Transcend Compliance

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Transcend Compliance Best Practices in
Accreditation
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Webinar Objectives

• This webinar is designed to challenge the way an
  institution thinks about, prepares for, and
  engages in accreditation
• This webinar is essentially a brainstorming
  session that puts for new ideas and concepts as a
  method to transcend basic compliance and focus on
  institutional effectiveness of high performing
  institutions
• This is a rapid fire session
• There will be an opportunity to answer questions
  at the end of the webinar
• The webinar will more than likely generate a lot
  of questions, and may not provide a lot of
  specific answers.
• The goal is to get you to start thinking
  differently about compliance.
• As a companion piece, ACCSC staff is available to
  answer any questions and to talk about any
  specific institutional initiatives.

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Webinar Overview

• There will be a slight pause between slide
  transitions to ensure that all participants are
  at pace with the webinar.
• The slides will be made available at
  www.accsc.org under the Events, Webinar Section
  shortly after the webinar.
• A recording of the webinar will also be made
  available at www.accsc.org under the Events,
  Webinar Section shortly after the webinar.
• There will be a brief Q and A after the webinar.
  
• Participants are encouraged to ask questions by
  typing them into the webinar system.
• Given the timing constrictions, if your question
  is not answered during todays session, staff
  will follow up via email.
• You can always contact me with any specific
  questions you have at clambert_at_accsc.org

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Compliance vs. Effectiveness
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Compliance v. Effectiveness

• What is the difference between compliance and
  effectiveness?
• If an institution can demonstrate a 70 graduate
  employment rate for a particular program, they
  are in compliance with the established employment
  benchmark for ACCSC accredited institutions.
• 70 is, based on ACCSC data, and the requirement
  is a standard deviation that is 12 below the
  average graduate employment rate (82)
  demonstrated by ACCSC accredited institutions.
• Is your goal to be below average, but in
  compliance?
• Is your goal to demonstrate minimal compliance
  with established standards for the sake of
  satisfying the questions of an external onsite
  evaluation team?
• Compliance, purely for the sake of compliance, is
  ripe with challenge
• How can you transcend compliance and focus on
  institutional effectiveness?
• How can you ensure that you are serving your
  students in the best possible fashion?
• How can you ensure that you are maximizing every
  opportunity you have to show institutional
  success?

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Transcend Compliance Institutional Assessment
and Improvement Planning
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Best Practices Establish and Maintain a
Realistic Strategic Plan

• Basic Compliance
• Ensure that all required accreditation areas are
  incorporated into the strategic plan. Benchmarks,
  Timelines, Goals.
• You have a plan. You can document that the plan
  is being implemented in a systematic fashion
  throughout the term of accreditation.
• Institutional Effectiveness
• Ask the following questions
• Are you a different school than you were 10 years
  ago? 5 years ago?
• Do you offer different programs?
• Do you now offer degree programs?
• Did you branch or add location?
• Did you launch a distance education initiative?
• The question becomes, fundamentally, how did you
  plan for all of the successes that you have
  experienced as an institution?

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Best Practices Establish and Maintain a
Realistic Strategic Plan

• Best Practices of High Performing Institutions
• Greater Involvement of All School Departments in
  Creating the Strategic Vision for the
  Institution.
• Not just a plan handed down from the corporate
  office/corner office, but one that involved the
  leadership team of the school.
• Establish buy in and participation from your
  leadership team
• Establish of a Realistic Budget to Ensure that
  Goals Identified Have the Necessary Fiscal
  Support
• This Strategic Plan is a Living Document and
  should be Updated/Revised/Adapted as needed
• Not simply for accreditation purposes.
• Significant and OnGoing Not Just Once Every
  Five Years
• Fundamentally, how are you going to measure and
  demonstrate your success if you dont have a
  plan?

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Transcend Compliance Curriculum
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Accreditation Requirement Curriculum

• Compliance
• Does the school have an established, written,
  comprehensive curriculum for all program
  offerings?
• Institutional Effectiveness
• Is the program sufficient in length?
• What is the graduation rate for the program?
• How is that data trending?
• What does the retention data show?
• Are students dropping out at a particular point
  in the program?
• What is the pass rate on any certification/licensu
  re exam?

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Accreditation Requirement Curriculum

• Institutional Effectiveness
• What are members of the Program Advisory
  Committee saying?
• Do you implement new initiatives based on these
  suggestions, or rather, simply go through the
  motions of having a PAC meeting to satisfy an
  accreditation requirement?
• Is there an opportunity for faculty to provide
  feedback on the delivery of the curriculum in the
  classroom?
• Do you survey current students?
• Particularly those student on externship.
• Do they feel prepared to enter the workforce
  based on practical experience during externship?
• Do they need more time on externship?
• Do you survey graduates?
• Is there any area of focus they wish they had
  more time studying/training/practicing?
• Did they feel prepared to enter the workforce?

