Accreditation Steering Committee Update

September 27, 2010 3:00 to 4:00Room 101

I wanted to share with you some of the agenda items from our recent Accreditation Steering Committee meeting with many of the Standard Co-Chairs.

• Learning from the Special Report:
  
  • We recommended to all Standard Working groups that they take advantage of the campus computer labs for group work. In addition to easy access for all participants to accreditation resources, the labs allow groups to use projectors to work collaboratively on narrative responses.
    
  • We reminded Co-chairs the importance of avoiding narrative without evidence. If you say that we do something, you need to prove it. For a list of example of evidence, go here.
    
  • Also, as you collect evidence, please convert files to.pdf format. This can be done in Word via the "Save As" feature.
    
  • We also let Co-chairs know that as they work on gathering and naming evidence, they should be mindful that all evidence will eventually end up in an "Evidence Index". Tracy and I will be producing specifics on this later, but for now, a quick review of the Style Sheet will help create uniformity of file naming.
    
  • Helpful resources:
    
    • We reminded Co-chairs that the 2005 Comprehensive Self-Study is a good starting place to update and revise for our 2011 report. However, we cautioned them that some areas are not very strong… which why we got put on sanctions. We should use our best judgment in this regard.
      
    • Remember that the Comprehensive Self-Study is also a place where we can highlight the real strengths and positive impact Solano has had and will continue to have on students. Don't forget to sing our praises!
      
    • Other good resources are the 2008 Mid-Term Report, Special Reports, and Follow-Up Reports.
      
  • Finally, the Napa Valley College Report (more minimalistic) and the Sac City College Report (more robust) are good resources.
    
  • We also agreed that while many people are helping out, the campus can do a better job increasing overall participation. The Steering Committee agreed that we will work on this.
    

Representatives from most of the Standards were present and all of them reported that while more participation would be helpful, we are making good progress.

Report to the Board on the Accreditation Special Report

September 15, 2010

I am glad to present a draft of the Accreditation Special Report that is due on October 15^th to you for information. There are several key points that I would like you to keep in mind as you consider this document:

• It reflects the College's positive strides to address the five ACCJC recommendations relative to:    
  
  • Productive Dialogue
    
  • Institutional Planning
    
  • Institutional Effectiveness
    
  • Staffing and Organizational Stability
    
  • Governance
    
• It is the result of the collaborative efforts of our faculty, staff, administration and students.
  
• It is currently available on the accreditation wiki for comment by the campus community.
  
• As I mentioned in an earlier report to the Board, we have complied with the ACCJC's request that we address the Perry-Smith Audit of June 2009 as an addendum to the Special Report. We will contextualize the addendum in the "Statement of Report Preparation".
  
• The draft before was submitted last week Thursday and there have been changes in the most current version.
  

We are on track for the Special Report to move through our participatory governance approval process

• We will have a near final draft available on September 16^th.  This draft will be sent to the Academic Senate and Shared Governance Council so that they can include it on the agenda for their September 20^th Senate meeting and the September 22^nd Shared Governance meeting for information.
  
• We will hold a special joint meeting of SGC and the Senate on September 29^th to take action on the report. (Many thanks to Dr. Laguerre and Senate President Watkins for making this possible)
  
• Finally, the Board will include the Special Report for action during their October 6^th study session. (Dr. Laguerre will need to approve this.)
  

 

Last comments on the final draft will be accepted until Sept. 24, so that any appropriate changes can be made before the report is up for approval at the joint Shared Governance Council/ Academic Senate meeting on Sept 29^th (SGC/AS).

Initial post-production work will begin after Shared Governance approval and complete after Board approval on October 6^th.

 

ACCREDITATION UPDATE: Board of Trustees

9/1/10

 

General Information

1. A presentation to the BOT Accreditation Sub-Committee in which Tracy Schneider and Dean Lamb reviewed accreditation standards, demonstrated how to access the accreditation wiki, and gave an update on the Special Report and the Self-Study. The subcommittee members asked many questions and provided some good input to the process.
   
2. During our fall Flex Cal we continued to work on the Self-Study Report. In general the organizational structure was productive and groups did have a chance to begin brainstorming, collecting evidence and writing to the standards. They also were given an explanation on how to use the accreditation wiki.
   
3. A conversation with Jack Pond from the ACCJC in which Dean Lamb was able to clarify a few points:
   
   1. The date of the Self-Study visit and the date when we need to turn in the Self-Study Report. 
      
      1. Unfortunately, EVP Reyes is correct.  They visit in October and the report is due 8 weeks prior.  This puts us in a difficult spot, but we have come up with an alternate timeline that will be discussed with the Senate 9/20. Details of the timeline are outlined below in the Self-Study section.
         
