1. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Understanding and Adapting to the New SACS/COC Process: The APSU Accreditation Review Project SACS/COC 2004 Reaffirmation of APSU Presentation to Western Carolina University September 23, 2004

2. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Facts About APSU Member of the 2004 Cohort –Compliance Audit, August 2003 –Quality Enhancement Plan, January 2004 –On-site Review, April 2004 Public, Comprehensive University Headcount = 8,000 Located in Northern Middle Tennessee (40 miles NW of Nashville) Governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents (nation’s 6 th largest system)

3. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis President’s Perspective President’s past experience with SACS/COC –Commission member and Executive Council member –Visiting Team Committee Chair –President of institution that successfully completed an alternate self-study –HIGH expectations

4. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Process - Initial Concerns Senior executive team and academic leadership’s limited direct experience with SACS process Institutional effectiveness –Lack of centralized documentation Credentials of selected faculty –Decentralized adjunct file locations –Lack of standardized process for exceptions Library resources Documentation, Documentation, Documentation

5. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis SHOCK At the December 2001 SACS/COC Annual Meeting…

6. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis ANGER

7. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis DISMAY

8. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Academic VP I’ve been on the job for less than a year...

9. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Faculty Co-chair What have I gotten myself into?

10. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis SACS Liaison I’d better think of a way to get this done right!

11. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Process Rethinking Our Strategy Scrapping of old process and team structure New team leadership Attend orientation and training sessions Speed up the redesign of IE program & documentation Organizing for dual processes –Compliance Audit Web-based Reporting –Pluses and minuses –Quality Enhancement Plan

12. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis IETS Documenting Existing Activities Over 20 yrs of Performance Funding in Tennessee Program accreditation or 5-yr program reviews General education testing Major field testing Student, Alumni, and Employer surveys at institutional level and some disciplines Strategic planning process up-to- date Department annual reports

13. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis IETS Documenting Existing Activities APSU was failing to document assessment and results APSU was failing to meet the spirit and intent of institutional effectiveness –“Closing the loop” at all levels of the institution

14. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis IETS Detailed Information for Each Unit Objective Objective Implementation Strategy Assessment Criteria Actual results Action taken Barriers to Achievement Need for further action Further resources needed Access to sample IETS pages through http://www.apsu.edu/sacs/iets.htm

15. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis IETS Observations After Three Cycles System can be and is very flexible and constantly “tweaked” University has managed to take the potentially abstract concept of IE down to a process that incorporates day- to-day activities of units … rather than the opposite

16. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Organizing and Completing the Compliance Audit

17. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Compliance Audit Human Side “Streamlined” Internal Review –1993 APSU Self-Study 48 members in 8 committees –2003 APSU Comp. Audit 19 members in 9 subcommittees

18. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Compliance Audit Human Side Subcommittees –Core Req.; CS on Mission, Governance, and Admin –Institutional Effectiveness –Educational Programs Advising –Faculty –Library & Learning Resources –Student Affairs and Services –Financial and Physical Resources –Federal Mandates

19. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Compliance Audit The Essentials Each Core Requirement and Comprehensive Standard –Statement of requirement/standard –Judgment of compliance (Yes, Partial, No) –Proof/Explanation –Plans for compliance –Documentation Done Twice: “Dry-run” and “Official”

20. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Compliance Audit Human Side Timeline and Process –Inst. Orientation w SACS (Spring ’02) –Organizational Mtg. (Aug. ’02) –Progress Report Meetings (Nov. ’02) –Draft Deadline (Dec. ’02) –Proofing and Editing (Spring ’03) –Dry-run of CA (May ’03) –Final Edits (Summer ’03) –Submission of CA (Aug. ’03) –Off Site Review (Sept. ’03) –Conference Call (Oct. ’03) –Follow-up Reports on 16 Items (Feb. ’04) –On Site Visit (Apr. ’04)

21. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Compliance Audit Technical Details Web-based Reporting Standardized Template for Compliance Audit Faculty Credentials System Institutional Effectiveness Tracking System Access to all info through http://www.apsu.edu/sacs

22. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Responding to the Off Site Review of the Compliance Audit The “Optional” Focused Report

23. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Focused Report The Essentials For Each Core Requirement and Comprehensive Standard Judged as “Not Compliant” or “Unable to Determine Compliance” by the Off Site Review Team –Statement of Requirement/Standard –Institutional understanding of oral report from SACS/COC staff –Institutional response –Supporting documents referenced in response

24. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis The Quality Enhancement Plan

25. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Quality Enhancement Plan Human Side Leadership Team QEP Planning Committees –Freshman Course –Advising –Student Life & Support Services –Data Analysis –Early Alert Network of Support

26. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Quality Enhancement Plan Human Side “Broad-based” Planning Committee –46 members in 5 subcommittees –Administration, Faculty, Staff, and Student Representation

27. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Quality Enhancement Plan The Essentials Required of the entire plan and reflected in all action items –Widespread participation in development –Increase the effectiveness of some aspect of educational programming relating to student learning –Grounded in assessment and use of empirical data and analysis –Sufficiently broad in scope to be viewed as significant to the institution –Proof of resources to deliver on promise –Detailed plan for assessment of the QEP

28. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Quality Enhancement Plan Human Side Timeline & Process –Discussion of QEP w Campus Constituents (Aug.-Sept. ’02) –Organizational Meeting (Oct. ’02) –Committee Work (Nov.-May ’03) –Reports & Recommendations (May ’03) –Drafting & Editing (June-Nov. ’03) –Final Edits (Dec. ’03) –Submission of QEP (Jan. ’04) –Onsite Review and Approval (Apr. ’04) –QEP Follow-up Report (2009)

29. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Reflecting upon the Experience

30. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis Major Changes to Day-to-Day Campus Activities Centralization of Academic Personnel Files Integration of Faculty Teaching Credentials System Emphasis on Academic Audit Integration of the Institutional Effectiveness Tracking System Documentation system to continue through 2014 Quality Enhancement Plan: 2006, 2009, 2014 (possibly)

31. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis In Reflection Started too late to prepare (only 2 years in advance of visit) –As an institution, we had not consistently monitored SACS compliance since the last 10-year reaffirmation Failed to recognize that off-site review team would not access all electronic documents or could not ask for hard copies

32. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis In Reflection Did not adequately monitor the progress of the QEP and CA committees to ensure that all were on the right track QEP –Made some assumptions in advance of data analysis, thus not achieving the full benefit of the process and restricting the outcome

33. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis In Reflection Take advantage of two key publications –Handbook for Reaffirmation of Accreditation Matrix in the back serves as a “cheat sheet” for reviewers on CA QEP “must statements” all are found in the booklet as well –Handbook for Review Committees Sadly…neither of these publications were available during CA or QEP development for APSU

34. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis What We Did Right Selection of team leaders –Commitment to quality report –Writing ability –Technological expertise Development of user-friendly IETS Selection of QEP topic that addressed a major institutional weakness Broad-based involvement in QEP Attention to Details

35. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis What We Did Right APSU completed SACS Reaffirmation on April 6-8 –Received ZERO recommendations in Compliance Audit and Quality Enhancement Plan

36. Austin Peay State University SACS Accreditation Review Project September 2004 Dr. Houston D. Davis The Leadership Team AFTER the SACS Visit