2227 Franklin St., Denver, CO 80205

americanpathways.edu  

 American  Pathways  University  

COMMENTS    

Regarding  the  Basis  for  the  Adverse  Accreditation  Decision  December  28,  2017  

 American  Pathways  University  understands  that  ACCSC  adverse  accreditation  decision  is  based  on  an  evaluation  that  APU  did  not  demonstrate  and  document  compliance  with  certain  standards  of  accreditation  in  the  view  of  the  Commission,  which  is  its  province.  We  appreciate  the  opportunity  to  comment.  Our  summary  format  comments  will  include  appropriate  references  to  demonstration  and  documentation  since  Dr.  Michale  S.  McComis’  letter  informing  APU  of  the  Commission’s  decision  often  also  makes  such  references  as  the  “Grounds  for  Denial  of  Initial  Accreditation.      We  thank  the  Site  Team  for  the  following  comments  by  the  team  leader  during  the  exit  interview.    

Thank  you  all  for  your  hospitality  and  for  your  honesty  in  your  responses.  We  felt  like  everyone  was  available  to  give  us  the  information  that  you  did  have.  We  are  grateful  for  that  and  for  the  materials  presented.    

We  would  commend  you  on  the  population  you  are  trying  to  serve.  We  feel  very  strongly  it  is  an  underserved  population,  so  hats  off  to  you  for  doing  that  in  your  approach,  in  your  mission.  It’s  something  that  we  feel  very  strongly  about.    

The  other  thing  we  would  want  to  commend  the  school  for  is  the  student  surveys.  They  were  very  positive.  You  got  very,  very  high  marks  from  your  student  base.  That’s  another  great  thing  to  be  able  to  say  about  your  school.  The  student  survey  results  are  as  follows:  •  During  the  on-­‐site  evaluation,  the  team  surveyed  26%  of  the  enrolled  student  body  and  found  100%  of  those  surveyed  indicated  they  felt  good  about  their  decisions  to  attend  the  school  and  100%  would  recommend  the  school  to  a  friend.  •  In  addition,  the  following  represent  the  summary  student  satisfaction  in  each  major  area  from  the  survey:  Admissions,  97%;  Financial  aid,  100%;  Academic  progress,  100%;  Student  services,  97%;  Faculty,  100%;  Library/Learning  Resources  System,  81%;  Facility,  100%;  Training  equipment,  100%.  

 While  we  respect  the  Commission’s  decision,  we  also  believe  that  the  full  body  of  APU’s  required  ACCSC  submissions  and  the  required  site  visit  Resource  Room  documents,  when  considered  together  as  a  whole,  produced  sufficient  demonstration  and  documentation  to  

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ASSOCIATE OF ARTS PROGRAM

General Education 34 creditsEnglish and Speech 9 creditsMathematics 3 creditsArts and Humanities 9 creditsSocial and Behavioral Sciences 9 creditsPhysical and Life Sciences 4 credits

Specialization 12 credits

Electives 14 credits

TOTAL CREDITS 60 CREDITS

BACHELOR OF ARTS PROGRAM

General Education 56 creditsEnglish and Speech 9 credits Mathematics 3 creditsArts and Humanities 12 creditsSocial and Behavioral Sciences 15 creditsPhysical and Life Sciences 8 creditsLanguage 9 credits

Academic Major 39 credits

Electives 25 credits

TOTAL CREDITS 120 CREDITS

MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAM

Liberal Arts Core 12 credits

Concentration 21 creditsEducation 21 credits Family Systems and Therapy 21 creditsLiberal Studies 21 credits

Capstone Thesis 3 credits

TOTAL CREDITS 36 CREDITS

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warrant  a  different  result.  As  such,  the  site  visit  Resource  Room  included  almost  400  textbooks  and  library  learning  resource  materials,  255  course  syllabi  and  2  school  catalogs  as  required.  Submissions  prior  to  the  site  visit  involved  over  3250  pages,  including:  1)  the  Initial  Applications  I  and  II,  2)  the  Self  Evaluation  Report  (SER,  i.e.,  Self  Study),  3)  two  APU  responses  to  the  Site  Team  Summary  Report  (Responses  1.0  and  2.0),  and  4)  over  1500  pages  of  exhibits  and  documentation.  We  believe  these  demonstrate  and  document  APU’s  improvement  under  ACCSC  tutelage  and  compliance  with  accreditation  standards.      Apparently,  ACCSC  agrees  that  APU’s  programs  are  in  compliance  with  about  97.6%  of  ACCSC  standards.  Of  course  100%  compliance  is  required.  As  for  the  remaining  2.4%,  some  appear  to  be  a  failure  to  utilize  an  ACCSC  form  as  opposed  to  other  forms  of  presenting  data,  reporting,  or  making  submissions,  which  APU  did  not  realize  was  an  ACCSC  Accreditation  Standard  for  accreditation.  As  for  the  remaining  issues,  APU  summarizes  below  its  submissions  and  specifies  locations  of  its  submissions  relative  to  ACCSC’s  Standards  of  Accreditation  and  the  ten-­‐point  grounds  for  denial  of  initial  accreditation  as  set  forth  in  a  letter  dated  December  14,  2017  from  Dr.  Michale  S.  McComis,  ACCSC  Executive  Director.    1.   Student  Achievement  Outcomes.      

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  student  achievement  outcomes  must  be  assessed  and  that  is  why  APU  voluntarily  engaged  an  independent  third  party  (Mr.  Patrick  J.  Knapp)  to  verify  the  Graduation  and  Employment  of  APU  alumni  and  the  results  were  reported  in  the  SER  (i.e.,  Self  Study),  even  though  APU’s  application  pre-­‐dated  such  requirements  according  to  ACCSC  Standards  of  Accreditation.  The  17-­‐page  Third  Party  G&E  Report  was  accompanied  by  the  following  third  party’s  certification  letter  describing  how  the  survey  was  conducted:    

 

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The  exhibits  referenced  in  the  above  letter  are:  Exhibit  A:  ACCSC  Guidelines  for  Employment  Classification;  Exhibit  D:  Graduation  Rate  Data  for  Each  Program;  and  Exhibit  E:  Employment  Rate  Data  for  Each  Program.    

While  APU  was  not  obligated  to  provide  ACCSC  Graduation  &  Employment  Charts  (“G&E  Chart)  because  our  application  pre-­‐dated  the  Standards  of  Accreditation  regarding  this  matter,  we  nonetheless  did  so  for  all  of  its  A.A.,  B.A.,  and  M.A.  programs  (nine  charts  total),  not  just  in  the  SER  (Self  Evaluation  Report,  i.e.,  Self  Study)  and  not  just  “for  the  48  month  ‘Business’  program”  (ACCSC  McComis  Letter  of  12-­‐14-­‐17,  p.  3).    

APU’s  certificate  programs,  while  always  being  part  of  its  curriculum  as  described  in  the  Academic  Catalog,  were  not  included  in  our  Application  and  the  SER  because  we  understood  from  the  orientation  workshop  that  while  they  would  not  be  considered  by  ACCSC  for  accreditation  a  school  could  nonetheless  offer  such  programs.  During  the  Site  Visit,  two  of  ACCSC  staff,  who  were  also  Site  Team  members,  suggested  that  APU  should  expand  the  certificate  programs  and  offer  them  for  non-­‐credit  in  order  to  serve  those  potential  students  in  its  service  area  who  needed  an  opportunity  to  develop  academic  confidence  and  demonstrated  college-­‐level  competence  as  a  bridge  to  application  and  acceptance  into  one  of  APU’s  14  degree  programs.  We  followed  this  advice  by  expanding  the  number  of  certificate  programs  in  parallel  with  APU’s  9  degrees  (i.e.,  4  A.A.,  4  B.A.,  and  1  M.A.).  APU’s  Academic  Catalog  was  revised  accordingly  and  included  in  APU’s  Response  1.0.    

Demonstration:  The  Third  Party  Report  demonstrates  APU’s  graduation  rates  at  80%  and  employment  rates  at  100%.  Examination  of  the  three  submissions  of  this  report  to  ACCSC,  as  documented  below,  demonstrates  no  statistical  discrepancies,  nor  with  ACCSC  G&E  Charts  mentioned  above  and  documented  below.    