   2. The scope of the evidence required for the fiscal addendum in response to the Perry-Smith 2009 audit.
      
      1. They want us to include mention of the addendum in the introduction to the report.
         
      2. We need to maintain the same rigor for evidence that the rest of the report will need.
         
   3. In the rest of the conversation they were interested in hearing how the Special Report was shaping up.  Dean Lamb mentioned our progress and took the opportunity to present to them how we have decided to frame our responses to Recs 6 and 8.  (Jack Pond specifically asked about these two.)  For Rec 6 (Administrative Capacity) he mentioned that the visit in October would be an opportunity to see how the reorganization had "panned out" and that in general the Commission looks to see that as a result of change an institution doesn't "stall out".  He recommends that we highlight how our response to change is different today than the last time (when we lost our CBO and Dir. of Fisc. Servs.).  As for Rec 8, it is as we had thought in that the goal is to show how we've continued to make progress and that we have addressed the concerns expressed by the Commission that the Board won't backslide. Finally, they mentioned to Dean Lamb that there is a training/workshop for new ALOs in November that would be good for him to attend and finally, as an added bonus, they asked him if he would be willing to serve on a visiting team in the future!
      

 

Special Report

What we've accomplished:

• All Recommendation Working Groups have continued their work over the first few weeks of school, and the pile of evidence is slowly growing.
  
• Drafts of all Recommendations (1, 2, 3, 6, and 8) are posted on the Wiki for your perusal. Remember that these are just drafts, so there is still some need for clarification in places and a lot of evidence that has to be tracked down. As drafts are revised, I post them with the date, so what you will see is a list of drafts, the most recent at the bottom of the list. *Please, if you recognize anything in the drafts that you might contribute to, please let me know ASAP.
  

Where we're going:

• A "final" draft will go to SGC/AS for information on September 22. However, I plan on having this draft posted to the wiki by the 16^th.
  
• Minor revisions may occur after feedback from SGC/AS, but the majority of my work at that point will be focused on gathering, organizing, labeling, and linking evidence to the report.
  
• The SGC approved report will go to the Board of Trustees as an information/action item on October 6^th.
  
• Postproduction work will be completed for delivery to ACCJC by October 15.
  
• Then we wait for the Visit and Response while we focus on the Self-Study.
  

 

Self-Study

What we've accomplished:

• On August 30^th, the Accreditation Steering Committee—consisting of the Standard Working Group Co-Chairs, Tracy Schneider, Jeff Lamb, Arturo Reyes, and Roy Stutzman—met to discuss progress:
  
  • IA—The group has responded to all questions and have all evidence posted on the wiki.
    
  • IB—The group has responded to most questions and have most evidence posted on the wiki.
    
  • IIA—The group has divided up work responsibilities, done some brainstorming, and plans to send requests to division meetings. They feel they are on track.
    
  • IIB—The group needs a faculty co-chair and more participation in general. The group will be meeting in September.
    
  • IIC—The group has divided up work and plans to have a draft completed by mid-October.
    
  • IIIA-D—Some of the group has divided up work, and the D group will be meeting regularly before FaBPAC meetings. This group needs more participants to get rolling.
    
  • IVA—The group needs a faculty co-chair as well as anyone involved in leadership of the College. They have decided on some of their roles and responsibilities.
    
  • IVB—The group has divided up work.
    
• Interim Director of Research and Planning, Chris Meyers, met with the Steering Committee to discuss creating survey questions as a way of gathering information that we can't get any other way.
  

Where we're going:

• We need more participation from all levels of the college. To this end, EVP Reyes and S/P Laguerre have promised that all Co-Chairs will receive full Flex credit until the report is complete and encouraged all Deans to offer Flex credit for faculty participation. EVP Reyes and S/P Laguerre are also instructing that all staff be given the time to participate.
  
• Meeting dates for Working Groups will be publicized to encourage participation.
  
• Working Groups will have complete drafts of bulleted narrative by the end of this semester.
  
• Accreditation Coordinator will begin writing the report, gathering missing narrative and/or evidence as needed. Working Groups will be a resource for this part of the process.
  

Tentatively:

• "Final" report will be "Sunshined" via Media Blitz the week of June 13, 2011.
  
• "Final" report will go to SGC/AS for feedback June 22, and Post Production will begin.
  
• Final report will go as an information item to a special SGC/AS June 29 (no major edits recommended).
  
