THE NORTH CENTRAL ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES

AND UNIVERSITIES

The Higher Learning Commission

A Regional Accrediting Association There are regional associations in other sections of the

country but NCA is the largest. The other ones are Middle States, New England, Northwest, Southern and Western.

NCA encompasses 19 states in the Midwest:

Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming and Wisconsin.

History of NCA

NCA started in 1895

With a meeting at Northwestern University in Chicago

Of 36 school, college and university administrators from seven midwestern states

National Accrediting Associations There are seven national accrediting associations

which offer accreditation for particular types of organizations:

Religious colleges and universities Trade and technical colleges Colleges focusing on health-related issues Organizations offering programs primarily

through distance delivery

The Two Fundamental Purposes of NCA:

Quality Assurance

Institutional and Program Improvement

NCA ACCREDITATION Is voluntary Utilizes peer review Is institutional rather than

specialized (or program) accreditation

Instead of focusing on standards, it looks at criteria.

Has two independent corporations:

The Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (CASI) in Tempe, AZ

The Higher Learning Commission in Chicago, IL

The Mission Statement of NCA:

“Serving the common good by assuring and advancing the quality of higher learning.”

Its core values include the following:

Quality, integrity, innovations, diversity, inclusiveness, service, collaboration, and learning.

NCU’s History of Accreditation Started in 1982 with candidacy status and several visits by

teams then and in subsequent years. Received accreditation in 1986 and a team came back in

1991. The last team came in the 1997-8 school year, and NCA

then gave us the maximum of 10 years accreditation. Therefore we are due for another visit by a team in

2007-8. We are aiming for the fall (November) of 2007.

The Process:

Next fall we will begin the two-year cycle which is traditional for any institution in preparing for its comprehensive visit by a team.

We will be compiling a large informative report which is a self-study of our university.

The self-study will look at every area of the university, providing institutional evaluation.

Characteristics of a Good Self-study Promises to have an impact on the organization beyond the

Commission visit Engages multiple constituencies of the organization Ensures effective evaluation of the whole organization Builds naturally on existing and ongoing self-evaluation

processes Produces evidence to show that the Commission’s Criteria

for Accreditation are met. Provides for good communication and support across the

organization.

Other Important Issues The self-study should be descriptive. It needs to

show evidence that we meet the criteria for accreditation.

It should also be evaluative. We should show that we understand ourselves by being able to identify both our strengths and our weaknesses.

The self-study needs to provide evidence…not just opinion.

How Do We Show Evidence? Through data from institutional evaluation (students

surveys, alumni surveys, etc.) Through data from assessment of student learning Through facts and figures, charts and graphs, comparison

data, and so forth Through supporting documents. The team will be asking

for these documents, and we will have a resource room with minutes of meetings, budgets, audited reports, even complaint files.

Commission Decision-Making Processes

The team that visits will make a recommendation to the Commission.

NCU may either accept that recommendation and ask for a Readers Panel or if it takes issue, it will ask for a Review Panel.

Both the Readers and Review Panels are composed of members of ARC (the Accreditation Review Council).

The IAC (Institutional Actions Council) will make a decision on all cases and the Board of Trustees validates these decisions.

NEW CRITERIA NCA has gone through a complete revisioning in the last

few years. It developed a new mission statement. It formulated a new report format for the Visitation Team

Reports NCA considered its values and then developed a new set

of criteria. These criteria have been phased in and are now in effect beginning in January, 2005.

All of this was accomplished with a massive amount of input from NCA constituencies.

How This Affects US

Next fall we will be assigning committees that are composed of faculty with some staff, students, etc.

The committees will be based upon the criteria. Each committee will be responsible for describing

and evaluating their assigned criterion. They will assist in collecting the evidence to

support our findings.

WHICH CRITERION ARE YOU INTERESTED IN WORKING

ON?

The Criteria for AccreditationCriterion #1: Mission and Integrity

“The organization operates with integrity to ensure the fulfillment of its mission through structures and processes that involve the board, administration, faculty, staff and students.”

CORE COMPONENTS: 1A The organization’s mission documents are clear

and articulate publicly the organization’s commitments. 1B In its mission documents, the organization

recognizes the diversity of its learners, other constituencies, and the greater society it serves.

Criterion #1 Core Components Continued

1C Understanding of and support for the mission pervade the organization.

1D The organization’s governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the organization to fulfill its mission.

1E The organization upholds and protects its integrity.

Criterion #2: Preparing for the Future

“The organization’s allocation of resources and its processes for evaluation and planning demonstrate its capacity to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its education, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.”

Criterion #2 Core Components 2A The organization realistically prepares for a future shaped

by multiple societal and economic trends. 2B The organization’s resource base supports its educational

programs and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future.

2C The organization’s ongoing evaluation and assessment processes provide reliable evidence of institutional effectiveness that clearly informs strategies for continuous improvement.

2D All levels of planning align with the organization’s mission, thereby enhancing its capacity to fulfill that mission.

Criterion #3: Student Learning and Effective Teaching

“The organization provides evidence of student learning and teaching effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational mission.”

Criterion #3 Core Components 3A The organization’s goals for student learning

outcomes are clearly stated for each educational program and make effective assessment possible.

3B The organization values and supports effective teaching.

3C The organization creates effective learning environments.

3D The organization’s learning resources support students learning and effective teaching.

Criterion #4: Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge

“The organization promotes a life of learning for its faculty, administration, staff, and students by fostering and supporting inquiry, creativity, practice, and social responsibility in ways consistent with its mission.”

Criterion #4 Core Components 4A The organization demonstrates, through the actions of its board,

administrators, students, faculty, and staff, that it values a life of learning.

4B The organization demonstrates that acquisition of a breadth of knowledge and skills and the exercise of intellectual inquiry are integral to its educational programs.

4C The organization assesses the usefulness of its curricula to students who will live and work in a global, diverse, and technological society.

4D The organization provides support to ensure that faculty, students, and staff acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly.

Criterion #5:Engagement and Service

“As called for by its mission, the organization identifies its constituencies and serves them in ways both value.”

Criterion #5 Core Components 5A The organization learns from the constituencies it

serves and analyzes its capacity to serve their needs and expectations.

5B The organization has the capacity and the commitment to engage with its identified constituencies and communities.

5C The organization demonstrates its responsiveness to those constituencies that depend on it for service.

5D Internal and external constituencies value the services the organization provides.

The Steering Committee We will also need to have a Steering Committee that will

help to steer (duh) the whole self study process. This committee will oversee everything to be sure that it is

all covered well. The committee will make over-arching evaluations and

recommendations.

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