Reaffirmation 2014
Issue 4: May 2013
IN THIS ISSUE:
Reaffirmation 2014 Planning for SACSCOC Accreditation
REAFFIRMATION UPDATE TIMELINE FOR REAFFIRMATION
» From the QEP Plan: Targeting Student Learning Outcomes By: Angela Browning The QEP topic released last spring charged the QEP Plan Development Team with designing a plan that would help improve first time in college (FTIC), college-ready, associate degree seeking students’ engagement, retention and academic persistence, and completion of their college-credit math and English coursework. The QEP Development Team, endeavoring to affect these variables while developing a clear and focused QEP, reviewed the results of the institution’s on-going assessment and surveys. Results of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE), and survey of FSCJ graduates revealed that students needed more help with academic planning and advising. Additionally, review of relevant literature and best practices gave evidence that improving advising and engaging students in academic planning activities can improve student commitment and collegiate success. The QEP Development Team has structured a plan that will change FSCJ’s student learning environment. Previously, students were not required to engage in regular advising sessions. After their first advising session, students could continue registering for classes without seeking guidance from an advisor. However, QEP cohort students (FTIC, college-ready, associate degree seeking students) will be required to attend an orientation session that delivers information about academic planning and course taking, academic support services, and other knowledge important to collegiate success. At regular checkpoints during their program of study, cohort students will meet with advisors to discuss their
academic goals and progress and plan their class schedules or order of course taking. These students, after receiving information about academic planning, will be required to draft an academic plan and bring that plan to the advising session held at or before they complete 25% of their program of study (15 credit hours). The advisor, with the student and using his or her draft, will then review the program of study and discuss with the student his or her plan for taking courses and completing the primary program of study. The advising of cohort students and the review of their planning skills, along with their awareness of and use of academic support services, will continue until they have completed 75% of their primary program of study. The QEP Development Team believes that this significant change to student advising and academic planning will create a learning environment that encourages students to become proactive and responsible learners. Students will also benefit from the clearer and more readily available information about course taking strategies and A.S. program “road maps” that
» From the QEP Plan:
Targeting Student Learning Outcomes continued from page 1
will outline ideal semester-by-semester registration plans. While the QEP is designed to study the effect that this change in the learning environment has on cohort students, all students at the institution will benefit from the clearer, more readily available information about academic planning. Essentially, the first “tier” of Make a Plan for Success is to improve the learning environment in a way that enhances students’ knowledge and application of academic planning and the resources necessary for collegiate success. The associated student learning outcomes are listed below.
While the QEP is designed to study the effect that these changes in the learning environment has on cohort students, all students at the institution will benefit from the clearer, more readily available information about academic planning.
QEP GOAL 1:
QEP GOAL 2:
Enhance students’ knowledge and application of academic planning and the resources necessary for collegiate success.
Increase percentage of FTIC, collegeready students who successfully complete credit-bearing math and English courses in the first 12 hours of enrollment.
SLO 1 A: Cohort students will demonstrate effective knowledge of academic planning. SLO 1B: Cohort students will create an accurate academic plan that reflects designated academic and career goals. The second tier of MAP for Success is designed to improve the student learning environment in a way that supports students’ success in the crucial first twelve hours of their program of study. To achieve this goal, MAP will utilize an intrusive academic early alert system which will notify students that they are in academic jeopardy and refer them to student support services. Additionally, a First Year Advocate training program will be established. Interested faculty members who apply for the program and are accepted will receive training designed to help them support students’ successful completion of their first year (or first 12 hours) of coursework. The goal and student learning outcomes associated with this second tier of Make a Plan for Success are listed below.
SLO 2A: Cohort students will demonstrate accurate knowledge and effectively utilize resources that support collegiate success. Administrative Outcomes Studying Student Behaviors: SLO 3 A: Cohort students will effectively demonstrate responsible course completion behaviors by successfully completing creditbearing math courses within the first 12 hours of enrollment. SLO 3 B: Cohort students will effectively demonstrate responsible course completion behaviors by successfully completing creditbearing English courses within the first 12 hours of enrollment.