• Action item to SGC/AS July 13.
  
• Presented as Information to the Board of Trustees July 20.
  
• Approved by the Board as an Action Item August 3.
  

Final edits, post-production, etc. done for submission to ACCJC by August 15.

Update to the Board of Trustees

 

Steps taken since my last report to the Board include:

1. A presentation to the BOT Accreditation Sub-Committee in which Tracy Schneider and I reviewed accreditation standards, demonstrated how to access the accreditation wiki, and gave an update on the Special Report and the Self-Study. The subcommittee members asked many questions and provided some good input to the process.
   
2. During our fall Flex Cal we continued to work on the Self-Study Report. In general the organizational structure was productive and groups did have a chance to begin brainstorming, collecting evidence and writing to the standards. They also were given an explanation on how to use the accreditation wiki.
   
3. A conversation with Jack Pond from the ACCJC in which I was able to clarify a few points:
   
   1. The date of the Self-Study visit and the date when we'd need to turn in the Self-Study Report. 
      
      1. Unfortunately, EVP Reyes is correct.  They visit in October and the report is due 8 weeks prior.  This puts us in a difficult spot.  Tracy and I have come up with an alternative timeline that we will share with you when I have a moment to finalize the document.
         
   2. The scope of the evidence required for the fiscal addendum in response to the Perry-Smith 2009 audit.
      
      1. They want us to include mention of the addendum in the introduction to the report.
         
      2. We need to maintain the same rigor for evidence that the rest of the report will need.
         
   3. In the rest of the conversation they were interested in hearing how the Special Report was shaping up.  I mentioned our progress and took the opportunity to present to them how we have decided to frame our responses to Recs 6 and 8.  (Jack Pond specifically asked about these two.  For Rec 6 (Administrative capacity) he mentioned that the visit in October would be an opportunity to see how the reorganization had "panned out" and that in general the Commission looks to see that as a result of change an institution doesn't "stall out".  He recommends that we highlight how our response to change is different today than the last time (when we lost our CBO and Dir. of Fisc. Servs.).  As for Rec 8, it is as we had thought in that the goal is to show how we've continued to make progress and that we have addressed the concerns expressed by the Commission that the Board won't backslide. It was a very informative talk and I was glad to have their time and attention.  They mentioned to me that there is a training/workshop for new ALOs in November that would be good for me to attend and finally, as an added bonus, they asked me if I would be willing to serve on a visiting team in the future!
      
4. The first draft of recommendations 1, 8 and 6 our Special Report should be ready for campus consideration on Monday, August 23^rd.
   

Finally, we'll need to get more participation from Human Resources, Facilities and Fiscal Services in the Self-Study report. While there are a handful of faculty and staff working in these areas, they lack the in-depth expertise to fully address the standards.

Report the Board of Trustees

1. Accreditation Steering Committee
   
   1. Some new players
      
      1. Arturo Reyes, Executive Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs
         
      2. Thom Watkins, Academic Senate President
         
      3. Tracy Schneider, Self-Study Coordinator and Writer
         
      4. Jeff Lamb, Dean of Academic Success and Learning Resources (Accreditation Liaison Officer)
         
   2. Evaluate current progress on Self Study and Special Report
      
   3. Establish new and updated timelines
      
   4. Confirm our budget
      
   5. Expand Steering Committee membership
      
      1. Invite Co-Chairs and campus community to all steering committee meetings
         
      2. Establish regular meeting dates
         
   6. Enhance reporting out to constituent groups
      
      1. Post steering committee minutes to the wiki
         
      2. Quarterly updates to the College website
         
   7. Plan Fall Flex Cal activities
      
      1. (See below)
         
2. Role of the Accreditation Coordinator
   
3. Special Report (October 2010)—We will take them to the Wiki and show them the progress we've made on one of these areas:
   
   1. The Working Groups for Recommendations One and Eight (Productive Dialogue and the Governing Board) have been meeting regularly and have produced bulleted narrative. We are now collecting evidence.
      
   2. Recommendations Two and Three on Institutional Planning and Effectiveness (refer to Tracy)
      
   3. Recommendation Six (Organizational and Staffing Stability) has meet a few times and is currently crafting the narrative and should finalize a first draft before the end of the summer.
      
   4. While we have been removed from sanctions for "Fiscal Stability" the accreditation commission has requested that the College provide a written follow-up to the "external audit issues" identified by Perry-Smith. We are working with Fiscal Services to provide a response to this issue.
      
4. Self-Study (October 2011)
   
   1. Timeline
      
   2. Flex Cal in August 2011
      
      1. Working Session