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Accreditation Requirement Curriculum

• Institutional Effectiveness
• Does the curriculum reflect current occupational
  practices and trends?
• Do employers have an opportunity to review and
  comment on the schools curriculum?
• How often?
• Have employers identified any skill-gaps that can
  be remedied through a change in the curriculum?
• Have employers identified any new occupational
  trends that should be considered as part of a
  revised curriculum?
• How often is the curriculum updated?
• ACCSC schools consistently state that one of
  their significant strengths is their ability to
  adapt, and to adapt quickly to the marketplace.
• Those schools that dont adapt, fall behind.

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Transcend Compliance Admissions
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Accreditation Requirement Admissions

• Compliance
• Ensure that all students enrolled in the school
  met the schools published admissions criteria.
• Have documentation available to demonstrate that
  students enrolled met the published admissions
  criteria.
• Institutional Effectiveness
• Do you examine the reported rates of student
  graduation/retention in relation to your
  admission standards?
• Who is dropping out?
• Is it a particular type (e.g., ATB, GED, HS,
  low admission score)of student?
• Do you enroll ATB Students?
• Do the ATB Students graduate at a rate comparable
  to those students that earned a HS Diploma/GED?

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Best Practices Admissions

• If you have an admissions test, did those
  students who just achieved the minimum passing
  score graduate?
• At what rate did they graduate?
• Is it comparable to the rest of students?
• Are you using the right admissions test?
• When was the last time you reviewed this test?
• Do you survey students and inquire as to their
  thoughts on the admissions process?
• Is there something they wish they would have
  known earlier in the admission process?
• What type of feedback are you getting from your
  customers?
• Do you get feedback from instructors about any
  perceived skills gaps?
• When is the last time you examined your admission
  requirements?
• Are you being selective?

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Best Practices Admissions

• Do you talk about motivation?
• Why did they pick a career college?
• More specifically, what was it about YOUR
  institution, YOUR program offerings that
  attracted them?
• Do you talk about any barriers to their success?
• Transportation, Child Care, Job Responsibilities
• Are these areas you can address through the
  delivery of your student services?
• Admissions should, and must, be about enrolling
  those students who are capable of successfully
  completing the training offered.
• Enrollment growth, purely for the sake of
  enrollment growth, can be incredibly challenging
  if an institution does not examine its existing
  infrastructure (e.g. facility space, equipment,
  externship opportunities, clinical sites, and
  most critically, job opportunities) to support
  that growth.

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Transcend Compliance Equipment / Facilities
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Accreditation Requirement Equipment / Facilities

• Compliance
• Does the schools facility provide an environment
  conducive to learning?
• Is the facility up to code with adequate
  lighting, heating, ventilation?
• Is there sufficient equipment?
• Institutional Effectiveness
• How is growth going to impact classroom / lab
  space and the availability of equipment for
  student practice?
• Am I going to outgrow my facility, if not now, in
  1 year? 2 years? 3 years?
• What is my strategic plan for facility expansion?
• Do I have the right equipment that reflects
  current occupational practice?
• Do I have opportunities to engage with employers
  about the validity of my equipment?
• Are there any new trends on the horizon?
• Do I have a realistic budget to support the
  procurement of new equipment as needed?

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Transcend Compliance Learning Resource System
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Accreditation Requirement Learning Resource
System (Library)

• Compliance
• Do you have a library?
• Is it used by students?
• Can you document that it is integrated into the
  curriculum?
• Institutional Effectiveness
• Do you have a strategic plan for library
  improvements?
• Do you have a realistic budget to support the
  identified areas of improvement in your library?
• Are you examining how technology is impacting how
  you deliver learning resources?
• Are you examining how technology is impacting
  they way your students learn?

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Accreditation Requirement Learning Resource
System (Library)

• Institutional Effectiveness
• Do you survey students about how they use the
  library?
• Do you survey faculty inquiring as to what
  library resources they would like to use in the
  classroom?
• Do you encourage students to use the library for
  study groups, as a place to do homework, or is it
  kept under lock and key?
• What about evening students?
• Do you conduct a usage study to determine what
  references are being utilized by students, and
  what references are not?

