Oglala Lakota College
Higher Learning Commission Board of Trustees Decision on OLC’s Accreditation
March 11, 2014
The Higher Learning Commission Board of Trustees has reaffirmed Oglala Lakota College’s accreditation with Notice. By August 2015, Oglala Lakota College
will need to submit a Notice Report and by October 2015 have a Focus Visit by the Higher Learning Commission. “…the board concluded that the College
currently meets the Criteria for Accreditation, the Board nevertheless had concerns about the College’s ability to remain in compliance with the Criteria for
Accreditation in the future and based its action to impose notice upon the following findings” (pg. 2, HLC, March 10, 2014).
The following table illustrates the work that needs to be addressed by June 2015.
Criteria
Criterion 4
Core component 4C
(Also meets 4B, 5B
and 5C)
HLC Areas of Focus
Documentation of broadly
inclusive planning process
that establishes performance
indicators of institutional
effectiveness. Performance
indicators should include
clear and specific retention
goals by site and for
institution as a whole;
appropriate benchmarks;
and program and site
strategies for improving
retention, persistence, and
completion
Progress and current strategies
Timeline
Enrollment Management Director is in process of gathering data for
each department and each center for the past three years. This data
will help to identify appropriate goals at the academic program level
and district centers. This data will help to identify appropriate
benchmarks.
March 2014- ongoing
The Director of Institutional Research and Assessment is currently
developing a guide to clearly articulate the process in how OLC
establishes Institutional performance indicators. The guide will
demonstrate how the assessment process works, methods for data
collection, timeline for data collection, and how data will be used at
the department and institutional level to establish performance
indicators of institutional effectiveness.
April 2014
Academic and non-academic departments developed an Institutional
January 2014 - ongoing
Effectiveness Plan. The IEP has two components; yearly action plan
aligned with the OLC strategic plan and department assessment plans.
Each academic and non-academic unit is required to identify
retention, persistence, and completion strategies within the IEP action
plan. At the end of the year, the annual reports should reflect the
programing process and each unit will provide data to report on their
progress.
Each academic and non-academic unit (Academic Department Chair,
Center Director, and Directors) is required to align their Institutional
June 2014-ongoing
March 2014 - ongoing
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Effectiveness Plan with the Enrollment Management Plan. Director
of Institutional Research and Assessment is working through the IEP
to ensure alignment of unit Institutional Effectiveness Plan’s with the
Enrollment Management Plan and OLC’s strategic plan.
Each academic and non-academic unit (Academic Department Chair,
Center Director, and Directors) will identify retention goals. The
Director of Institutional Research and Assessment is working through
the Institutional Effectiveness Plan (IEP) to ensure alignment.
Each academic and non-academic unit (Academic Department Chair,
Center Director, and directors) will identify and track benchmarks to
ensure that progress is made toward increasing retention, persistence,
and completion rates. The annual Institutional effectiveness plan
establishes yearly Benchmarks/Objectives. Data will be reported
annually
The Enrollment Management Plan has defined goals at the
institutional level for student retention, persistence and completion.
The institutional goals for retention have been established in the
Enrollment -Management Plan. OLC will increase student
recruitment, retention, persistence and completion by 2% each year or
10% in five years.
Criteria
HLC Areas of Focus
Progress and current strategies
IEP completed December
2013, revision process
Ongoing
January 2014 – ongoing
Completed with OLC’s
Board of Trustees
approval in October of
2013- ongoing with
yearly results.
Timeline
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Criterion 4
Core Component
4B
Evidence of assessment
activities in curricular and
co-curricular areas with
results and modifications
arising from the assessment
(Also meets 4C, 5B,
and 5C)
Criteria
Criterion 4
Core component 4C
(also 4B and parts of
5B and C)
HLC Areas of Focus
Documents demonstrating
that the College
disseminated results of
assessment activities to
stakeholders for use in
planning and decision
making
In progress: academic units and non-academic units are working on
creating learning objectives for the co-curricular activities.
