What is Middle States, Anyway? Adapted (with permission) From Andrea Lex, Who Presented at Stockton September 20, 2010 Facilitated by Joe Marchetti, Gene Swilkey and Claudine Keenan October 6 – November 19, 2010

What is Accreditation? A means of demonstrating compliance with Federal Title IV regulations in a variety of areas. A self- and peer-reviewed means of providing quality assurance in the areas of – Student learning and achievement – Curriculum development and support – Faculty – Facilities and equipment – Finance, administration, and governance – Integrity and compliance

The Cycle Initial Candidacy (Stockton founding, ) Full accreditation: 1975 Re-accreditation alternates these two processes: – Periodic Review Reports – Self Study and Visiting Team Events from the most recent cycle: – Self Study ; Visiting Team 2002 – Periodic Review Report 2007 – Self Study ; Visiting Team 2012

What is REaccreditation? A Focused Process A defined time for an entire institution to come together to examine the “big questions” such as: – Are we making decisions aligned with our mission? – Do we have and allocate resources in a fashion that enables us to meet our mission? – Do our governance and administrative structures facilitate the learning process? – Are student and faculty support structures adequate? A PARTICIPATORY process involving – The Richard Stockton College community Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni, Board – the larger educational community Engaged with/by the College and the Middle States Region

How Does it Work Here? Planning Committee – Communicates with Middle States Liaison, plans timelines, offers assistance to entire community Steering Committee – Guides the efforts of each Work Team, shapes the details of the overall process Work Teams – Gather evidence from entire community, draft reports for the Self Study ID=203&pageID=19

What is a Self Study? dynamic A dynamic document Bridges of communication and cooperation A greater awareness A renewed commitment A clarification of why we are a part of The Richard Stockton College A glimpse of where we and the College would like to be

The Standards “Characteristics of Excellence” – “Middle States’ accreditation is an expression of confidence in an institution’s mission and goals, its performance, and its resources.” --- Characteristics – The articulation of the qualities, behaviors, support structures, and outcomes that the member institutions of the of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education believe must be demonstrated by an accredited post-secondary institution. are intended be viewed as an interrelated whole emphasize functions rather than structures may not necessarily apply fully to all institutions may be grouped when engaging in self-study.

Our Research Questions Provide Structure and Focus – 1,4,6: Mission and Goals; Leadership and Governance; Integrity – 2,3,5: Planning, Resource Allocation, and Institutional Renewal; Institutional Resources; Administration – 7: Institutional Assessment – 8,9: Student Admissions and Retention; Student Support Services; – 11, 12, 13: Educational Offerings; General Education; related Educational Activities – 10: Faculty – 14: Assessment of Student Learning &pageID=16

The Research Questions and You Work Teams want to gather evidence that demonstrates – Compliance with the Commission’s standards – Commitment to institutional self-understanding and improvement. – “What evidence is there …” – “How effective is …” – “To what extent …” – “How consistent …” – “How comprehensively …” – “How successful …” – “How well …” – “How sufficient …” Take their calls. Answer their messages. Be heard!

Plan Goals Strategies Resource Allocation Assessment

Otherwise … Wants Pressures Terrific Ideas

The Balanced Scorecard Cycle Top Down Bottom Up

The view from... SAS MSCHE Commission MSCHE Committee on Evaluation Reports Visiting Team Institution Work Team Individual Participant “The Evidence” To reaffirm accreditation. The periodic review report is due June 1, 2017.

Don’t Forget … This is YOUR process Participation makes it a rich process There are already some extraordinary things going on Some excellent evidence is already available The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey has a history of working with exceptional MSCHE liaisons …. Thank you, Andrea Lex!