Documentation:    1.   The  full  17-­‐page  Third  Party  G&E  Report,  including  survey  data  was  included  in  

the  SER  Attachment  A14.Third  Party  G&E  Report  (pp.  675-­‐690).  The  full  Report  was  also  included  in  the  first  Response  1.0,  Appendix  Documentation  11,  Third-­‐Party  G&E  Survey  of  APU  Alumni  (pp.  191-­‐207)  and  in  the  second  Response  2.0,  Documentation,  Third-­‐Party  G&E  Survey  of  APU  Alumni  (pp.  276-­‐292),  both  as  voluntary  exhibits  (exemplars)  not  required  by  ACCSC  standards  that  applied  to  APU’s  application  at  the  time.  Also  included  in  Response  2.0  on  pages  293-­‐295  is  a  chart  of  the  results  of  the  Third-­‐Party’s  survey  of  all  APU  alumni  as  updated  December  1,  2015.    

2.   The  ACCSC  G&E  Charts  were  included  in  the  SER,  Attachment  A13.G&E  Program  Charts,  pp.  666-­‐674.  

3.   The  revised  non-­‐credit  certificate  program  was  provided  to  ACCSC  via  Response  1.0  as  follows:  Appendix:  Documentation  #15.Certificate  Track  Programs,  p.  294  and  Appendix:  Documentation  #27.APU  Catalog  (January  15,  2017  Edition),  pp.  367-­‐510  and  pp.  419-­‐420  (Catalog  pp.  53-­‐54).  

 2.   Graduation  and  Employment  Disclosure.      

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  career  information  relative  to  APU’s  programs  and  graduation  and  employment  data  should  be  available  to  students  and  the  public.  That  is  why  we  have  provided  on  the  home  page  of  the  school’s  website  (americanpathways.edu)  a  link  to  a  page  on  “Career  Opportunities  At-­‐A-­‐Glance”  that  

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provides  information  on  APU’s  9  degrees  and  14  vocational  specializations  and  the  “ABOUT  US”  menu  has  a  link  to  a  page  on  “Graduates  and  Placement”  that  provides  information  on  APU’s  graduation  rate  and  endeavors  to  place  its  graduates.  The  reliability  of  our  data  and  disclosures  is  verified  in  two  ways:  1)  a  third  party  G&E  survey  as  discussed  above  in  section  #1;  and  2)  APU’s  Alumni  Office  tracts  graduate  employment  and/or  graduate  school  studies  via  survey  results  for  the  first  90  days,  first  post-­‐graduation  year,  and  fifth  post-­‐graduation  year.    

Demonstration:  The  Third  Party  G&E  Report  demonstrates  APU’s  graduation  rates  at  80%  and  employment  rates  at  100%.  These  results  are  also  corroborated  by  APU’s  alumni  survey  data.  The  APU  website  (americanpathways.edu)  discloses  graduation  rates.    

Documentation:    1.   The  Third  Party  G&E  Report  is  found  as  follows:  1)  SER  Attachment  A14.Third  

Party  G&E  Report  (pp.  675-­‐690);  2)  Response  1.0,  Appendix  Documentation  11,  Third-­‐Party  G&E  Survey  of  APU  Alumni  (pp.  191-­‐207);  3)  Response  2.0,  Documentation,  Third-­‐Party  G&E  Survey  of  APU  Alumni  (pp.  276-­‐292);  and  4)  Response  2.0  on  pages  293-­‐295  is  a  chart  of  the  results  of  the  Third-­‐Party’s  survey  of  all  APU  alumni  as  of  December  1,  2015.    

2.   The  APU  website  (americanpathways.edu)  disclosures  are  found  as  follows:  1)  home  page  “Career  Opportunities  At-­‐A-­‐Glance”  and  2)  home  page  menu  “ABOUT  US:  Graduates  and  Placement.  

