March 30, 2023 - Volume 5 Issue 3 | |
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Governance: The Final Frontier
Sonny Ramaswamy, NWCCU President
Space, like governance, is for the most part still unknown, has lots of secrets, is inscrutable, and people on Earth are disconnected with and oblivious of it. And yet, Space affects everything we do on Earth, not too dissimilar to governance and governing boards affecting every aspect of an institution's being.
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2022 Beacon Award Winners | |
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The Beacon Award for Excellence in Student Achievement and Success is an annual award to recognize institutional or programmatic accomplishments in student achievement and success at our NWCCU institutions.
At the Annual Conference this past November, three innovative implementations were awarded in the following categories: Institutions with <2,000 students; 2,000 - 6,000 students; and >6,000 students.
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Beacon Award Winner: Westminster College | |
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Mindfulness Practices Support Student Wellness
After much planning and conversation, an intentional wellness program was instituted in fall 2019 in the honors college first-year seminar (FYS) experience that equipped students with mindfulness practices they could draw on during times of stress. The hope was that in adding resources to their toolbox, students would be able to face challenges better equipped and empowered to overcome them.
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Beacon Award Winner: Weber State University | |
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Wildcat Scholars Program
Central to the goals of the Wildcat Scholars program is to promote student success, as demonstrated by students' first-year fall-to-spring persistence and first-to-second fall retention rates. Since receiving the grant, each of the four fall cohorts of Wildcat Scholars has shown higher persistence and retention rates than developmental math and English students and all first-year students.
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Beacon Award Winner: Western Oregon University | |
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Curriculum Review and Revision
WOU created a faculty task force to investigate alternatives for general education and university degree requirements. In 2018, faculty adopted a new general education program and streamlined degree requirements to better serve the needs of today's students. This work has resulted in higher graduation rates across diverse groups of students and a reduction in excess credits among transfer students.
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Demystifying Institutional Planning and Governance | | |
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Each issue of The Beacon will feature an article demystifying Standards relevant to the overarching topic of the issue. | |
Trust in Community College Boards | |
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Trust is the foundation upon which governing boards are built-and it's not as vague a value as it might sound. The trust-based expectations placed upon board members are explicitly elucidated in their duties of care, loyalty, and obedience, which together describe board members' fiduciary responsibilities.
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The Important Role of Boards in the Governance of Accreditation | |
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The importance of good board governance to the long-term health, sustainability, and prosperity of America's system of higher education cannot be understated. To be blunt, the highest performing, most successful institutions often have the highest performing boards and most robust governance structures.
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2022 HEED Award Recipients | |
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Three NWCCU member institutions received the INSIGHT into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award. The HEED Award is the only national award that honors individual institutions for being outstanding examples of institutions committed to making diversity and inclusion a top priority across their campuses. Congratulations to Oregon State University, Portland State University, and University of Oregon for this honor.
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Utah State University's Commitment to Inclusive Excellence | |
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NWCCU offers kudos to Utah State University (USU) for its recent efforts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Updates from the January 2023 Commission Meeting | |
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A meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the NWCCU was held at the Grand Hyatt Seattle in Seattle, WA on January 25-27, 2023. Learn about the appearances, Board actions, and updates to policies.
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At the March 10, 2023 Executive Committee, the following policies were revised:
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Join us in welcoming the new presidents in the Northwest! Learn who is new to South Seattle College, Bellingham Technical College, and Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions!
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Spring 2023 Webinar Series
Hear from experts in the field as they discuss the use (and challenges) of AI, assessment strategies for engaging faculty and closing loop, and what the future of learning holds in higher education. Stay tuned for more information on the speakers and complete session descriptions.
- Friday, May 12 (12:00-1:00 p.m. PDT): AI in Higher Education – Marc Watkins and faculty team, University of Mississippi
- Friday, June 14 (12:00-1:00 p.m. PDT): Best Practices in Assessment – Lydia Gillespie, Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Multnomah University
Cost: $50 for each webinar; $75 for the full series.
Register Here
Creating Capacity for Digital Learning – Free Professional Learning Opportunity Extended
In August 2022, NWCCU, in partnership with OLC and ELE and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, offered a free, self-paced professional development workshop series on developing quality digital learning. We are now pleased to announce that this opportunity is extended through the end of 2023!
Reporting Deadlines
- Annual Report opens May 1, 2023
- Annual Report due August 1, 2023
Upcoming Events
- Commission Board Meeting - June 21-23, 2023
- ALO Summer Townhall - July 21, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. PDT
- NWCCU Annual Conference - November 8-10, 2023
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The Beacon is NWCCU's quarterly newsletter intended to inform its member institutions and other stakeholders of updates, news, resources, and information pertaining to accreditation and higher education issues. Please send any feedback or ideas to thebeacon@nwccu.org.
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