Higher Learning Commission
of the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools
Continuing Accreditation
2005 Self-Study and Site Visit
Accreditation at SMSU
• www.smsu.edu/accreditation.htm
 Lists 58 programs accredited by various
accrediting organizations
Accreditation at SMSU
• Higher Learning Commission of the North
Central Association of Colleges and
Schools accredits the institution not
individual programs
Higher Learning Commission
(HLC)
• A voluntary, non-governmental,
•
•
regional accrediting organization with
over 1,000 member institutions in 19
states
NCA was founded in 1895
SMSU - by various names - has been
continuously accredited by the
NCA/HLC since 1915
Higher Learning Commission
1,000 2- and 4-year, public and private
North Central
Association prior to
January 1, 2001
Covers 19 States . . .
Focus of Accreditation by HLC
• To assess the quality of an institution
•
•
and its effectiveness
To assist the institution in making
improvements in its operations and
effectiveness
To provide mission-driven
accreditation
HLC Mission Statement
• “Serving the common good by
assuring and advancing the quality of
higher learning”
Self-Study and Site Visit
• Five Criteria
• Twenty-one Core Components
 Examples of Evidence
• Four Categories of Operational
•
Indicators
These must be addressed in our selfstudy
Five Criteria
• Mission and Integrity
• Preparing for the Future
• Student Learning and Effective
•
•
Teaching
Acquisition, Discovery, and
Application of Knowledge
Engagement and Service
Five Criteria
• 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.
Five Criteria
• 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.
Five Criteria
• 3. Student Learning and Effective
Teaching The organization
provides evidence of student
learning and teaching effectiveness
that demonstrates it is fulfilling its
educational mission.
Five Criteria
• 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.
Five Criteria
• 5. Engagement and Service As called
for by its mission, the organization
identifies its constituencies and serves
them in ways both value.
Cross-Cutting Themes
• The Future-Oriented Organization
• The Learning-Focused Organization
• The Connected Organization
• The Distinctive Organization
not a another set of criteria nor
required. . . but seem to fit SMSU
Categories of Operational Indicators
• Demographics
• Educational Programs
• Financial Strength
• Scope of Activities
• Updated annually and addressed
in self-study
HLC “Position Statements”
• How SMSU addresses HLC position
•
•
•
statements will be part of the 2005
Self-Study
Commission Statement on
Assessment of Student Learning
Commission Statement on General
Education
Commission Statement on Diversity
Basic Understandings
General Education/Assessment
STUDENTS…
Have learned
What
you have
collectively
defined
Are able to do
Publicly
committed to
And are becoming
And intended for
them to
Learn,
do,
and become
INSTITUTION…
Evidence of Assessment of
Student Learning
• Assumption:
SMSU is assessing
student learning (course, program,
general education) and using
results of assessments to improve
student learning
Assuring and Advancing…
Five Criteria and Cross-Cutting Themes
Student learning &
effective teaching
Preparing for the future
Acquisition,
discovery, &
application of
knowledge
Mission &
integrity
Learning-focused
Distinctive
Connected
Future-oriented
Engagement
&
service
Fundamental Shifts In
Evaluation Process
• SMSU will be among the first
•
institutions to be evaluated using
recently revised and adopted criteria
Experience from 1995 self-study and
site visit will help but will not be
duplicated
Fundamental Shifts
• From inputs and resources to results
• From teaching to teaching & learning
• From a look backwards to a future
focus
• From autonomy to connection &
collaboration
• From uniformity/stratification to
distinctiveness, flexibility, &
differentiation
Fundamental Shifts
• Previous self-studies were
•
snapshots of the past 10 years
2005 self-study will show how
SMSU is poised for the future
Creating the Self-Study
• “…the overriding goal of the selfstudy is to show that SMSU is
mission focused and guided by a
long-range vision.”
How. . .?
• How do we create a self-evaluation
•
•
process that is meaningful, useful, and
will make a significant difference for
SMSU?
What forums do we use for raising the
most important questions and holding
the meaningful conversations that make
this significant difference possible?
How do we connect the self-evaluation
to the criteria and the self-study
process?
How. . .?
