WASC ACCREDITATION

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WASC ACCREDITATION

• Process, Timelines, and Next Steps

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Background

• A New Process

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New WASC Process

• From
• Reactive
• Regulatory Policeman
• Standards
• Compliance
• Evaluate everything
• Knowing how to do
• Silos

• To
• Proactive
• Capacity building
• Context based
• Inquiry engagement
• Develop core competencies
• Learning community
• Systems

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A New Framework of Accreditation

• Core commitments of institutions to
• Institutional Capacity
• Educational Effectiveness
• Revised Accreditation Standards
• Three-stage, sequential institutional process

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The Core Commitments

• Institutional Capacity
• Educational Effectiveness

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Institutional Capacity

• The institution functions with clear purposes,
  high levels of institutional integrity, fiscal
  stability, and organizational structures to
  fulfill it purposes. (2001 handbook, page 5)
• Do resources, structures and processes align with
  HSUs mission and priorities?
• Is there good evidence of effectiveness of actual
  deployment?

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Core commitment Educational Effectiveness

• The institution evidences clear and appropriate
  educational objectives and design at the
  institutional and program level.
• The institution employs processes of review,
  including the collection and use of data that
  assure delivery of programs and learner
  accomplishments at a level of performance
  appropriate for the degree or certificate.
• (2001 Handbook, page 5)

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Educational Effectiveness

• Articulate a collective vision of educational
  achievement
• Organize for learning
• Become a learning organization

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Four Primary Standards

• Standard 1 Defining institutional purposes and
  ensuring educational objectives
• Standard 2 Achieving educational objective
  though core functions
• Standard 3 Developing and applying resources
  and organizational structures to ensure
  sustainability
• Standard 4 Creating an organization committed
  to learning and improvement

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The Big Picture
CORE COMMITMENTS
Institutional Capacity
Educational Effectiveness
THE STANDARDS
CFR
Guidelines
Questions
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Components of Review

• The Proposal
• This is who we are, and how we want to understand
  ourselves.
• Workplan and timelines
• Capacity Preparatory Review
• Can we do what we say we want to do?
• Demonstrate capacity to define and sustain
  educational effectiveness
• Educational Effectiveness
• Are we doing it, and how do we know?
• Demonstrate a system of quality assurance
  organizational learning

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New WASC Institutional Review Process
Learning-centered Review Model using Feedback

• Feedback from
• Proposal Review
• Committee
• WASC staff

• Feedback from
• Team visit
• Commission Action
• Follow up

• Feedback from
• Team report
• Commission action
• Follow up

Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
2.5 years
1 year
Capacity Preparatory Review
Proposal
Educational Effectiveness
Spring 2009
October 15, 2005
Spring 2008
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Expanded Definition of Quality
Capacity Preparatory Review Institutions
capacity

• Processes
• Course approval
• Program review
• Faculty development
• Assessment

• Inputs
• Resources
• Structures
• Policies

• Results/outcomes
• Learning results
• Licensing results
• Test results
• Portfolio results

E.E. Review Quality assurance systems
student learning results
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Where are we now?

• Proposal development process
• Form the proposal planning group
• Institutional self-review
• Determine campus issues to investigate during
  process
• Select an approach
• Write the proposal

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Step One The Proposal

• This is who we are, and how we want to understand
  ourselves

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The Proposal workplan for process

• This is who we are, and this is how we want to
  understand ourselves.
• Dual perspective
• standards-based review ?? engagement with
  institutional issues
• Establish agreement on the boundaries of the
  review
• Create work plan and timeline for both phases of
  review

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Proposal Elements

• Institutional context statement
• Description of outcomes
• Description of constituency involvement
• Approach for preparatory review

• Approach for educational effectiveness
• Workplan and milestones
• Effectiveness of data gathering and analysis
  systems

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Four Approaches

• Special Themes
• Identify 3-4 topics to study in depth
• Strategic Planning
• Identify a few areas of emphasis in current SP
  for in-depth review
• Comprehensive
• Description of how institution investigates and
  assure educational quality
• Audit

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Overall goal of process

• With themed or strategic planning approaches,
  three or four areas of inquiry are identified.
• To engage in a process of inquiry concerning
  issues that campus constituents have identified
  as important to the campus.

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The Steering Committee

• Co-chairs Rick Vrem and Sue MacConnie

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Step Two Capacity and Performance Review

• Can we do what we say we want to do?

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Capacity and Preparatory Review

• Can we do what we say we want to do?
• Demonstrate institutions capacity to define and
  sustain educational effectiveness and
  institutional learning

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Step Three Educational Effective (EE) Review

• Are we doing what we say we want to do? How do
  we know weve done it?

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Educational Effectiveness Review

• Are we doing what we say we want to do? How do
  we know weve done it?
• A system of quality assurance for student and
  organizational learning and demonstrates
• Leadership focus
• Educational objectives and outcomes at all levels
• Educational infrastructure
• Faculty responsibility
• Culture of inquiry and evidence
• Assessment of student learning
• Reflection and action plans on results of
  assessment
• Program review
• Consistent attainment of learning results

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Key Elements to New Process

• Increased emphasis on evidence
• Shifts thinking from inputs to effectiveness
• Focus on learning results
• Focus on organizational learning embedding change
  and improvement

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Components of Review

• Core commitments
• To institutional capacity
• To educational effectiveness
• The Standards
• Criteria for review
• Guidelines
• Questions for institutional engagement