WELCOME &INTRODUCTION

Irving Hendrick, Interim President

Accreditation 2020 Training

AGENDA

ACCJC Update and Overview

Accreditation Standards

Evidence Protocol & Assessment Strategies

Fostering Productive Teams

Training Assessment

SPECIAL GUEST PRESENTER

Gohar Momjian

Vice President

ACCJC

• 20+ years’ experience in higher education

• Served as the Associate Vice Chancellor of Institutional Development at City College of San Francisco

• Formerly Interim Director of Operations at Cañada College

• Previously, Accreditation Liaison Officer for the American University of Armenia

• B.A. in Psychology from UCLA

• M.A. in International Education, Administration, and Policy Analysis from Stanford University

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ACCJC New Directions, Philosophy

Riverside City CollegeFebruary 26, 2018

Gohar Momjian

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ACCJC New Directions, New Philosophy• Mission: The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior

Colleges works with its member institutions to advance educational quality and student learning and achievement. This collaboration fosters institutional excellence and continuous improvement through innovation, self-analysis, peer review, and application of standards.

• ACCJC Core Values: Integrity; Quality Assurance; Institutional Improvement; Peer Review; Student Learning and Achievement; Collegiality

• Strategic Plan & Goals

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Strategic Plan – Great Strides

• Educational Programming - Redesigned training model with peers from field (e.g. Janet Fulks); New Peer Reviewer Training; Advanced ISER Training; First-ever ACCJC annual conference with sold-out participation

• Communications - New staffing and VP model to support colleges, redesigned website, partnering with organizations

• Strategic Planning and Evaluation – implementation and monitoring of progress; using feedback to make changes for improvement

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Strategic Plan – New DirectionsAlign accreditation processes and structures to support the dual purposes of institutional quality assurance and improvement

Outcome 1: Support member institutions’ efforts to increase student achievement and address low performance as identified by the US Education DepartmentOutcome 2: Create and implement strategies to support institutions assessed to be in financial risk Outcome 3: Develop a new taxonomy of standards to enable a more holistic institutional review

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We are Excited! The VP Portfolio Model…

• VP portfolio model• Be Available• Be Supportive • Be present during visit• Assist team chair as needed; not a team member, don’t influence team findings • Provide feedback on draft report to team chair, focus to ensure that findings

are supported by narrative, relevant to cited standards• Advocate for the college

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What is Accreditation, and Why Do We Do It?

• Quality assurance • Quality improvement • Peer review

• Who is the Accrediting Commission?• Who are the peer reviewers?• Who runs the show?

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The Process

• Institutional Self Evaluation (internal)• Institutional Self Evaluation Report (ISER)• Peer Review Review Team (a.k.a. the Visiting Team)• Commission Review and Action

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Guidance for Institutional Self Evaluation

• Eligibility Requirements (the basics)• The Standards• Commission Policies

• Guide to Evaluating and Improving Institutions (2017)

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Starting the Review – Focusing on the Mission• Objectives

• Gain facility and familiarity with the college’s mission you will visit– the framework for all institutional goals and activities

• Promote a working relationship among team members

• Integrate the mission statement in all related standards

• Develop expertise identifying good evidence and support

• Cultivate a relationship among team members that enables the report writing

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Focusing on the Mission for the Review - Steps1. Individually Read the college’s mission statement. Make notes about the college in relation to its mission

2. As a group briefly discuss the benefits of your college’s mission statementDescribe how this mission allows the college to serve its

student populationsIndicate the strengths of the mission to leverage student

learning and achievementDiscuss how the college uses the mission to serve students

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Standard 1.A.1. Mission

The mission describes the institution’s broad educational purposes, its intended student population, the types of degrees and other credentials it offers, and its commitment to student learning and student achievement.

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Mission Integration• Look at the integration of the mission with other areas of the

report/standards• The mission provides the framework for all institutional

goals/activities• Standard 1: A.1-4, B.3,5,7,9 and C.1,5• Standard 2: A.1,10 and C.1,4• Standard 3: B.2, C.2, and D.2, 16• Standard 4: B.3-5, C.5,7.13 and D.2

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Quality Focus Essay• Improvement component• Connect to student learning and achievement• What doing to move the needle?• Long-term projects with clear demarcation line• Peer Review team provides constructive feedback• Report on in Mid-term report (4 years out from start)• Peer review team provides constructive feedback

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Evidence Guidelines•Focus on language in standard•Relevant & concise•Consider your audience & format as electronic doc

•Don’t overdo it!•Student Achievement Data• Include those data that demonstrate that you are achieving your mission.

