LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 2013-2015

SEMINAR REFLECTIVE SUMMARY

SEMINAR TOPIC: Planning, Assessment, and Accreditation
PARTICIPANTs NAME: Jo Ann Baker
1. What were the significant learning points for you in this seminar?
Dr. Judith Sciple, Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness &
College Relations and Deborah St. Jean, Planning & Institutional
Effectiveness Director discussed the process of the Middle States
Accreditation and Long Range Planning of the College. The
significant learning points of this seminar included the Mission,
Vision and Strategic Direction of the College and the process to
develop and implement them to attain the established outcome
standards. The time frame of the strategic planning and goal
implementation was discussed. Assessment is key to drive
improvement action that supports the planning structure.
Contingency plans may be campus specific and not the same as
the College. There is a Campus Planning and College Planning
Council that reviews and approves plans before they move to the
College President. The Institutional Effectiveness Structure
includes student retention rates and faculty satisfaction. The
mission is to prepare students for graduation, employment, and
transfer to higher educational institutions.
The Middle States Accreditation process is ongoing. There are
standards and criteria that must be met to attain and retain
accreditation. The College establishes a committee with
individuals from each campus to coordinate the Standards and
write the self-study. Each campus assigned faculty and staff to
work with the different standards and criteria. The governing
body to be aligned by 2014, rather than have three separate
campus educational programs tasked the College. This agenda
has moved us to a college-wide accreditation. The learning
points included teamwork, excellent communication skills.
2. In what ways is each learning point supportive of or relevant to
your ideas about leadership?
It is critical to understand and embrace the fundamental
underpinnings, vision and mission of the Institution to be a
successful and productive member of the team. All employees
need to work as a team and maintain high standards of
credibility and ethics. The outcome measures determine the
path of our programs. We must continue to assure that these are

evaluated and program revisions made, if necessary to maintain

our high standards.
3. Identify a way to apply each of these learning points to your
current role at the College.
These points can be applied to my current role by continuing to
evaluate outcome data and make recommendations for program
revision to maintain positive outcomes. Student, program and
College success is impacted. As a Department Chair, I need to
continue to encourage faculty to be involved with the evaluation,
documentation and accreditation process.