May 2014
Academic and non-academic departments developed Institutional
Effectiveness Plans. The Institutional Effectiveness Plan has two
components; yearly action plan aligned with the OLC strategic plan
and department assessment plans. The yearly action items contain
objectives/strategies. In this section goals for co-curricular activities
must be developed.
April 2014 - ongoing
Annual reports will reflect the data, results and recommendation for
modifying the co-curricular and curricular activities.
June 2014- ongoing
The Assessment Committee is defining co-curricular for the
institution. The Director of Institutional Research and Assessment in
conjunction with the assessment committee will ensure all assessment
terms are defined for consistency across the institution.
March 2014
Progress and current strategies
Academic and non-academic annual reports will reflect the use of
data in planning and making decisions at the department and site
level.
Timeline
June 2014- annually
The Director of Institutional Research and Assessment and the
Enrollment Management Director will provide a written annual
institutional report that will be disseminated to all stakeholders and
readily available on the Website. The annual reports will reflect the
use of data in planning and making decisions
August
2014 - annually
The Director of Institutional Research and Assessment will create an
annual Fact Book and have Dashboard Indicators available for review
by all stakeholders.
September 2014 annually
All information/data/reports will be reviewed, analyzed, and
September 20143
considered for improving new policies and programs by appropriate
institutional bodies, and circulated among faculty, staff, students,
OLC Board of Trustees and readily available to the community and
public.
annually
Evidence is reflected in the minutes, the annual reports for academic
and non-academic units, and institutional reports from the Director of
Institutional Research and Assessment and Enrollment Management
Director. All reports listed above will be used in planning and
decision making. The website will reflect the number of hits to record
the number of individuals who have viewed the documents.
June 2014 - annually
The Vice President of Instruction, Director of Institutional Research
and Assessment, Technology Department formed a Data Collection
Committee to create a data repository to ensure that the institutional
memory is in a central location, guides, and policies will be
developed.
Criteria
Criterion 5B, 5C,
and 5D
HLC Areas of Focus
Evidence that the College
has integrated
institutional performance
data from assessment,
program review, and
institutional effectiveness
into institutional planning
and decision-making, and
including documented
priorities and rationale for
budget allocations that
are broadly shared and
understood within the
institution.
Progress and current strategies
Institutional Effectiveness Plan, revision of academic and nonacademic reports, and program reviews will be conducted annually
and as scheduled.
Institutional Effectiveness Plan process. Currently developing a guide
to clearly articulate how assessment process works, how data will be
used at the department, district and institutional level.
The Director of Institutional Research and Assessment and the
Enrollment Management Director will provide a written institutional
report that addresses assessment, yearly program reviews and
institutional effectiveness. The President’s council will review the
results and make recommendations at the institutional level to be
reviewed by college community.
August 2014- ongoing
Timeline
June 2014 - On-going
April 2014 - On-going
June 2014- ongoing
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Each academic and non-academic unit is required to submit annual
reports. The reports should demonstrate the process for integrating
institutional performance data for assessment, results of program
review and the Institutional Effectiveness Plan and how these are
used to plan for the next year, establish bench marks, and make
decisions for change.
June 2014- ongoing
All information/data/reports will be reviewed, analyzed, and
considered for improving new policies and programs by appropriate
institutional bodies, and circulated among faculty, staff, students,
OLC Board of Trustees and readily available to the community and
public.
August 2014- ongoing
Budget planning is integral to the Institutional Effectiveness process.
Each academic and non-academic unit (including District Centers)
are required to prepare annual operating budgets that are aligned with
their respective Annual Action Plans to ensure operations are
adequately funded.
September 2013- ongoing
September 2013- ongoing
The student learning data and program data will be used to determine
if funding is needed to strengthen areas in the curriculum, programing
and services for academic and non-academic departments, and
professional development of faculty.
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