• How do we write a self-study that
assures peer institutions of our
distinctive quality and advances the
work and purposes of SMSU?
“Serving the common good by assuring and
advancing the quality of higher learning.”
HLC mission statement
How. . .?
How. . .?
• Use existing university
•
committees to the fullest extent
possible
www.smsu.edu/acaaff/Committee
Handbook2003-2004.pdf
How. . .?
• Minimize duplication in 2005 self-study
•
and next long-range plan
Both will be 18-month process
beginning January 2004
How. . .?
• Long-Range Plan will be submitted
•
as Part 1 of the Self-Study
Summary evaluation of the
processes will be Part 2
HLC Steering Committee
Dr. Jim Baker
Assistant to the President
Dr. Sue George
Teacher Education
Dr. Barbara Bushman
Graduate College
Dr. John Catau
University College
Dr. Tom Dicke
History
Dr. Frank Einhellig*
Graduate College
Mr. Don Simpson
Enrollment Services
Dr. Tammy Jahnke*
Chemistry
Dr. Martha Kirker*
Assessment
Dr. Etta Madden
English
Dr. Pete Richardson
Management
Dr. Roger Sell
Academic Development
Dr. Lois Shufeldt*
Marketing
Dr. Bill Cheek*
Natural and Applied Sciences
• HLC Review Committee (1997-present) and Executive Committee
Jim Baker, Frank Einhellig, Martha Kirker, Lois Shufeldt, Bill Cheek-Chair
• Also serving on UPAC
Jim Baker, Roger Sell, Lois Shufeldt, Bill Cheek
HLC Steering Committee
• NCA/HLC Review Committee has
•
been working since 1997
2005 HLC Steering Committee has
been working since 2002
 Now meeting twice monthly
Self-Study Goal and Objectives
•
•
While affirming that Southwest Missouri State University (SMSU) fulfills
all criteria for continuing accreditation by the Higher Learning
Commission, the overriding goal of the self-study is to show that SMSU
is mission focused and guided by a long-range vision.
Southwest Missouri State University is a multi-campus metropolitan
university system* with a statewide mission in public affairs whose
purpose is to develop educated persons while focusing on five themes:
professional education, health, business and economic development,
creative arts, and science and the environment. To what extent do these
foci influence the Institution’s many functions?
 *SMSU-West Plains is an open enrollment, two-year institution separately accredited by the
Higher Learning Commission and is not included in this self-study.
Self-Study Goal
and Objectives
•
•
•
•
Objective 1. To evaluate the effectiveness of the University’s
continuous planning processes, performance measures,
student learning outcomes measures, and the integration of
those processes in support of the mission of the Institution.
Objective 2. To identify strengths, issues of concern, and
opportunities for improvement.
Objective 3. To involve the University’s many constituencies in
the evaluation of institutional structures, processes, and
programs, relative to the criteria for accreditation.
Objective 4. To establish and implement a plan for systematic
collection and evaluation of information that will facilitate future:
(1) accreditation activities for the Higher Learning Commission
and programmatic accreditations and (2) continual
improvement of university functions.

Approved 11/14/03 by HLC Steering Committee
Preparation for 2005 HLC Self-Study
and
Long-Range Vision and Five-Year Plan 2006-2010
Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2005
Month
J F M A M J J A S O N D
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Welcoming the 21st Century
Annual Reporting of Performance
Measures; Board Review;
Results Published
Countdown to the Centennial
Annual Reporting of Performance Measures; Board Review; Results Published
Continuous Review of Concerns
Identified by 1995 Site Team
Yearly Attendance at NCA/HLC Annual Meeting
Presentations/Papers to Annual NCA/HLC Meeting
1996. 1997, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Institutional Change
Degree-Off Site
AuD
Centennial Celebration Preparation
Centennial Celebration
HLC Self-Study Steering Committee - 2005 Site Visit
Goal
Plan
Long Range Planning
NCA/HLC Activities
Centennial Celebration
Review and Preparation
Committee Work
Self-Study Report
UPAC Plan Preparation
Dare to Excel
Questions to Consider . . .
• Add two or three questions
appropriate for the group