TERRA STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Fremont, OH 43420
AQIP
Monitoring Report
MEETING DATE: August 28, 2013
TOPIC: AQIP Update
Accreditation:
Our regional accrediting agency is the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North
Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). The HLC has two methods of accreditation: Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality (PEAQ) and Academic Quality
Improvement Program (AQIP). Colleges may choose to be accredited by one or the other, and Terra is an AQIP institution.
The AQIP cycle is seven years long. It starts with an extensive application procedure to become an AQIP institution and then proceeds through annual cycles of review with
Action Projects, a Quality Checkup Visit at about half-way during years three or four, an extensive Portfolio review the year following the site visit, and a reaffirmation of commitment to AQIP principles at the end of the cycle. Terra is one of the original charter members in the AQIP process. Provided below is a brief description of the cycles and a timeline associated for each of them.
AQIP Cycles
Action Projects - Required to maintain three to four current action projects.
Annual updates on action projects are completed every fall.
Systems Portfolio – Created every 4 years. The third portfolio was submitted in November 2011.
Systems Appraisal Feedback Report – HLC’s feedback on the portfolio.
Received feedback on the third portfolio in February 2012.
Strategy Forum - Accreditation Workshop that the College is required to attend within one year of receiving the Feedback Report. Team attended workshop in March, 2013.
Quality Checkup Visit –
HLC’s two-day site visit. The next visit will take place April 2- April 4, 2014.
Reaffirmation of Accreditation – Summative review ending each sevenyear period of participation in AQIP. The next reaffirmation will be in
September, 2014.
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Strategy Forum:
From February 27 to March 1, 2013, a team of administrators, faculty, and staff attended the AQIP Strategy Forum at the Q Center in St. Charles, Illinois. The team consisted of
Jerome Webster (President), Lisa Williams (Vice President for Institutional
Advancement), Jack Fatica (Vice President for Academic Affairs), Andy Carroll (Dean of Engineering Technologies and Mathematics), John Thiels (Director of the Academic
Service Center), Susan Kajfasz (Nursing faculty), and Michael Kapper (Coordinator of
Institutional Research). During the three day workshop, the team identified specific opportunities for improvement, brought to light by the Systems Appraisal Feedback
Report (AQIP, 2012), and developed ideas for addressing those opportunities. In this process, the team created an additional, short-term Action Project dealing with improving the College’s systematic processes and procedures. This project, “A Case Study in
Documenting Human Resources Policies, Practices, and Procedures” is designed to be a brief study of systematizing documented college procedures in support of a longer term
Action Project dealing with the same issues on a College-wide basis. Dr. Michael Kapper is the champion for this project, and he is joined by two additional members of the
Strategy Forum team (Carroll and Thiels) as well as two members of the College’s
Human Resources staff (Nanci Kosanka and Lindsey Griffin) as the project team. The project is slated to be completed by September 15, 2013.
Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Council (PIE):
The overall AQIP process at Terra is governed by a committee of employees called the
Planning and Institutional Effectiveness (PIE) Council. Currently, the Council has 21 members: Christina Bratton, Andrew Carroll, Jack Fatica, Michael Geronimo (student),
Cindy Hall, Michael Kapper, Mary Keiser, Lisa Kirchner, Heath Martin, Randall
McCullough, Steven Mohr, Holly Penhos, Elaine Rosengarten, Michael Shirtz, Steven
Stauffer, Lyn Sullivan, Kristen Taylor, John Thiels, Kim Vogelpohl, Jerome Webster and Lisa Williams. The Council is co-chaired by Lisa Williams and Randall
McCullough.
Action Projects:
The college currently has five AQIP Action Projects in progress. In addition to the HR
Case Study project (mentioned above) that grew out of the AQIP Strategy Forum, there are four longer-term (1- to 2-year) projects currently underway. “Bringing Assessment of
Student Learning into Everyday Campus Culture,” championed by Michael Kapper, is a two-year project that will wrap up in 2013. “Revitalization and Implementation of
Program Review,” championed by Jack Fatica, is a one-year project that will conclude in
2013. “Tracking Implementation of Vision 2016
” is a one-year project championed by
Lisa Williams and concluding in 2013. Finally, “Improve the College’s Systematic
Processes with a Focus on Communication” is a two-year Action Project which will
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continue into 2014, championed by Lisa Williams. With four of our five Action Projects retiring in 2013, we will be choosing three new projects by November 2013.
Additionally, the current (and retiring) projects will be updated on the AQIP Website in
September 2013.
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