Overview of the Revised Accreditation Overview of the Revised Accreditation Standards and New Oversight ProcessStandards and New Oversight Process

Ronald L. BakerRonald L. Baker

Executive Vice President and Director,Executive Vice President and Director,Standards Revision and Implementation ProjectStandards Revision and Implementation Project

IntentionIntention

Provide UpdateProvoke ThoughtPromote Dialogue

IncongruenceIncongruence

Most of us do not look as handsome to others as we are to ourselves

Assiniboine Tribal Proverb

EvolutionEvolution

While we flatter ourselves that things remain the same, they are changing under our very

eyes from year to year, from day to day.Charlotte Perkins Gilman

RhetoricRhetoric

Speech is conveniently located midway between thought and action, where it

often substitutes for both.John Andrew Holmes

ChangeChange

OutcomesImplied Explicit

What does that mean?

AchievementsAssumed Assessed

How do you know?

EvidenceAnecdotal Verifiable

Show me the data!

Homo AcademicusHomo Academicus

Most people are in favor of progress; it’s the changes they don’t like.

Anonymous

TrepidationTrepidation

It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways,

but it's that place in between that we fear . . . . It's like being between trapezes. It's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer.

There's nothing to hold on to.Marilyn Ferguson

QuandaryQuandary

Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for

things to remain the same but get better.Sydney J. Harris

BarometerBarometer

You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea.

Pearl Buck

ExampleExample

When the center of the universe is discovered, a lot of people will be disappointed to find they aren’t it.

Bernard Bailey

PerspectivePerspective

The challenge is for us to see beyond the innumerable fragments to the whole,

stepping back far enough to appreciate how things move and change as a coherent entity.

Margaret Wheatley

WholeWhole

A system is a network of interdependent components that work together to try to

accomplish the aim of the system. A system must have an aim. Without the

aim, there is no system.W. Edwards Deming

Evaluation of the WholeEvaluation of the Whole

Method consists of two correlative and complementary processes: 1) Analysis 1) Analysis

of complex totalities into their parts; and 2) Synthesis 2) Synthesis of parts into their totality.

However, the two processes by themselves are imperfect and require each other for the full development of

knowledge and understanding.Joseph L. Esposito

CharacteristicsCharacteristics

AnalysisAnalysis

Reductionistic

Take Apart

Isolate

Knowledgeof

Function

SynthesisSynthesis

Holistic

Put Together

Correlate

Understandingof

Purpose

StandardStandard

An accreditation standard is a principle-based statement of expectations for institutional practice that concurrently:

1) Functions as an indicator of educational quality and effectiveness by which institutions are evaluated; and

2) Provides guidance for continuous improvement.

Standard One:Standard One:Mission, Core Themes, and Expectations

Standard Two:Standard Two:Resources and Capacity

Standard Three:Standard Three:Planning and Implementation

Standard Four:Standard Four:Effectiveness and Improvement

Standard Five:Standard Five:Mission Fulfillment, Adaptation, and Sustainability

Revised StandardsRevised Standards

Core ThemeCore Theme

A core theme is a manifestation of a fundamental aspect of institutional mission with overarching objectives that guide planning for contributing programs and services, development of capacity, application of resources to accomplish those objectives, and assessment of achievements.

Architecture of the Revised NWCCU Standards

Standard One: Mission, Core Themes, and Expectations Explication of Mission, Core Themes, Goals, and Intended Outcomes

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Standard Two: Resources and Capacity Examination of Major Institutional Systems

Standard Three: Planning and Implementation Institutional and Core Theme Planning to Apply Resources and Capacity

Standard Five: Mission Fulfillment, Sustainability, and Adaptation Evaluate Mission Fulfillment; Evaluate Adaptability to Change;

Determine Confidence for Future Relevance, Success, and Viability

Standard Four: Effectiveness and Improvement Assess Achievement in Core Themes with Results Used for Improvement

Secti

on A

Secti

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Secti

on C

Direction and DistillationDirection and Distillation

Institutional MissionInstitutional Mission

Core Theme ObjectivesCore Theme Objectives

ProgramsPrograms//Services Goals or Intended OutcomesServices Goals or Intended Outcomes

Intentions of Contributing ComponentsIntentions of Contributing Components

CommunitiesCommunities

Institutional CommunitiesInstitutional Communities

Communities of Function

and

Communities of Interest

Community of FunctionCommunity of Function

A community of function is an assemblage of operation-specific

services that contribute to the essential infrastructure needed to sustain the

institution and fulfill its mission.

Community of InterestCommunity of Interest

A community of interest is a purposeful cross-functional application of capacity and allocation of resources to achieve

clearly-defined objectives of an essential aspect of institutional mission.

