PAINLESS PERIODIC REVIEW

Cynthia SteinhoffAnne Arundel Community

CollegeArnold, Maryland

Agenda

• Cindy’s Top 5 Periodic Review Tips

• The painless way to a successful periodic review report.

• Cindy’s Top 5 Periodic Review Tips

• Questions

Top 5 Periodic Review Tops

• Select the right chair and steering committee members early in the process.

• Select the writer and editor for your report and involve them from the beginning.

• Make the Handbook for Periodic Review Reports your new best friend.

Top 5 Periodic Review Tops

• Develop a detailed outline for each section of the report, based on information presented in the Handbook.

• Mind the timeline, deadlines, and report length.

Periodic Review - General Considerations

• Not a mini self-study, yet is a significant component of the accreditation cycle.

• Middle States definition of a PRR - a “retrospective, current, and prospective analysis of an institution.”

• Emphasis on brevity, yet completeness, in a 50-page report.

• Report should be useful to the institution, not just a response to Middle States.

Leading the Periodic Review Process

• PRR Chair – Chair of the self-study steering committee? Someone else?– AACC chose the self-study chair

• Steering Committee – New group? Team that led the self-study? Existing institutional team?– AACC chose a new group, with representation

from all segments of the institution’s community, and included the needed expertise.

Preparing for Periodic Review

• Handbook for Periodic Review Reports will become your best friend.

• Attend PRR training session sponsored by Middle States.

• Attend sessions such as this one at Middle States conferences.

• Start 18-24 months prior to the due date – AACC’s steering committee began meeting in

October 2007 for a PRR due in June 2009.

Organize• Who will collect information needed for the

report?– AACC - Steering Committee divided into teams.– Chair wrote charge for each group, based on the

outline in the PRR Handbook.• Who will write and edit the report?– AACC Steering Committee Chair wrote report and did

some editing.– Editing done by at least one other steering committee

member and an administrator in the area covered by the section.

Organize

• What materials will be collected to support the content of the report?– Some items listed in the Handbook must be

included.– At AACC, those collecting information for the PRR

and the Chair identified other items.

• Chair prepared a timeline– Stick to it!

Publicize the PRR Process

• AACC did this in several ways:– Presentations at College Orientation and

constituency group meetings.– Regular updates at college leadership team

meetings.– Regular reports to executive leadership at

meetings and by e-mail.– Intranet site for PRR materials.– College wide announcements at key points.

Report Contents

• Outline of content provided by Middle States in the Handbook.

• Content of the PRR is much more prescribed than a self-study.

• 50 pages, not including appendices, exhibits, and other supporting materials.

• Be sure to include items specifically mentioned in the Handbook.

Six Sections of the PRR

1. Executive Summary– Write it last

2. Response to recommendations in the self-study and the visiting team reports.– Good starting point - most recommendations

should have been addressed by this time.– AACC created a grid, listing person responsible

for and status of each, updating when necessary.

Six Sections of the PRR

3. Major challenges and opportunities facing the institution.– Enlisted assistance of AACC’s Institute for the

Future and sought input from entire college community.

4. Enrollment trends and projections / Finance trends and projections.– AACC involved finance and enrollment

development staff in developing this section.

Six Sections of the PRR

5. Assessment efforts – institutional and student learning assessment.– AACC faculty compiled student LOA information

and collected many examples for the exhibits.– Institutional research staff provided information

and data about institutional assessment efforts.6. Linked institutional planning and budgeting

processes.– AACC finance and planning staff contributed.

• Draft of report posted to intranet for college-wide review and comment.– Open, on-ground sessions.– Comments accepted via web form, e-mail, snail mail.

• Set a deadline for making changes to report.• Final updating and editing.• Organizing materials for appendices.– Examples of assessing student learning are important.– Don’t forget the items on the list of specific materials

that Middle States wants included!

After Writing the Report

Report Format

• All paper, all electronic, or a mix?• Check with your Middle States liaison often, as

report formats that are accepted by Middle States may change.

• Originally, the AACC report was to be all paper, but ended up as a mix of paper and electronic.

Report Format

• AACC produced a printed, spiral-bound report, exactly 50 pages in length, with 4 disks:– Disk 1 – the report hyperlinked to appendices.– Disk 2 – learning outcomes assessment exhibits.– Disk 3 – financial and strategic planning resources,

as required and detailed in the Handbook.– Disk 4 – DVD of work produced by Communication

Arts Technology students.

Success!

• Periodic Review Report sent to Middle States by June 1, where is it is read by 4 reviewers: – A Middle States staff member– Two external reviewers, a role similar to that of an

on-site evaluator during a self-study visit– A finance associate, who examines financial

documents submitted with the report.

Response – External Reviewers

• External reviewers respond by August 1.• Prepare a confidential briefing to the

Commission that includes recommendations regarding accreditation action, including any need for follow-up activities.

• Prepare a report to the institution that addresses findings.

Response – External Reviewers

• Report to the institution includes general comments on each section of the PRR and, as appropriate:– Suggestions - “collegial advice.”– Recommendations - address where improvement

is needed to continue to meet standards.– Requirements – indicate that an institution does

not comply with a standard and what is needed to come into compliance.

Response – Finance Associate

• Reviews overall financial health of the institution.

• Addresses areas where the institutional financial condition improved or worsened.

• Discusses any changes in assets and reserves.• Addresses impact of any long-term debt on

the institution.• Identifies anything that is cause for concern.

The End of the PRR Process

• The Committee on Periodic Review, chaired by a Commission member, examines all materials and makes a recommendation to the Commission.

• Commission acts at its November meeting.• Middle States staff notifies the institution of

the Commission’s action shortly thereafter.

Top 5 Periodic Review Tips

• Select the right chair and steering committee members early in the process.

• Select the writer and editor for your report and involve them from the beginning.

• Make the Handbook for Periodic Review Reports your new best friend.

Top 5 Periodic Review Tips

• Develop a detailed outline for each section of the report, based on information presented in the Handbook.

• Mind the timeline, deadlines, and report length.

Questions?Questions?Questions?Questions?