3.   The  APU  Alumni  Office  survey  and  data  is  found  as  follows:  1)  SER  Exhibit  E7.Assessment  Handbook:  Post-­‐Graduate  &  Activity  Report,  pp.  1718-­‐1721  and  APU  Alumni  Survey,  pp.  1729-­‐31;  2)  Response  1.0:  Appendix:  Documentation:  APU  Alumni  Office  Graduate  and  Employment  Record;  and  3)  Response  2.0:  Documentation:  Alumni  Survey,  pp.  311-­‐320;    

 3.   Admissions  Requirements.      

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  admission  requirements  are  important  and  at  a  minimum  a  high  school  diploma  is  required.  That  is  why,  in  order  to  address  findings  of  the  Site  Team  Report  related  to  student  matriculation,  APU’s  Academic  Catalog  was  revised  and  APU  wrote  a  Department  Director’s  Manual  (with  checklists  for  student  admissions  requirements,  advisement,  program  progress,  good  standing,  and  graduation  requirements)  and  tasked  its  five  School  Deans  to  contact  all  enrolled  students  in  their  departments  in  order  to  complete  the  checklists  and  bring  their  files  up-­‐to-­‐date  and  suspend  students  whose  files  could  not  be  completed  according  to  APU  policies,  including  a  high  school  transcript.  The  results  were  summarized  in  both  of  APU’s  Responses.    

Demonstration:  These  improvements  and  student  file  updates  were  included  in  APU’s  Responses  1.0  and  2.0.  The  APU  Academic  Catalog  that  was  included  in  APU’s  Response  1.0  included  this  statement  and  chart  on  page  85  under  the  heading  “Admission  Requirements  to  Undergraduate  and  Graduate  Programs”:    

The application process is an opportunity to introduce yourself to APU so we may evaluate your potential for academic success to achieve personal and professional goals, character growth, and seriousness and dedication of purpose. A High school transcript, GED, or college transcript is required for admission. College entrance assessment instruments

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(e.g., SAT, ACT, GRE), essays, recommendations, activities, work experience, and interviews may be used to evaluate applicant’s placement and ability to benefit. Students must apply for admission and complete a Student File as follows prior to enrollment in classes.

University  Entrance  Requirements  

Special  Student  

Enrollm

ent*  

Certificate  

Programs    

Associate  of  

Arts  Program

 

Bachelor  of  

Arts  Program

 

Master  of  Arts  

Program  

1.   Student  Information  Form   X          2.   University  Application  Form  and  Fee     X   X   X   X  3.   Reference  Letter  (APU  Alliance  member,  employer,  or  teacher)  

  X   X   X   X  

4.   Personal  Narrative  Essay  (according  to  APU  guidelines)  

        X  

5.   Official  High  School  Transcript  (2.0  GPA  minimum)  or  GED  

  X   X   X    

6.   B.A.  Transcript  (2.5  GPA  minimum)           X  7.   Official  Transfer  Credit  Transcripts  (if  any)       X   X   X  8.   Proof  of  Income     X   X   X   X  9.   Enrollment  Agreement   X   X   X   X   X  10.   Student  Matriculation  Survey   X   X   X   X   X  11.   Complete  Admissions  Checklist  Interview  (with  APU  advisor)  

  X   X   X   X  

12.   University  Acceptance  Letter     X   X   X   X    

Documentation:  Department  Directors  Manual,  Response  1.0  (pp.  153-­‐166)  and  Response  2.0  (pp.  335-­‐384).  

 4.   Enrollment  Agreement.    

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  an  enrollment  agreement  should  include  financial  matters  and  policies,  including  educational  costs,  tuition  changes,  and  refund.  That  is  why,  while  APU  student  enrollment  policies  are  found  in  the  Catalog  and  Student  Handbook,  we  have  added  policy  statements  to  the  Enrollment  Agreement  (EA)  regarding  tuition,  fee  changes  and  refunds.  These  additions  were  included  in  APU’s  Response  2.0.    

Demonstration:  An  exemplar  was  provided  by  APU  in  the  SER  and  following  the  site  visit  a  revised  ACCSC  checklist  and  EA  exemplar  that  meets  all  concerns  of  the  Site  Team’s  Summary  (e.g.,  tuition  changes  and  refund  policies)  was  provided  by  APU  in  Response  2.0  (pp.  321-­‐322).    

Documentation:  SER  A5.Attachment  “Enrollment  Agreement”,  p.  436-­‐537  and  APU  Response  2.0  Documentation  “Enrollment  Agreement”,  p.  321-­‐322.  

