A 10-member team of consultant-evaluators with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools visited the UCA campus March 8-10.
The HLC team met and interviewed faculty, staff, students, and the UCA Board of Trustees. The team’s goal was to verify the university’s self-study findings, make judgments about UCA’s compliance with good practice, federal requirements, and HLC policies; recommend appropriate follow-up; and provide consultation to the university.
For more than a year, UCA has been engaged in a self-study as part of the accreditation process. A steering committee, chaired by Associate Provost Jonathan Glenn, conducted the university’s self study.
“The visit seemed to me to be thorough and fair. I wasn’t sure how a 10-member team would be, but they managed to get through a great deal of work — verification of our self-study findings — in their two days here,” Glenn said. “I do think that we had in fact prepared them well, with a manageable and thorough self-study and a significant array of Resource Room evidence.”
Glenn said the reviewers were impressed by UCA’s students, and more than one team member commented on the beauty of the campus and its facilities.
“The team members were all veteran higher education professionals, so they seemed rarely surprised but also shared interesting stories of what they do on their own campuses in addressing certain kinds of issues,” he said. “I expect much of that to be included in the team report.”
It will take nearly three months for the final report to be created, corrected, responded to, and then distributed as “final” by the Higher Learning Commission, Glenn said.
Commission action takes several weeks beyond that time. There must be a review by the appropriate panel, action by the appropriate committee, and validation by the Commission’s trustees, he explained.
“It’s always longer than one would like, and we won’t know all the details of the report until it is in fact final,” he said.
UCA has been continuously accredited by the commission since 1931. The university’s last comprehensive evaluation took place in April 2000. Currently, the university’s accreditation is at the master’s degree level with limited accreditation at the specialist’s and doctoral level.
More information on UCA’s accreditation process can be obtained at: http://www.uca.edu/panda/hlc2010.