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Transcend Compliance Faculty Development Planning
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Accreditation Requirement Faculty Professional
Development

• Compliance
• Do you have a faculty development plan?
• Can you document that faculty engaged in
  professional development activities in a
  systematic fashion?
• Institutional Effectiveness
• Have you established a realistic budget to
  support the implementation of the faculty
  development plan?
• Do you customize the plan to meet the individual
  needs of faculty?
• A tenured faculty member will have different
  professional development needs than a brand new
  instructor.
• Do you tie performance evaluations to
  professional development?
• What did the faculty member do to learn more
  about the profession of teaching or to increase
  their area of expertise?

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Institutional Effectiveness Faculty Development

• Are you building your bench?
• How are you identifying/recruiting future
  instructors?
• Are you reactive?
• Do you find yourself making a bad hiring
  decision out of necessity?
• Do you have a pool of qualified substitute
  teachers?
• Do you provide leadership opportunities for high
  performing instructors?
• How do you monitor/evaluate the effectiveness of
  teachers in the classroom?
• Do you have a mentoring/shadowing program?
• Are you a learning organization where your
  faculty and staff are provided with the
  opportunities and support to grow and develop in
  their positions?

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Transcend Compliance Externships
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Accreditation Requirement Externships

• Compliance
• Does the school have a written externship plan?
• Does the school have a designated, qualified
  staff person to supervise and manage the
  externship plan?
• Institutional Effectiveness
• How is growth going to impact the availability of
  externships?
• How is the school going to avoid a lag-time in
  externship assignments to students?
• Does the school formally seek out new externship
  sites on a proactive basis?
• Do you survey students about the effectiveness
  and appropriateness of the externship experience?
• Do you survey recent graduates employed in the
  field about any skills gap that needs to be
  addressed via the externship?

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Transcend Compliance Student Services
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Accreditation Requirement Student Services

• Compliance
• Ensure that all students have access to the
  schools student services.
• Document advising/tutoring sessions.
• Institutional Effectiveness
• What type of student services do you offer?
• Do you survey students to gain a better
  understanding of how they use , or if they use
  these services?
• Do you survey employers to gain a better
  understanding of the skill gaps that might exist?
• Do you survey graduates to gain a better
  understanding of any areas of weakness they had
  coming out of the school?

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Best Practices Student Services

• How are you delivering your services?
• Have you examined how technology has changed the
  way student services are delivered?
• Have you examined how changes among a new
  generation of learners has impacted how student
  services are delivered (technology)?
• Have you examined how you communicate with your
  students?
• Are you experiencing enrollment growth or do you
  anticipate enrollment growth?
• Have you made an investment into your student
  services to meet the growing demand as the
  student population increases?
• Do you have a realistic budget in place to
  support student service initiatives?

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Transcend Compliance Career Services
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Accreditation Requirement Career Services

• Compliance
• The school has a career services department (part
  of student services)
• The school can demonstrate successful student
  achievement through the reported rates of
  graduate employment.
• Institutional Effectiveness
• How has this economy impacted your graduates
  ability to get a job?
• How has enrollment growth impacted your students
  ability to get a job?
• Is there potential for an over-saturation of the
  local job market due to enrollment growth or
  increased competition (community colleges)?
• More Students Greater Competition Less Jobs
  
• Challenge for Career Services

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Best Practices Career Services

• Institutional Effectiveness
• What are you employers saying?
• Do you regularly meet with employers to get a
  better understanding of job market trends?
• What can they tell you about the graduates they
  hire?
• How is career services wielding technology to
  meet the changing needs of students?
• How are you communicating with students,
  graduates, employers?
• How often are you communicating with students,
  graduates, employers?
• When are you talking with your students about
  career services?
• Conversations with students on the availability
  of career services should start on day 1 of
  orientation.

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Accreditation Requirement Career Services

• Institutional Effectiveness
• What does the data say?
• Retention Data
• Student Satisfaction Data
• Graduate Employment Data
• Employer Satisfaction Data
• Use the data to gain a better understanding of
  student/graduate performance.

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Transcend Compliance Community Involvement
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Accreditation Requirement Community Involvement

• Compliance
• There is no standard that requires an institution
  to be active in their local community.
• Institutional Effectiveness
• Do you have a presence in your community?
• Do you participate in community improvement
  activities like blood drives, clothing drives,
  food drives, and other charitable activities?
• Are you a leader in your community?
• All of these activities will increase the
  visibility of the school within your local
  community.
• Most career college students are local and stay
  local after graduation.
• Doesnt it make sense to put forth the effort to
  contribute to the betterment of your local
  community while at the same time boosting your
  presence?

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A Holistic Approach to Quality Assessment
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Transcend Compliance Questions and Answers
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Transcend Compliance Best Practices in
Accreditation