Enhancing Usefulness Conference III (News from CHEA)

August 1, 1999

Vol.2, No. 2, August 1999

In this issue...

Enhancing Usefulness Conference III
More than 100 college and university presidents and senior administrators, representatives of accrediting organizations, federal and state officials, and higher education experts convened in Chicago in June 1999 to examine ways to make the accreditation process more useful to institutions, students, policy makers, regulators, and the public.

1999 Negotiated Rulemaking
CHEA, working with Washington-based associations and accrediting organizations from around the country, participated in the 1999 negotiated rulemaking conducted by the U.S. Department of Education that establishes the regulatory framework for the statutory changes in the 1998 Higher Education Reauthorization.

1999–2000 Board of Directors

Committee on Recognition

CHEA News
Upcoming meetings, publications, and new CHEA staff.

Enhancing Usefulness Conference III

More than 100 college and university presidents and senior administrators, representatives of accrediting organizations, federal and state officials, and higher education experts convened in Chicago in June 1999 to examine ways to make the accreditation process more useful to institutions, students, policy makers, regulators, and the public.

The conference, the third in a series sponsored by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), focused primarily on specialized and professional accreditation and generated a wide range of suggestions to improve cooperation and communication among accreditors and institutions, clarify standards and responsibilities, and streamline the accreditation process.

Conference participants also reviewed a draft "Statement of Good Practices and Shared Responsibility in the Conduct of Specialized and Professional Accreditation Review" developed by the CHEA Specialized Advisory Panel working with academic leaders from the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges’ Council on Academic Affairs.

The two-day meeting, held at the Regal Knickerbocker Hotel, opened with a panel discussion of "Shared Goals, Responsibilities, and Understanding Among Accreditors and Institutions" that revealed some of the issues and tensions forming the background of the conference. Mary Ann Swain, provost and vice president for academic affairs at the State University of New York at Binghamton, urged accrediting organizations to be even more sensitive to the fiscal realities with which institutions must deal. This is especially important in light of decreasing revenues for higher education in recent years, she said. She cautioned accreditors to resist lengthening the list of standards they apply in reviewing schools or programs, noting that "adding new standards without subtracting old ones creates, for all practical purposes, an unfunded mandate."

Similarly, accrediting organizations should avoid actions that might interfere with the internal management of colleges and universities. For example, institutions have good reasons to practice "cross-subsidization" among programs, Swain claimed, and specialized and professional accreditors should consider this before pressing administrators to allow a particular program to retain all the resources it generates.

Panelist Carl Monk, executive director of the Association of American Law Schools, maintained that applying pressure to institutions that have deficiencies is an important function of accrediting organizations. Specialized and professional accreditors "always will take a harder look at programs on campus than will regional accreditation," he said. "Inevitably, there will be more tension" as a result.

David Shulenburger, provost at the University of Kansas, replied that the greatest tension arises when accreditors specify needed physical facility improvements, which are not always related to program outcomes. Moderator Robert Glidden, president of Ohio University and immediate past chair of the CHEA Board of Directors, asserted that accreditors "can’t always measure outcomes precisely." For that reason, "the pendulum tends to swing between outcomes and inputs," he said.

While accreditation is a service to institutions and the public, the groups that perform it should not play a regulatory role, said Lawrence "Mac" Detmer, the immediate past executive director of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. Specialized accreditors are responsible for keeping standards current in fields that may be changing rapidly, he noted.

Shulenburger expressed special concern about some accreditation visits and "the specification of how we get our graduates to appropriate outcome levels," particularly regarding demands for additional institutional resources. Shulenburger called on accreditors to distinguish between advice they might give about ways to improve programs and their expectations of minimum standards.

At a first-day luncheon plenary, featured speaker Margaret Miller, president of the American Association for Higher Education, outlined significant changes in the context and challenges accreditors and institutions face in dealing with improvement and accountability. "The academy is becoming more web- and net-like," she observed. "It is no longer separated from the external environment."

Miller described colleges and universities as "open structures," where boundaries increasingly are blurred. "Quality controls in such evolving entities have to be a motion picture, not a snapshot," she held. In this context, "the fundamental job of accrediting agencies is to determine what students need to know and whether institutions are providing it."

