UW-Whitewater In Midst of HLC Self-Study
Released: December 1, 2005
Every ten years, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) asks universities to take a good, long, hard look at themselves and then its representatives come to campus to take a good, hard look themselves. March 2006 is slated as the time for the next HLC campus accreditation visit. John Stone, campus coordinator for the Higher Learning Commission, says we’ll be ready.
For more than a year, nearly 100 faculty, staff and student volunteers worked in teams examining the university and gathering evidence for the preparation of a self-study report that will be submitted to the HLC in advance of the March visit. According to Stone, the associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education, the volunteers broke up into five teams across campus, and tackled each of the five criterion required in the study: Mission and Integrity; Preparing for the Future; Student Learning and Effective Teaching; Acquisition, Discovery and Application of Knowledge, and Engagement and Service.
While the criterion have changed since the HLC’s 1996 visit, after which the university received full accreditation, Stone says that responses to the suggestions for improvement made in the earlier report have been addressed in this decade’s offering. Such things as increasing professional development opportunities, greater differentiation between graduate and undergraduate courses and increasing Latino enrollment, among others, were taken as constructive criticism – and an opportunity to correct or build on deficiencies.
Although the process is a daunting, “exhausting” one, Stone says that it is a good way for the university to shake out the cobwebs, so to speak. By forcing the issue of self-examination, the end result brings a better system – better curriculum, better teachers, better students and a better support staff.
While the volunteers have lived and breathed the HLC visit for the past year, Stone is hoping that others will devote a couple of hours of their time to help review the draft report at two remaining “free lunch” meetings. Says Stone, “There is an inherent logic to want to know more about where you work (or go to school).” By attending the working luncheons in the South Commons of the UC on Wednesday December 7 from noon until 1p.m. and Tuesday, Dec.13 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., he says that participants will likely be pleasantly surprised.
“I had no idea, for example, about service learning,” explains Stone, “but I learned a great deal about it while going through this process.” Stone, who works as a consultant for the HLC and participates in other campus visits, thinks it is vitally important for as diverse a group as possible to be involved in the final editing process. The final report is a mirror reflection of the university, and it’s important to have all bases covered.
“Feedback is an important part of the loop. What did we forget? What needs clarifying or correcting?” Stone notes that he and his colleagues have strived to make the entire process an open one, and sincerely welcome all persons on campus to contribute to the final effort, one that he hopes will result in a “clean bill of health” for the university for the next 10 years.
Anyone interested in attending the working lunches - or simply knowing more about the process and/or reading the draft report, may go on-line to the UW-W HLC Self-Study Website at: http://www.uww.edu/hlcselfstudy/
“Even if you can’t attend,” says Stone, “please provide feedback via the Web site.”
Reservations for both the Dec.7 and 13 lunches may be made by calling 262/472-5242, or emailing langes@uww.edu
- Barbro McGinn,mcginnb@uww.edu
