Preparing for the HLC Campus Visit

A Quick Guide to

Preparing for the HLC Campus Visit

Monday April 11— Wednesday April 13, 2022

HARRIS-STOWE

STATE UNIVERSITY

Frequently Asked Questions About Accreditation

What is accreditation? ·            Assuring and advancing the quality of higher education. ·            Required to be eligible for federal student financial aid ·            Validates HSSU's standing in requests for public or private support. Who is HSSU's accreditor? ·         The Higher Learning Commission (HLC, for short). ·            HSSU last received 10-year continuance of accreditation in 2016. When is HSSU's visit with the HLC? ·            External review team arrives April 10, 2022; conducts interviews with HSSU community April 11-13. What will occur during the HLC visit? ·         Two on site team members and possible two virtual team members will conduct interviews with the HSSU community, including the, President, Vice Presidents, deans, department heads, faculty, staff, students, and the Board of Regents. ·         Team members will seek to validate the evidence that was presented in HSSU's Assurance Argument, The Assurance Argument addresses the HLC's five criterion for accreditation. ·            During the interviews, the team members will be determining whether HSSU meets the standards for reaccreditation. What am I expected to know in order to prepare for the HLC visit? ·            Know HSSU's mission statement (https://www.hssu.edu/rsp content.cfm?wid=50&pid=476). ·            Become familiar with HSSUs strategic priorities (htt s: m .hssu.edu                                strate HSSU Strategy 201612sm. df). ·            Become familiar with Reaffirmation and Accreditation process and read HSSU's assurance argument (htto://www.hssu.edu/HLC). How to contribute to a positive accreditation outcome? ·            Participate in one of the three open sessions (faculty, students, staff, and criterion). ·            Answer questions from the review team candidly and thoughtfully. ·            If you don't know the answer, there is no need to make up an answer or to guess. It is okay to say "I don't know".

Questions You May Be Asked

1.       What do you know about accreditation and have you seen or read HSSU's Assurance Argument?

2.       How would you describe HSSU's mission? Do you know where you would find the official statement?

3.       What are the university's current strategic planning priorities?

4.       What are HSSU's greatest strengths?

5.       What are the biggest challenges facing HSSU?

6.       What makes HSSU unique in your state and among higher education universities in general?

7.       Provide an example of how HSSU is committed to freedom of expression.

8.       Describe your codes of conduct and how they are used.

9.       Do you know where to find information about academic integrity and policies regarding academic misconduct?

10.   How would you describe the campus climate for diversity?

11.   Describe any campus processes that could be improved or made more efficient.

12.   What kind of changes are taking place at HSSU? Do you see these as positive or not?

Mission The institution's mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution's operations A.      The institution's mission is broadly understood within the institution and guides its operation. B.      The mission is articulated publicly. C.      The institution understands the relationship between its mission and the diversity of society. D.     The institution's mission demonstrates commitment to the public good.
Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct The institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible. A.      The institution operates with integrity in its financial, academic, personnel, and auxiliary functions; it establishes and follows fair and ethical policies and processes for fair and ethical behavior on the part of its governing board, administration, faculty, and staff. B.      The institution presents itself clearly and completely to its students and to the public with regard to its programs, requirements, faculty and staff, costs to students, control, and accreditation relationships. C.      The governing board of the institution is sufficiently autonomous to make decisions in the best interest of the institution and to assure its integrity. D.      The institution is committed to freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning. E.      The institution's policies and procedures call for responsible acquisition, discovery and appl• ication of k▪ nowledge by its faculty, students and staff _ Jr a,

Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources and Support

The institution provides high quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.

A.      The institution's degree programs are appropriate to higher education.

B.      The institution demonstrates that the exercise of intellectual inquiry and the acquisition, application, and integration of broad learning and skills ore integral to its educational programs.

C.     The institution has the faculty and staff needed for effective, high-quality programs and student services.

D.     The institution provides support fors tudent learning and effective teaching.

§     The institution fulfills the claims it makes for an enriched educational environment.

eaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement (Assessment)

The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.

A.     The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs.

B.     The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational achievement and improvement through ongoing assessment of student learning.

The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational improvement through ongoing attention to retention, persistence, and completion rates in its degree and certificate programs

Resources, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness

The institution's resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities. The institution plans for the future.

A.         The institution's resource base supports its current educational programs and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future.

B.         The institution's governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the institution to fulfill its mission.

C.         The institution engages in systematic and integrated planning.

The institution works systematically to improve its performance.

Questions for Faculty

1.    What are the characteristics of a HSSU education?

2.    How do you contribute to the university's mission?

3.    What is your department's vision for the future? How does this relate to the university's vision?

4.    Can you describe the tenure and promotion process? What is your impression of the process?

5.    Talk about shared governance and how faculty participate in decision-making at different levels of the university (department, college, institution).

6.    How would you describe the relationship between faculty and administration? What works and what needs improvement?

7.    Describe the relationship between HSSU's colleges. What collaborations currently exist?

8.    What resources are available to support faculty (e.g., library, internal grants, external grant support, faculty development, travel, etc.)? Are these sufficient in meeting faculty needs?

9.    Is your department actively involved in assessing student learning? How has your department used its assessment findings? What evidence do you have that students achieve your program's intended learning outcomes?

10. For those who've recently had a program accreditation visit, what have you learned from the process of writing the self-study, experience the external visit, and from the external visitor's written report?

11. Do you have undergraduate students and graduate students in the same classroom? How do you differentiate between undergraduate and graduate learning outcomes?

12. Tell me about the ARC (Achievement-Resource Center) How does it work? How are you assessing the learning outcomes? How did this program tie to your mission?

13. What is the purpose of HSSU's general education? In what ways does the program achieve its goals for students? How could it be improved?

14. Over the past five years, significant initiatives were implemented in several key student support areas. Can you describe some of these efforts and how they've contributed to undergraduate success?

15. How are your students doing once they graduate?

16. Are you involved in research? How does the university's focus on research further HSSU's mission?

17. What opportunities do students in your program have to gain experience with research? Community or civic engagement? Diversity or multiculturalism?

18. For some common faculty issues (workload, salary, sabbatical leaves, etc.), what works well and what needs to be improved?

19. What is the role of faculty in ensuring academic quality?

20. Provide an example of how HSSU is committed to the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning.

21. How do you ensure that all classes — online, blended, off-campus, dual credit - have the same student learning outcomes and equivalent assessments?

22. Does your department offer courses or programs via distance education? If so, how does the department ensure the quality of the curriculum regardless of how or where it is delivered?

23. Is HSSU or your college/unit/department more effective than it was 5-10 years ago? Explain.

24. What are the biggest resource challenges at HSSU?

Link to Audio for -

A Quick Guide to

Preparing for the HLC Campus Visit