Pam Deegan, MiraCosta College Renee Kilmer , Cabrillo College Melinda Nish, Orange Coast College

1. Accreditation: How to do what’s right and what to do when “right” fails Pam Deegan, MiraCosta College Renee Kilmer, Cabrillo College Melinda Nish, Orange Coast College

2. Agenda • The Successful Self Study Renee Kilmer • How to Handle the Press and Community When on Sanctions Melinda Nish • How to Remove Sanctions from the College Pam Deegan

3. the Successful Study

4. Common Elements • The self-study has at least one major thread that ties together the different Standards. • Butte: Planning and Budget Integration • Cabrillo: SLOs and the Wheel of Assessment • Santa Rosa: Program and Resource Planning Process (PRPP)

5. 4 The Role of the Themes • Four themes dominated: • Institutional Commitments • Dialogue • SLOs • Evaluation, Planning and Improvement

6. Institutional Commitments Consistency between the college mission and its goals and plans • “The college reexamined its institutional planning and decision making processes. It created the Planning, Budgeting and Assessment (PBA) process and a new strategic plan with five initiatives, both of which are evaluated using the ‘Balanced Scorecard.’ There is a new emphasis on effectiveness, codified in the newly developed unit plans, program reviews, and faculty and student surveys.” • “The mission statement drives the college initiatives, which in turn is the underpinning of the colleges many programs and services. These initiatives reflect aspects of the mission statement, such as student learning, diverse communities, increasing skill, and providing basic skills: college initiative “V”: student learning outcomes are cited as the source of the SLO project, Project Learn.” • “The college has invested a significant amount of time and effort in reviewing its mission statement and validating that it defines its programs and the students it serves. . . .The mission statement is central to institutional planning and decision-making . . . and is referenced in all major planning documents.”

7. DialogueInclusive, informed, and intentional dialogue about institutional quality and improvement • “Dialogue at the college occurs in many venues and in all committees. . . . At the meetings discussions occur on an going basis on the evaluation of the planning process.” • “The team saw clear evidence that there is widespread institutional dialogue about the importance of student learning outcomes. . . .The college is committed to increasing dialogue and focusing on evidence-based dialogue to improve institutional effectiveness.” • “It is clear that dialogue has been on-going detailed, and inclusive. All constituent groups, including students, have been involved in discussing issues. Dialogue has been central to the college’s ability to pull together staff, faculty and students at all levels of the organization around common goals and agreement on the strategies to help meet the needs of students.”

8. SLOsSelf-analysis leading to improvement in learning and teaching • “The entire college should be complimented for the systematic, meticulous, comprehensive integration of student leaning outcomes and the assessment of student learning into the fabric of the institution. As reported in the self study, this endeavor is a work in progress that has caught the attention of all campus leadership groups. “ • “Over the past five years SLOs have been the focal point of the college’s planning and assessment efforts. They currently provide a central place in the college’s vision of itself as a learning institution and its self-assessment of its own effectiveness,” even though “the Assessment paradigms of the Student Learning Outcomes are in their infancy, as the college acknowledges.” • “Project LEARN is the institution-wide assessment initiative that has established the organizational structure for the student learning process. . . . In addition, the Program and Resource Planning Process (PRPP) systematically review ongoing assessment of SLOs.”

9. Evaluation, Planning and ImprovementAn Ongoing and Systematic Cycle • “The planning is well-integrated and focused appropriately on student learning with a focus on making programmatic and structural changes based on evaluation data. Through the college’s Evaluation, Planning and Improvement process, resources are distributed in line with college-wide goals and priorities.” • “The new PRPP process links facilities planning with institutional program planning through the use of measurable data to demonstrate program needs.” • “The college has a long history of data-based decision-making and planning that serves the college well. Systems for goal setting, planning, resource allocation, and evaluation appear to be functioning effectively. . . .The college has a well-established instructional program planning process by which programs and courses are reviewed at least every 6 years. Results are integrated into institution-wide planning and then to resource allocation.”

10. Governance • “The college, through consensus, defined shared governance as a college-wide commitment to responsive decision-making processes. Through the College Planning Council, the college asserts that this venue facilitates involvement of all constituency groups in the planning and decision-making processes. Student leadership indicated that they were provided with many opportunities to be involved with the campus decision-making process.” • “Although it is felt that the college has an extensive and self-described ‘complex’ governance structure, it provides faculty and administrators a substantive voice in institutional policies, planning and budget related to their areas of responsibility and expertise. “

11. Lengthy Planning and Writing Periods • Months of pre-planning, identifying self-study teams, and drafting timelines • Attendance at the ACCJC training 2 years before team site visit • One year of planning, internal investigation, compilation of documents and other evidence, and drafting self-study • One year of final writing and internal review by governance committees

12. Progress on Previous RecommendationsMidterm Reports and Self-Study • Previous midterm report addressed all previous team’s recommendations. • A majority of the recommendations had been fully addressed by the midterm report. • Recommendations that not yet been completed by the midterm report were completed by the team’s visit. • Internal, self-identified recommendations had been completed.