Change is taking place not only in how work is done in the academy, Miller said, but also for whom. Institutions have more stakeholders, including not only the federal and state governments but also governments in other parts of the world. "Regular conversations between quality assurance partners about who does what are long overdue," she argued.

These partners need to share information with each other and with the public, Miller maintained. In an age of rapidly evolving information technology, "the separation between public and private information is increasingly untenable." CHEA serves as a "web-maker," she said, in its efforts to define new relationships and make accreditation more useful.

At a second-day morning plenary session on "Working for Change," panelist Trudy Banta, vice chancellor for planning and institutional improvement at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, urged that assessment should be part of a loop that begins with planning. The kind of evaluation provided by accreditation, particularly specialized and professional, should be aligned with planning at the departmental level, she said.

Accreditation can help establish and maintain the integrity of degrees, Banta contended. She called on accreditors to help academic officials focus on good practices regarding resources, processes, and outcomes.

Charles Cook, director of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, described accreditation as a "death and taxes business" that will not go away. "The question is how to make it better," he emphasized. The relationship between accreditors and institutions depends on "the attitude and approach taken by the agency," he said, because "all of them are strongly staff-driven." A commitment to self-regulation by institutions is among the elements essential for success in using accreditation as a tool for improvement, Cook stressed. "Self-regulation is not merely the absence of government regulation," he averred. True institutional self-regulation "should result in an accreditation that is non-intrusive."

In any case, Cook said, "improvement on demand doesn’t really work." Accreditation must tie itself to institutional goals and processes. It must be flexible in the timing of visits and reports and the selection of teams, allow different models for self-study, and "get away from the incrementalist definition of quality," he stated.

During the discussion period, moderator Paul Gaston, provost and executive vice president at Northern Kentucky University, asked whether accrediting organizations are doing more training of review teams as a way to deal with rapid change. From the audience, Detmer observed that "it’s hard to get people to do site visits, much less parti-cipate in training." He urged accreditors to explore new models in assembling and preparing review teams.

CHEA President Judith S. Eaton called the conference "another step toward increased understanding and cooperation between institutional leaders and accreditors. The discussions were candid and points of disagreement surfaced, but the participants also came away determined to continue their conversations and achieve stronger, more productive relationships."


Draft Statement of Good Practices and Shared Responsibility
Participants in the Enhancing Usefulness Conference spent the closing session reviewing a draft "Statement of Good Practices and Shared Responsibility in the Conduct of Specialized and Professional Accreditation Review." The document, prepared by CHEA’s Specialized Advisory Panel and leaders of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges’ Council on Academic Affairs, emerged from efforts to address issues and concerns that arise especially between research universities and specialized accreditors.

Carl Monk, executive director of the Association of American Law Schools and chair of the CHEA panel, characterized the statement as a "working draft." After further review, a final version will be distributed to institutions and accreditors.

The statement delineates those areas in which accreditors and institutions and programs bear separate responsibility and those for which they are jointly responsible. It is intended to achieve four main goals:

  • Clear and direct communication between specialized accreditors and institutional leaders;
  • Enhanced understanding by specialized accreditors of the larger context of institutional needs and directions;
  • Enhanced understanding by institutional leaders of the perspective and needs of specialized accreditors; and
  • Affirmation that the relationship between resources and accountability is grounded in meeting accreditation standards.

The statement calls on institutions and programs to provide clear, accurate, and complete information to accreditors for the review; appropriately involve and inform key faculty and administrators; inform accreditors of the desired purpose and expected results; provide in-formation in a timely and constructive manner in response to concerns or difficulties that emerge; and understand accrediting organizations’ standards, policies, and procedures.

Accreditors should ensure that accreditation teams are well-informed and prepared for the review and apply standards consistently; pursue only the data and information needed to determine whether the standards are met; focus on financial and other resources only to the extent that they affect compliance with standards; respect the relationship of individual program needs to broader institutional objectives; keep institutional officials informed; communicate consistent information; and provide opportunities for objective review and resolution of differences.

