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Key Understandings in Institutional Change

Sunil  Ahuja,  Pat  Newton-­‐Curran    Vince  Coraci,  Tamas  Horvath  

March 29, 2015

Overview

!  Policy !  Types of change !  Types of review

!  Review and approval process

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Overview

Policy INST.F.20.040 Institutional Change Requests Received in 2013-14 Academic Year by type (554 Total):

•  Programs* – 208 •  Locations* – 156 •  Access to Notification Program – 58 •  Distance and Correspondence Education* – 48 •  Contractual and Consortial* – 47 •  Clock and Credit Hour – 17 •  Direct Assessment – 14 (Currently on Hold) •  Mission and Student Body – 6

* Will be covered in today’s session

Approval or Notification?

•  HLC policies (Policy INST.F.20.040 Institutional Change)

•  Institutional Change Page on HLC website hlcommission.org/change •  Contact your staff liaison or

changerequests@hlcommission.org

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Types of Changes

•  Branch campus Review followed by a Campus Evaluation Visit within six months of student matriculation. Ongoing review required through a Multi-Campus Visit during comprehensive evaluation

•  Additional location First three locations require a confirmation visit within six months of student matriculation. Ongoing review required through a Multi-Location Visit at least every five years. Some institutions with experience managing multiple locations may apply to the Notification Program for Additional Locations

•  Course location Notification is required instead of approval for course locations offering five or more courses per year

Types of Changes

Location Stipulations

•  Prior HLC approval required •  Institutions in Notification Program:

-  New locations within the 19-state North Central region

-  New locations in the United States -  New locations in the United States and

internationally

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•  Degree or credential level higher •  “Significant departure” from existing, incl.

•  Title IV eligible certificates •  Not substantially related to programs

•  Substantial investment of resources •  Outside a current stipulation

Types of Changes

Types of Changes

•  Approval is for INITIATION or EXPANSION of distance or correspondence education

•  Emphasis on the capacity of the institution to

offer courses, programs and certificates through distance or correspondence education instead of single programs

INITIATION 1st program or

Certificate

EXPANSION Move from offering one

program to several

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Types of Changes

•  Institution has not been approved for ___ [distance

education or correspondence education].

•  Approval for _____ is limited to courses.

•  Approval for _____ is limited to courses and one program.

•  Approved for ______ courses and programs.

Types of Changes

Contractual Arrangements

An agreement in which a partner delivers some portion of an academic program and in which any party to the agreement is not accredited by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accreditor (including international institutions)

Consortial Arrangements

An agreement in which a partner delivers some portion of an academic program and in which every party to the agreement is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accreditor

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Types of Changes

•  The contract is for goods and services that are unrelated to the

provision of academic programs •  The contractual partner provides an internship that does not include

a formal instructional component •  The contractual partner provides only books or supplies or

equipment or a platform for Internet-based instruction, all of which is provided by the faculty of the institution

•  The contract between the contractual partner and the institution

provides only for the articulation or transfer of courses that are transcribed as transfer credit on the students’ transcripts

Types of Review

Change request initial review

process (Change Team

& liaison)

Desk Review

Change Panel

Change Visit

Recommendation for Approval

Recommendation for Denial

Institutional Response

Decision Process

Institutional Response

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Types of Review

•  Desk Review – 2-3 months Review conducted by HLC staff Results in recommendation for approval

•  Change Panel – 4-5 months Review conducted by a specially-trained panel of three peer reviewers who work together at a distance

•  Change Visit – 6 or more months Reviewers visit the institution to validate information provided in the change request

Change Review Process

•  Part One: General Questions •  Part Two: Topic-specific Questions •  Requests for specific attachments

•  Limit on length of document: 12 pages plus necessary attachments

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Change Review Process

•  Submit Part One at least 4 months before •  Indicate on Part One the already scheduled

date or desired date of visit •  Send Parts One and Two to HLC and to

Team 2 months before visit

Change Review Process

Basics: approvals, institutional stability and context, fit to institution

Experience, commitment to, and preparation for change

Planning and capacity for change

Clear implementation strategies and awareness of impact on institution

Evaluating and maintaining quality

Curriculum and instructional design

Faculty and student support

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Change Review Process Key elements to consider: •  Planning and design of the program, including the role of

faculty and academic affairs •  Courses: descriptions, sequencing, prerequisites, credit

hours, etc. •  Faculty: qualifications, continuity, sufficiency, full-time vs.

part-time, impact on workload, etc. •  Support for faculty (research/professional development)

and students (academic advising), library and databases for both

•  Resources (budgets, physical facilities, etc.) •  Assessment and program evaluation plans and plans for

continuous improvement

Change Review Process

•  Reviewers can recommend approval or denial of change

•  Reviewers can add or modify stipulations or monitoring

•  Institutions have opportunities to respond

•  Institutional Actions Council acts on all change requests

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Change Review Process

•  Requests are too broad •  Failure to demonstrate

adequate progress on problems reflected in outstanding monitoring

•  Insufficient planning or

improper design

•  Insufficient budgetary projections/resources

•  Lack of qualified faculty •  Inadequate assessment or

continuous improvement plan

•  Overall lack of institutional

preparedness

Change Review Process

•  Institution receives the recommendation with an institutional response form

•  Has 14 days to respond; no response is considered support of the recommendation

•  Response is forwarded to the readers assigned to the case for the Institutional Actions Council (IAC) and they do a full read

•  IAC can overturn or alter recommendation

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Change Process Updates Location and Campus Update System

Change Process Updates Document Submission Interface

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Change Process Updates

Document Submission Interface

My Role: Institutional Staff HLC Process: Change Upload change application

Resources

•  “Overview of Commission Policies and Procedures for Institutional Changes Requiring Commission Notification or Approval”

(on Institutional Change page of the website)

•  Commission Policies (excellent new policy search function)

•  Change Applications: each application provides more information about specific types of change

(on Institutional Change page of the website)

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Resources

•  General Questions - changerequests@hlcommission.org

•  Tamas Horvath - thorvath@hlcommission.org •  Pat Newton-Curran - pnewton@hlcommission.org •  Vince Coraci - vcoraci@hlcommission.org

•  Sunil Ahuja – sahuja@hlcommission.org