Accreditation Comments to the College Community

Even before receiving our "Show Cause" letter, faculty and staff have been asking, "What can I do to help?" We all know that Solano College is a unique place and that we are all dedicated to keeping its doors open to serve the students that need it most. This blog report is designed to give you as many concrete things to do as possible. I'm also going to give you some links to accreditation documents and other resources.

Be a positive role model for your students and the community.

• It would be easy to "kick a dog when it's down". Avoid the temptation. We best serve ourselves, the students, the community, and the accreditation team response if we admit that the college has had problems but that we are now actively engaged in a collaborative process of change.

Continue planning, working and doing what you do best… quality teaching.

• The ASCC Accreditation Institute taught me that we can't let accreditation define who we are. We need to keep moving forward. We will have more self-study reports due and we can't simply say that all we've been doing is writing accreditation reports.

READ all communications.

• This means e-mails and attachments, too.

Respond quickly to requests for information, evidence and assistance.

• Time is short. Accreditation is our top priority.

Get informed.

• We have to know the Accreditation Standards, our own Strategic Goals and Directions, our SLO Core Four, and be familiar with our Education Master Plan.

Live the Standards.

• Take a moment to self-reflect. What is it that you do and how does it relate to our overarching values. (See documents above). This is not only in your class but SLOs, department, divisional, and committee work.

Collect evidence.

• How could you "prove" that you are living the standards?

Offer help

Complete your SLOs, SAOs, and LOAs.

• Collect your SLOs and LOAs and put them in a single, easy-to-get-to place on your computer. When the ACCJC team comes we want to be able to say that all faculty has them "at their fingertips".
• Put your course-level SLOs on your course syllabus.
• Consider SLOs and what you've learned as you've worked on them as you produce your Program Reviews and 3 Year Plans.
• The "Observations of the Visiting Team" mentions, "[T]he visiting team confirmed that Solano Community College has established components of an institutional planning and evaluation process for the development of the college, but has not fully implemented a process for the assessment of student learning outcomes to measure student achievement of educational goals."
• Specifically, the same report mentions, "Under SLO's (II.3), a thorough explanation of the use of advisory committees for vocational learning outcomes demonstrates the college's commitment to serious quality control and updating curriculum, but the absence of any comment on the work of the Computer Technology Division is conspicuous".

Know that some of our processes are GOING to change.

• We need to work in an environment of data, a culture of evidence. Our future decisions cannot be made simply because they "sound" good, but rather are the result of clear planning.

Provide constructive criticism.

• Simply knowing that something didn't work before isn't helpful. How can it be modified to work today?

Attend the all College forum with Dr. Beno on February 20^th at 4:00 PM.

When working with the Wikis, give evidence with your narrative.

• Unsubstantiated comments are worthless.
  

Erin Farmer forwarded the following suggestions to me:

1. As part of our evidence-gathering, we might designate someone from each committee (ad hoc and standing) to review minutes for items of discussion and action that address the recommendations and organize the evidence according to topic. If I can get that information right away, I can write the narrative from the evidence, which is how it should go anyway. That is the evidence should guide what we say--this will ensure that the evidence actually supports our claims.
2. In addition, we should probably incorporate information that was not submitted in the last report--things we have been doing, but no one mentioned. And I know that there is some substantial material. I am guilty of failing to contribute some things. I was so busy working on the drafts that I neglected to discuss some accomplishments in the online program--curriculum approval, contract clarification, and training.
3. All faculty should be encouraged to examine the recommendations about dialogue and evaluation of effectiveness as they concern student learning and discuss work in their areas that enhances student learning.
4. Finally, I was thinking that the community needs more tangible (than news articles/press releases) reassurance that the educational quality of SCC is as fine as ever--we need to keep enrollment through this difficult time. Perhaps a faculty team could conduct community forums to explain what we are doing well at the college. People respond best to in-person outreach. Ideally, we might rally the communities of Vallejo, Fairfield, Dixon, Vacaville to help us.

Here are some helpful links:

• Core 4: http://www.solano.edu/slo/general_docs/SCC_Core_Competencies_rev2.doc
  
• Accreditation Standards: http://www.accjc.org/pdf/Accreditation_Reference_Manual_August_2008.pdf (See pp. 13 – 35.)
  
• Educational Master Plan: http://www.solano.edu/news/EMP/
  
• Strategic Goals: http://www.solano.edu/president/district_plans/SCCStrategicGoalsObjectivesMeasuresTargets.pdf

Our Superintendent/President, Dr. Lisa Waits asks you to…

1. Continue to do good work with students for their success
   
2. Read and understand the ACCJC standards in general and the ACCJC letter specifically
   
3. Begin to relate your work to the standards – how do you know what you are doing makes a difference? What is the evidence?
   
4. Make your decisions based on evidence.
   
5. Track your evidence – e.g. make sure that the committee/meeting you are a part of takes minutes, that the minutes are reviewed and approved.
   
6. Make sure that the evidence of your work and decision making is appropriately recorded with the standards
   
7. Once the wiki is up, participate.
   
8. Stay engaged. Read your e-mails, attend committee meetings and respond to requests. Your dean/supervisor needs your support and will be asking you to complete reports, attend meetings, have coffeeJ
   
9. Be positive with students and the public. Acknowledge that we are working on these issues, but move away from the blame game. Focus on what we are doing and do it. Remember, nothing is off the record and when you are having conversations, you are influencing people's perception of the College.
   
10. Read Jeff Lamb's blog and other's ideas about what to do. Information can flow several ways through the institution. Good ideas and good work is everywhere. Have initiative.