How to Make the Accreditation SelfStudy Process Pay Off

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How to Make the Accreditation Self-Study Process
Pay Off

• Presenters
• Beth Nichols, Executive Director of
  Institutional Grants, Research Effectiveness
• Eva Smith, Interim Director of Evaluation
  Assessment
• March 15, 2009

Every Step of the Way
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Overview

• About Edmonds Community College
• Our Self-Study Process
• Evaluator Recommendations and Next Steps
• What is a Title III Grant?
• Components of the Title III Grant Process
• How we used Accreditation findings to develop the
  Title III Proposal, and what we received
• Lessons Learned

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Washington State Community and Technical
Colleges
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Edmonds Community College Stats

• 10,700 Average students per quarter
• 788 Students from 45 Countries
• 27 Receive Pell Grants
• 24 Students of Color
• 30 Yrs Average Student Age
• 42 students enrolled in Transfer Programs 28
  Professional-Technical
• 141 full-time instructors 320 part-time
• 70 Day students
• 80 of Students Live within 8 miles of campus
• 25 Million in Grants Contracts (37 of total
  budget)

Every Step of the Way
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Accreditation

• Edmonds Community College (EdCC) is accredited by
  the Northwest Commission on Colleges and
  Universities (NWCCU)
• Have been on 10 year cycle, most recent review
  was 2008
• New model beginning 2011

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NWCCU Accreditation Standards
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Self-Study Theme Through the Looking Glass

• Transformational Journey
• Core Values
• Transparent
• Inclusive
• Authentic
• Note This was harder than we thought

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Self-Study Project Milestones

• Phase 1 Form Self-Study Groups (Spring/Summer
  2006)
• Phase 2 Understand, Explore and Evaluate Our
  College (Mission) (Fall 2006 - Spring 2007)
• Phase 3 Tell Our Story (Spring 2007 - Summer
  2007)
• Phase 4 Get Community Comments (Fall 2007)
• Phase 5 Send Report to Commission (Winter 2008)
• Phase 7 Host Evaluator Visit (Spring 2008)
• Phase 8 Prepare for 2018

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Project Timeline

• Initial Inventory (now - Oct) - What do we
  know? What do we need to know?
• Action Planning (Oct - Nov) - What do we need to
  do? When do we need to do it?

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Project Structure
Deciders
Status Reports
Guidance, Resources
Standards Committee Members
Project Framework, Overall Status, Issues
Resources, Priorities
Action Items
Planners, Monitors
Status Reports
Support Needs
Hunter-Gatherers (of evidence)
Project Support
Task Support
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Executive Oversight
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Self-Study Plan
Initial Inventory (Standards Indicators Template)
Analysis Synthesis
Action Planning
Facts About Our College Evidence
Self Study Report
Challenges
Goals Action Plans
Strengths
No Evidence
Evidence
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Evidence, Evidence Evidence

• College-wide surveys (employee and student)
• Repository in Microsoft Sharepoint
• Online Collaboration
• Document Management

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Community Comment

• Draft of each standard was published online and
  available in hardcopy
• Weekly Open Forums for each Standard (food
  included!)
• Email address for comments
• Weekly emails
• Presidents Cabinet Review

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The Review Process
Are we talking about the same college??? Everyone
has a different perspective Should we be
brutally honest or sugar coat the results?
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Death by Meeting
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The Report

• 250 pages
• and the Appendices another 200 pages!

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Evaluators Visit

• Putting our best foot forward
• Logistics!
• Getting our Evidence together

Every Step of the Way
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Moment of Reckoning
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Success!

• Accreditation Reaffirmed!
• The Full Report from NWCCU included
• Seven Commendations
• Seven Recommendations
• Follow-up Visit Required in Fall 2009
• The REAL work begins

Every Step of the Way
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Finding Solutions Apply for a Grant!

• The Purpose of a Title III Strengthening
  Institutions Grant
• To help eligible institutions to become self
  sufficient and expand their capacity to serve
  low-income students by providing funds to improve
  and strengthen the academic quality,
  institutional management and fiscal stability of
  eligible institutions. U.S. Dept. Education
  Higher Education Act of 1965

Every Step of the Way
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Preparing for Title III

• Determine Eligibility
• Lead Accreditation Standard Team and Attend
  Meetings
• Identify Your Title III Team
• Meet with President Institutional Commitment
• Meet with Institutional Leaders
• Attend Title III Workshops
• Identify External Reviewer
• Read Funded Title III Grants
• If youre not ready, apply anyway!

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Sample Accreditation Recommendations

• The committee recommends that the college
• strengthen its efforts to identify learning
  outcomes and assessment strategies at the program
  level, and develop methods for using data from
  the assessment to improve teaching and learning.
  
