Last spring, the campus hosted the Middle States visiting team, an event that marked the culmination of the three-year preparation of a self-study document detailing Ithaca College's fulfillment of the Middle States Standards for Accreditation. The seven-member team, chaired by President Joseph Gilmour of Wilkes University, spent three days on campus and presented its exit summary to an open forum of the campus community.
Provost Kathleen Rountree reports that President Gilmour spoke of the team's confidence in Ithaca's ability to fulfill its vision "to become the standard of excellence for residential comprehensive colleges, fostering intellect, creativity, and character in an active, student-centered learning community." He expressed the team members' positive perceptions of students, faculty, and staff, and affirmed their belief that Ithaca is a college that has greatness within its reach.
However, the team also noted that Ithaca had not fully implemented programs of student learning assessment in its degree programs and in its general education. The team also stated that IC must become more goal- and measurement-oriented in its tracking of institutional effectiveness. Further, the team called on the faculty of the College to "define an educational philosophy for general education that animates the mission of the institution and clearly communicates student learning expectations as well as the curricular plan through which those outcomes will be achieved."
In both the verbal presentation and the written report sent to Middle States, the team asserted its belief that the College could address these challenges meaningfully at the Periodic Report, which occurs in five years. The team recommended that accreditation be reaffirmed.
On June 26, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education acted upon the team's recommendation. In a June 27 letter to President Peggy R. Williams, the commission reaffirmed accreditation, and set the next Periodic Report in 2013 as expected. In agreement with the visiting team's concerns on student learning outcomes assessment, institutional effectiveness, and general education, however, the Commission also required us to submit a monitoring report on April 1, 2010, showing that we have implemented the necessary programs in Standards 7, 12, and 14.
Specifically the College is required to document:
1) Implementation of a comprehensive, organized, and sustained process for the assessment of institutional effectiveness and student learning outcomes, including evidence that assessment results are used for improvements (Standards 7 and 14); and
2) Implementation of a coherent and documented assessment process for general education, including direct evidence of student achievement of general education learning outcomes and modifications to the general education curriculum to ensure that all undergraduates have sufficient opportunities to achieve the institution's general education student learning outcomes (Standard 12).
According to the commission, monitoring reports are requested when the issues at hand are complex or numerous, and require a substantive, detailed report, or when there is a potential for the institution to become noncompliant with MSCHE standards. I know Ithaca to be an institution committed to student learning, and I am confident that a program of increased assessment will enable us to document our success in creating rich environments for student learning. At the same time, it is clear that the Middle States Commission expects us to become more focused and informed on student progress in achieving the skills, knowledge, and understanding that we expect our students to master.
Implementing and documenting these programs by the April 2010 date will require that we begin work immediately on a concentrated developmental effort. This summer, Provost Rountree began a search to hire a director of student learning assessment, a new position that will be extremely helpful in these important endeavors. Additionally, at their respective August retreats, the Deans Council and the President's Council will discuss a process for creating a clearer definition of our general education goals, as well as the necessary assessments of institutional effectiveness and student learning.
By the time the fall semester begins, we will be ready to engage the faculty in dialogue and collaboration on student learning and its assessment. I look forward as well to working with the entire campus community on the broader issues of institutional effectiveness. Together, we will fulfill the Middle States requirements in a manner that simultaneously informs our understanding and enhances our success.
Thomas R. Rochon
President of Ithaca College
