The Role of IR in Supporting the Accreditation Process: A Chair

1
The Role of IR in Supporting the Accreditation
Process A Chairs Perspective

• Dr. Barbara R. Sadowski
• Chief Planning Officer
• Marywood University
• http//www.marywood.edu

2
Two Distinct Roles for IR

• Support for the self-study process
• Preparing for the self-study (Year 1)
• During the self-study (Year 2)
• Preparing for the campus visit (Year 3)
• Documenting Institutional Effectiveness
• Critical Success Factors/benchmarks
• Developing a plan

3
Preparing for the Self-study

• Start early at least three years before
  expected visit (2003 summer for spring 2006
  visit)
• Activities (Year 1)
• Determine what accreditation process and
  standards require as evidence MSA Website
• Inventory current survey coverage
• Conduct surveys where necessary plan for
  funding
• Sign up for surveys where needed, e.g., faculty,
  CLA, alumni
• Scan important documents, e.g., accreditation
  reports

4
Preparing for the Self-Study

• Make survey data readily accessible to campus
  users
• Provide campus with organized and easily
  interpreted data
• Suggestions that worked
• Intranet IR site for campus users
• Scanned documents as PDF files
• Survey reports across years
• Survey data in easily interpreted format, e.g,
  Excel files with multiple years, use conditional
  formatting for significant differences

5
Preparing for the Self-Study

• Link accreditation standards to survey results
• Cross-walk between MSA elements and NSSE items
• Organize list of IR resources by MSA standards
• Table of Resources for Self-study Design
• Organize resources by study group
• Relate items from surveys, e.g., SSI, CSS to MSA
  elements
• Special topics self-study requires a roadmap
  relating documentation evidence to elements of
  MSA standards

6
Example of Cross-walk betweenSurvey data and
Standards

• NSSE Item
• Worked on a research project with faculty outside
  of course
• Quality of relationships w/ faculty
• Community Service
• Attending campus events and activities

• MSA Standards
• 10, 13, 14
• 6, 9, 10
• 6, 13, 14
• 1, 11

7
During the Self-Study

• Use on-line surveys to handle ad hoc requests for
  data, e.g., Survey Monkey
• Refer requests for survey data to website with
  resources for self-study accreditation
• Check initial drafts of self-study for correct
  interpretation of survey data
• IR staff serve on relevant study groups as
  resource person(s)

8
Preparing for the Team Visit

• Two distinct aspects to supporting evidence
• Charts and graphs in appendices to self-study
  document
• Evidence for documentation room
• Assemble the documentation room evidence
• Create a CD with self-study text and links to
  supporting material
• If a special topics self-study, then a roadmap
  linking elements and evidence needs to be
  developed

9
Documenting Institutional Effectiveness

• MSA standard on assessment of institutional
  effectiveness
• Role of IR is not as support for accreditation
  process but rather as the primary source for
  documentation of institutional effectiveness
• Mission statement including goals and objectives
  determines what needs to be documented as
  evidence of institutional effectiveness

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Documenting Institutional Effectiveness

• Institutional Assessment is more comprehensive
  than Student Learning Outcomes Assessment
• A distinction between direct and indirect
  evidence of outcomes needs to be clear
• NSSE data provide direct evidence of
  institutional environment for learning, not
  evidence of learning outcomes.

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Documenting Institutional Effectiveness

• Benchmarks comparing institution indicators
  against a peer group
• Dashboard indicators track self-referenced
  critical success factors
• Selection of no more than 10 indicators - very
  important
• Across institution finance, enrollment, quality,
  advancement
• Relate to both institutional goals and strategic
  goals

12
Documenting Institutional Effectiveness

• Dashboard indicators
• Provide 5 years worth of data (hidden graph)
• Indicate high and low points
• Indicate current years value and assessment of
  change from previous year (color-coded)
• Positive
• Negative
• Stable