Taking Ownership of Accreditation
Assessment Processes that Promote Institutional Improvement and Faculty Engagement
Diane Cordero De Noriega author Diane Cordero De Noriega editor Amy Driscoll editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Inc
Published:12th Apr '06
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This book demonstrates how a participatory approach to assessment and accreditation in their new forms creates a synergy for learner-centered education. It is a guide to approaching the accreditation process from a campus-wide perspective of ownership--illustrated by rich descriptions of how faculty, students, and administrators at California State University Monterey Bay engaged with and successfully focused their accreditation processes on the improvement of their practices. The approach that the authors describe was driven by a commitment to go beyond satisfying the accreditation expectations so as to promote ongoing and long-term improvement of student learning. It also reflects the shift of responsibility for assessment within institutions from a designated office to individual faculty and staff, entire departments, and the campus as a whole.The authors document strategies that are practical—ready to use or adapt—that are appropriate for all campuses. They also provide guidelines for the documentation process that accreditation demands. They demonstrate how they reduced traditional resistance to assessment by emphasizing its use for the improvement of student learning, helping faculty with their own teaching, and creating frameworks for continuing improvements that are valued by faculty.The authors emphasize the need for every institution to take into account its unique mission, vision, and core values; and to recognize the importance of individual departmental cultures. Although their accreditation "triggered" CSUMB’s engagement with assessment, the authors discuss other opportunities for jump-starting the process.
“Many institutions look upon accreditation with a kind of compliance mentality: ‘Just tell us what you want so we can get this over with.’ In this book CSU Monterey Bay shows us a different and better way–not in how to play the game, or in how to get through the process with a minimum of fuss, but in how to use accreditation to make the institution a better place. Those who seek a model for how to do accreditation right will find it in this book.”
Jon F. Wergin, Professor, Ph.D.
Program in Leadership and Change, Antioch University
“Taking Ownership of Accreditation outlines a way to use the accreditation process to develop a new, productive intentionality, aligning it with learning outcomes assessment and recursive qualitative and quantitative institutional research. Driscoll and Cordero demonstrate how California State University, Monterey Bay, by aiming at issues of high priority and keen interest, clarified and deepened its ability to educate students and serve its community. Of particular importance to community colleges is CSUMB’s focus on engaging external constituents as both constituents and a prime audience for the self study reports. This is a comprehensive primer for those who care about creating productive institutional change at colleges and universities.”
Gail O. Mellow, President
LaGuardia Community College
“This revealing account describes how CSUMB worked on the inside to develop an exceptional learning organization that set a new approach to accreditation. It shows how internal commitment can be joined with external accreditation requirements to engage faculty in scholarly inquiry about student and faculty learning, leading to a number of innovative activities that serve the University long after the accrediting team leaves. This book is useful whether you have an accrediting visit coming soon or not."
Ralph A. Wolff, Executive Director
Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities, Western Association of Schools and Coll
ISBN: 9781579221768
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 385g
272 pages