Middle States Reaccreditation

Team VisitMarch 31, 2014 – April 2, 2014

Charles F. ZukoskiProvost

Sean P. SullivanVice Provost for Academic Planning and Budget

Michael E. RyanDirector of University Accreditation

Regional Accrediting Organizations

Aims of Accreditation

• Accreditation is about accountability and is intended to strengthen and sustain the quality and integrity of higher education by establishing and enforcing standards of excellence.

• Accreditation is about continuous self-improvement and involves a process of peer review adopted by the higher educational community for its self-regulation. The process is not intended to be adversarial but rather collegial in helping institutions improve their practices and attain their mission.

Team Chair and Team Support

Team ChairPatricia Beeson, Senior Vice Chancellor and ProvostUniversity of Pittsburgh

Chair and Team SupportJuan Manfredi, Vice Provost for Undergraduate StudiesUniversity of PittsburghDan Kubis, Assistant to the ProvostUniversity of Pittsburgh

SUNY RepresentativeLinnea LoPresti, Assistant Provost for Academic ProgramsSUNY System Administration

Middle States Evaluating Team MembersBryan Andriano, Executive Director, Global and Experiential Education, School of BusinessGeorge Washington University

Nivia Aurora Fernandez Hernandez, Professor, College of Natural SciencesUniversity of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras

Maria Maricela Fuentes-Martin, Associate Vice President and Dean of StudentsUniversity of Texas-Pan American

Christina A. Hannah, Collegiate Professor and Program DirectorBusiness and Executive ProgramsUniversity of Maryland

Betty J. Harper, Senior Planning and Research AssociateOffice of Planning and Institutional AssessmentPennsylvania State University

Maureen Diana Sasso, Director, Information Services Division, Gumberg LibraryDuquesne University

Gene A. Vincenti, Former Executive Vice Chancellor for AdministrationRutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Calvin Yu, Assistant Professor, Director of AssessmentRutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Middle States Standards for Accreditation

1. Mission and Goals2. Planning, Resource Allocation, and Institutional Renewal3. Institutional Resources4. Leadership and Governance5. Administration6. Integrity7. Institutional Assessment8. Student Admissions and Retention9. Student Support Services10. Faculty11. Educational Offerings12. General Education13. Related Educational Activities14. Assessment of Student Learning

Executive Summary

Chapter 1 - Charting the Course to Excellence:Mission, Vision, Leadership, IntegrityAddresses Standards 1, 4, 5, 6

Chapter 2 – Building a Foundation for Excellence:Strategic Planning, Resource Allocation andInstitutional RenewalAddresses Standards 2, 3, 7

Chapter 3 – Educating for Excellence:Faculty Addresses Standard 10

Chapter 4 – Educating for Excellence:Instructional ProgramsAddresses Standards 11, 12, 13, 14

Chapter 5 – Fostering Student Learning and Achievement:Admissions, Retention, and Student Support ServicesAddresses Standards 8, 9

Chapter 6 – Conclusions

Sources293 sources cited

Self-Study ReportFramework for Excellence

Self-Study Report

• Framework for Excellence– http://www.buffalo.edu/provost/acredit/middle-states/self-stu

dy-report.html

• Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education– http://www.msche.org/publications/CHX-2011-WEB.pdf

Team Schedule and Meetings

• Sunday, March 30, 2014– Welcome Reception and Dinner

• Monday, March 31, 2014– President Tripathi– Coordinating Committee– UB 2020/Realizing UB 2020– Senior Leadership– Student Admissions– Academic Programs– Financial Planning– Deans– Department Chairs– Student Retention/Support Services– Assessment of Student Learning– Resource Allocation Processes– International Education

• Tuesday, April 1, 2014– Campus Life/Support services– General Education– Capital Planning– UB Council– Students– IT Support/Distance Education– Faculty Senate– Unit Standards and Impact

• Wednesday, April 2, 2014– Exit Summary and Debriefing

Materials for Evaluating Team

Materials for Evaluating Team

• Self-Study Report– Framework for Excellence

• Sources and Evidence– Data, Documents, Reports, Websites, etc.

• Document Roadmap (>350 sources of evidence)– Provides linkage between standards, source documents,

and citations in the Self-Study• Flash Drive for Evaluators– All evidence and related materials with embedded links

• Document Workroom

Recent Commission ActionsNovember 21, 2013

• 2 institutions granted initial accreditation status• 2 institutions granted “Candidate for Accreditation” status• 1 institution had “Accreditation Readiness Report” accepted• 55 institutions had accreditation reaffirmed• 1 institution had reaffirmation postponed• 3 institutions were placed on probation• 2 institutions were placed on warning• 3 institutions were continued on warning• 4 institutions had warning removed• Various actions regarding 69 other institutions

Campus Preparation for Team Visit

• Communications to the Campus• Logistical Planning and Arrangements• Assembly of Evidence• Preparation and Rehearsal (March 2014)– Identification of session moderators and

participants– Preparation of anticipated issues, questions, and

discussion points

• Implementation of strategic planning initiatives through UB2020 and Realizing UB 2020

• Revision of the resource allocation model to support planning and meet current funding realities

• Significant campus transformations including the “downtown” campus, new buildings, and major renovations

• Replacement of aging administrative systems with a consolidated, state-of-the-art database-driven infrastructure

• Enhancement of institutional assessment, including comprehensive program reviews

• Promoting a culture assessment to support academic programs and enhance student learning outcomes

Highlights

Self-Study ReportFramework for Excellence

Metric 2004 Today

Undergraduate 17,838 19,915

Graduate 9,438 10,025

Total 27,276 29,940

Faculty FTE 1,383 1,571

4-year graduation 34% 47%

6-year graduation 67% 72%

Median SAT 1150 1160

Median GRE 1163 1222

URM Students (FT) 10% 12%

International Students 12% 22%

Research $/faculty $127K $172K

• Significant advancement over past 10 years despite 4 years of significant budget cuts

• Increased enrollments

• Surge in faculty hiring

• Increased graduation rates

• Improvement in student quality

• Increase in student diversity

• Increase in international students

• Increase in research expenditures

Notable Changes

• Communities of Excellence

• Curricular distinctiono Revised general educationo Experiential learningo Significant international experienceo Capstone requirement

• Key infrastructure improvements – operational excellence

• Strategic Communications

• Unit success – achieving three-year plan goalso Faculty growtho Research and scholarly achievemento Enrollment stability

Looking ForwardRealizing UB 2020

Questions?