Just over a year ago we asked for your “burning questions” regarding HLC. We continue to keep the fire burning…so here are some more Q&As.
Q: Will the 35,000-word report (or a summary) be available for faculty/staff to review?
A: SCC has been working on the report for about two years. There have been hundreds of employees who contributed to the report to date – either through drafting narrative content, providing evidence, and/or reviewing the drafts. It has been an outstanding team effort to develop the report and evidence responses! The full report will be made available for all College employees to review sometime the end of February or early March. There will also be short executive summaries for the report as well. A collegewide email will be sent out with more information. Stay tuned!
Q: When will we start assessing all classes? Will this look similar to the pilot program?
A: Through our accreditation work, we’ve made a great deal of progress with assessment, as well as identified a few areas we’d like to continue improving in our assessment processes, such as curriculum mapping, course assessment, and program review. The work of the General Education Team has laid an important foundation for what a course-level assessment process could look like college-wide. They have led incredible work to assess hundreds of courses over the last three terms. After the visit this April, we will know more about what additional changes may need to be prioritized related to our assessment process. The full HLC report will be made available to all College employees.
Q: What methods will be used in the HLC evaluation?
A: There are five main methods used in the evaluation by six HLC Peer Reviewers:
- Review of our Assurance Review report written directly to respond to HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation.
- Analyze the evidence we provide on the Criteria for Accreditation.
- Review the information and websites that we provide as part of the Federal Compliance report.
- Review student survey results conducted by HLC (the survey will be sent out to students in early February).
- Onsite visit by the peer reviewers to gather additional information on identified areas of focus and confirm evidence through meetings with College employees.
Q: How much do students need to know about the process?
A: Students will receive an email within the next week with information about the student survey. Depending on the requests of the site visitors, there may be a student-focused meeting during the visit. At a minimum, we want students to know the dates of the visit, the importance of accreditation to their success, and how they will be able to participate in the process beyond completing the survey. We will begin communicating with students with additional information in March.
