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Assistant Chair Webinar

Please join the audio portion of this training:

866-740-1260, Access Code: 7489001

ReadyTalk Help Desk: 800.843.9166 International Help: 303.209.1600

Tuesday August 14, 2012

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Announcements

This presentation and the accompanying materials are available on the WASC website.

Please mute your microphone if you are not speaking

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Agenda• Introductions

name, home institution, institution to visit, WASC experience

• Outcomes for Webinar• Role and Responsibilities of Assistant Chair

Guiding LogisticsCompiling the Team Report

• Challenges• Special Emphases for Visits• Tools

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OutcomesAt the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:

•Describe assistant chair’s role in managing team logistics and guiding team report writing

•Cite common challenges and strategize solutions

•List important emphases for visits

•Locate tools and resources for visits

Key Roles for a Visit

• Chair: Guides the visit

• Assistant Chair: Guides report writing and manages team logistics

• WASC staff liaison: Guides the process

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Role of Assistant Chair: Managing Team Logistics

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• Pre-visit conference callBeforeDuringAfter

• Pre-visit narrative and report writing• Visit

RoleConfidential email accountRequired materials

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Pre-Visit Conference Call

• Talk with the chair and WASC liaison to clarify assistant chair responsibilities; discuss timeline, issues, assignments, and schedule

• Assist the chair, as needed, in planning the pre-visit conference call

• Ensure modified draft visit schedule is sent to team by ALO before conference call

• Prepare as you would for any visit by reading and making notes on the report, data exhibits, etc.

• Receive, compile, and distribute drafts of team conference call worksheet

Tools: Conference Call Worksheets for CPR, EER, Special Visit

Before

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• Take part in agenda as asked by chair • Take notes regarding issues, lines of inquiry, visit • Take notes regarding additional documents and/or

meetings needed by team• Assist chair with team assignments• Decide on due date for pre-visit draft narrative• Discuss logistics with team (first night meeting time,

due date for report sections on last day, etc.)

Tools: Guidelines for Drafting Preliminary Narrative Prior to Visit

Pre-Visit Conference Call

During

• Send conference call notes to team• Send final report format to team with assignments

for sections• With WASC liaison, discuss with ALO changes to

the schedule and additional documents needed• Clarify additional logistics with ALO (restaurants,

transportation, etc.)• Participate on chair’s call with president, if asked

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Pre-Visit Conference Call

After

Tools: Team Report Formats for CPR, CPR Candidacy, EER,Special Visit, or Pathway B

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Pre-Visit Narrative and Report Writing

• Send compiled preliminary draft narrative to team a few days before first night meeting

• Draft opening sections of report (Section 1)Description of institution and visitQuality of report and alignment/evidenceResponse to last action letter recommendations

• Incorporate, as appropriate, team draft narratives into report

Tools: Team Report Formats for CPR, CPR Candidacy, EER,Special Visit, or Pathway B

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• Take part in first night meeting as asked by chair• Take notes as needed at first night and all team meetings• Help team members stay on track with issues and lines of

inquiry, agenda, etc.• Help team chair be alert to issues with team functioning• Attend your scheduled meetings• Draft your sections of report• Work with ALO and WASC liaison regarding schedule

changes, additional material, etc.

Visit: Role

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• Check for emails every day; do not reply• Share content with team chair and team as

appropriate• Ensure that team is diligent in investigating

issues raised by emails• Make sure that only issues from emails

discussed with institution are included in report • Ensure that report does not make

unsubstantiated claims based on emails

Visit: Confidential Email Account

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• Help draft commendations and recommendations for exit meeting for chair to read

• Ensure the team completes the Educational Effectiveness Framework or Pathway B Framework, as appropriate

• Ensure the team decides on confidential recommendation to Commission

• Collect final drafts of each team member’s report sections before exit meeting

Tools: Framework for Educational Effectiveness Review or Pathway BConfidential Team Recommendation Form for CPR, EER or SanctionsCommission Decision Indicators

Visit: Required Materials

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Role of Assistant Chair: Guiding Team Report

• Process• Effective Team Reports• Use of Criteria for Review• Use of Evidence• Team Recommendations• Tips for Writing Reports

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Team Report: Process

• Compile and edit the report using team’s final narratives

• Send report to WASC liaison, chair and team for review

• Make changes based on input and send report to team chair

• Submit completed Educational Effectiveness Framework, as appropriate, to WASC

• Make sure Confidential Team Recommendation is sent to WASC and WASC liaison

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Effective reports:•Reflect a thorough assessment of the institution•Are based on evidence•Provide the basis for a sound and supportable Commission decision•Identify institutional strengths: what it’s doing well•Identify important areas for the institution to address

As of June 2012, Commission action letters and team reports are publicly available on the WASC website.