Purpose and Potential(Communities of Function)

Mission Fulfillment

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StandardsThree and Four

StandardFive

StandardsOne and Two

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Education Resources

Student Support Resources

Library and Information Resources

Financial Resources

Physical and Technical Infrastructure

Governance

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Analysis and Synthesis Embedded in the Accreditation StandardsRevised June 5, 2009

Standard One: Mission, Core Themes, and ExpectationsExplication of Mission, Core Themes, Objectives, and Achievement Indicators

Standard Three: Planning and ImplementationInstitutional and Core Theme Planning to Apply Resources and Capacity

Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 . . . Theme N

Governance ↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓

HumanResources

↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓

EducationResources

↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓

StudentSupport

Resources

↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓

Library andInformationResources

↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓

FinancialResources

↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓

Physical andTechnical

Infrastructure

↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓ → ← ↓

↓ ↓ Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 . . . Theme N

↓ ↓ Standard Four: Effectiveness and Improvement↓ ↓ Assess Achievement in Core Themes with Results Used for Improvement

Standard Five: Mission Fulfillment, Adaptation, and SustainabilityEvaluate Mission Fulfillment; Evaluate Adaptability to Change

Determine Confidence for Future Relevance, Success, and Viability

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Standard Two

IllustrationIllustration

The mission of Whatsamatta University is to prepare primary care physicians for the delivery of quality health care in rural, underserved communities.

Possible Core ThemesPossible Core Themes

1. Develop a foundation of medical knowledge for primary care physicians.

2. Develop skills and abilities for effective application of medical knowledge as primary care physicians.

3. Prepare primary care physicians for life and work in rural settings.

DiscernmentDiscernment

Core Theme

or

Embedded Value

ExamplesExamples

Academic Excellence

Student Success

Effective Citizenship

EnforcementEnforcement

You can get more with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.

Alphonse Capone

Standard One: Mission, Manifestations, and

Expectations

1

Report on Standard One; No Visit Report reviewed by panel of evaluators;

Findings forwarded to Board of Commissioners.

Standard Two: Resources and Capacity

3

Expand Report on Standard One to Include Standard Two; Committee Visit onStandards One and Two;

Findings forwarded to Board of Commissioners.

Standard Three: Planning and Implementation;

Standard Four: Effectiveness and

Improvement

5

Expand Report on Standards One and Two to Include Standards Three and Four; No Visit

Report reviewed by panel of evaluators with particular attention on Standards Three and Four;

Findings forwarded to Board of Commissioners.

Standard Five: Mission Fulfillment,

Adaptation, and Sustainability

7

Expand Report on Standards One, Two, Three, and Four to Include Standard Five

Committee Visit on Standards Three, Four, and Five; Findings forwarded to Board of Commissioners.

Septennial Accreditation Cycle

ProcessYearStandard

Year Three CommitteeYear Three Committee

ChairMission, Core Themes, ObjectivesGovernance

Four Evaluators1. Education Resources

2. Student Support ResourcesHuman Resources

3. Library and Information Resources

4. Financial ResourcesPhysical and Technical Infrastructure

Year Seven CommitteeYear Seven Committee

ChairMission FulfillmentAdaptationSustainability

EvaluatorsOne Evaluator for Each Core Theme

Reporting StructureReporting Structure

Biennial reports reflect institutional reality throughout the accreditation cycle

Approved changes incorporated in next scheduled report with previous chapters modified to reflect those changes

Reduced need for interim reports/visits

Year Seven report reflects current reality over all standards and provides a foundation for the next cycle

Season Progress Focused Total Total Septennial SeptennialReports Visits Events Evaluators Events Evaluators

Spring 2007 1.9 1.9 5.7 13.3 4 6+Themes

Fall 2007 1.6 1.6 5.1 13.9 4 6+Themes

Spring 2008 2.7 2.2 6.9 12.6 4 6+Themes

Fall 2008 1.9 1.7 5.6 13.6 4 6+Themes

Average 2.0 1.8 5.8 13.3 4 6+ThemesAnnualized 0.58 1.33 0.57 1.43*

Accreditation Events and Cost Comparison

*Average ten-year total for institutions with comprehensive visits; Does not include institutions with multiple comprehensive visits.1Combined total of progress reports and focused, regular, and comprehensive reports and visits.2Combined total of focused , regular, and comprehensive visit evaluators.

TimelineTimeline

September-October Penultimate Draft Review

November Regional MeetingsSeattle (Friday, 6th)Salt Lake City (Tuesday,

10th)Bozeman (Friday, 13th)Portland (Friday, 20th)

November-December Membership Vote

January 2010 Board Ratification

January 2011 Implementation

Final ThoughtsFinal Thoughts

Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)

Just when I knew all of life's answers,they changed the questions.

Anonymous

Consistency in communication, purposeful collaboration, and clarity of expectations are necessary

elements for the pursuit of a common agenda.Anny Morrobel-Sosa

If you’re going through hell, keep going!Winston Churchill

Comments and QuestionsComments and Questions