This letter is sent in response to your announcement of a search for an Associate Vice President for Accreditation and Quality Assurance at LeTourneau University (LETU). The announcement of this search drew my attention because I am familiar with LETU’s institutional effectiveness, assessment, and accreditation efforts, and I believe my background and experience provide an excellent fit with the credentials you seek. I have a keen interest in promoting LETU’s mission of engaging “learners to nurture Christian virtue, to develop competency and ingenuity in their professional fields, to integrate faith and work, and to serve the local and global community.” I am certain that I can make a positive contribution in support of this vision as …show more content…
We were able to accomplish this distinction despite the fact that the institution had no consistent or formal institutional effectiveness processes in place just 3 years before our compliance report was due for submission. Working diligently and cooperatively with administrators, faculty, and staff, we were able to build a successful assessment and institutional effectiveness program.
As a member of the SACSCOC Self-Study Steering Committee at SFA, I wrote several significant sections of the compliance report, and responses to the off-site committee and visiting committee reports. Furthermore, I have successfully completed the SACSCOC Institutional Effectiveness Evaluator Training, and have served as an institutional effectiveness reviewer and consultant. As Director of the OSLIA, I was responsible for continuously monitoring SACSCOC standards for changes and revisions, and taking appropriate action or advising the Provost of appropriate responses to ensure ongoing institutional compliance. My duties also required that I write and submit reports to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and other agencies. I am currently writing sections of SFA’s SACSCOC Fifth-Year Interim
"We believe this organization is the most open, frank, sincere and unbiased group on the campus and to have it continue is our ideal. We know no party lines, we harbor no petty jealousies, we tolerate the indifferent, back the worker, abhor the knocker, and idolize the person who shows that he has the welfare of the University at heart. We idolize him because he possesses these admirable qualities and it matters not to us how he demonstrates it. "In order to keep abreast with the remarkable growth of the school, we believe that the time is ripe for some changes and reforms to take place within the institution but safety and substantial progress does not lie in hysteria and agitation, so we advocate a sane and intelligent appreciation and knowledge of our existing laws, traditions and customs before attempting to improve what now exists. But having a respect for our existing habits and customs that border on veneration, we still believe that academics, athletics, and social conditions can be materially bettered by whole-hearted support and cooperation to the entire University personnel.” (Arizona Daily Wildcat)
The office I currently work in is the financial aid office at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM). CNM is a two-year institution. After reviewing the seven inventories, I have discovered that there is so much outside the financial aid office that takes place to insure student success. A common misconception is that all learning outcomes are the responsibility of faculty. All departments can use these principals across the institution. As stated by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators [NASPA], (n.d.), “They are intended to shape how we think about our responsibilities, communicate our purposes to others, and engage students” (para. 14).
Upon review of your website, I was delighted to see the success you have had in preparing students to attend college. I was also impressed with the progress you’ve made in closing the achievement gap. I wish to help you to continue to achieve amazing results and see no better way to do so than through employment with you. My commitment to urban education is evident though my educational decisions (pursued a B.A. in Mathematics and M.S.Ed in secondary education) and experience working as a math teacher at La Granja School, a math tutor at Roberts Wesleyan College and as a student teacher at La Salle School.
God calls us to serve and to do everything with love (1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 16:14). As a Student Affairs (SA) professional, my main goal is to help students discover their calling and equip them to better serve the world while integrating their faith. Smith (2004), states why it is important to serve as a mentor during a critical adult faith development stage. In The Council for the Advancement of Standards and Higher Education (CAS), CAS has incorporated faith, spirituality and religion into the standards and competencies that they advocate for individuals working as educators in the student affairs field ( Smith, 2004). In the CAS masters-level graduate program for student affairs standards (2004) the authors spoke to the essential need to incorporate spirituality.
Unit 401 - Understanding the principles and practices of internally assuring the quality of assessment.
I am here to tell you, if you pursue becoming Accredited in Public Relations (APR), you won’t regret it, not one bit! Maybe myFPRA accreditation story will inspire those of you “on the fence” about this important accreditation.
