2015 Accreditation Reaffirmation and Process

 

February 2015 Preparation for External Evaluation Team visit. On PDA Day, all faculty, staff, and administrators in the audience for the annual Tauzer Lecture receive a copy of the Accreditation 2015 Fact Sheet. This summarizes the evaluation process, lists the visiting team members, and provides links to the Self Evaluation Report and related information. This was followed by a workshop called Preparing for SRJC's Accreditation Site Visit, which involved a PowerPoint presentation and Q&A with Mary Kay Rudolph, Accreditation Liaison Officer, and Wanda Burzycki, Faculty Self-Evaluation Co-chair.

January 2015 Self Evaluation is finalized and printed. Hard copy and electronic versions with supporting documents are sent to ACCJC and visiting team members. SRJC Accreditation website conversion completed.

December 2014 Final proof of Self Evaluation available for review by the college community. Final editing and updates by Self Evaluation co-chair and Standard Committee Administrative Liaisons and Co-Chairs. Board of Trustees approves Self Evaluation Report.

October - November 2014 Public Relations Department Graphic Designer creates design and layout of Self Evaluation Report.

September 2014 Final editing and completion of evidence lists by Standard Committee Administrative Liaisons and Co-chairs in consultation with Self Evaluation Chair. Submission of draft to Graphics department to create layout and first proof.

August 2014 Accreditation Steering Committee and Standard Committee Administrative Liaisons and Co-chairs meet to discuss edited draft, verify information, and plan finalization process on August 29.

July 2014 Review and editing of Self Evaluation Standard sections by Self Evaluation Co-chair and assistant editor review.

June 2014 Summary of accreditation progress and preview of Self Evaluation are presented to Board of Trustees during a special session on June 10. Self Evaluation Chair works on introductory sections and edits Standards.

May 2014 Style sheet sent to committees. Self Evaluation Chair meets with Public Relations Office to discuss Self Evaluation timeline, layout, and both hard copy and PDF formats. Committees submit final drafts to Self Evaluation Chair for editing.

April 2014 Standard Committee members continue to work on drafts. Steering Committee meets on April 18 to discuss progress and determine Actionable Improvement Plans. Deadline for final draft submission extended to May 30.

March 2014 College community review of Self Evaluation continues. Standard Committees to meet to refine drafts, integrate Accreditation Survey results, and collect evidence.

February 2014 The college community review of Draft 1 of the Self Evaluation document was launched with a workshop on Feb. 13, PDA day, followed by an all-college email inviting feedback and providing links to the draft and a feedback template. The review period will continue until March 24, after which the Standard Committees, the Self Evaluation Chair, and the Accreditation Liaison will develop the second draft.

January 2014 The Accreditation Steering Committee, Standard Committee Liaisons, and Committee Co-chairs met for an all-day retreat at the Petaluma Campus on January 31 to review and discuss the first draft and plan the next steps towards a second draft. These steps include: integrating results from employee and student surveys; obtaining additional information, examples, and evidence, as needed, from Standard Committee members; “packaging” the draft in a consistent, readable format; and making this draft accessible for online review by the college community.

December 2013 The Self Evaluation process for accreditation is progressing according to the timeline. Each Standard Committee completed its first draft in early December and submitted it to the Self Evaluation Chair and the Accreditation Liaison Officer. All participants involved in the research and writing deserve special thanks for their service to the college, and the Standard Committee Co-Chairs and Liaisons in particular should be commended for all their work organizing their committees, leading meetings, and shaping the first draft from the contributions of their committee members.

November 2013 Completion, Review and Revision of Draft 1. Standard Committee members have worked hard to complete their drafts for the internal deadline of Oct. 28. They are now in the process of discussing the first drafts of their individual sections and making sure that information is accurate, complete, and organized. Most committees have posted their drafts on the Accreditation SharePoint site. The document Guidelines for Reviewing Standard Sections provides examples and editing suggestions to help Committees in this review process. Completed drafts are due to the Self Evaluation Chairs Wanda Burzycki and Mary Kay by Monday, Dec. 2.

