|
UWSP Accreditation Structure and Process:
Five Criteria and Core Components
The Criteria for Accreditation are organized under five
major headings. Each Criterion has three elements: Criterion
Statement, Core Components, and Examples of Evidence. The
Criteria Statements define necessary attributes of an
organization accredited by the Commission. An organization must
be judged to have met each of the Criteria to merit accreditation.
An organization addresses each Core Component as it presents
reasonable and representative evidence of meeting a Criterion.
The Examples of Evidence illustrate the types of evidence an
organization might present in addressing a Core Component. The
Criteria are intentionally general so that accreditation decisions
focus on the particulars of each organization, rather than on trying
to make it fit a preestablished mold. The widely different purposes
and scopes of colleges and universities demand criteria that are broad
enough to encompass diversity and support innovation, but clear enough
to ensure acceptable quality. The Criteria Statements and Core
Components are presented here. Visit the Commission's Web site to
view the Examples of Evidence.
First Criterion
Second Criterion
Third Criterion
Fourth Criterion
Fifth Criterion
Criterion One: Mission and Integrity. The organization
operates with integrity to ensure the fulfillment of its mission
through structures and processes that involve the board,
administration, faculty, staff, and students.
1a. The organization's mission documents are clear and articulate publicly the organization's commitments.
1b. In its mission documents, the organization recognizes the diversity of its learners, other constituencies, and the greater society it serves.
1c. Understanding of and support for the mission pervade the organization.
1d. The organization's governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the organization to fulfill its mission.
1e. The organization upholds and protects its integrity.
Criterion Two: Preparing for the Future. The organization's
allocation of resources and its processes for evaluation and planning
demonstrate its capacity to fulfill its mission, improve the quality
of its education, and respond to future challenges and
opportunities.
2a. The organization realistically prepares for a future shaped by multiple societal and economic trends.
2b. The organization's resource base supports its educational programs and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future.
2c. The organization's ongoing evaluation and assessment processes provide reliable evidence of institutional effectiveness that clearly informs strategies for continuous improvement.
2d. All levels of planning align with the organization's mission, thereby enhancing its capacity to fulfill that mission.
Criterion Three: Student Learning and Effective Teaching. The
organization provides evidence of student learning and teaching
effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational
mission.
3a. The organization's goals for student learning outcomes are clearly stated for each educational program and make effective assessment possible.
3b. The organization values and supports effective teaching.
3c. The organization creates effective learning environments.
3d. The organization's learning resources support student learning and effective teaching.
Criterion Four: Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of
Knowledge. The organization promotes a life of learning for its
faculty, administration, staff, and students by fostering and
supporting inquiry, creativity, practice, and social responsibility
in ways consistent with its mission.
4a. The organization demonstrates, through the actions of its board, administrators, students, faculty, and staff, that it values a life of learning.
4b. The organization demonstrates that acquisition of a breadth of knowledge and skills and the exercise of intellectual inquiry are integral to its educational programs.
4c. The organization assesses the usefulness of its curricula to students who will live and work in a global, diverse, and technological society.
4d. The organization provides support to ensure that faculty, students, and staff acquire, discover, and apply knowledge responsibly.
Criterion Five: Engagement and Service. As called for by its
mission, the organization identifies its constituencies and serves
them in ways both value.
5a. The organization learns from the constituencies it serves and analyzes its capacity to serve their needs and expectations.
5b. The organization has the capacity and the commitment to engage with its identified constituencies and communities.
5c. The organization demonstrates its responsiveness to those constituencies that depend on it for service.
5d. Internal and external constituencies value the services the organization provides.
|
