ACCREDITATION FAQS AND UPDATE, FALL 2011
WHAT IS ACCREDITATION?
Accreditation is a process of peer review by which universities are evaluated against a set of
standards. By law, all state agencies and programs must be evaluated.
WHEN IS OUR NEXT ACCREDITATION EVALUATION?
WWU hosts an on-site evaluation team in Spring 2013.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
Together with the Accreditation and Assessment Advisory Committee (AAAC), Steve
VanderStaay is responsible for the university-wide components of the report, and for assisting
departments, programs and colleges in completing their components of the report.
Each program and department is responsible for a revised mission, for course and program
outcomes, for an assessment plan, assessment activities, and closing the loop documents.
WHAT WILL THE ACCREDITORS BE LOOKING FOR?
Because of past recommendations, evaluators will be looking at university and departmental
assessment practices particularly closely. The key Standards to be prepared for include
4.A.6 The institution regularly reviews its assessment processes to ensure they appraise
authentic achievements and yield meaningful results that lead to improvement.
2C.2. The institution identifies and publishes expected course, program, and degree learning
outcomes. Expected student learning outcomes for courses are provided to enrolled students.
4.A.3 The institution documents that students achieve identified course, program and degree
learning outcomes. Faculty with teaching responsibilities are responsible for evaluating student
achievement of clearly identified learning outcomes.
4.B.2 The institution uses the results of its assessment of student learning to inform academic
and learning--support planning and practices that lead to enhancement of student learning
DO WE HAVE A PREPARATION PLAN?
Yes! The AAAC seeks to prepare for the 2013 visit in an incremental fashion that leads to
success and minimizes campus disruptions and anxiety. To these ends, they have been studying
what will be expected and have established the following plan and support.
Office of the VPUE
TIMELINE OF PLAN AND SUPPORT
December 20, 2011: All departments review and affirm/revise their missions and program
outcomes in light of changes in their disciplines, the new strategic plan,
and the goal of a sustainable simplicity (many departments have too
many outcomes or outcomes that can’t be assessed).
Support: David Bover of Computer Science gave a well-received “how-to” presentation
on this topic in the spring and will repeat the presentation this fall on Nov. 9th and 10th.
The meeting is open and public. Chairs and assessment coordinators who were unable
to attend last spring are strongly encouraged to attend.
November 9: 4:00--5:30
CF 314
November 10: 8:30—10:00 CF 225
July, 2012
All programs/depts. review and revise/affirm assessment plans.
Support: Barbara Walvoord, an assessment specialist known for working well with
faculty and for keeping assessment “Clear and Simple,” is presenting a two-day
workshop on creating and improving assessment plans April 19-20th. The April 19th
workshop focuses on departmental assessment:
“ Goal: participants will emerge from the workshop with a written plan for assessment
that is sensible, feasible, useful to the department for its own goals, and consonant with
regional and professional accreditation guidelines. Issues addressed: how to establish
learning goals, select measures, and use the information. How can the most ineffable
goals (e.g. “originality”) be assessed? What are the dangers of assessment? What can
assessment do for the department? What is the most basic, no-frills assessment plan?”
July, 2012
All departments submit their annual Closing the Loop (CTL) report,
describing what they assessed, what they found, and what changes they
made in response to the assessment data.
Fall, 2012
All programs and departments put their new assessment plans into
action, assessing 1/3rd of their program outcomes.
Fall 2012
Departments clarify course outcomes and “publish” these in some
manner.
December, 2012
Departments submit results of Fall assessment to AAAC.
December, 2012
Departments make sure their assessment plans and program/course
outcomes are accessible on their web site.
January, 2013
AAAC writes self-study and submits it to UPRC for approval.
February, 2013
Self-Study submitted to NWCCU.
Office of the VPUE
Mission Statements
A Mission Statement is a short, formal, written statement of the purpose of an organization. It
should
State the overall goal or purpose of the organization
Guide the actions of the organization by stating its values
Be consistent with the WWU mission
State the abilities of the ideal graduate
Name the constituencies served by the organization
Examples
The mission of the Department of Sociology is to provide a high quality educational experience
for undergraduate students enrolled at Western Washington University and to contribute to
the overall mission of the University through research, scholarship, and service activities. It is
also part of the Department’s mission to provide a collegial and enriching environment for the
professional growth of its members and associates. Given this mission, the Department is
committed to achieving specific goals in three general areas of activity – undergraduate
instruction, research and scholarship, and service to the University, professional associations,
and the broader community
The mission of the Political Science Department is to provide programs that foster critical,
independent thinking about politics and public life among our students. Courses provide an
understanding of political concepts and the organization and functioning of political systems.
Our major programs equip students with the ability to understand political theories and to gain
knowledge and experience through written work, lectures, reading, active learning and
internships. The department offers courses that are a central part of Western's General
University Requirements and that are requirements for other programs and joint majors in the
college and in the University. In addition, the department plays an important role in the
broader arena of civic education in the university, the community and the state.
Program learning outcomes are the knowledge and skills that students can demonstrate by the
time they graduate. Program learning outcomes
Can be measured.