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Updates• I.B.3 and I.B.6 – thought papers – contributing

to body of knowledge in field• III.A.6 – deletion at January Commission

meeting, expansion of II.A.2 (systems approach)•Meeting the standard in a fluid environment

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Thoughts and Remaining Questions

ACCREDITATION STANDARDS IN CONTEXT

Hayley Ashby, Faculty Chair Accreditation; Professor, Library

Accreditation 2020 Training

OUTCOMES

1. Become familiar with how the four accreditation standards and align with the strategic planning structure

2. Understand roles and responsibilities for standards

3. Become acquainted with accreditation resources available to support self-evaluation efforts

ORGANIZATION

Organizing principles for how the college will accomplish the work:

Accreditation vested into council/committee structure

Councils/committees are comprised of all necessary stakeholders (i.e., administrators, faculty, staff, and students)

Councils’ strategic responsibilities aligned with standards

Educational Program Oversight Committee (EPOC) serves as the Accreditation Steering Committee (ASC)

STANDARD ALIGNMENT

STANDARDRESPONSIBLE LEADS

ADMINISTRATOR FACULTY STAFF

Standard I – Mission, Quality, IE, & Integrity

GEMQSusan Mills TBD TBD

Standard II – Student Learning & Support

ACTPIS & SASCarol FarrarFeRita Carter

TBD TBD

Standard III – Resources RDAS Chip West Tucker Amidon Natalie Halsell

Standard IV– Leadership & Governance

GEMQSusan Mills TBD TBD

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Council Tri-leads – Administrator, Faculty, and Classified staff

A college vice president is the administrative lead Organizes efforts to assess the standard

Attends ASC and communicates progress

Works with the lead writer to submit drafts by the deadline

The faculty member is the lead writer Synthesizes input from the council/committee and area experts

Prepares drafts incorporating feedback form ASC

A staff member provides support Supports standard assessment, helps collect evidence, and review drafts

ACCREDITATION RESOURCES

Documents provided to support accreditation efforts …

Previous Accreditation Reports 2015-2017 Annual ACCJC Reports

2017 Midterm Report & Letter

2015 Follow-up Report, Team Report, & Letter

2014 Institutional Self Evaluation & Letter

Accreditation Resources Accreditation Timeline

Strategic Planning/Standards Alignment

ACCJC Publications (available online)

ACCREDITATION RESOURCES

Communication Strategic Planning Newsletter – Accreditation Section

Meeting Minutes from the ASC and Leadership Councils/Committees

Accreditation Update Presentations

Evidence Evidence Protocol Instructions

Standard Evidence Inventory Worksheet & Sample

Writing Acronyms and Glossary

Formatting/Style Guide

Standard Draft Outline Worksheets (provided online)

Standard heading and subject description

Related sub-standard heading and description

Questions related to evaluation criteria from the ACCJC Guide

Document the evaluation discussion

List evidence relevant to standard

Identify gaps to address now and later

TIMELINE FOR SPRING 2018February Councils identify faculty and staff co-leads;

accreditation training

March Follow-up meetings with Leadership Councils/Committees, ASC, and others

April Monitor progress and provide support to councils/committees

May ASC reviews initial council/committee drafts and evidence

June ASC reviews subsequent council/committee drafts and evidence; drafts locked and forwarded to editors

QUESTIONS?

Contact:

Hayley AshbyFaculty Chair AccreditationProfessor, Library Ext. 8866Hayley.Ashby@rcc.edu

EVIDENCE PROTOCOLS & ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Susan Mills, Accreditation Liaison Officer; Vice President Planning & Development

Michelle Davila, Executive Admin Assistant, President’s Office

Accreditation 2020 Training

OUTCOMES

1. Develop an awareness of evidence protocol – what to gather, how to collect it, how to analyze it, what to call it, and where to turn it in.

2. Understand how to assess the standards to determine what processes and practices are working well and what could be improved.