 5.   Degree  Programs.      

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  didactic  contact  hours  should  be  15  per  credit  and  supervised  lab  contact  hours  should  be  45  per  credit.  That  is  why  this  is  

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the  standard  that  all  APU  degree  program  courses  must  meet.  Below  is  a  summary  of  didactic  and  supervised  lab  contact  hours  for  APU’s  14  degree  programs  based  on  ACCSC  Degree  Program  Outline  Chart  and  APU  Course  Syllabi:    

A.A.  Programs  

Didactic  Hours  

Supervised  Lab  Hours  

  B.A.  Programs  

Didactic  Hours  

Supervised  Lab  Hours  

Business   915   0     Business   1830-­‐1740   0-­‐135  Human  Svcs   915   0     Human  Svcs   1560   405  Management   915   0     Management   1830   0  Ministry   915   0     Ministry   1830-­‐1740   0-­‐135  Pro  Dvlpmt   915   0     Pro  Dvlpmt   1830   0  Psychology   915   0     Psychology   1830-­‐1650   0-­‐270  M.A.  

Program  Didactic  Hours  

Supervised  Lab  

  M.A.  Program  

Didactic  Hours  

Supervised  Lab  

Ex  Leadership   530   15     Pro  Educator   530   15    

We  would  conclude  this  section  with  a  few  comments  regarding  the  quality  control  of  our  courses  and  course  descriptions  and  syllabi.  All  courses  and  syllabi  have  been  developed  with  extensive  environmental  scanning  and  consultation  with  experts,  academicians,  and  vocational  practitioners.  Moreover,  the  process  was  supervised  by  our  Vice  President  for  Academic  Affairs,  a  PhD  with  over  40  years  of  higher  education  and  accreditation  experience.  Prior  to  coming  to  APU  he  had  taught  a  myriad  of  college  and  graduate  level  courses,  served  as  the  Chief  Academic  Officer  and  President  of  a  regionally  accredited  university,  and  was  a  curriculum  developer  and  consultant  of  undergraduate,  graduate,  and  continuing  vocational  education.  He  has  authored  a  large  number  of  course  textbooks.      

Demonstration:    ACCSC  degree  “Program  Outline”  forms  were  completed  for  all  APU  degree  programs  and  available  to  ACCSC  via  the  SER.  These  forms  specified  all  program  courses  with  didactic  and  supervised  laboratory  hours  and  are  summarized  in  the  APU  Catalog.  The  Site  Team  was  provided  for  its  inspection  in  the  site  visit  Resource  Room  nine  three-­‐ring  notebooks  of  course  syllabi:  one  notebook  for  each  of  APU’s  six  A.A.  and  B.A.  degree  programs  courses,  one  for  the  M.A.  program  courses,  one  for  General  Education  courses,  and  one  for  elective  courses,  for  a  total  of  255  courses.  Each  of  the  course  syllabi  utilize  the  same  template  as  guided  by  the  ACCSC  Degree  Program  Outline  Chart  and  summarized  as  follows:    

Course Schedule and Assignments* (See Note 5 to determine number of contact hours per class session) Explanatory  notes  for  this  Course  Schedule  and  Assignments:  (check  if  externship:        and  proceed  to  #6)  

1. Orientation Class (OC): Mandatory attendance in order to enroll in the course. Students must give to the professor their email course registration confirmation in order to be added to the course roster and receive course credit.

2. Didactic Information: Essential factual information, including critical thinking & problem solving, is acquired from the professor & textbooks. Thirty-six minutes (60%) of a class hour are for delivery & acquisition of information.

3. Praxis Consideration: In-class application of must-know information. Twenty-four minutes (40%) of a class hour are used to discuss & apply didactic information to real-life/career situations, case studies, practical exercises, etc.

4. Class Preparation: Additional outside work is assigned based on 2 outside work hours of preparation for every classroom contact hour with the instructor.

5. Classroom Contact Hours: Each course credit requires 15 contact hours between professor and student. Use this formula to determine length of each class session: (credits x 15) ÷ number of class sessions = class session length.

6. Externship Contact Hours: Each externship credit requires 45 contact hours of on site experience. Use this formula to determine number of hours required for each externship: credits x 45 = externship minimum length. Use “Didactic Information” for externship topics and “Praxis Consideration” for hands-on externship experiences, and use the separate form titled “Student Externship Syllabus and Report” to plan, supervise, and assess a student’s externship.