Align with the department mission.
Specify content knowledge, skills, attitudes or abilities students can demonstrate.
Examples.
Students can identify elementary concepts in history such as theories of causation, issues of
agency, and periodization.
Students write English effectively in a variety of genres.
A program assessment plan provides direct measurement of student achievement of the
program outcomes. This typically requires anchor papers, rubrics, or standards.
Office of the VPUE
Office of the VPUE
March/April, 2013 WWU hosts the NWCCU on-site evaluation.
A Brief History of Recent Accreditation
Under old standards
2008
Provisional Accreditation based on progress in 4 areas of recommendation:
--Assessment
--Transparency and Faculty Participation in Decision Making
--Library’s Strategic Plan
--Committee Structure
Interim report and on-site evaluation required in each area
Fall 2010
Interim evaluation and full approval in each area except assessment:
While the University has made progress in the implementation of its institution-wide plan
of program assessment, the plan is still under development. Similarly, while progress has
been made in assessment, there remain some instances where programs are only in the
early stage of closing the loop and using the information generated to improve programs
and inform resource decisions. It is recommended that the institution continue its efforts to
address these issues.
New Standards
Spring 2011
Recommendations
As program assessment capacity is systematized and developed, the institution is
encouraged to incorporate more evidence of student learning outcomes data throughout
the education experience and within academic programs . . .
Office of the VPUE
“Closing the Loop” 2011
Please use of the following reporting template for this year’s “closing the loop” (CTL)
reporting. The CTL reporting is your annual summary of your department’s assessment
activities. The template permits us to record each department’s activities in a consistent
manner. We ask you to work with your departmental assessment coordinator to make sure
you have assessed 1-2 of your departmental program outcomes via two assessment
measures—at least one of which is direct.
CTL reports are submitted to your college assessment coordinator.
Direct assessment activities measure student performance. They include
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Any work in a capstone course.
A senior level exam, paper, presentation or project that fits a program outcome.
Portfolios of student work.
Licensing or professional exams.
Reports from employers, internship supervisors, etc.
Indirect assessment activities measure outcomes via self-reports or surveys. They include
the following data.
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The OSR exit surveys of graduating seniors
http://www.wwu.edu/socad/osr/ExitSurveys.shtml
The OSR alumni survey
http://www.wwu.edu/socad/osr/AlumniSurveys.shtml
Departmental time-to-degree data
http://west.wwu.edu/factbook/report_page.aspx?rep=DegreeMajors-YrsToDegreeAug2010.pdf&xls=DegreeMajors-YrsToDegree-Aug2010.xls
For instance, a department might assess a program outcome by examining senior seminar
papers (direct measure) and assess another by looking at departmental data from the
senior exit survey (indirect measure). Please use the following template for your reporting.
Submit this template with your annual report; we will forward it to the Vice Provost for
Undergraduate Education.
Departments which seek assistance with this activity are encouraged to contact Steve
VanderStaay.
Program Outcome
Assessed
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Assessment Activity for
this Outcome
Conclusions reached as a
result of the Assessment
Activity
Modifications in the
Program Made as a
Result of Assessment
Examples:
East Asian Studies
Direct Measure
Program Outcome
Assessed
East Asian Studies
capstone course EAS302
(Methods and Materials
in East Asian Studies).
This is a seminar thesis
paper.
Assessment Activity for
this Outcome
Direct measure:
We assessed what the
students had learned
from the research each
conducted during the
course, based on
comparing their initial
thesis plan and sources
with the written paper
and full list of primary
and secondary sources
actually used.
Conclusions reached as a
result of the Assessment
Activity
Modifications in the
Program Made as a
Result of Assessment
We found that the
students had made great
progress in developing
new skills at finding
primary sources. Their
use and citation of
secondary sources,
however, was sometimes
incomplete, given the
topic chosen.
In future we will add
a session early in the
course that sets the
student on track to
make a more
complete preliminary
evaluation of what
has already been has
previously been
published on the
topic.
English
Indirect Measure
Program Outcome
Assessed
Career Advising
Office of the VPUE
Assessment Activity for
this Outcome
Indirect measure: Senior
Exit Survey
Conclusions reached as a
result of the Assessment
Activity
The department decided
to increase its effort to
provide career advising
to students, as students
reported that more
advising would be
welcome.
Modifications in the
Program Made as a
Result of Assessment
The department
offered several
advising sessions that
focused on bringing
alumni back to
campus, including a
new speed
connections event
that brought 15
alumni together with
15 majors in a 2-hour
session in May, 2011.
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Generic outcomes that should apply to every program and echo GUR competencies:
Students can work effectively in teams
Students can effectively communicate their ideas in both written and oral form
Students understand the moral, social and ethical issues of their work
Generic outcomes that may apply to some, but not all disciplines
Students understand and follow safe working practices
May be relevant to laboratory based programs
Students are able to design and implement experiments, analyze results and
draw relevant conclusions
Discipline-specific outcomes
Understanding of core concepts of the discipline
Identify a small number (2 or 3)
Ability to apply discipline-specific skills and practices
Identify a small number (1 or 2)
Office of the VPUE