Higher Learning Commission

Our assurance argument has been reviewed by our HLC team, we have received the team’s report (we met all criteria, no follow-up or other reporting required), and the report has been accepted by the HLC.  We await formal word from the HLC that we can proceed to design our “Quality Initiative Project.”

With thanks to our HLC team:

• Chair: Dr. Marie Baehr, Special Assistant to the President, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, IA
• Mr. Timothy J Weis, CFO, Illinois College, Jacksonville, IL
• Mr. Mark F. Van Buskirk, Professor of Art, Earlham College, Richmond, IN
• Dr. Carie A. Braun, Department of Nursing, Saint John’s University, St. Joseph, MN

Read our reports…

During 2016-17 The College of Wooster is preparing a mid-cycle accreditation “Assurance Review” for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).  The purpose of the review is to give the HLC “assurance” that we continue to meet its criteria for accreditation and to advance us to the next activity in the 10-year cycle, the “quality initiative” project.

Returning to lead the project are Gary Gillund, Associate Professor of Psychology; Anne Nurse, Professor of Sociology; & Ellen Falduto, Chief Information & Planning Officer.  We will be following the HLC’s recommendation that the “assurance argument” is to be an update of our self-study.

Read more about the assurance review process.

Anne Nurse and Gary Gillund attended the HLC’s 2014 Share Fair in Chicago.

Here Anne’s captured Wooster’s table (and Gary) before the fair gates opened.  If being the last to be able to leave  is an indicator of popularity among fair attendees, then we clearly engaged them, as Anne and Gary were the last to depart the fair.

As our handouts “went like wildfire,” we’ve posted them on this blog.

On August 15, 2013 we received our “PEAQ Reaffirmation Letter” from the Higher Learning Commission.  This is the official notification of the HLC’s action on our self-study for continued accreditation and our visiting team’s report.

The Institutional Actions Council, the HLC’s committee that reviews and acts on visiting team reports and recommendations, voted to continued our accreditation, the next Reaffirmation of Accreditation in 2022-23. The Council also affirmed that we are  eligible to select the “Open Pathway” process for our reaffirmation of accreditation in 2023.  Institutions that are eligible for the “Open Pathway” are those which have no significant issues or challenges with their accreditation status.

We are comparing the “Open Pathway” and “Standard Pathway” options to fully understand which is the optimal choice for us; it is likely we will accept the invitation to participate in the “Open Pathway” process.

So the only thing we need to do is decide which option we want to follow in the HLC’s new model for continuing accreditation.  There is no interim or follow-up report, no monitoring reports, no focused visit.  Just select and get on a “pathway” in preparation for 2022-23…

The final version of the visiting team’s report and recommendation and our response have been submitted to the HLC.  The next step is for the HLC’s Institutional Actions Committee to review and act upon the team’s report and recommendation at an upcoming meeting (hopefully in July).  We now await the Committee’s decision.

Click here to view the visiting team’s report, our response, and our self-study.

Our visiting team has arrived on campus and will be meeting with students, faculty, staff, trustees, and alumni on Monday April 15 and Tuesday April 16.

The schedule of the meetings requested by team members is posted on the first page of the self-study wiki.

All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to come to the “exit session” on Wednesday morning (April 17) at 10:00 a.m. in the Cube in CoRE (Andrews Library).  At the exit session, the team chair, Dr. David Wendler, will share the team’s preliminary observations [the report is preliminary as the team continues its work after the campus visit].

Our team members are:

Dr. David Wendler (Team Chair), Vice President for Academics, Martin Luther College, New Ulm, MN
Dr. Jill Beck, President, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI
Dr. John Leo Comerford, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Westminster College, Fulton, MO
Dr. William J. Flanagan, Executive Advisor to the President, Beloit College, Beloit, WI
Dr. Marci Sortor, Provost and Dean of the College, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Please welcome them to campus.

Our long awaited self-study document is now available to students, faculty, staff and trustees. Click here to access the Confluence (wiki) site.  The site’s password protected.

You’ll find an executive summary as well as the complete resource room and other documents we are providing to the Higher Learning Commission and the visiting team.

Remember, the team will be here April 15-17, 2013.   More will  follow on the details of the team’s visit.

 

The College of Wooster is seeking comments from its constituencies about the College in preparation for its upcoming periodic evaluation for continuing accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, which has accredited Wooster since 1915.  A team representing the Higher Learning Commission will visit the campus April 15-17, 2013 to review our ongoing ability to meet the Commission’s Criteria for Accreditation.

The Commission seeks comments related to how well the College is meeting its core mission, and in particular, the quality of our educational programs.   Specifically, they want to know how well we are doing at:

• Fulfilling our core mission;
• Developing our Graduate Qualities in our students;
• Acting with “integrity, and that what we do and how we do it is both ethical and responsible;”
• Providing and supporting a “high quality education:” that our programs are appropriate for our mission,  we have the faculty and staff needed to support our programs,  we provide students with appropriate support services, and we have co-curricular programs that contribute to the education of our students;
• Demonstrating a commitment to student educational achievement and program improvement through ongoing assessment of student learning; and
• Engaging in systematic and integrating planning that takes into account our resources, assessment findings, and institutional priorities in our decisions about how we allocate our resources (human, facilities, financial)

You may submit comments by mail or electronically:

By mail:

Third-Party Comment on The College of Wooster
The Higher Learning Commission
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL  60604-1411

 Electronically on the Commission’s website (and to learn more about the comment process):

http://www.ncahlc.org/Information-for-the-Public/third-party-comment.html

Please send any comments to the Higher Learning Commission by April 1, 2013.

 

Join us on November 1 for Read In.  Students, faculty and staff are invited to read one (or more) small sections of our work and provide feedback.

We’ll be at

• Old Main (8:30-4 for everyone)
• Lowry (at lunchtime for students)
• the Tartan Room (at lunchtime for faculty and staff)
• the Wilson Governance Room (2:30-4:30 for staff).

We think it’s the best investment of 10-15 minutes you’ll make for the week.

Can’t join us?  Drafts of our work are available for comment on the wiki (Confluence)

You will need to log onto the site (with your campus account).

The Higher Learning Commission has invited five peer reviewers to serve on the team for our continuing accreditation visit.  All have accepted the HLC’s invitation, and we look forward to welcoming them to campus April 15-17, 2013.

The members of our team are:

Dr. David Wendler (Team Chair)
Vice President for Academics
Martin Luther College
New Ulm, MN

Dr. Jill Beck
President
Lawrence University
Appleton, WI

Dr. John Leo Comerford
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Westminster College
Fulton, MO

Dr. William J. Flanagan
Executive Advisor to the President
Beloit College
Beloit, WI

Dr. Marci Sortor
Provost and Dean of the College
St. Olaf College
Northfield, MN