» Timeline for Reaffirmation JANUARY–DECEMBER
Reaffirmation leadership team attends SACSCOC orientation
Compliance certification report written and supported with evidence
2013
2012
JANUARY
MARCH Compliance certification report submitted to SACSCOC
» Reaffirmation Update By: Holly Masturzo When Florida State College at Jacksonville filed its 500-page statement of compliance with the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation along with 1500 pieces of supporting evidence (known as the Compliance Certificate) in March 2013, this documentation offered an up-to-date representation of college policies and practices. Obviously, college operations do not suspend themselves between the filing of that document and the visit of the on-site visit of the committee of evaluators in October 2013. Every college and university going through the reaffirmation process will continue to revise policies and procedures in an effort to be responsive to their student populations and their own institutional effectiveness review processes, as well as shifting legislative and regional directives. While it could seem that implementing significant changes at the college between filing the Compliance Certificate and hosting the On-Site Visit could create a problem, in fact changes in institutional practices and policies, including any reorganization of positions, demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement. The college, as with all institutions going through the reaffirmation process, will have the opportunity to file Focused Reports over the summer based on any requests from the Off-Site Review Committee. Describing and documenting these changes and further clarifying existing practices and policies through Focused Reports provides the College with an opportunity to demonstrate how we continue to develop our commitment to the College Mission and how we refine our methods of compliance with SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation.
Leadership Team and the QEP Development Team confirmed current interpretations of SACSCOC policies and consulted with the SACSCOC Vice President about matters unique to our institution. Later in the summer, the college also aims to schedule a voluntary, preliminary site visit with the chair of the SACSCOC On-Site Review Committee, which would allow the committee chair to become oriented to our college’s multi-campus structure and clarify any major changes that have occurred during the transition of college leadership. These preliminary conversations are part of the College’s pro-active, transparent approach to reaffirmation. The changes in college leadership have resulted in the reorganization of the College’s Reaffirmation Leadership Team; the current team that will take us through reaffirmation is as follows:
»
REAFFIRMATION LEADERSHIP TEAM
Dr. Willis Holcombe
Interim College President
Dr. Judith Bilsky
Provost & Vice President of the College
Dr. Maggie Cabral-Maly Campus President
In addition to preparing to write Focused Reports, the college has already taken advantage of the opportunity to host an Advisory Visit with our assigned SACSCOC Vice President earlier in the spring. During this visit, members of the Reaffirmation
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Dr. Tracy Pierce
Vice President of Student Services
Mr. Steven Bowers
Vice President of Administrative Services
Dr. Lynne Crosby
Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation
Dr. Holly Masturzo
Professor of Humanities & English
Writing Focused Reports and Completing the QEP
AUGUST
OCTOBER
Off-site peer review of compliance certification report by SACSCOC
Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and Focused Reports submitted to SACSCOC
On-site peer review visit by SACSCOC evaluators
2014
MARCH–MAY
JUNE SACSCOC makes reaffirmation decision
» Focus on a Standard Section Four of the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation address federal requirements, a key component to ensure recognition of SACSCOC by the U.S. Department of Education and to establish eligibility for its member institutions to participate in programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. “Implicit in every Federal Requirement,” the SACSCOC guidelines state, “is the expectation that the policy or procedure is in writing and has been approved through appropriate institutional processes, published in appropriate institutional documents accessible to those affected by the policy or procedure, and implemented and enforced by the institution.”
4.1 - STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT The institution evaluates success with respect to student achievement consistent with its mission. Criteria may include: enrollment data; retention, graduation, course completion, and job placement rates; state licensing examinations; student portfolios; or other means of demonstrating achievement of goals.
In addition to Student Achievement, Section Four of the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation covers program curriculum and program length, definition of credit hours, student complaints, recruitment materials, distance education, publication of policies and Title IV program responsibilities.
»
All of the Principles of Accreditation may be found on the SACSCOC website: www.sacscoc.org/principles.asp.
For more information about Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Reaffirmation 2014 process, please contact
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation at (904) 361-6222 or email [email protected]. Please visit fscj.edu/ie.