• provide evidence that it regularly and
  systematically evaluates student achievement of
  all program-level learning outcomes and uses
  those results to improve instruction.
• develop a comprehensive strategy for tying data,
  performance indicators, evaluation and analysis
  to resource allocation and other decision making.
• provide adequate resources for Institutional
  Research. The college has limited resources to
  support research that would be valuable to
  faculty and administrators as they plan new
  courses or evaluate continuation of existing
  efforts.
• attention be given to ensure that there are
  sufficient means to respond to the compelling
  campus needs for analysis and evaluation.

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Section A Quality of the Comprehensive
Development Plan (CDP) (25 points)

• 1) Strengths, weaknesses, and significant
  problems are comprehensively analyzed. Findings
  result from a process that includes all of the
  campus community.
• 2) Goals are realistic and based on
  comprehensive analysis.
• 3) Objectives are measurable, related to
  institutional goals
• 4) Identify how you will institutional your
  proposed activities and improvements.

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Evidence, Evidence, Evidence

• Strengths and Weaknesses/Significant Problems in
• academic programs
• institutional management
• fiscal stability

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EdCC Key Overall Goals (A)2

• Goal 1 Improve classroom assessment and
  instructional effectiveness by developing and
  implementing a data-driven comprehensive
  assessment plan that is integrated into
  institutional reporting and strategic planning.
• Goal 2 Improve student tracking, advising and
  assessment methods by providing professional
  development opportunities to full-time and
  part-time faculty.
• Goal 3 Improve institutional effectiveness by
  providing faculty and administrators with the
  quantitative tools needed to determine how
  students are performing and evaluate the impact
  of college activities and programs.

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EdCC Measurable Objectives (A)3

• 100 of academic programs will have identified
  and documented outcomes that are reviewed
  annually
• 80 of programs will have documented evidence of
  the use of assessment strategies and data to
  improve student learning and instructional
  effectiveness
• 80 of faculty will report that college-wide
  abilities are adequately integrated and assessed
  in course curriculum
• 100 of full-time faculty will be able to
  retrieve student records electronically
• 90 of department chairs administrators will
  report improved use of data for decision-making
  and planning
• 100 of Annual Reports submitted by instructional
  divisions to the Board of Trustees will use
  data-driven goals.

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROBLEMS, GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
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Institutionalizing Practices and Improvements (A)4

• Can you demonstrate Board and President
  Commitment?
• What methods will you use to continue new
  processes?
• What resources will be committed to continue new
  positions?

Every Step of the Way
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Section B Quality of Activity Objectives (15
Points)
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Section C Quality of Implementation Strategy
(20 Points)

• 1) The implementation strategy is comprehensive,
  realistic and likely to be attained
• Timetable listing task, primary participants,
  methodologies, results and time frame.
• 2) Rationale for the implementation strategy is
  clearly described and is supported by relevant
  studies or projects.
• Explain why and how you determined a
  strategy/method to be most effective for
  implementing the activity based on studies or
  projects that you reviewed and experts you
  consulted.

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Section D Quality of Key Personnel (7 Points)

• Title III Project Director (50)
• Title III Activity Director (50)
• Director of Assessment Evaluation (100)
• Database Software Specialist (100)
• Two Faculty Assessment Mentors each quarter (33)
• Title III Implementation Team (10-20)

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Section E Quality of Project Management Plan
(10 Points).

• Procedures the Project Director will use to
  manage and monitor the project's progress.
• Project Directors administrative authority.
• Chart lines of authority of the Project Director
  to institutional decision makers.

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Section F Quality of Evaluation Plan (15
Points).

• Produce a valid assessment of your implementation
  strategies
• Result in annual, quantifiable evidence of the
  extent to which you attained your objectives for
  each activity and your goals for which funding is
  requested
• Include the data elements and collection
  procedures that you will use
• Describe procedures for analyzing and using both
  formative and summative data.
• Describe who will evaluate your project and their
  qualifications

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Section G EdCCs Budget

• Personnel Fringe Benefits 1,109,000
• Faculty Training Stipends 120,400
• Travel 68,375
• Equipment 194,604
• Supplies 60,000
• External Evaluator 42,000
• 20 Endowment 318,000
• TOTAL 1,912,379

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Lessons Learned

• Its not easy
• Expect push-back
• Dont expect a lot of enthusiasm
• Find the right champions
• Plan early
• Be patient

• USE the results of the work done during
  Self-Study
• Apply for a Title III Grant anyway (even if your
  institution isnt ready)

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Contact Information

• Beth Nichols [phone]
  bnichols_at_edcc.edu
• Eva Smith [phone] esmith_at_edcc.edu
• Thank You!

Every Step of the Way