Tools: Public Disclosure of Accreditation Documents and Commission Actions

Team Report: Effectiveness

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• Criteria for Review (CFRs) link the interpretations of various readers to a common source

• Standards and CFRs form the basis for Commission decisions

• CFRs and Standards must be cited in each section of the report and in final findings and recommendations

Team Report: Use of CFRs

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• Include qualitative and quantitative evidence • Select evidence carefully and purposefully• Connect evidence to an assertion or question• Document the evidence (provide source) • Analyze data; do not just present data• Let evidence suggest improvements• Use evidence that speaks to the institution’s themes

and the team's questions

Team Report: Use of Evidence

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• Overarching and important• Clear and direct• Supported by evidence • Linked clearly to Standards and CFRs• Supported by text in the report• Limited in number (3-8)• Distinct from minor recommendations and from

suggestions embedded in the report

Team Report: RecommendationsEffective recommendations are:

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• Remember the multiple audiences for the report: the institution, the Commission, the public, WASC staff, the next team

• Honor requirements for length • Be sure the report addresses the themes/priorities and

goals set by the institution and important points• Make commendations that do not send the wrong or a

mixed signal• Avoid redundancy• Ensure use of documentation and evidence

Team Report: Writing Tips

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• Use formal language and tone, e.g., no “we” or “they”• Do not criticize or praise personnel by name• Do not be overly prescriptive or try to solve the

institution’s problems• Ensure consistent use of CFRs• Consider creating a short list of conventions for the

team to help with consistency among draft sections• Double check grammar, punctuation and spelling

Team Report: More Writing Tips

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• Chair is ineffective or disorganized• Team does not gel• Team seeks to criticize rather than understand• Team does not honor meeting schedules on visit• Team member is too prescriptive or draws on

own institution to make judgments• Team member is not prepared• Team member does not complete assigned

sections of the report• Quality of section is not as expected• Team does not achieve consensus

Challenges

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• Student success• Program review• Sustainability of effectiveness• Marketing and recruitment practices • Finances in light of economic recession• Credit hour policy

Special Considerations and Emphases

• Does the institution report 3-5 year trends in retention and graduation rates (aggregated and disaggregated)?

• What do the data show?• Has the institution benchmarked its rates against peer

institutions?• Does the institution have goals with timelines to make

improvements overall or for subgroups, as appropriate?• Does the team judge the institution’s graduation rates to be

satisfactory?

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Addressing Student Success

Tools: Undergraduate Retention and Graduation documents Graduate Retention and Graduation Documents

• Review a sample of recent program reviews (number may vary by institution)

• Evaluate them under the CFRs, applying various WASC rubrics as appropriate

• Study one or two program reviews in depth, and• Meet with the faculty and appropriate administrators from the

programs selected for in-depth examination to learn more about:

How program review works What was learned What actions flowed from the program review

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Addressing Program ReviewTeams are expected to:

Tools: Approaches for Evaluating Program Review Assessment Rubrics Combined

What structures, processes, and plans does the institution have in place for continuing the progress that it has made in the current review cycle?

• For CPR: What are the plans for using institutional capacity to achieve and demonstrate educational effectiveness at the EER?

• For EER: What are the plans for optimizing EE at the institution until the next interaction with WASC?

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Addressing Sustainability

Tools: Educational Effectiveness Framework

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• How has the financial recession affected the institution?

• How has the institution responded?• What plans are in place to operate within the

current financial environment?

Addressing the Impact of the Financial Recession

• Does the institution provide accurate information about:

The length of time to degree? The overall cost of the degree? The kinds of jobs for which the graduate is

qualified with this degree? Employment of graduates?

• Does the institution follow federal regulations on recruiting students?

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Addressing Recruitment and Marketing

• Does the institution have a policy for assigning credit hours?

• How does the policy address non-standard courses (e.g. labs, studios, internships, individual directed studies)

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Addressing Credit Hour PolicyQuestions for the institution:

Teams are expected to:• Review a sample of syllabi for non-standard courses• Conduct an audit of one term’s course schedule• Complete Credit Hour form as an appendix to report

Tools: Credit Hour PolicyCredit Hour Review

• Compliance Audit: checklist to determine compliance with WASC Standards; required for Candidacy, IA visits, Special Visits for institutions on sanction or notice of concern; include in report appendix

• Evaluating Program Review: analysis of program review process required at EER

• EE Framework: rubric for assessing capacity and effectiveness of student and institutional learning; submission to WASC liaison required following EER; also a good teaching tool

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Tools: WASC ResourcesAvailable under “Tools and Requirements for Fall 2012 Visits” on WASC Website

• Preliminary Team Report Narrative: guidelines for drafting sections of the report prior to visits

• Credit Hour Policy: policy and forms; include in report appendix• Assorted Rubrics: tools to help evaluate GE, program learning outcomes,

capstones, portfolios, and program review

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Tools: More WASC Resources

Available under “Tools and Requirements for Fall 2012 Visits” on WASC Website

•Team Report Directions and Format: guide for organizing report

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Introduction to box.netUse of box.net

• Maneuvering through the materialsInstitutional specific material from WASC General visit resource materials from WASCLogistical materials from WASC

• Downloading, saving, and printing • Email• Drafting team reports

Tools: box.net

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Thank you for your service to WASC and the region

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WASC is interested in ongoing improvements to our training. Please let us know how well you believe the webinar has helped you to understand and be better prepared for your role as a member of a visiting peer review team.

This survey should take approximately 15 minutes. Responses will be aggregated; comments will be reported anonymously.

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Post-Webinar Survey