The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) uses standards and guidelines to promote, develop, and assess the quality of programs and services for student affairs professionals in higher education (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, 2015). Founded in 1979, the CAS approach is to ensure excellent educational practices secure in the belief that its standards and guidelines are to be used in a variety of ways to enhance institutional quality. The CAS standards influence practice in the following manner including assessing a current program, expanding existing programs, creating a mission statement and goals, justifying existing
During the years 1979 to 2007, 26 states enacted performance funding (Harnisch 2011). According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, today 33 states use performance based funding as a source of determination for their higher education institutions. Locally, the state of Louisiana is not exempt. According to senate bill 337, the higher education commissioner must submit a proposal for outcome based funding by the end of 2015 to the Board of Regents for approval. Performance based funds are often used across the United States thus understanding this mandate is critical to the continued success of higher education institutions. The research shows both the positive and negative outcomes
On another note I am at your service for any help with two years thoughts/strategies for the Coordinating Board regarding two year institutions if this helpful to you.
The positive report of the peer evaluators, the responsiveness of the institution to past recommendations, and careful consideration of the ISAAC at DSU are positive harbingers of a bright future for DSU and superior outcomes for its students and other stakeholders. The next step in the accreditation process for DSU has been finished as of October 2015; results, however, are not available. If all proceeds as it did in this Year One Evaluation, DSU faculty, administration, and ISAAC can begin anticipating the next accreditation hurdle, the comprehensive evaluation in the fall of 2019 (“Accreditation Cycle,” p.
Over the past 15 years, I have been involved in curriculum development, assessment and accreditation processes at various levels in higher education. As a higher education administrator, I also have been involved in supporting institutions with state, association, and regional accreditation processes. The Peer Reviewer opportunity would allow me to share my years of experience as a higher education administrator leading various processes.
Prospective finance students may be interested in pursuing an accredited Online Master of Accounting. While an online education offers affordable flexibility, some students still worry about the accreditation quality of their online program. Read on to learn about college accreditation for accounting degrees.
Hi Melanie, great post, easy to read and informative. It’s great to see the important points for the CCNE and CNEA presented in the way you did. According to E. Keavney the majority of facilities that offer a Master’s Program will not consider eligible students if their degree wasn’t obtained from an accredited facility. (Keavney, 2012). Looking back to when I was choosing a college for my BSN, didn’t consider accreditation. But I did choose a college that was prestigious and close to commute to.
One means to enhance this relationship is through the development of institutional assessment standards, where administrators can hold faculty accountable for consistent delivery of rigorous educational best practices. Although theorists have proposed changes in higher education to replace traditional with formative assessment, few administrators have implemented these changes within their institutions (Fook & Sidhu, 2010). Unlike traditional assessment, the purpose of formative assessment is not merely to prove student learning, but to guide and develop it, where what is learned is dependent upon how it is learned (Fook & Sidhu, 2010; Resnick, 1989; Walters et al., 2015). Such feedback, contingent upon the complex interrelationships of cognitive, affective, socio-cultural, and contextual factors, can increase a student’s ability to grasp the processes underlying scholarly writing and research, which are essential to successful completion of a quality dissertation (Resnick, 1989; Walters et al., 2015).
In both supplemental readings, the need for “transparency” in all areas of the accreditation process was stated as being necessary. Crow (2009) identifies a list of areas of concerns that need to be addressed for regional accreditation to be considered viable, valued, and credible. The second area he identifies is, “…all accrediting agencies will have to raise the veil of confidentiality and secrecy” (p.89). There’s no quicker way to create a culture of distrust, than to try and hide something from stakeholders. It is always better to disclose something negative and deal with the consequences in an open, honest manner than to try and hide it and have it discovered later. Crow (2009) also states, “…it is conceivable that greater transparency about the evaluators and their findings will contribute to greater public confidence in their work” (p.95). If everyone is aware of what is taking place and what a school is working on to become better in the long run, the accreditation process has much more