MSCHE Steering Committee Members

MSCHE Steering Committee

 The Steering Committee (SC) was selected in a collaborative effort between the Faculty Senate Chair and the MSCHE Self Study Co-Chairs.  Names were solicited from the Senate Chair in an effort to seek representative membership from the Faculty body.  Membership by professional staff was also sought in a way to fully represent Academic Affairs on the Steering Committee.

The SC met throughout the Spring Semester, and tasks were guided by a syllabus that the co-chairs created.  The goals, meeting agendas, and activities for the semester as they appeared on the Steering Committee syllabus were as follows:

1. Become familiar with resources and documents related to Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education, Self-Study, and Team Visits
2. Be able to interpret and explain the Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s (MSCHE’s) accreditation standards as presented in Characteristics of Excellence (12^th Ed., 2009)
3. Be able to convey to the campus community the importance the Commission places on institutional planning and assessment, including the assessment of student learning.
4. Be able to  explain the MSCHE decennial evaluation process as described in Self-Study: Creating a Useful Process and Report (2^nd Ed., 2007) and Team Visits: conducting and Hosting an Evaluation Visit (2009)
5. Be able to assist in producing an excellent and useful self-study report; specific skills include

• Mobilizing the institution for self-study
• Working collaboratively with Commission staff
• Working with selected self-study model (selected topics) 
• Drafting the self-study design
• Developing analytical questions to guide the working groups’ research
• Assuring that the self-study report appropriately addresses the Commission’s standards and their fundamental elements 
• Assuring that the self-study report is analytical, forward-looking, supported by evidence, and useful to the institution’s self-understanding and self-improvement 
•  Assisting colleagues in preparing for and hosting the evaluation team visit

The Steering Committee met six times during the semester, and each meeting was framed by readings from “Self Study: Creating a Useful Process and Report” (the red book) and “Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education” (the blue book).  In each meeting, small groups convened to generate lists of analytic research questions for each selected topic (typically a GSP Goal), focusing on one per week (Mission and Goals, Admission and Retention, Efficiency of Resources, Refining Academic Programs, Planning Research Infrastructure). 

Analytic research questions have been developed and vetted by the Steering Committee members, Co-chairs, and University Provost.  A list of working groups has been identified by members of the Steering Committee with input from Academic Affairs Directors, Academic Deans, and the Chair of the Faculty Senate.  Timelines for AY 2011-2012 were discussed with the SC and an orientation has been planned to include Steering and Working Group Committee members for the week before fall semester begins. Working Group charges have been described, Steering Committee members have selected the Working Groups they will Co-chair, and letters have been sent to invite participation on the Working Groups.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT/RESOURCES:
Rosanne Bangura, Office of Institutional Research, Office of Academic Quality and Planning
Norma Moran, Office of Academic Quality and Planning