Preventing Negative Accreditation Decisions

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Preventing Negative Accreditation Decisions

• Fall AACTE-NCATE
• Accreditation Orientation
• September 29 October 2, 2005
• Pauletta Brown Bracy - School of Library and
  Information Sciences
• North Carolina Central University - Durham, North
  Carolina 27707
• pbracy_at_nccu.edu
• Boyce C. Williams NCATE boyce_at_ncate.org

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Protocol

• Decisions at both levels
• Meeting the six standards
• Areas for improvement
• Five and seven year cycles
• The Board of Examiners (BOE) Visit and the
  Unit Accreditation Board (UAB) Decision
• Rejoinder

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Protocol, cont.

• UAB Decisions
• Accreditation
• Conditional Documentation / Focused Visit
• Probation First time accreditation
• Provisional FIRST TIME Documentation /
  Focused Visit
• Revocation
• Notification

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Preparing for the Process

• Conceptualizing Accreditation
• Understanding NCATE Expectations
• Examination of Institutional and Unit Cultures
• Ensuring Administrative Support
• Collecting Collaborative Connections

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Understanding NCATE Expectations

• Determining the State Partnership Agreements
• Preparing Program Reviews
• Defining the Professional Education Unit
• Coordination of all programs
• Initial and advanced preparation programs
• Branch campuses
• Off-campus programs
• Alternative route programs
• Distance learning programs

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Understanding NCATE, cont.

• The Conceptual Framework
• The Institutional Report
• The Site Visits
• The BOE Report
• The Accreditation Decision

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Understanding NCATE, cont. The Conceptual
FrameworkElements and Evidence

• The Structural Elements
• Vision, mission of institution and unit
• (The product, your signature)
• Philosophy, goals
• (Beliefs, ways and means to realize them)
• Knowledge bases
• (Professional support)
• Candidate proficiencies
• Assessment system for candidate performance

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Understanding NCATE, cont. The Conceptual
Framework, cont.

• Evidence
• Shared vision
• Coherence
• Professional commitments and dispositions
• Commitment to diversity
• Commitment to technology
• Alignment of candidate proficiencies with
  professional and state standards

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Understanding NCATE, cont. The Conceptual
Framework, cont.

• Affirmation
• Involvement in development
• Adoption
• Documentation
• Confirmation

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Understanding NCATE, cont.

• The Standards
• 1 Content Knowledge
• 2 Assessment
• 3 Clinical and Field Experiences
• 4 Diversity
• 5 Faculty
• 6 Unit Resources
• Rubrics
• Rationale, Supporting Explanation
• Data Collection
• The System
• Candidate proficiency
• Faculty productivity
• Unit operations

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Institutional and Unit Cultures

• Commitment to the cause
• Institutional support for accreditation
• Openness to self-study
• Appropriate unit leadership
• Barriers to overcome
• Resistance to the Cause
• Defiance of Change
• Empty Support
• Unmotivated Faculty
• Lack of Collegial Cooperation

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Administrative Support

• Philosophical support
• Appreciation of specialized accreditation
• Commitment of resources
• Financial
• Human
• Physical

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Collaborative Relationships(Broad-based
Engagement)

• Examining the unit definition
• Identifying discipline colleagues (Arts and
  Sciences, Liberal Arts, etc.)
• Engaging school partners

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Proceeding and Progressing

• Affirming the Conceptual Framework
• Producing the Timeline
• Submitting Program Reviews
• Completing the Institutional Report
• Organizing the Exhibits
• Refining the Visit Schedules
• Attending to Logistics

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Timelining

• Identification and definitions of tasks
• Due dates
• Responsible individuals
• Monitoring and Accountability
• Resources
• Budgeting

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The Institutional Report

• Organizing the production
• Following guidelines
• Formatting according to the standards
• Supporting assertions with evidence
• Referencing exhibits
• Editing the document

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The Exhibits

• Option of the electronic exhibit room
• Color-coded evidence according to standards
• Assessment data
• Samples of candidate work
• Cross referencing
• Dated documentation

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The Visits

• Mock Visits are not in the NCATE protocol.
• Poster Sessions are an option.
• The Pre-visit
• Visit Template

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Logistics

• Technical support for the team
• Workroom on campus and at hotel
• Lodging accommodations
• Direct billing
• Ground transportation
• Briefings for individual and group interviews

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The Most Productive Visits

• were well-organized during the pre-visit.
• had professional communities that were involved
  in the process.
• had open communication between the chair of the
  BOE and the unit head.
• included poster sessions describing programs.
• had unit members who had a clear understanding of
  the standards and the process.
• had faculty that made the decision to work toward
  performance-based assessment.
• Antoinette Mitchell, 2003

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Tater Time

• This interactive simulation is designed to allow
  participants to examine possible institutional
• barriers to the accreditation process and offer
  viable solutions to overcome them