The statement exhorts both parties to provide candid and useful evaluation of the review; ensure open exchange if issues and concerns are identified; encourage flexibility, openness, and cooperation in considering experimental and creative variations in reviews; and ensure that resources are used efficiently so that the costs incurred in reviews are essential to determining that standards are met.

(Review the draft statement at http://www.chea.org/Research/practices-responsibility.asp

To offer comments, please e-mail us at [email protected].)


Suggestions From Participants
CHEA’s third Enhancing Usefulness Conference included 10 concurrent group discussions focusing on a wide range of issues related to specialized and professional accreditation. The sessions were designed to elicit specific suggestions for ways to improve the usefulness of accreditation for institutions, students, policy makers, regulators, and the public. The sessions were scheduled so that conference participants could participate in as many as three, with five held the morning of the first day and repeated in the afternoon and another five conducted the following morning.

At a session on "Proliferation," co-leader John T. Casteen, III, president of the University of Virginia and vice chair of the CHEA Board of Directors, observed that growth in the number of specialized accrediting organizations has subsided recently. The focus for discussion now, he said, should be on resolving "residual issues" related to the creation of new organizations in past years.

Although the multiple demands of specialized and professional accrediting organizations occasionally have been problematic, Casteen noted, the difficulties they cause may be exaggerated because "war stories often get repeated." Specialized and professional accreditors can play an important role in encouraging good planning, he said. However, while the variety of perspectives they apply is a useful part of the process, their lack of a broad outlook can be a hurdle. "They tend to focus on small matters," Casteen asserted.

Co-leader Arthur Wise, president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, maintained that "proliferation is in the eye of the beholder," mainly presidents and provosts. He argued that some accrediting organizations, such as his own, actually work against proliferation by incorporating a number of sub-disciplines into their review process.

Among the suggestions emerging from the two sessions on this topic:

  • Tie accreditation of all kinds more clearly to the institutional planning and change processes;
  • Assess non-monetary resources as vigorously as monetary resources;
  • Find ways to combine accreditation review with ongoing institutional program reviews.

Participants in the sessions also called for better information on the growth of new accrediting organizations, the impact of accreditation on institutional budgets, and the true costs of accreditation reviews.

At a session on "Assessing Fiscal and Other Resources," co-leader Richard Traina, president of Clark University, said that in many cases, the question of whether the standards used by accrediting organizations advance the programs they evaluate is a point of contention between institutional officials and accreditors. That disagreement characterized discussion during the session, with senior academic administrators and representatives of accrediting organizations occasionally expressing sharply divergent views.

Traina noted that while many college and university presidents believe accreditors should apply minimal standards, accrediting organizations continue to raise the bar by enacting new standards that specify program characteristics they identify with excellence. "There still is a great deal of codifying of what has been known as ‘best practices,’" he said. Traina urged accreditors and in-stitutions to "get together on what constitutes success to define outcome measures, not how to get there."

Among the suggestions that emerged from the group:

  • Leaders of institutions and accrediting organizations should serve on one another’s boards, task forces, and visiting teams and work together on issues of mutual interest;
  • Institutions should assign someone in central administration responsibility for understanding the standards of accrediting organizations with which the institution deals and for advising the president and provost on matters related to meeting the standards;
  • Accreditors should develop a common method of seeking feedback from institutional officials on their experience during accreditation reviews and suggestions for improvement;
  • Accreditors and institutions should find ways to make accreditation more useful for institutions that easily meet minimum standards; and
  • Accreditors should distinguish clearly between findings that could affect accreditation status and those that are suggestions or advice.

Several of the groups called for CHEA to sponsor opportunities for further research and discussion. CHEA President Judith S. Eaton said that some sessions at the organization’s January 2000 conference in Washington, DC, will be devoted to issues raised in Chicago, and CHEA already is planning a fourth Enhancing Usefulness Conference for 2000.

1999 Negotiated Rulemaking

CHEA, working with Washington-based associations and accrediting organizations from around the country, participated in the 1999 negotiated rulemaking conducted by the U.S. Department of Education that establishes the regulatory framework for the statutory changes in the 1998 Higher Education Reauthorization. There were significant gains for colleges, universities, and the accrediting community that resulted from negotiated rulemaking. Proposals include:

  • A clarification of expectations of accrediting organizations when demonstrating “reliability and validity”: The regulations now call for a more general requirement for a systematic and comprehensive review of standards by each accreditor on a regular basis.
     
