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Documenting the Self-Study (I)

Preparation for Georgian Accreditation(with internationally acceptable standards)

Amy Kirle LezbergGEDA StaffNEA StaffSpring, 2007

Overview of This Session

•Introductions

• Overview: the meaning and process of

accreditation

•The importance of the institutional self-study

•General advice for the self-study

•Comments on standards 2, 4, 6

*with time for your questions.

A Reminder: Why Accreditation

• Guarantees that a student gets the education promised by the institution’s mission (and faculty/department ’s goals)

• Guarantees that the credential awarded is appropriate to the education offered

• Facilitates transfer of credentials and credits• Facilitates interpretation of credentials and credits by

employers, etc

General Process of Accreditation

• Institutional Self-Study—the most important part(say what you do and how it meets the standards and your mission)

• Peer Visit—to Validate the Self-Study report (does the institution do what it says it does)

• Decision by the Commission (What decision does the self-study and peer report support? What requirements and recommendations to current practice are necessary)

Note that this is a bottom-up process

Accreditation = Standards + Mission

+Standards of

NEA and higher education

community

Mission of your

institution

evidence, evidence, evidence, evidence, evidence, evidence, evidence, evidence, evidence, evidence

Ultimate goal is assurance of quality

Importance of Institutional Mission

Individuality within Consistency of addressing standards

Importance of Institutional Mission

Individuality within Consistency of addressing standards

Accreditation is QUALITATIVE (not just quantitative)

Institutional Mission must be supported byfaculty, department and individual program goals, bothacademic and administrative

At the heart of the accreditation process is the guaranteeof excellence in education; all aspects of an institutionMust therefore be carried out in a way that is

APPROPRIATE TO ITS MISSION

QA is used to produce Self-study

Product

Process

The document, the product, the report you produce. Mission + Standards. What the expert team uses.

To examine your institution against the Standards. To analyze how and how well your institution meets the Standards. To increase institutional understanding through systematic scrutiny. To make necessary changes so that quality is achieved.

•Examine itself against standards of the higher education community and its own mission

•Place institutional agenda in context

Purposes of the Self-Study

•An introduction to the institution

•To validate, as part of the process

•The institution’s application for (continuing) accreditation

•Evidence of how institution fulfills the Standards

1. For the institution

2. For the team

3. For the Commission

3 purposes + 3 audiences

***********************

The essence of the written self-study

Description: What we do to meet the Standards

Appraisal: How well we do it – strengths + concerns

Projection: Commitments for improvement •Enhancing our strengths

•Addressing our concerns

•Meeting the challenges ahead

Preparation: Read the draft Standards and:

1. Attend the workshop and read the materials

2. Read the draft Standards, Indicators and Verification Sources

3. Plan how the self-study can serve the institution

4. Gather the data you’ll need for the study

5. Plan when and how to get participation

6. Read the Standards, Indicators and Verification Sources

Key Words for a Successful Self-Study

•Candid

•Evidence-based

•Analytical

•Participatory

•Clear

•Useful

Plan the Self-

Study

Write the self-

study

Self-study report

Useful

Participatory

Candid Clear Concise

Evidence-based

Analytical

Those key words in action. . . .

Align the self study with what’s happening at the institution.

•Strategic plan

•Substantive change (planned or just in effect)

•New leadership – now or announced.

•Change in enrollment patterns

Making sure the self-study is useful

•New programs

•Higher degree

Participatory: Getting involvementWho?

How?

When?

Faculty, staff, board members, students, branch campus representatives

Committees and sub-committees, surveys, focus groups, distributed and posted drafts

At the beginning: a bottom-up process to a draft: e.g., When the self study is “along side” planning

Analytical: Putting STUDY in the self-study

1. Gather the evidence first

2. Figure out what additional information you’ll want – and go get it.

3. Remember: “How do you know?” in writing the Description and Appraisal sections

4. Don’t just tell what you do in assessment and evaluation – tell what you’ve learned and how you’ve used the information for improvement.

Examples of Evidence

1. Enrollment data: admissions, retention, advising

2. Publications: catalogs, websites, fact books

3. Institutional work products: policy statements, program reviews, strategic plans, committee minutes, task force reports

4. Assessment results: normed exams, portfolios, work samples, self-reported gains, external reviews of student work.

5. Surveys: of faculty, students, staff, alumni, employers, community

Evidence, evidence: Who has the evidence?

•Institutional Research

•Planning Office

•Admissions

•Registrar

•Chief Financial Officer

•Library

•Technology office

•Continuing education

•Student Services

•Alumni Affairs

•Career Services

•Orientation

•Freshman Seminar

•Academic Departments

•Deans’ Offices

•Graduate School

Evidence in the Self Study

Not simply Who We Are“There are 754,700 volumes in the library.”

But also What We Do“A syllabus study shows that students in 65% of their classes have assignments that require them to use information resources.”And How Effective We Are“A review of senior capstone projects in three departments shows that 83% of the students were rated as ‘proficient’ or ‘highly proficient’ in information literacy skills.”

Evidence Analysis“There are 754,700 volumes in the library.”

“This is a 20% increase in 5 years and puts us at the median of our peers.”

“A syllabus study shows that students in 65% of their classes have assignments that require them to use information resources.”

“It was not clear that students are expected to use increasingly sophisticated sources of information.”

Evidence-based and Analytical

• Our students gain the skills of information literacy.

• Student Services successfully supports students with special needs.

• The faculty effectively use a variety of teaching styles and techniques.

• Our atmosphere supports people of diverse backgrounds and characteristics.

• The institution ensures the integrity of its finances.

Evidence answers “How Do You Know?”

How do you know??

Characteristics of Good Evidence

1. Relevant: to the question, the Standard. Valid.

2. Verifiable: Replicable. Reliable. Documented.

3. Representative: of the population and time period. Typical.

4. Cumulative: Multiple sources or data points, where possible, on most important points. Triangulation.

5. Actionable: Useful for improvement.

Trustworthy and useful

Description, Appraisal, ProjectionDescription

•Clear, succinct: How we meet the Standards

•Not just what we do; also what we learned

Appraisal•Evidence, evidence: Include it.

•Your analysis: Strengths and concerns

Projection•Clear plans: On-going and new commitments

•NO passive voice. NO self-advice.

Candor

1. To demonstrate institutional strength

2. As part of The Surprise Reduction Program!

open, objective, straightforward, unconcealed, forthright

Candor and the 3 audiences

Yourself:

Team:

Commission:

To gain value from the process

To build confidence in the institution’s ability to know itself and address its challenges

To be candid with the Commission, you must first be candid with yourself.

Figuring it out if you’ve got it right. . .

A good self-study is:

A good self study:

• Clear

• Candid

• Concise

• Addresses the standards – with evidence

• Reflects the institutional mission

• Identifies institutional strengths and concerns

• Is helpful to the institution

Feedback from other system chairs. . . .

1. “Hammer them to keep it brief.”

2. “Capture the overall feeling, not every individual gripe.”

3. “An excellent self-study is a good tool. A weak self-study is still a good tool.”

Plus documents in the team workroom**

•Provide backup and support to the self-study

•Organized by Standard

•Include a list in the self-study

•See sample list to be distributed**or electronically, if possible

Gather at the beginning and as you work.

Find NAS on the web:

E-mail us:

Find self studies on the web (Google)

Use the printed materials distributed

Ask NAS to visit

Send NAS drafts

More help: