WASC Committee
September 19, 2013
Meeting Notes
11:00 – 12:00 p.m.
Haak Ctr Boardroom 4115
Members Present: Shirley Armbruster, Bryan Berrett, Michael Caldwell, Carolyn Coon, Michelle Den Beste, Jose Diaz,
Zuanning Fu, Robert Harper, Gillisann Harootunian, Asao Inoue, Andrew Lawson, Jane Magee, James Marshall, Maxine
McDonald, Scott Moore, Arun Nambiar, Dennis Nef, Philip Neufeld, Paul Oliaro, Tamyra Pierce, Chuck Radke, Rebecca
Raya-Fernandez, Angel Sanchez, Rudy Sanchez, David Schecter, Fariborz Tehrani, Dave Tyckoson, Sandra Witte,
Lynnette Zelezny, Laura Alcantar
Members Absent: Nagy Bengiamin, Thomas Boeh, Daniel Griffin, Arthur Montejano, Melanie Ram, Terence Wan
Called to order: 11:01 a.m.
I.
II.
III.
Announcements
a. Welcome New Members: David Schecter, Scott Moore, Paul Oliaro, Tamyra Pierce and Sandra Witte.
b. WASC Institutional Workshop – September 12th Update
i. Fall 2014 Timeline and Review Team Discussion
A group of eight members attended the training for the site visit. The committee was presented
with updated Fall 2014 timeline. This semester we plan to have the draft report completed by
Thanksgiving. Fresno State expects to have the site visit from September – December 2014 next
year. The committee needs to decide how much time we will need from our off site review to our
site visit. L. Zelezny would like to get feedback on what time frame we would like to select as a
campus to finalize the accreditation. We have the opportunity to invite our designated leader,
Barbara Davis to the campus in November 2013. B. Davis took advise from our group in regards
to other institutions to serve as reviewers for our external committee. WASC selects our reviewers
and right now it is the time to make any suggestions.
Review May 8, 2013 meeting notes
Meeting notes approved.
Communications Update:
a. Newsletter/Communications/Web – T. Pierce and J. Marshal
The website committee and is now the communications subcommittee. M. Marshall suggested to the
committee that we need to contribute an elevator message. T. Pierce shared the draft newsletter and
bookmark to use as another venue of communication to pass the word to our campus community. One of
the roles of the WASC members is to be an ambassador and pass the word to other in the campus
community. Also, the website has been updated with President’s Castro picture and message. It is also
important to get the message to students to get them engaged in the process. A. Inoue suggested that we
continue to have a communication plan following our accreditation to keep the campus engaged. T. Pierce
asked the committee to send any updates to her to include in the newsletter. All subcommittees will need
to submit a short report to include in the newsletter as well.
b. Communication Plan/Best Practices – A. Nambiar
A. Nambiar contacted San Jose State University to hear some of their best practices as they moved in the
accreditation process. SJSU found a cheat sheet handout to provide to the departments very helpful.
c. Core Competency – A. Lawson (see handout)
The subcommittee is in the development stage. Once the report is completed for writing as the core
competency being evaluated, the committee will continue to work on the remaining core competencies. X.
Fu will show power point presentation showing the committee work at the next meeting. There is a
proposal at the Senate floor where Dr. Brown-Welty included all of the core competencies as part of the
program review. WASC is very thoughtful and understands that all of the core competencies will look
very different per program.
d. Meaning, Quality & Integrity of the Degree – A. Lawson (see handout)
The team completed a self-assessment following the new rubrics provided by WASC. The rubric handout
with the yellow highlighted sections is where the executive thinks we are as a group. Please review the
rubrics and the notes from the WASC workshop.
IV.
Institutional Report Outline – December 2, 2013 Internal Deadline:
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, S. Moore and M. Caldwell (G. Harootunian)
3. Degree Programs: Meaning, Quality, and Integrity of Degrees – D. Schecter and A. Lawson (ASI
Student, Michelle DenBeste, S. Moore and D. Nef, J. Diaz, J. Marshall and R. Raya-Fernandez)
4. Educational Quality: Student Learning, Core Competencies, and Standards of Performance at Graduation
– X. Fu (R. Hall, R. Harper, A. Inoue, C. Radke, M. Ram, F. Tehrani, D. Tyckoson, P. Neufeld, T. Pierce
and J. Magee)
5. Student Success: Student Learning, Retention, and Graduation – P. Oliaro, M. McDonald and A.
Sanchez (ASI Student and C. Radke)
6. Quality Assurance and Improvement: Program Review; Assessment; Use of Data and Evidence – A.
Sanchez and S. Witte (D. Griffin and Lisa Kao)
7. Sustainability: Financial Viability; Preparing for the Changing Higher Education Environment – D. Nef
and C. Matson (R. Sanchez, B. Berrett and C. Coon)
8. Conclusion: Reflection and Plans for Improvement – M. Caldwell, A. Lawson, T. Pierce and L.
Zelezny
X. Fu asked the group for any faculty recommendations to include experts on the core competencies areas to help
this subcommittee with the planning
V.
Workshop Updates:
a. Retreat on Core Competencies: Critical Thinking and Information Literacy
September 26-27, 2013, southern California – September 13th registration deadline
b. Assessment 101: The Assessment Cycle, Clear and Simple
October 23, 2013, southern California
c. Retreat on Core Competencies: Quantitative Reasoning and Assessment in Majors
October 24-25, 2013, southern California
d. The Meaning, Quality, and Integrity of Degrees Workshop
November 14, 2013, southern California
e. Assessment 101: The Assessment Cycle, Clear and Simple
January 29, 2014, southern California
f. Retreat on Student Success, January 30-31, 2014, southern California
g. 2014 WASC Academic Resource Conference – Call for proposals due October 15th
April 23-25, 2014, Los Angeles, CA
Let L. Alcantar know if you are interested in attending any of the workshops.
VI.
Next Meeting: Thurs, October 24th 11:00 – 12:00 p.m., Haak Center Boardroom 4115
Meeting adjourned: 12:01 p.m.