Florida State College at Jacksonville provides equal access to education, employment, programs, services and activities and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religious belief, or marital status. The College Equity Officer has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies and may be contacted at [email protected]. Florida State College at Jacksonville is a member of the Florida College System and is not affiliated with any other public or private university or college in Florida or elsewhere. Florida State College is a division of Florida State College at Jacksonville. Florida State College at Jacksonville is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the baccalaureate and associate degree. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, or call (404) 679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Florida State College at Jacksonville. The Commission is to be contacted only if there is evidence that appears to support an institution’s significant non-compliance with a requirement or standard.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Reaffirmation 2014 Planning for SACSCOC Accreditation
REAFFIRMATION UPDATE TIMELINE FOR REAFFIRMATION
» From the QEP Plan: Targeting Student Learning Outcomes By: Angela Browning The QEP topic released last spring charged the QEP Plan Development Team with designing a plan that would help improve first time in college (FTIC), college-ready, associate degree seeking students’ engagement, retention and academic persistence, and completion of their college-credit math and English coursework. The QEP Development Team, endeavoring to affect these variables while developing a clear and focused QEP, reviewed the results of the institution’s on-going assessment and surveys. Results of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE), and survey of FSCJ graduates revealed that students needed more help with academic planning and advising. Additionally, review of relevant literature and best practices gave evidence that improving advising and engaging students in academic planning activities can improve student commitment and collegiate success. The QEP Development Team has structured a plan that will change FSCJ’s student learning environment. Previously, students were not required to engage in regular advising sessions. After their first advising session, students could continue registering for classes without seeking guidance from an advisor. However, QEP cohort students (FTIC, college-ready, associate degree seeking students) will be required to attend an orientation session that delivers information about academic planning and course taking, academic support services, and other knowledge important to collegiate success. At regular checkpoints during their program of study, cohort students will meet with advisors to discuss their
academic goals and progress and plan their class schedules or order of course taking. These students, after receiving information about academic planning, will be required to draft an academic plan and bring that plan to the advising session held at or before they complete 25% of their program of study (15 credit hours). The advisor, with the student and using his or her draft, will then review the program of study and discuss with the student his or her plan for taking courses and completing the primary program of study. The advising of cohort students and the review of their planning skills, along with their awareness of and use of academic support services, will continue until they have completed 75% of their primary program of study. The QEP Development Team believes that this significant change to student advising and academic planning will create a learning environment that encourages students to become proactive and responsible learners. Students will also benefit from the clearer and more readily available information about course taking strategies and A.S. program “road maps” that
» From the QEP Plan:
Targeting Student Learning Outcomes continued from page 1
will outline ideal semester-by-semester registration plans. While the QEP is designed to study the effect that this change in the learning environment has on cohort students, all students at the institution will benefit from the clearer, more readily available information about academic planning. Essentially, the first “tier” of Make a Plan for Success is to improve the learning environment in a way that enhances students’ knowledge and application of academic planning and the resources necessary for collegiate success. The associated student learning outcomes are listed below.
While the QEP is designed to study the effect that these changes in the learning environment has on cohort students, all students at the institution will benefit from the clearer, more readily available information about academic planning.
QEP GOAL 1:
QEP GOAL 2:
Enhance students’ knowledge and application of academic planning and the resources necessary for collegiate success.
Increase percentage of FTIC, collegeready students who successfully complete credit-bearing math and English courses in the first 12 hours of enrollment.
SLO 1 A: Cohort students will demonstrate effective knowledge of academic planning. SLO 1B: Cohort students will create an accurate academic plan that reflects designated academic and career goals. The second tier of MAP for Success is designed to improve the student learning environment in a way that supports students’ success in the crucial first twelve hours of their program of study. To achieve this goal, MAP will utilize an intrusive academic early alert system which will notify students that they are in academic jeopardy and refer them to student support services. Additionally, a First Year Advocate training program will be established. Interested faculty members who apply for the program and are accepted will receive training designed to help them support students’ successful completion of their first year (or first 12 hours) of coursework. The goal and student learning outcomes associated with this second tier of Make a Plan for Success are listed below.
SLO 2A: Cohort students will demonstrate accurate knowledge and effectively utilize resources that support collegiate success. Administrative Outcomes Studying Student Behaviors: SLO 3 A: Cohort students will effectively demonstrate responsible course completion behaviors by successfully completing creditbearing math courses within the first 12 hours of enrollment. SLO 3 B: Cohort students will effectively demonstrate responsible course completion behaviors by successfully completing creditbearing English courses within the first 12 hours of enrollment.
