Accreditation in Higher Education Trustees Summer Institute 2009 Dan Phelan, Jackson Community College Gary Wheeler, Glen Oaks Community College

International pressure… professional mobility Reauthorization of Higher Education Public accountability & higher education Changing contexts, few boundaries Demand for access What is driving accreditation of higher education?

Types of Accreditation  Institutional or Regional  NEACS  MSA  SACS  WASC  NWACS  HLC  National  Specialized  Professional U.S. has approx regionally (institutionally) accredited institutions (HLC has 1003 and counting….) U.S. has approx regionally (institutionally) accredited institutions (HLC has 1003 and counting….)

NWCCU SACS WASC MSCHE NEASC HLC -North Central- Institutional Accreditors

Diversity in the Membership of Institutions (1000+)  Two-year Institutions  Four-year Bachelor’s Institutions  Four-year Liberal Arts Institutions  Comprehensive Institutions  Faith Based Institutions  Research Universities  Single Purpose Institutions  Public, Private NFP, and For Profit  Virtual Institutions  AQIP (185) and PEAQ (820) Institutions

The Higher Learning Commission  Established in 1895  New Mission: 2000  New Criteria: 2005 (adopted 2003)  Pathways projects “Serving the common good by assuring and advancing the quality of higher learning.”

PEER REVIEW CORPS +/ MEMBERS Consultant-Evaluators Reviewers Reviewers Corps Advisory Team Members

Two Primary Purposes  Evaluate, Confirm, and Publicly certify (assure) the quality of the organization  Provide consultation intended for the ongoing quality improvement (advancement) of the organization

Basic Expectations Professionalism ♦ Professionalism ♦ Competence ♦ Objectivity ♦ Generalist vs. Specialist/Expert

n To assess the quality of an institution and its effectiveness n To assist the institution in making improvements in its operations and effectiveness n To provide mission-driven accreditation Focus of Accreditation

Self-Study 2-3 years S-S Report Team Visit Interviews, Evaluation Engagement Exit Session & Rec. DecisionMaking 2-part Report Assurance & Advancement ARC (Readers/Rev. Comm.) IAC Board of Trustees PEAQ Pathway Typical is a 10-year reaccreditation decision.

1 4 7 AQIP Pathway Cycles of Systematic Quality Improvement

Board of Trustees Institutional Actions Council (IAC) Accreditation Review Council (ARC) PEAQ Team Recs. AQIP Reaff. Panel Recs.Decision-making

All Peer Reviewers must know the Commission’s Criteria for Accreditation and be familiar with the Commission and its work. AQIP Reviewers have an extra package of knowledge to learn. The Commission has one set of standards: the Criteria for Accreditation The Commission has two Processes leading to Continued accreditation: PEAQ & AQIP The AQIP process has AQIP Criteria & Principles. The process fulfills the Commission’s Criteria for Accreditation.

Ongoing Relationship Annual Institutional Data Update Statement of Affiliation Status Interim Monitoring Sanction Support Programming & Services

PEAQ and AQIP Paths to improve quality

PEAQ and AQIP PEAQ and AQIP Complete Physical Fitness Program Periodic comprehensive evaluation and follow up. Ongoing implementation of improvement activities and processes.

Common elements  Same dues, broad policies  Same annual report (with organizational indicators)  Same fundamental expectations for maintaining accreditation  Same “Federal Compliance Program” expectations  Same Criteria for Accreditation  Consistency in decision-making Process

Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) To infuse the principles and benefits of continuous improvement into the culture of colleges and universities in order to assure and advance the quality of higher education. Goal

14 Participating Michigan Colleges  Bay de Noc Community College  Mott Community College  Delta College  Glen Oaks Community College  Gogebic Community College  Grand Rapids Community College  Jackson Community College  Kirtland Community College  Lansing Community College  Mid Michigan Community College  Montcalm Community College  Northwestern Michigan College  Schoolcraft College  West Shore Community College

AQIP’s Quality Principles Focusing on key processes Basing decisions on data Decentralizing control Empowering staff and faculty to make the decisions directly affecting their work Modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

Other Components of AQIP Systems thinking:  Way of helping to view systems from a broad perspective that includes seeing overall structures, patterns and cycles in systems, rather than seeing only one specific event in the systems  Help to quickly identify the real causes of issues in organizations and know just where to address them

Other Components of AQIP Stakeholder focus:  Building relationships with students and other stakeholders  Determining key factors that attract students and lead to student and stakeholder satisfaction, loyalty, student persistence, increased educational services and programs and organizational sustainability  Exceeding customer expectations  Focusing on use of customer complaint data

Principles of High Performance Organizations A mission and vision that focus on serving students’ and other stakeholders’ needs Broad-based faculty, staff and administrative involvement Leaders and leadership systems that support a quality culture A learning-centered environment Respect for people and willingness to invest in them Collaboration and a shared institutional focus Agility, flexibility and responsiveness to changing needs and conditions Planning for innovation and improvement Fact-based information-gathering and thinking to support analysis and decision-making Integrity and responsible institutional citizenship

AQIP Campus work— Strategy Forum Action Projects Systems Portfolio Systems Appraisal Quality Checkup (site visit) Re-affirmation Annual updates and periodic elements

Action Projects Provides focus for institutions to work on not more than three pressing projects Provides finite, concrete place to begin or continue the quality improvement efforts Provides institutions time to gather data for the Systems Portfolio Mini-Action Projects (MAPs)

Systems Portfolio page (double-spaced) public portfolio describing fundamental institutional systems Covers the nine AQIP categories Created once (gradually through the first four years) and then continually updated Valuable resource

Maintaining Accreditation All Commission-accredited colleges and universities must demonstrate they meet the five criteria of accreditation While AQIP processes for maintaining accredited status differ from those used in PEAQ, the fundamental requirements are the same

QUESTIONS?