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STAGE 1 - THE INSTITUTIONAL PROPOSAL
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Purpose
The Institutional Proposal is
the first element of the Institutional Presentation and the first stage in the
accreditation review cycle. Its purpose is to guide the entire accreditation
review process. Once the Proposal is approved, it becomes part of the total body
of institutional material that supports the review during its subsequent two
stages. The Proposal enables the review process to be anchored in each
institution’s distinctive context and its intended goals for the accreditation
process.
The Institutional Proposal
enables the institution to:
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Establish the
context for its next accreditation review cycle by describing the institution’s
most important features, and the most important issues that it wishes to
address;
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Define specific
goals and outcomes for the accreditation review in light of issues arising from
the institution’s own planning and development processes and emerging from the
institution’s examination of itself under the new accreditation Standards, as
well as specific issues raised by the Commission as a result of the last
institutional review;
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Evaluate the
effectiveness of its data gathering and analysis systems;
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Identify how the
institution will present basic data and Reflective Essays on Institutional
Capacity for the Preparatory Review;
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Explore
educational effectiveness and support institutional improvement by identifying
the institutional strategy to be used for the Educational Effectiveness Review;
and
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Propose the
timing and relationship between the Preparatory and Educational Effectiveness
Reviews (normally 12 to 18 months).
(WASC Handbook of
Accreditation/2001)
Committees Created for the
Institutional Proposal Process
Our
Proposal
CSUSM Institutional Proposal to WASC, May 2005 (*.doc)
STAGE 2 - INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY & PREPARATORY REVIEW
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Purpose
The
Preparatory Review is designed to enable the Commission to determine
whether an institution fulfills the Core Commitment to Institutional
Capacity:
The
institution functions with clear purposes, high levels of institutional
integrity, fiscal stability, and organizational structures and processes
to fulfill its purposes.
In
keeping with the Commission’s goals of focusing institutional efforts in
the accreditation process on issues of importance, building a culture of
evidence, reducing the burden of the accreditation review and enhancing
the strategic value of the process, the Preparatory Review is intended
to be a focused review which includes a site visit with clearly defined
purposes and procedures. These are to:
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Audit and verify the information provided in the
Institutional Presentation, and to assure that the data presented
fairly and accurately portray the state of the institution at the
time of review.
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Evaluate key institutional resources, structures, and processes in
the light of the Commission’s Standards to assure that the
institution operates at or above threshold levels acceptable for
accreditation (or candidacy) and, where appropriate, to identify any
capacity-related issues that need to be carried forward in the
Educational Effectiveness Review.
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Assess the institution’s preparedness to undertake the Educational
Effectiveness Review as proposed, and to assist the institution in
refining its focus and plan for that review.
Institutional
Capacity & Preparatory Review Committees
The
Preparatory Review Report
To
support the Preparatory Review, each institution is responsible to
develop a Preparatory Review Report. The Report is intended to be
primarily evidentiary, consisting of a carefully-chosen set of exhibits
(the Institutional Portfolio) that support the institution’s claim that
it meets the Core Commitment to Capacity, supported by limited text
essays that explain or reflect on the Portfolio’s contents. To the
extent possible, the exhibits included in the Institutional Portfolio
should be drawn from existing documents and data rather than being
prepared especially for the review team.
The
Portfolio is also intended to be “standing,” i.e., it should be able to
be used in succeeding reviews to avoid duplication of effort and
additional institutional costs.
Suggestions for the
Preparatory Review Report
CSUSM
WASC Capacity and Preparatory Review Report
STAGE 3 - EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS REVIEW
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Purpose
The Educational
Effectiveness Review is intended to be significantly different from the
Preparatory Review. Its primary purpose is to invite sustained
engagement by the institution on the extent to which the institution
fulfills its educational objectives. Through a process of inquiry and
engagement, the Educational Effectiveness Review also is designed to
enable the Commission to make a judgment about the extent that the
institution fulfills its Core Commitment to Educational Effectiveness:
The institution evidences clear and appropriate educational
objectives and design at the institutional and program levels, and
employs processes of review, including the collection and use of data,
that assure the delivery of programs and learner accomplishments at a
level of performance appropriate for the degree or certificate awarded.
Specific purposes of the Educational Effectiveness Review include:
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To review the
design and results of institutional efforts to evaluate the
effectiveness of educational programs;
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To examine
institutional practices for evaluating student learning and to
develop and share good practices in using educational results to
improve the process of teaching and learning;
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To
examine the alignment of institutional resources with activities
designed to achieve the institution’s educational objectives; and
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To promote
sustained engagement with selected issues of Educational
Effectiveness consistent with Commission Standards. These will have
already been identified by the institution and approved through the
Proposal Review Process. The institution is encouraged to select
issues of importance to itself in this process, so the Review will
be of maximum local utility.
Who Is Involved in
Preparation
In light of the primary
emphasis placed on inquiry and engagement related to questions of
teaching and learning in this Review, it is expected that faculty will
be deeply involved in the design and implementation of the Educational
Effectiveness Report and review process, as well as others at the
institution connected to issues of Educational Effectiveness.
Possible Models for the
Educational Effectiveness Report
The Educational Effectiveness Review is intended to enable institutions
to explore topics or themes that are related to the institution’s own
priorities and needs, with special emphasis on the assessment and
improvement of student learning. The Commission Standards, especially
Standards 2 and 4, serve as a frame for selecting topics to be examined
in the course of the Educational Effectiveness Review. The format for
the Educational Effectiveness Report will therefore vary significantly
based upon the institutional context and model for review agreed upon
through the Proposal Review Process.
Special Themes
Under this model, in
addition to the required elements specified below, the institution will
carefully select a limited number of topics for review in depth;
identify expected areas of inquiry or researchable questions for each
topic; select a methodology for engaging each topic; and carry out each
investigation as a rigorous research-based study. Typically, three or
more topics should be selected involving aspects of Educational
Effectiveness. At least one of these must give explicit attention to
student learning and be supported by concrete data on educational
results
DATA
EXHIBITS
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CSUSM
WASC Capacity and Preparatory Review Report
CSUSM Institutional Proposal to WASC, May 2005
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Degrees offered at CSUSM: Annual Report to WASC for
2005/06
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WASC Summary Data Form
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Inventory
of Educational Effectiveness Indicators
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WASC Data Elements 1 - 5
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WASC Required Tables
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