» Timeline for Reaffirmation JANUARY–DECEMBER
Reaffirmation leadership team attends SACSCOC orientation
Compliance certification report written and supported with evidence
2013
2012
JANUARY
MARCH Compliance certification report submitted to SACSCOC
» Reaffirmation Update By: Holly Masturzo When Florida State College at Jacksonville filed its 500-page statement of compliance with the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation along with 1500 pieces of supporting evidence (known as the Compliance Certificate) in March 2013, this documentation offered an up-to-date representation of college policies and practices. Obviously, college operations do not suspend themselves between the filing of that document and the visit of the on-site visit of the committee of evaluators in October 2013. Every college and university going through the reaffirmation process will continue to revise policies and procedures in an effort to be responsive to their student populations and their own institutional effectiveness review processes, as well as shifting legislative and regional directives. While it could seem that implementing significant changes at the college between filing the Compliance Certificate and hosting the On-Site Visit could create a problem, in fact changes in institutional practices and policies, including any reorganization of positions, demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement. The college, as with all institutions going through the reaffirmation process, will have the opportunity to file Focused Reports over the summer based on any requests from the Off-Site Review Committee. Describing and documenting these changes and further clarifying existing practices and policies through Focused Reports provides the College with an opportunity to demonstrate how we continue to develop our commitment to the College Mission and how we refine our methods of compliance with SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation.
Leadership Team and the QEP Development Team confirmed current interpretations of SACSCOC policies and consulted with the SACSCOC Vice President about matters unique to our institution. Later in the summer, the college also aims to schedule a voluntary, preliminary site visit with the chair of the SACSCOC On-Site Review Committee, which would allow the committee chair to become oriented to our college’s multi-campus structure and clarify any major changes that have occurred during the transition of college leadership. These preliminary conversations are part of the College’s pro-active, transparent approach to reaffirmation. The changes in college leadership have resulted in the reorganization of the College’s Reaffirmation Leadership Team; the current team that will take us through reaffirmation is as follows:
»
REAFFIRMATION LEADERSHIP TEAM
Dr. Willis Holcombe
Interim College President
Dr. Judith Bilsky
Provost & Vice President of the College
Dr. Maggie Cabral-Maly Campus President
In addition to preparing to write Focused Reports, the college has already taken advantage of the opportunity to host an Advisory Visit with our assigned SACSCOC Vice President earlier in the spring. During this visit, members of the Reaffirmation
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Dr. Tracy Pierce
Vice President of Student Services
Mr. Steven Bowers
Vice President of Administrative Services
Dr. Lynne Crosby
Associate Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation
Dr. Holly Masturzo
Professor of Humanities & English
Writing Focused Reports and Completing the QEP
AUGUST
OCTOBER
Off-site peer review of compliance certification report by SACSCOC
Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and Focused Reports submitted to SACSCOC
On-site peer review visit by SACSCOC evaluators
2014
MARCH–MAY
JUNE SACSCOC makes reaffirmation decision
» Focus on a Standard Section Four of the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation address federal requirements, a key component to ensure recognition of SACSCOC by the U.S. Department of Education and to establish eligibility for its member institutions to participate in programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. “Implicit in every Federal Requirement,” the SACSCOC guidelines state, “is the expectation that the policy or procedure is in writing and has been approved through appropriate institutional processes, published in appropriate institutional documents accessible to those affected by the policy or procedure, and implemented and enforced by the institution.”
4.1 - STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT The institution evaluates success with respect to student achievement consistent with its mission. Criteria may include: enrollment data; retention, graduation, course completion, and job placement rates; state licensing examinations; student portfolios; or other means of demonstrating achievement of goals.
In addition to Student Achievement, Section Four of the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation covers program curriculum and program length, definition of credit hours, student complaints, recruitment materials, distance education, publication of policies and Title IV program responsibilities.
»
All of the Principles of Accreditation may be found on the SACSCOC website: www.sacscoc.org/principles.asp.
For more information about Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Reaffirmation 2014 process, please contact
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation at (904) 361-6222 or email [email protected]. Please visit fscj.edu/ie.
Florida State College at Jacksonville provides equal access to education, employment, programs, services and activities and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religious belief, or marital status. The College Equity Officer has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies and may be contacted at [email protected]. Florida State College at Jacksonville is a member of the Florida College System and is not affiliated with any other public or private university or college in Florida or elsewhere. Florida State College is a division of Florida State College at Jacksonville. Florida State College at Jacksonville is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the baccalaureate and associate degree. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, or call (404) 679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Florida State College at Jacksonville. The Commission is to be contacted only if there is evidence that appears to support an institution’s significant non-compliance with a requirement or standard.