PURPOSE OF EVIDENCE

We use evidence …

To encourage informed college-wide dialogue

As the basis for analysis, reflection, and documentation when reviewing the standards

To inform the improvement of processes, procedures, policies, and structures to maximize student achievement and learning

FORMS OF EVIDENCE

Evidence is quantitative and qualitative data in a variety of formats evaluated as part of the strategic planning process:

• Program Reviews

• College catalog

• Handbooks

• Meeting minutes

• Survey results

• Research reports

HOW TO USE EVIDENCE

Strategic planning councils and committees should…

Discuss the meaning and relevance of evidence

Use evidence to answers evaluation questions related to the standards

Interpret and reflect upon evidence documents in the context of the overall institution

Ensure that evidence is comprehensive and corroborated

Use evidence to provide guidance for improvement

EVIDENCE PROCEDURES

When compiling evidence …

Collect and submit documents in electronic format whenever possible

Use the Standard Evidence Inventory worksheet to catalog documents

Clearly number and name evidence

Be consistent when referring to evidence in standard drafts

Save using the naming convention – standard name & document name (e.g., I.A.1.MissionStatement)

SUBMITTING EVIDENCE

When submitting evidence …

Send Standard Evidence Inventory worksheet along with the standard draft to Susan Mills (Susan.Mills@rcc.edu) and Hayley Ashby (Hayley.Ashby@rcc.edu)

Send Standard Evidence Inventory worksheet and evidence documents to Michelle Davila (Michelle.Davila@rcc.edu)

ASSESSING THE STANDARDS

Base the evaluation of the standards on evidence

Use the evaluation criteria questions included in the Guide to Evaluating and Improving Institutions

Use an appreciative inquiry approach:

1. What Is – What improvements have been made since the last accreditation?

2. What Might Be – What else can we do to build upon our successes?

3. What Should Be – What specific actions should we take in the future?

4. What Will Be – What can we address now?

FOSTERING PRODUCTIVE TEAMS

Kathleen Sell, Strategic Planning Faculty Chair; Associate Professor, English & Humanities

Natalie Halsell, Admin Assistant, Languages, Humanities & Social Sciences

Accreditation 2020 Training

OUTCOME

Become familiar with team development best practices and tools to facilitate council/committee discussion, decision-making, communication, engagement, and progress monitoring.

WHAT MAKES A TEAM

A team is a group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project.

Councils and committees are Cross-Functional Teams:

• Individuals come from different areas of the college

• Share a common goal or objective

• Develop innovative ideas

• Work together to accomplish tasks

QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE TEAMS

Effective teams …

Are intentionally and purposefully formed

Have a clear charge tied to a specific function, project, or task

Are interdependent – individuals rely on one another

Believe that working as a team leads to greater outcomes

Are committed to collective accountability and rewards

WHAT EFFECTIVE TEAMS DO

Effective teams engage in the following behaviors:

Build trust to encourage openness and sharing

Collaborate to move in the same direction

Cultivate commitment through clarity and buy-in

Hold themselves and others accountable

Constantly and clearly communicate

Remain flexible and adjust as necessary

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is

success. – Henry Ford

”

TEAM ACTIVITY – 10 MINUTES

Work with the individuals at your table to:

1. Designate a facilitator, a recorder, and a reporter

2. On your own, read the individual questions and consider your answers

3. Go around the table and have everyone answer the questions

4. After every person has spoken, collectively discuss and record the answer to the group questions

5. Report out

ACTIVITY QUESTIONS

Individual Questions (to be answered by every person at the table):

1. Describe one recent improvement in your area.

2. Name one action that could be taken to build upon that success.

Group Questions (to be discussed collectively):

1. How do all of the identified improvements contribute to the institution’s overall effectiveness?

2. What further action would enhance student learning and achievement?

ACTIVITY DE-BRIEF

Effective team behaviors modeled in the activity:

1. Commitment & Accountability – Designated roles

2. Preparation – Individually read questions and considered answers

3. Equal Participation – Everyone at the table answered the questions

4. Collaboration – Collectively discussed and answered the group questions

5. Communication – Reported out to the larger group

MEETING EFFECTIVENESS

BEFORE the meeting DURING the Meeting AFTER the Meeting

Review previous minutes Actively listen Document actions and decisions

Develop/Review the agenda Ask questions Distribute/review the minutes

Prepare/Review materials Stay on topic Follow-up on assigned tasks

Offer ideas and comments

Give and receive feedback

Note action items and deadlines

CELEBRATE TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Celebrate successes and accomplishments:

Recognize team members for specific accomplishments

Express appreciation for individuals’ particular contributions

Celebrate your team’s collective success

“People who feel appreciated are more

positive about themselves and their ability to contribute. – Susan Heathfield

”