13. Substantive Changes • All required Substantive Change proposals had been submitted to the Commission at least 6 months prior to the team visit.

14. Distance Education • All annual DE reports were submitted to ACCJC as part of the normal annual process in spring. • Any program with 50% of the degree available online had already been approved by the Commission through the Substantive Change process.

15. How to Handle the Press and community when on Sanctions

16. Have a Public Relations Plan • Develop an INTERNAL message and an EXTERNAL message as soon as possible, preferably PRIOR to the ACCJC’s decision • Make sure your Public Information Officer is in the loop and has direct access to the President and the ALO • Get the message out immediately, do NOT try the “keep them in the dark” strategy!

17. EXTERNAL Message • Honesty = transparency • Surgical strike rather than a long, detailed story • Decisive and sincere • Authority = message comes from the top • Message needs to answer three questions: • Is the situation being managed? • Do they know what they are doing? • Are they doing the right thing? • Make it look and sound good

18. INTERNAL Message • Make sure everyone has the message and that they know how to convey the message to students, parents, community members • Have a “crisis plan” and make sure you communicate it • Make sure your plan is executed by a team of individuals who have the authority to make decisions quickly • Regular and consistent communications

19. Things to Avoid • Silence • Finger pointing • Denial

20. Things to Remember • You’re still accredited ! • You can harness the energy of the sanction so as to improve processes and outcomes rather become immobilized by the bad news • Celebrate each milestone you achieve in executing your plan

21. How to remove sanctions from the college

22. California Community Colleges that have been Placed on Warning, Probation, Show Cause, or Termination – 2003-9 48 Remember, you aren’t alone out there !

23. How do you Get Off Warning? • Take charge of the information. You put it out first. Be honest and transparent to the college community. • Talk about the sanctions and how you plan to deal with them. • Be positive in the communication • Don’t place blame. • Take charge as CIO (ALO ?), but work with the President.

24. Develop a Plan working with the recommendations from the visiting team as well as your own planning agenda items. • Work with your President, Academic Senate President, etc., to put together an action plan. • Know your college climate • Need more release time to make it work? • Stay in constant contact with the college movers to anticipate problems and triage when necessary.

25. The plan should include: • Each Recommendation and action • List steps (in sequence) that ameliorate cause of sanction • Attach dates to each step • List person/group responsible for each goal • Include contact person who is responsible for bringing information to President’s Cabinet or other body that will track information

26. Sample Accreditation Updates January 31, 2008 Recommendation – Student Learning Outcomes 2004 ACCJC #1: The team recommends that the college develop a plan to implement the measurement of student learning outcomes at the course, program and institutional levels. The plan should include tasks, timelines and responsible individuals so that significant progress can be reported in the mid-term report. (Standard II.A.I.a, II.A.I.c. II.A.2.a, II.A.2.b, II.A.2.e, 2.f, II.A.2.h, II.A.3, II.A.6, II.A.6.a, II.C.I.b). 2007 (Special Visit) ACCJC #1: The team recommends that the following items of evidence be in place at the time of the next comprehensive accreditation visit: evidence that the process of establishing student learning outcomes at all course and program levels has been completed; evidence that assessment of student learning course and program outcomes is being conducted; evidence that students are achieving stated learning outcomes; evidence that the assessment and evaluation results are used for the improvement of student learning (Standards II.A.1.a; II.A.1.c; II.A.2.e; II.A.2.f)

27. Responsible Party • Academic Senate • Office of Instruction

28. Cabinet Contact • Brad Byrom; Pam Deegan • Documentation • February 1, 2008 - Meeting held with executive team and president to increase reassigned time for SLO coordinator for one semester. • February 1, 2008 - Meeting held with Academic Senate, SLO coordinator, Office of Instruction to outline all items to be completed prior to special visit of June, 2008. • Outlined each element of what would be accomplished on what date. See attached calendar. Additional manual of departmental dates for SLO development and assessment cycle online with hard copy in Office of Instruction. Office of Instruction to prepare documentation for special visit. • Group decided to plan all-faculty “LEAP DAY’ SLO writing day organized by Academic Senate and supported by the Office of Instruction. February 29, 2008 • March 1, 2009 – 80% of course-level SLO completed, documentation in Office of Instruction, SLO manual • March 1, 2009 – Documentation for program-level SLOs for General Education and CTE areas compiled from Academic Senate records. On file with Office of Instruction

29. What to Do With the Plan • Task individuals with duties • Review at important meeting weekly or bimonthly • Ask for documentation for each item • Keep files • For movement on issues • Documentation for reports • You’ve got to work it • Don’t forget to celebrate achievements!

30. SLOs on Leap Day

31. Questions?