WASC
Executive Committee
September 5, 2013
Meeting Notes
11:00 – 12:00 p.m.
Haak Ctr Boardroom 4115
Present Members: Andrew Lawson (College of Science and Math), Michael Caldwell (Faculty Affairs), Arun Nambiar
(Industrial Technology), Dennis Nef (Undergraduate Studies), Tamyra Pierce (University Communications), Angel
Sanchez (OIE), David Schecter (Political Science), Sandra Witte (Graduate Studies), Lynnette Zelezny (WASC ALO),
Laura Alcantar
Absent Members: Asao Inoue (English) and Fariborz M Tehrani (Civil and Geomatics Engineering)
Call to order: 11:08 a.m.
I.
II.
III.
Announcements
a. Welcome David Schecter and Sandra Witte
b. ASI Student Representation – we have submitted a request to have a graduate and undergraduate student
in the WASC Committee, Executive Committee, Core Competencies Subcommittee and Meaning, Quality
and Integrity of the Degree Subcommittee.
c. WASC Institutional Training Workshop – September 12, 2013, Oakland, CA
Nine of us will be going to the workshop next week. There are a number of questions raised at Cabinet
and PLT that we will take to the workshop.
i. Attending: Andrew Lawson, Dennis Nef, Paul Oliaro, Tamyra Pierce, Angel Sanchez, Fariborz
Tehrani, Sandra Witte, Lynnette Zelezny and Laura Alcantar.
ii. Training workshop expectations – respond by Friday, Sept. 6th
There is a call from WASC to send questions/expectations for the day and reply by tomorrow
September 6, 2013.
o What is the role of Student Affairs in the WASC visit?
o How additional information will need to be organized in addition to our 75 page
report?
o Best practices for internal organization and preparation
o Communication best practices (both internal and external)
o How many departments will be selected randomly to review assessment?
o Does WASC review policies in administrative services?
o What is the balance of selection of graduate vs. undergraduate programs during
site visit?
o Are post-bac programs included in the random selection?
Review May 15, 2013 meeting notes
Meeting notes approved
Progress on Draft Outline of Institutional Report and Institutional Report – A. Lawson and T. Pierce
Thank you to T. Pierce who has taken a lead at drafting the outline of institutional report. In writing the
institutional report there are seven sections that need to be completed. The overall goal is to have those sections
drafted this semester and reviewing them during the winter break. The goal is to polish this report during the
spring 2014 semester. It is a good idea to assign a section to lead person from the executive committee.
The Institutional Report Outline and Section Leaders:
1. Introduction: Institutional Context; Response to Previous Commission Actions – L. Zelezny and A.
Lawson
2. Compliance with WASC Standards and Federal Regulations: Self-Review under the Standards;
Compliance Checklist – D. Nef and S. Moore
3. Degree Programs: Meaning, Quality, and Integrity of Degrees – D. Schecter and A. Lawson
4. Educational Quality: Student Learning, Core Competencies, and Standards of Performance at Graduation
– X. Fu
5. Student Success: Student Learning, Retention, and Graduation – P. Oliaro, M. McDonald and A.
Sanchez
6. Quality Assurance and Improvement: Program Review; Assessment; Use of Data and Evidence – A.
Sanchez and S. Witte
7. Sustainability: Financial Viability; Preparing for the Changing Higher Education Environment – D. Nef
and C. Matson
8. Conclusion: Reflection and Plans for Improvement – M. Caldwell, A. Lawson, T. Pierce and L.
Zelezny
The executive committee charge these members to have a draft of their sections at about 7-10 pages. The draft
reports will be due by Monday, December 2, 2013. Please send your report to Laura Alcantar at
lalcantar@csufresno.edu. A. Lawson requested the report leaders to submit a paragraph for each of their
sections by Tuesday, September 10, 2013 to prepare an outline for our training on September 12th.
IV.
V.
VI.
Communications Update:
a. Newsletter – T. Pierce
T. Pierce presented a draft newsletter to send to faculty to keep them informed about the WASC reaccreditation. This newsletter will be sent via email to faculty and will be posted on the WASC website.
L. Zelezny asked the committee if they all agreed with this communication plan as we move forward to
our accreditation. All executive committee members agreed that this is a good way to get everyone more
generally aware of the process. The draft newsletter will be taken to the WASC committee for feedback.
i. Subcommittee reports – What has been done and what is coming…
b. Website update
The website has been updated with President Castro’s picture and message.
Upcoming workshops:
a. Retreat on Core Competencies: Critical Thinking and Information Literacy
September 26-27, 2013, southern California – September 13th registration deadline
Assessment 101: The Assessment Cycle, Clear and Simple
October 23, 2013, southern California
b. Retreat on Core Competencies: Quantitative Reasoning and Assessment in Majors
October 24-25, 2013, southern California
c. The Meaning, Quality, and Integrity of Degrees Workshop
November 14, 2013, southern California
d. Assessment 101: The Assessment Cycle, Clear and Simple
January 29, 2014, southern California
e. Retreat on Student Success, January 30-31, 2014, southern California
f. 2014 WASC Academic Resource Conference – Call for proposals due October 15, 2013
April 23-25, 2014, Los Angeles, CA
Next Meeting: Thurs, October 10th 11:00 – 12:00 p.m., Haak Center Boardroom 4115
Meeting adjourned: 12:01 p.m.