WKU SACS Reaffirmation Update – 07/21/03

The WKU Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Reaffirmation Project is progressing on schedule thanks to excellent participation and cooperation among personnel in virtually all campus units. Our efforts thus far have been organized around the three major components of reaffirmation set forth under the SACS Principles of Accreditation. Specifically, these components are

Compliance: The Core Requirements and Comprehensive Standards of the Principles outline SACS’ basic expectations for an institution operating effectively within the framework of its mission and goals. This includes criteria with respect to curriculum, governance and administration, faculty, mission and planning, financial and physical resources, and student services. To ensure compliance with each of these criteria, a SACS Compliance Review Committee, comprised of faculty, staff, and administrators, has been formed and active since April 2003. Focused subcommittees of this group have been working diligently to consider each SACS Core Requirement and Comprehensive Standard, determine the extent to which we are in compliance with them, collect documentation to support our judgments about compliance, and prepare a short rationale for judgments about our compliance. The committee is on track for meeting its December 2003 goal for completion of the review, allowing the final compliance certification document to be compiled by the end of the Spring 2004 semester.

Assessment: Under the Principles, the institution is required to identify expected outcomes for its educational programs and its administrative and educational support services; assess whether it achieves these outcomes; and provide evidence of improvement based on analysis of those results. Although a variety of assessment practices has long been in place in both academic and administrative units, a decision was made in October 2002 to implement a systematic process that would consolidate the development, implementation, and documentation of individual unit assessment plans into a single, campus-wide structure. A University Assessment Coordinator was appointed and a University Outcomes Assessment Committee was formed to provide assistance and feedback. Academic programs and administrative units developed assessment plans in the Fall 2002 semester that were implemented during Spring 2003. The assessment data collected will be reviewed in early Fall 2003 and used to make changes, where indicated, as the units “close the loop” in the assessment process. Outcomes, assessment tools, data, and quality improvement actions will be summarized in an on-line assessment report.

Quality Enhancement Plan: According to the Principles, the QEP is “a document describing a carefully designed and focused course of action that addresses a well-defined topic or issue related to enhancing student learning.” In contrast to usual accreditation requirements, which generally concern an institution’s past actions and accomplishments, the QEP requires a forward-looking initiative. During the Spring 2003, with broad input from the campus community, the following QEP theme was developed: “Engaging Students for Success in a Global Society.” The SACS Leadership Team is now in the process of recommending a strategy to proceed with the development and implementation of the QEP. The strategy will include recommendations for a process, a committee structure, and a timetable for QEP development activities.