SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY Comprehensive Review for Reaffirmation of Accreditation Presentation to Campus Forum October 21, 2015 Christopher Oberg, Vice President/COO.

SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITYComprehensive Review for

Reaffirmation of Accreditation Presentation to Campus Forum

October 21, 2015Christopher Oberg, Vice President/COO

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Higher Education Today

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Three Key Statistics5.2 – 7.0 thousand institutions20.4 million students$600 billion revenues = 3.3% GDP ($150 billion in financial aid)


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Why is accreditation in the news so much

there days?


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Five major perceptions about and

conditions of U.S. higher education


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1.Perceived low graduation rates (Not enough product)


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2.High tuition and student debt (Product costs too much)


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2.High tuition and student debt (Product costs too much)

3.Employer dissatisfaction with quality of graduates (Product is of poor quality)


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1. Perceived low graduation rates (Not enough product)

2. High tuition and student debt (Product costs too much)

3. Employer dissatisfaction with quality of graduates (Product is of poor quality)

4. Accelerated expansion of online learning (Means of production vary)


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1. Perceived low graduation rates (Not enough product)

2. High tuition and student debt (Product costs too much)

3. Employer dissatisfaction with quality of graduates (Product is of poor quality)

4. Accelerated expansion of online learning (Means of production vary)

5. Growth of the for- profit sector (Models of production vary)

“WSCUC”

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“WASC Senior College and University Commission”

“WASC” is now a brand, not an acronym

Your WSCUC Staff Liaison

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• Counselor• Collaborator • Interpreter• Non-contributing Editor• Trainer AND lastly• Compliance Guide

Reaffirmation Overview

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My experience as a WSCUC liaison: If you are doing what you say you want to be doing, and you can provide evidence – you will be in compliance


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• Process occurs once every 8 – 10 years and is the cornerstone of quality assurance in American higher education

• Only nation that uses voluntary, non-governmental peer review as its primary quality assurance vehicle


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• Process:• One report• One visit

• Institutional Report• Nine Components

Reaffirmation Process

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• Offsite Review (OSR)• Team only in WSCUC Office• One day with video conference

• Accreditation Visit (6 months later)• 2.5 day visit on campus• Focused, not comprehensive

Institutional Report – The Core Commitments

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1. Student Learning and Success

2. Quality and Improvement 3. Integrity, Sustainability,

and Accountability

Institutional Report

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IT’S YOUR STORYAnd you should all

contribute


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IT’S YOUR STORYWrite it in a way you would want to read it


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IT’S YOUR STORYBe evidential

(but more is not better)


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IT’S YOUR STORYThink documentary

- not “report”


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• Estimable Qualities:• Candid and frank• Brief and succinct• Clear and precise• Simple and direct

Institutional Report – The WSCUC Way

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The Commission says “What” needs to be done – it doesn’t say “How”

Institutional Report – The WSCUC Way: DMAA

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• Define • Measure (Assess)• Analyze (Plan)• Act (And repeat…….)

Institutional Report – Component 1

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Introduction• Institutional context: history, values,

uniqueness, changes, public good contribution; process of preparing Institutional Report

• Response to previous Commission actions


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Compliance• Review under the WSCUC

Standards (4 compliance forms)• Inventory of Educational

Effectiveness Indicators (IEEI)• Both included in Exhibits


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Meaning, Quality, Integrity of Degree• What is the end or purpose or

significance of the degree experience?

• What is your distinguishing way of accomplishing student learning?


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Student Learning (Outcomes):• What do your students learn in GE?

The major? Elsewhere? • Where are student outcomes

specified? How are they documented? (Hint: CFR 2.4)

• How well have your students learned (assessment)?


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• Core Competencies: 1. Writing; 2. Oral communication; 3. Quantitative reasoning; 4. Critical thinking; 5. Information literacy

• How well do students perform at or near graduation? (Not necessarily to be measured in the major)


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Student Success• How does the institution define student success given its mission, values, programs and the students it serves?• How does the institution promote student success?• How well are students doing in meeting the institution’s definition of student success?


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Quality Assurance and Improvement• Program review is the cornerstone: Be

simple, direct, periodic, inclusive (“finished” but not “complete”)

• Assessment is the means – it’s an annual engagement

• Data and evidence are the assessment mill’s grist


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Finance and Future• Financial: viability and

alignment (no additional data required)

• Changing ecology of higher education: Process, not prognostication


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Optional essay• What, you really want to

write even more?!?[Alert WASC liaison if chosen, so an appropriate team can be selected]


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Conclusion and Reflection - A Meta Perspective• What did you learn in the

process?• What will you do with what

you learned?• How does your “story” end?

WSCUC Commission: Key Emphases

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• Preserving voluntary peer review as the mode of quality assurance

• Assuring that the accreditation process adds value

• Outcomes, outcomes, outcomes


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• Creating comprehensive understandings of the Meaning, Quality, Integrity of Degree

• Assuring promotion of student, faculty, and staff diversity

• Preserving diversity among institutional types


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• Maintaining institutional autonomy (no bright lines)

• Enhancing methods of retention• Creating alternative and

complementary measures of graduation rates (Graduation Rate Dashboard)

Contact Information

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Christopher [email protected]

909.730.7933 (cell)510.995.3175 (office direct)

mailto:[email protected]

SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY Comprehensive Review for Reaffirmation of Accreditation Presentation to Campus Forum October 21, 2015 Christopher Oberg, Vice President/COO.

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