The SACS Re-accreditation Process: Opportunities to Enhance Quality at Carolina Presentation to the Chancellor’s Cabinet September 28, 2004

Quick Overview SACS = Southern Association of Colleges & Schools 10-year accrediting cycle SACS accredits the entire institution, not individual programs Campus reports are due Fall 2005; visiting team will come in Spring 2006

Leadership Team James Moeser, Chancellor Robert Shelton, Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost Nancy Suttenfield, Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration Margaret Jablonski, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Peter Coclanis, Associate Provost for Internationalization, & Professor, History Lynn Williford, Assistant Provost for Institutional Research & Assessment Bobbi Owen, Senior Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences & Professor, Dramatic Art Mark Piefer, Professor, Biology Robert Adler, Professor, Business Kerry Kilpatrick, Professor, Public Health James Allred, Student Representative

Dual Focus of SACS Review Compliance Review (Policies & Effectiveness) Quality Enhancement Plan Planning & Evaluation

Compliance Review: Evaluating Our Policies and Outcomes Mission Academic Programs Faculty Planning & Assessment Graduate & Professional Legal & Policies Learning Resources Student Services Student Development Finances

Emphasis on Assessment Institutional Effectiveness: –Academic Plan priorities –Measures of Excellence –Institution-wide initiatives (Honor and Integrity, Intellectual Climate, Diversity, Public Service) Quality of Administrative and Student Services Student Learning Outcomes: What students are able to know, think, or do as a result of our educational programs. Most Important: Demonstrating how we use the results of our assessments to improve programs and services.

Assessing Effectiveness of Programs and Services Identify unit mission and goals (3-5 max.) Identify methods of measuring outcomes Measure outcomes on a staggered basis –Focus on measuring only 1-2 outcomes a year Review results and use to make decisions regarding program improvement Repeat assessments in subsequent cycles to track improvements All programs and service units on campus are expected to engage in a continuous cycle of evaluation and improvement:

Documenting How We Measure Institutional Effectiveness : Brief reports on assessment plans and results will be collected by the Vice Chancellors from every unit. Training, workshops, and technical support available from: –Office of Institutional Research & Assessment –Center for Teaching and Learning –Outside consultants as needed Need to appoint a contact person within each VC area.

Quality Enhancement Plan What is a “Quality Enhancement Plan?” A carefully designed and focused course of action: ”Making Critical Connections” A well-defined set of topics related to enhancing student learning: –New curriculum requirements, fall 2006 –Internationalization –Undergraduate Research Experience A complement to UNC-Chapel Hill’s planning mechanism and evaluation process –Academic Plan –Measures of Excellence –Financial Plan

What should our QEP ”Making Critical Connections” provide to Carolina? A plan to evaluate and assess the goals of the new curriculum –Fundamental skills to facilitate future learning –Broad experience with the methods and results of the most widely accepted approaches to knowledge –A sense of how one might integrate these approaches to knowledge in a way that can cross traditional disciplinary boundaries –A thorough grounding on a particular subject Long term plans to enhance the University’s status as an international university Additional opportunities for undergraduates to be involved with basic and applied research, departmental honors programs, and make presentations at national meetings

How will this be accomplished? Wide campus involvement initiated by committees, led by –Professor Sue Goodman, Curriculum –Professor Patricia Pukkila, Undergraduate Research –Professor Peter Coclanis, Internationalization Surveys, a series of fora, presentations throughout the campus, analysis of on-going activities, brainstorming, consulting with our colleagues and peers, development of ideas, review of new initiatives, etc.

Timeline for QEP Fall 2004: Committees are constituted, charged and begin work Early Spring 2005: A series of campus-wide engagements with the process, including the development of a timeline, resources, assessment schedule and the ideas Late Spring and Summer 2005: Draft report created Early Fall 2005: Draft report reviewed by UNC-Chapel Hill community and revised as needed January 2005: QEP submitted to SACS March/April 2006: On-site review Summer 2006: SACS response to QEP Fall 2006 to Spring 2010: QEP implemented March/April 2010: Five-year assessment submitted to SACS