Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges will host its first ACCREDITATION INSTITUTE on January 5 and 6, 2007, at the San Francisco Airport Westin. Open to all faculty, Accreditation Liaison Officers, and Chief Instructional Officers, this Institute will focus on the relationship between local governance and the creation of the successful self study. The Institute hours will be from 10:30 a.m. Friday to 4:00 p.m. Saturday, and we encourage attendees to arrange their travel accordingly as the opening and closing sessions promise to create an essential frame for the entire Institute experience. In addition, course credits will be available for attendees.

While accreditation is an academic and professional matter, the Academic Senate endorses the ideal that it takes a village working in unison to deliver the promise of our local missions to every individual student. Therefore, while various organizations, including the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), offer accreditation workshops, only the Academic Senate stresses the instructional leadership that is founded in California s codes and regulations and is unique to our community college system.

The cost of attending the Accreditation Institute is $395 (single occupancy), $250 (double occupancy) or $155 (registration only). Applications must be received in the Academic Senate Office in Sacramento by December 8, 2006. Please note that space is limited to 50, so to ensure your place at the Accreditation Institute, we recommend that you register as early as possible, particularly if your college is sending an educational team.

This very anticipated Institute has been several years in the making, and we at the Academic Senate are looking forward to your joining us in San Francisco this coming January for what we believe will be an important learning opportunity for us all.

Yours collegially,

Ian Walton
President

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday, January 5, 2007, 10:30 a.m.
Opening General Session and Welcome

Friday, January 5, 2007, 10:45 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
Accreditation 101: Overview of the Institute

Friday, January 5, 2007, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Lunch with Chancellor Mark Drummond

Breakout Session I  Friday, January 5, 2007, 1:10 p.m. - 2:25 p.m.
Pragmatics Strand: What the *!#? is a SLO and What is its Role in Curriculum?
Effective Practices Strand: College Effectiveness- Part I: Standards I and II
Political Realities Strand: How to Tie the Accreditation Report to Equity and Diversity

Breakout Session II  Friday, January 5, 2007, 2:40 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.
Pragmatics Strand: Assessment Buffet: Models for Classroom, Program, and Learning Support Service Assessment
Effective Practices Strand: College Effectiveness- Part II: Standards III and IV
Political Realities Strand: Academic Freedom

Friday, January 5, 2007, 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
General Session: Budgets and Accreditation

Friday, January 5, 2007, 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
No Host Reception / SLO Coordinators' Reception/Meeting

Saturday, January 5, 2007, 8:00 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.
Opening General Session and Welcome

Breakout Session III  Saturday, January 6, 2007, 9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Pragmatics Strand: Assessment Smorgasbord: Models for Assessing Core Competencies and Institutional Outcomes
Effective Practices Strand: Self Study DOs and DON Ts
Political Realities Strand: Academic and Business Models

Breakout Session IV  Saturday, January 6, 2007, 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
Pragmatics Strand: Assessing the Whole: Working With Non-Instructional Areas of the Campus
Effective Practices Strand: Panel of Team Members Tells All - Presentation Document
Political Realities Strand: Connecting the Dots

Saturday, January 6, 2007, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Lunch with ACCJC Representatives - Presentation

Breakout Session V  Saturday, January 6, 2007, 1:10 p.m.  2:25 p.m.
Pragmatics Strand: Talking the Walk: Combining Dialogue and Assessment
Effective Practices Strand: ACCJC Q&A: The Commission is IN THE HOUSE - Presentation
Political Realities Strand: When Things Go Wrong

Saturday, January 6, 2007, 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
General Session

When: January 5-6, 2007
Where: The San Francisco Airport Westin
Cost: $395.00
Registration: To register please print and fill out the registration form (PDF). Phone registrations will not be accepted.

Institute Topics will Include:

• Effective participation  empowering faculty to RETAIN CONTROL of accreditation
• The assessment LOOP: using assessment that supports student success in course and program planning
• Political REALITIES of accreditation
• The writing and reviewing of the self study so that it is truly a COLLEGIAL document
• Pragmatics/BEST Practices/How To: Working WITHIN the accreditation process
• The CURRENT state of post-secondary accreditation in California and the United States