  • Modification of the requirements for branch campuses: Site visits generally will not be required of institutions that are in good standing and have established three or more additional locations.
     
  • No new or additional federal regulatory requirements for accrediting organizations.

The next step for these proposals is the public comment period that will last until Aug. 24. The Department will consider any comments and publish final regulations. For additional information, please go to the governmental relations page of the CHEA website and view the July 27, 1999 memorandum distributed by CHEA.

1999–2000 Board of Directors

  • Gordon Haaland, Chair, President, Gettysburg College
  • John T. Casteen III, Vice Chair, President, University of Virginia
  • Vera King Farris, Secretary, President, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
  • Ira Lechner, Treasurer, Attorney, Katz & Ranzman
  • Robert Glidden, Immediate Past Chair, President, Ohio University
  • Alfredo G. de los Santos Jr., Vice Chancellor, Educational Development, Maricopa County Community College District
  • Eleanor Baum, Dean, Engineering School, The Cooper Union
  • Barbara Brittingham, Dean, College of Human Sciences and Services, University of Rhode Island
  • Vernon Crawley, President, Moraine Valley Community College
  • William DeLauder, President, Delaware State University
  • Edward Donley, Former Chair, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
  • S. Malcolm Gillis, President, William Marsh Rice University
  • Piedad Robertson, Superintendent/President, Santa Monica College
  • Dolores Sandoval, Member, Board of Trustees, Foothill-De Anza Community College District
  • David Winter, President, Westmont College

Committee on Recognition

The CHEA Committee on Recognition held its first meeting on June 28, 1999. This session was devoted to orienting committee members to their responsibilities and reviewing the CHEA Recognition Policy and Procedures. The next meeting of the Committee is December 6–7, 1999.

To date, CHEA has received 24 applications for eligibility and recognition review.

Members of the Committee on Recognition are:

  • Roger Blunt, President and CEO, Blunt Enterprises, LLC;
  • Constance Carroll, President, San Diego Mesa College;
  • Ron Cowell, President, The Education Policy and Leadership Center;
  • Lawrence “Mac” Detmer, Executive Director Emeritus, Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs;
  • Brother Patrick Ellis, Former President, Catholic University of America;
  • George Peterson, Executive Director, Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology;
  • John Petersen, Director Emeritus, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges;
  • Shirley Peterson, President, Hood College; and,
  • Mary Ann Swain, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, State University of New York at Binghamton. 

CHEA News

Calendar

CHEA Board of Directors Meetings
May 1–2, 2000 • Washington, DC
September 25-26, 2000 • TBD


CHEA Conferences

  • CHEA Enhancing Usefulness Conference IV
    June 22-23, 2000 • Washington, DC
  • CHEA 2001 Annual Conference
    Jan. 22-24, 2001 • New Orleans. LA


CHEA Committee Meetings

  • CHEA Committee on Recognition
    • March 27-28, 2000 • Washington, DC



Welcome to CHEA
Please welcome Debra Mauro, CHEA’s new Director of Operations. Debra joins us from Wright & Company where she served as vice president/controller.

Please also welcome Marilyn Butler-Norris, CHEA’s new Executive Secretary. Prior to coming to CHEA, Marilyn served as executive assistant, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.



Publications
Internationalizing Quality Assurance in Higher Education. A CHEA Occasional Paper by John C. Petersen ($19.95).

Update on Distance Learning. A second update developed by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (no charge).

The 1999 CHEA Almanac. The first CHEA compendium of providers of exter-nal quality review and commentary on current quality review issues and challenges ($55). This 150-page publication includes:

Analysis of External Quality Review

  • Emerging trends and challenges.
  • Recognized accreditors.
  • State quality review of higher ed.
  • The federal role in quality review.

The Almanac Directories

  • CHEA-participating organizations, U.S. Department of Education-recognized national, regional, specialized, and professional accrediting organizations.
  • State Agencies—who to contact about state licensure and other state-related information.
  • College Ranking Services.

For additional information, call (202) 955-6126.