Accountability in Higher Education
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Accountability in Higher Education Belle S. Wheelan, Ph.D. Commission on Colleges-- SACS
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Accountability in Higher Education. Belle S. Wheelan, Ph.D. Commission on Colleges--SACS. Challenges. Only 60% of American students graduate from high school in the south (70% nationally) - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Accountability in Higher Education
Accountability in Higher Education
Belle S. Wheelan, Ph.D.Commission on Colleges--
SACS
Challenges
• Only 60% of American students graduate from high school in the south (70% nationally)
• By 2010, we will need 2 million more scientists and engineers and 2.4 million more workers with key manufacturing and production skills
• Currently, shortages in health care fields, construction, plumbers, machinists, etc.
Challenges cont’d
• Students lack skills in basic math, science, information technology, critical thinking and analytical skills, and writing
• Fewer visas are being issued resulting in a shortage of foreign workers in some areas
• Baby boomer retirements will worsen the shortage of workers
Challenges cont’d
• Expanding global competition• Changes in American labor markets• Exploding growth of knowledge• Innovations in technology• Increased Demands for higher skills
RESULT
• Our competitiveness as a nation will mean:– Fewer innovations– Jobs being sent overseas– Fierce competition for competent
workers– Increase in wages to be paid because of
competition for workers
How to Respond
• Train more women in non-traditional areas• Work with minority students while still in
the K-12 system to ensure they are college ready
• Develop strategies that ensure students will matriculate through college to graduation
• Link courses thematically• Promote service learning
National Conversation(Spellings Commission)
• Access• Affordability• Private loans vs federal aid• Accountability
– Student learning outcomes– National Tracking System
• Transparency– Graduation rates– Job Placement Rates
Activities After Commission Report
• Secretary accepted the Report in September 06• Public hearings on need for negotiated rule-
making process in Oct. 2006• Meeting of accrediting community in Nov. 2006• Negotiated rule-making in March, April and
May• Summit in March 2007• Negotiations Failed• Senate approves Reauthorization of HEA--2007• House still to vote—2007-08• New round of negotiated rule-making--2008
Responses to Report
• ETS Report, “A Culture of Evidence: Postsecondary Assessment and Learning Outcomes”
• NASLGCU and AAU’s • ASPA • CHEA• Big Six
Current National Issues (Post Spellings Commission)
• Identification and Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
• Use of Assessment Results• Transfer of Academic Credits• Greater Transparency• Cost/Financial Aid• Accountability
History of Accreditation
• Based on philosophy that “a free people can and ought to govern themselves through a representative, flexible, and responsive system.”
Purpose of Accreditation
• Signifies that “an institution has a purpose appropriate to higher education and has resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain that purpose.”
• Indicates that an institution maintains clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the degrees it offers, and that it is successful in achieving its stated objectives.”
Principles of Accreditation
• Integrity—honest and open• Thoughtful and principled judgment• Rigorous application of
requirements• Context of Trust• Voluntary participation• Self-regulatory process (peer
review)
Process
• Provides an assessment of an institution’s effectiveness in the fulfillment of its mission, its compliance with the requirements of its accrediting association, and its continuing efforts to enhance the quality of student learning and its programs and services
• Stimulates evaluation and improvement• Provides continuing accountability to the
public
Issues Reviewed During Accreditation Process
• Fiscal Resources• Governance• Planning and Assessment• Student Learning Outcomes• Faculty• Curriculum• Support Services
Assessment Strategies
• Benchmarking• Increase in the use of data to make
decisions about personnel, curriculum, etc.
• Types of Assessments– NSSE– CCSSE– CAAP– CLA
Assessment Strategies cont’d
• Portfolios• In-house surveys• Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)• Academic Quality Improvement
Project (AQIP)
SO WHAT?
• Strong need to expose students to the broadest view of the world as it relates to each discipline
• Ensure graduates have specific, demonstrated and measurable competencies in the discipline, as well as applied and soft skills
SO WHAT??
• Ensure that the curriculum you design fosters competency in the areas of reading, writing, math, science, technology, global integration, critical thinking, teamwork, ethics, diversity and life long learning
• Provide proof that your students can perform and, if they can’t, ways to remediate their weaknesses