October 2013 Flex for Standard Committee Participation. Faculty who are working on Standard Committee can receive up to 6 hours of flex credit for the research, writing, and meeting time that they have spent on the first draft of the Self Evaluation. To receive flex credit, please download the Flex Activities Verification form and cite the activity as “Accreditation Self Evaluation” with the activity number 55:GRP. List 6 hours and submit the form to the Staff Development office. You do not need to sign a roster.

September-October 2013 Standard Committee Meetings. Committees are meeting regularly to develop the first draft of the Self Evaluation. Specific tasks include:

  • Providing input regarding the Student and Employee Accreditation Surveys, to be sent out electronically in October. Questions are due to KC Greaney in the Office of Institutional Research by September 30.
  • Identifying key sources of information, gathering evidence, organizing material, discussing trends and themes, and developing a narrative for the Descriptive Summary and Self Evaluation sections.
  • Accessing the Accreditation SharePoint site for posting drafts, providing feedback, and listing sources of evidence.

August 30 Standard Committee Liaison Meeting. Standard Committee Liaisons and Co-chairs met to discuss the Fall 2013 timeline, Accreditation Surveys, use of the Accreditation SharePoint Site, and other topics related to launching the Self Evaluation first draft. Details are in the meeting minutes.

August 16 PDA Accreditation Workshop PowerPoint and Handouts. Representatives from all of the Standard Committees attended the PDA workshop, "Start Making Sense: Writing the Accreditation Self Evaluation." The workshop included a graphic organizer to help prepare for the writing of the first draft, as well as explanation and examples of the structure for describing and evaluating how the college meets the components of each Standard. The Power Point, Graphic Organizer, and the handout Steps for Writing the Self Evaluation are now available.

July 8 Accreditation PDA Writing Workshop Announced. The Professional Development Activities Day Schedule is posted on the web. The session for Standard Committee members will be held on PDA Day, August 16, from 1-2:30 p.m. in Emeritus 1519. Titled “Start Making Sense: Writing Workshop for the Accreditation Self Evaluation,” this session will help participants begin the process of translating the information they have gathered into a clear, coherent, and concise report. This workshop will include organizational strategies, style “do’s & don’ts,” examples from effective Self Evaluation documents, ACCJC writing guidelines, and methods for getting inspired.

July 1 Accreditation 2015 Website Launched. The new Accreditation 2015 Website is officially in operation. The homepage includes links to SRJC information sources such as key websites, the Accreditation Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, and archives of the previous accreditation reaffirmation process. At this stage, the main purpose of the website is to provide Standard Committees with quick, one-stop access to accreditation information and to SRJC resources.

June 12 Flex for Regular Faculty for Accreditation Work. Mary Kay Rudolph, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Accreditation Liaison Officer, sent out a message to all regular faculty regarding their work on Strategic Planning and Accreditation teams:

Because contract faculty members have no contractual obligation to perform either college service or professional development outside of the academic year, those faculty members who are involved in Strategic Planning or Accreditation may choose whether or not to participate in those projects during the summer.

Those faculty who opt to participate may apply their summer hours forward to the 2013-2014 academic year, counting them toward either their professional development flex obligation (12 hours required per academic year) or their contractual professional development /college service requirement, which accounts for an average of 5 hours per week during the academic year. Summer work toward PGI units is also permitted. As always, the same hours may not be used for more than one category.

Contract faculty who participate in Strategic Planning and Accreditation over the summer and who wish to apply their hours as described above should keep a log of their hours, indicating the specific tasks performed (e.g. meetings, research, writing), the date of the activity, and the amount of time spent on the activity.

If you wish to submit your hours for 2013-14 Flex Credit, please submit an electronic copy of your log to Mary Sandberg in Staff Development with a copy to your Dean or Supervising Administrator.

If you would like your summer work on Strategic Planning or Accreditation to be applied toward your requirement for regular college service, please submit an electronic copy of your log to your Department Chair with a copy to your Dean or Supervising Administrator.

You should submit a hard copy of your log along with all other materials as normally required for any Professional Growth Increment consideration as indicated in the District/AFA Contract.