Periodic Review Reports Workshop:Commission’s Expectations

Robert K. Clark

Today’s Session

• I will present a Commissioner’s overview of the PRR process.– Methods of preparation and evaluation of the

report will be covered in later sessions.

Why do PRR?

• Regional accreditation is a basic feature of the U.S. Higher Educational System.– Consists of: • A decennial Self-Study and Site visit, and• Periodic Review Report at intervening five year time

points (also at ten year intervals).

Why have regional accreditation?

• The easy answer is that Title IV funds require accreditation.– Regional accreditation is the accepted form of

accreditation for most institutions.• The right answer is that it leads to institutional

improvement.– This is the heart of accreditation by peer-review.

Peer-Review, what’s that all about?

• Peer-review is the process through which institutions are evaluated by education professionals from institutions similar to the one being evaluated.– They are your peers– They understand your institution because they live

with similar challenges and opportunities.– This is the basis for institutional improvement.

Who are the peer reviewers?

• You are.• In this room today we have representatives

from institutions starting the PRR process.– PRRs due in 2013

• We also have reviewers in-training.– Will review PRRs this year.

• I sincerely hope that some of those preparing PRRs now will be reviewers in the future!

So, how does the process work?

• PRR and Self-Study/Site Visit reviews involve a three-tiered system.– Peer-Reviewers– PRR Committee/ Evaluation Reports Committee– Full Commission

So, how does the process work?

• Once an institution submits its PRR, it is reviewed by two reviewers.– First and Second Readers.

• They present their report and recommendations at the PRR Committee meeting.– They are Committee members for that meeting.– Recommendations are voted on and passed to the Commission.

• Their recommendations move on to the full Commission.– May be on the consent agenda or the discussion agenda.– Leads to a vote by the full Commission

Why so many steps?

• The Commission accredits approximately 540 institutions.– Range from small, specialty institutions with few

students and programs, to large comprehensive Universities with thousands of students.

• We strive to make decisions that are equitable to all institutions.– This requires a careful, deliberative process.

So, who are these Commissioners?

• Multiple choice question (think Star Trek):a. Members of the Tal Shiarb. The Kingon High Councilc. The Q Continumuumd. The Founderse. None of the above

So, who are these Commissioners?

• Answer: e. None of the above– They also are your peers.

• Twenty-six elected representatives from member institutions throughout the region.– Chancellors– Presidents– Provosts and other administrators– Faculty– Public Representatives

What are their decisions based on?

• “Boring for the uninitiated, mystifying for the non-participant, a secular religion for those who have felt its spell…”Thomas C. Mendenhall

The Characteristics of Excellence

What are their decisions based on?

• The 14 Standards in Characteristics are applied to all institutions through the three-tiered approach to review.– Keep this in mind as you prepare your PRRs– Keep this in mind as you review PRRs– Also be sure to use the Handbook for Periodic

Review Reports• Institutions starting PRR should use the new edition

Are the standards becoming more difficult to achieve?

• In a way, yes.• Stakeholders are demanding more

accountability.– Government– Tax payers– Students’ families– Students – Private Foundations

Are the standards becoming more difficult to achieve?

• The current standards have been phased in.– Require a higher level of accountability than in the

past.• Especially 7 and 14.

We are in the era of compassionate rigor.

What tone should one adopt in the PRR?

• Tell us of your institution’s accomplishments and successes.– Come on, it’s OK to brag a little.

“If you think yourself a poor specimen, you will probably always remain one, or most likely become one, but if you think of yourself as having possibilities of greatness in you, there is a chance for you.”Theodor Leschetizsky

What tone should one adopt in the PRR?

• But above all, keep it accurate. “All mothers think their children oaks, but the

world never lacks for cabbages.”Robertson Davies

What tone should one adopt in the PRR?

• Keep in mind that the PRR does not involve a site visit.– In some ways, accuracy in the PRR is even more

necessary than in the Self-Study.• We don’t want your institution, now or in the

future, to …“suffer the disorientation of revised perspective.”Hazard Adams

What tone should one adopt in the PRR?

• But “Winning by the accumulation of small efforts works miracles.”Craig Lambert

• Tell us about these small efforts and the miracles they result in.

And how about the Reviewer?

• Reviewers please remember, these are your peers, colleagues from institutions similar to yours. – Don’t forget the compassion in compassionate

rigor.

“Those who enjoy kicking dogs will find dogs to kick.”Sue Harrison

And how about the Reviewer?

• Try to come to know the institution you are reviewing.– Remember… “daring judgments often spare us the

effort of deeper insights.”Jean Paul

• It’s the deeper insights we are after.– Never compare them to your own institution or

your idealized institution.– Always compare them to the standards presented in

the Characteristics of Excellence

What ultimately is it all about?

Institutional Improvement

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence

then, is not an act, but a habit.”Aristotle

– Accreditation by peer review should help to develop in our institutions the habits that lead to excellence.