   

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TOPICS, ISSUES, QUESTIONS ASSIGNMENTS No. Didactic Information2 Textbooks Praxis

Consideration3

1 (OC1)

•Course Introduction •Student Responsibilities (See Addendum)

Intro to textbook and learning materials

•Pre-course test

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 Course Review •Review exercise 13 •Final Test •All Assignments

Due  

Documentation:  1)  The  didactic  and  supervised  lab  hours  of  all  14  of  APU’s  degree  programs  are  found  in  the  SER  Attachments  A.7.1-­‐A.7.14  Program  Outlines,  pp.  545-­‐604,  for  the  A.A.  (6),  B.A.  (6),  and  M.A.  (2)  that  document  the  total  hours  as  summarized  in  the  #5  Comment  section  above;  and  2)  Response  1.0  (p.  105)  and  APU  Catalog  (p.  88  at  Response  1.0,  p.  454);  3)  site  visit  Resource  Room:  266  Course  Syllabi  for  all  APU  programs  and  courses.  A  more  comprehensive  and  in-­‐depth  presentation  of  APU’s  degree  programs  is  found  in  the  SER:  Attachment:  A15.Degree  Applications  (14),  pp.  692-­‐1179  and  SER:  Exhibit  E15.Occupation  Specialist  (Appendix  A),  pp.  1898-­‐2111.  

 6.   Student  Grade  Reports.    

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  students  must  be  informed  of  their  academic  performance  and  satisfactory  progress  according  to  a  degree  plan.  That  is  why  course  grade  reports  are  required  to  be  submitted  to  the  Registrar’s  office  within  one  week  after  the  last  day  of  a  course,  upon  which  they  are  entered  into  the  student’s  database  record  and  on  the  student’s  official  transcript.  Then  during  the  month  before  the  next  term,  the  Dean  or  his  designee  of  the  school  (Allied  Health,  Business,  Management,  Ministry,  and  Professional  Studies)  in  which  the  student  is  seeking  to  earn  a  degree  will  sit  with  the  student  to  work  through  three  checklists  (Course  Advisement,  Academic  Progress,  and  Good  Standing).  It  is  during  this  appointment  that  the  student  will  learn  and  review  with  the  advisor  his  grades  for  the  previous  term  and  determine  which  courses  to  register  for  in  the  next  term.    

Demonstration:  Exemplars  of  APU’s  Course  Roster  and  Grade  Report  form  and  APU’s  official  transcript  were  provided  to  ACCSC  and  the  Site  Team.  Since  the  site  visit  APU  has  developed  a  43-­‐page  Department  Directors  Manual  that  provides  policies  and  procedures  for  the  school  Deans  and  this  was  made  available  to  ACCSC  in  APU’s  Responses.  The  Manual  includes  ten  checklists,  5  of  which  are  used  by  the  Deans  or  their  designee  to  guide  their  students  from  application  to  graduation.  Three  of  these  are  mentioned  in  the  comments  section  for  reviewing  with  students  their  grades.  We  believe  this  personal  approach  is  most  beneficial  for  a  student’s  educational  success  and  completion  of  his/her  degree  plan  within  150%  of  the  standard  time.  

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Documentation:  Response  2.0:  Documentation:  1)  Department  Directors  Manual,  pp.  335-­‐377,  including  Course  Roster  and  Grade  Report  form  at  363-­‐365;  2)  APU  Official  Transcript  at  p.  165;  and  3)  Degree  Plan  exemplar  at  pp.  264-­‐268.  

 7.   Student  Probation  and  Termination  Policies.    

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  probation  and  termination  policies  must  be  published  in  the  school  catalog.  That  is  why  such  policies  relative  to  academic  performance  and  classroom  deportment  have  always  been  included  in  APU’s  Academic  Catalog  and  available  to  students  and  the  public.  Accordingly,  APU’s  probation  and  termination  policies  are  part  of  the  student  good  standing  section  of  the  Catalog  and  stated  as  follows:      

Student  Good  Standing  [that]  involves  various  expectations  along  the  continuum  of  a  student’s  association  with  the  University.  These  involve,  but  are  not  limited  to,  the  student’s  application,  entrance  &  placement,  matriculation,  financial  accounts,  financial  aid,  academic,  graduation,  and  personal  deportment.  A  student  is  in  good  standing  if  the  minimum  expectations  are  maintained.  A  student  may  be  placed  on  probation  when  the  minimum  expectations  or  standards  are  not  met  and  appeals  or  remedial  activities  are  pending.  A  student  may  be  disciplined,  suspended,  or  expelled  [i.e.,  terminated]  for  substantial  or  persistent  substandard  performance.  A  student  may  also  be  placed  on  probation  or  dismissed  for  violations  of  classroom  decorum  protocols  (Catalog,  p.  92)  

 

In  addition,  we  have  added  a  section  to  the  catalog  that  applies  these  policies  to  APU’s  six  student  classifications  (Catalog,  p.  86).    

Demonstration:  The  pages  in  the  Catalog  and  Student  Handbook,  available  during  the  site  visit,  that  state  the  student  probation  and  termination  policies  (quoted  above)  were  provided  on  the  ACCSC  Catalog  Checklist  form  Item  19  at  APU  Catalog  page  92,  Student  Good  Standing  Policies,  as  well  as  statements  in  the  Student  Handbook  (pp.  124-­‐137).    

Documentation:  Such  policies  were  stated  in  the  APU  Catalog  exhibit  of  the  SER  that  was  examined  by  the  site  team  and  of  the  first  Response.  In  the  second  Response  2.0  (p.  149)  APU  acknowledged  the  possibility  of  a  further  need  for  clarification  to  avoid  any  potential  confusion  as  expressed  by  the  Site  Team  Report.  The  APU  Catalog  was  revised  to  include  a  student  classification  and  suspension  chart  (p.  86)  of  the  policy  (p.  92)  and  was  posted  on  the  website  (amiericanpathways.edu)  and  available  to  the  public  July  1,  2017.  Notice  of  this  revision  was  available  to  ACCSC  via  APU  Response  2.0  Documentation  “Catalog  Checklist”,  p.  232-­‐324.  

 8.   Faculty  Work  Experience.    

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  real  world  work  experience  is  vital  for  faculty  in  order  to  equip  graduates  for  the  world  of  work  (one  component  of  APU’s  outcomes  triad—the  other  two  being  introducing  students  to  the  world  of  ideas  and  preparing  alumni  for  a  life  well  lived).  That  is  why  APU  has  sought  faculty  that  meet  the  ACCSC  standard  of  3-­‐4  years  of  work  experience  in  their  teaching  field.  The  faculty  was  recruited  by  APU’s  Vice  President  for  Academic  Affairs  who  kept  a  “faculty  employment  journal”  of  his  first-­‐hand  verifiable  knowledge  over  an  extended  period  of  time  (beginning  40  years  ago  at  other  institutions  and  from  2001  to  present  at  APU)  of  each  and  every  APU  faculty  hire  prior  to  and  during  their  APU  employment  appointment,  

  9  

both  in  terms  of  their  teaching  experience  and  real  world  field  work  experience.  This  is  memorialized,  not  only  in  the  “journal”  but  also  in  his  professional  personnel  work  files,  compiled  over  his  entire  professional  career  as  an  higher  education  administrator.  Such  files  are  domiciled  at  the  APU  Office  of  Academic  Affairs.  In  other  words,  the  VPAA  has  been  his  own  best  faculty  referral  service  because  he  has  in  his  journal  and  faculty  files  40  years  of  notations,  certifications,  and  references  for  each  APU  faculty,  including  field  work  experience  and  college  level  teaching  history.    

Demonstration:  Drawing  from  the  VPAA  faculty  personnel  files  at  the  APU  Office  of  Academic  Affairs  and  corroborating  interviews,  a  review  and  an  analysis  was  conducted  for  each  faculty,  including  academic  credentials  (terminal  transcripts)  and  real  world  work  experience  in  their  teaching  field,  as  part  of  APU’s  self  study  evaluation  and  preparation  for  writing  the  SER.  The  results  were  included  in  the  SER.    

