by 4 reviewers: • A Middle States staff member • Two external reviewers, a role similar to that of an on-site evaluator during a self-study visit • A finance associate, who examines financial documents submitted with the report.

19. Response – External Reviewers • External reviewers respond by August 1. • Prepare a confidential briefing to the Commission that includes recommendations regarding accreditation action, including any need for follow-up activities. • Prepare a report to the institution that addresses findings.

20. Response – External Reviewers • Report to the institution includes general comments on each section of the PRR and, as appropriate: • Suggestions - “collegial advice.” • Recommendations - address where improvement is needed to continue to meet standards. • Requirements – indicate that an institution does not comply with a standard and what is needed to come into compliance.

21. Response – Finance Associate • Reviews overall financial health of the institution. • Addresses areas where the institutional financial condition improved or worsened. • Discusses any changes in assets and reserves. • Addresses impact of any long-term debt on the institution. • Identifies anything that is cause for concern.

22. The End of the PRR Process • The Committee on Periodic Review, chaired by a Commission member, examines all materials and makes a recommendation to the Commission. • Commission acts at its November meeting. • Middle States staff notifies the institution of the Commission’s action shortly thereafter.

23. Top 5 Periodic Review Tips • Select the right chair and steering committee members early in the process. • Select the writer and editor for your report and involve them from the beginning. • Make the Handbook for Periodic Review Reports your new best friend.

24. Top 5 Periodic Review Tips • Develop a detailed outline for each section of the report, based on information presented in the Handbook. • Mind the timeline, deadlines, and report length.

25. Questions?Questions?Questions?Questions?