Update on Institutional Reaccreditation and the Foundations of Excellence

Fall Faculty In-Service August 19, 2010 1

Foundations of Excellence® (FoE) • • Customized self-study for HLC reaccreditation site visit • Developed by the Policy Center on the First College Year (now called the Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education) • Institution-wide assessment of first year using nine dimensions • Goal is to produce plan to improve student learning and engagement www.uni.edu/foe 2

Foundations of Excellence® (FoE) Recommendations 1. Create a First-Year Council charged with the oversight of first-year programs. • • Charge with setting strategic direction of 1 programs and for the assessment, monitoring, and reporting of specified first-year initiatives st year Joint leadership among Academic and Student Affairs 2. Develop a first-year philosophy statement and first-year learning outcomes.

Foundations of Excellence® (FoE) Recommendations 3. Develop a comprehensive plan for faculty development.

4. Task the First-Year Council to develop a first year cornerstone experience for all first-year students.

5. Develop a systematic process to define, identify, and assess the needs of first-year students, especially underserved populations.

Foundations of Excellence® (FoE) Recommendations 6. Incorporate the findings of the Foundations of Excellence® process into other institutional improvement efforts that impact first-year students.

• Liberal Arts Core (LAC) Task Force • Diversity Council • Academic Advising Council 7. Develop and implement a comprehensive plan for assessing and improving first-year programs.

First-Year Council Work: http://www.uni.edu/foe/council1.shtml

•

Downloadable PDFs

First-Year Council Membership & Charge • First-Year Council Subcommittees • First-Year Learning Goals: Draft •

First-Year Council Meeting Minutes

February 15, 2010 • March 29, 2010 • April 19, 2010

Cornerstone Course

• April 2010, First Year Council approved development of cornerstone course – 3 credit hour academic inquiry (academic focus) – Course developed by faculty in partnership with student affairs – Assignments and activities include focus on transition issues in the context of an interdisciplinary critical inquiry topic chosen by the faculty member – Consider as part of the Liberal Arts Core (LAC)

Cornerstone Development

• Approval granted by Provost and VP Student Affairs to begin cornerstone course development • Committee of faculty (representing all colleges), student affairs staff, and students are developing curriculum proposal • Course must gain acceptance through regular curricular approval process • Committee to use learning outcomes, assessment, and best practices research in development

• Early identification of first year student concerns • Transition survey completed after week 3 • Students receive immediate, customized feedback • Faculty and staff with professional connections to each student (

direct connects

) also obtain access to individual reports • Direct connects offer encouragement, support, information, and referrals to students who need it most

Foundations of Excellence® – Transfer Focus (FoE-TF) • John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Excellence • Steering Committee and Nine Dimension Committees similar process as used in previous FoE self-study • 33% of new students to UNI are transfer students and 2/3 of those are from two-year colleges

FoE Transfer Steering Committee

• Mary Christ (CBA) • Kerri Clopton, Co-Chair (CoE) • Melissa Heston (CoE) • Christie Kangas, Co-Chair (Admissions) • Cherin Lee (CNS) • Drake Martin (Residence) • Gene Morales (Student) • Kristin Moser (Institutional Research) • Phil Patton (Registrar) • Gayle Rhineberger-Dunn (CSBS) • Jake Rudy (NISG) • Colice Sanders (Student Support Services) • Paul Sapp (Admissions) • Marilyn Shaw (CHFA) • Tony Smothers (Academic Advising) • Malcom Thomas (Graduate Student) • Kristin Woods (New Student Programs)

Involvement in FoE Transfer Self Study • Faculty/Staff Survey – Available through MyUNIverse August 23 rd through September 10 th • Dimension Committees – Faculty interested in serving on a committee should contact Kerri Clopton

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23