Documentation:  1)  SER:  Faculty  Qualifications:  the  academic  credentials  chart  on  pp.  241-­‐242  and  field  work  experience  chart  on  pp.  244-­‐253  provide  summaries  of  faculty  qualifications  (academic  credentials  and  field  work  experience);  and  2)  SER  Exhibits:  E9.Personnel  Reports,  pp.  2113-­‐222  utilize  ACCSC’s  format  to  provide  specific  in-­‐depth  academic  and  field  work  experience  qualifications  for  each  APU  faculty.  

 9.   Learning  Resources.    

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  appropriate  and  accessible  learning  materials  are  essential  for  students  to  learn.  That  is  why  APU  has  joined  the  Colorado  Libraries  Collaborate  (CLC).  It  is  essentially  a  consortium  of  39  academic  libraries  of  Colorado  colleges  and  universities,  such  as  the  University  of  Colorado,  with  an  aggregate  of  over  15,000,000  volumes.  Students  of  member  schools  may  access  any  of  these  volumes  via  the  internet  24/7.  The  schools  are  listed  alphabetically  and  APU  is  the  second  listing.  APU’s  academic  library  contribution  to  the  CLC  is  5,642  academic  volumes.    

Demonstration:  APU’s  Program  Learning  Materials  are  listed  in  the  SER  and  includes  386  textbooks.  Most  of  these  volumes  were  available  to  the  site  team  in  the  Resource  Room  during  the  site  visit,  including  40  APU  Press  textbooks  written  by  APU’s  faculty.    

Documentation:  The  complete  list  of  APU  authorized  learning  materials  according  to  programs  is  in  the  SER:  Attachments:  A23.Learning  Materials,  pp.  1201-­‐1217.  Also  see  Response  2.0,  p.  121  for  an  analysis  of  the  academic  fields  of  APU’s  40  textbooks  that  are  written  by  Faculty  and  are  a  part  of  APU’s  Colorado  Libraries  Collaborate  repository  of  5,642  volumes.  ACCSC  Substantive  Standards:  Standards  of  Accreditation,  Section  II  (A)  (7)  (a)  and  (e)  recognizes  the  use  of  a  “library  consortia  and  interlibrary  loan  agreements,”  such  as  APU’s  membership  in  the  Colorado  Libraries  Collaborate  as  a  learning  resource  system,  as  follows:  

… a learning resource system includes all materials that support a student’s educational experience and enhance a school’s educational program SUCH AS libraries; texts; electronic resources; learning resource laboratories and centers; LIBRARY CONSORTIA and interlibrary loan agreements; computers; internet access; research databases; and other similar resources and equipment. The learning resource system can be centralized or decentralized in organization but resources must be easily and readily accessible to students and faculty during and beyond classroom hours, regardless of location or means of delivery. (Capital letters and bold print are added for emphasis.)

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 10.  Catalog  Publication.    

Comment:  APU  agrees  with  the  Commission  that  the  school  Catalog  should  include  all  of  the  items  on  ACCSC  Catalog  Checklist.  That  is  why  all  such  catalog  checklist  items  have  been  included  in  APU’s  Academic  Catalog  from  the  date  of  APU’s  attendance  of  the  orientation  workshop  and  initial  application  during  June  2013.  The  only  exceptions  are  Checklist  item  numbers  31  and  32,  which  APU  understands  do  not  apply  to  any  of  APU’s  programs  according  to  definitions  provided  by  ACCSC  Standards  of  Accreditation.    

Demonstration:  From  time-­‐to-­‐time  the  Catalog  is  updated  and  the  latest  version  and  ACCSC  Catalog  Checklist  have  been  provided  to  the  Commission,  e.g.,  SER:  Exhibit:  E1.2015  Catalog,  pp.  634-­‐765  and  SER:  Attachment:  A6.Catalog  Checklist,  pp.  439-­‐440.    

Documentation:  Catalog  checklists  are  found  in  Response  1.0,  pp.  352-­‐353  and  Response  2.0,  pp.  323-­‐324.  Corresponding  revised  Academic  Catalog  is  found  in  Response  1.0:  Appendix:  Documentation  27.APU  Catalog  (January  15,  2017  Edition),  pp.  367-­‐510.