Make Available Background Research on Accreditation Requirements

Spring
2002
Resolution Number
02.02
 
Contact
Assigned to
Unassigned
Category
Accreditation
Status
Completed
Status Report

Recommendation repeated in paper to be presented for adoption in Fall 2004.

Whereas, Only four of the thirty-four institutions that have undergone the accrediting process in the last several years have satisfactorily met the Commission's expectations with regard to institutional effectiveness and planning, but nevertheless these expectations will become a central focus of accreditation decisions in the new standards;

Whereas, This dramatic shift in emphasis to documentation of student learning outcomes and systematic cycles of data analysis will require all colleges to make new, significant, sustained, and targeted investments in professional researchers, data analysis and computing capability, professional development, and faculty and staff time;

Whereas, This new emphasis will, by necessity, shift resources from those places most likely to produce enhanced student achievement, the classrooms, counseling offices, and libraries, where faculty and students interact, and will coincide with a time of economic downturn and lowered state support for the majority of institutions accredited by Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC); and

Whereas, Accreditation should evolve gradually and reflect evolving consensus regarding essential standards in the higher education community rather than abrupt, and possibly faddish, changes and trends;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate urge the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, prior to adopting new standards, to make available to the public and the educational community the background research materials that formed the basis for its recommendations, provide the public with data supporting the efficacy of this approach in improving education for students, and provide a more detailed analysis of the projected costs, impact, and implications of this shift in standards for the colleges.