Higher Learning Commission
Steering Committee
2005 Self-Study and Site Visit

*Members of 1995 North Central Association Steering Committee

HLC Review Committee (1997-present) and Executive Committee, 2005 Self-Study Steering Committee: Jim Baker, Frank Einhellig, Martha Kirker, Lois Shufeldt, Bill Cheek, Chair

Serving on both HLC Steering Committee and University Planning Advisory Committee: Jim Baker, Roger Sell, Lois Shufeldt, and Bill Cheek.

Existing University committees will be used where possible to prepare the Self-Study report. With 627 faculty and staff serving on 92 committees, there should be little trouble finding appropriate committees to address the Criteria and Core Components. There are additional student committees established by the Student Government Association. It is the intent of the Steering Committee that task forces formed exclusively for completion of the Self-Study will be held to a minimum. A listing of all University standing committees as well as membership on these committees may be found in the 2003/2004 Committee Handbook.

In 2003 the Steering Committee became familiar with the recently adopted Criteria for Accreditation and corresponding Core Components; identified existing University committees most appropriate to address various core components and located many data sources (Appendix 2). In addition, in order to increase access to documents and sources of data, the Committee began establishing a permanent electronic resources room. This work began during preparation for the 2003 NCATE site visit. Since then, leaders in the NCATE effort as well as those coordinating AACSB, HLC, and the University’s long-range planning efforts have formed a task force with the University’s Information Services to assure the electronic resources room becomes operational. The intent is for the electronic resources room to be accessible for all program, college-wide, and institutional accreditation efforts.

A set of Annual Performance Measures were used to assess progress in meeting the stated goals of both Welcoming the 21^st Century: A Long-Range Vision and Five-Year Plan (1995-2000) and Countdown to the Missouri State University Centennial: A Long-Range Vision and Six-Year Plan (2000-2006).  Many of the existing annual performance measures used to evaluate progress in meeting goals outlined in Countdown to the Centennial can be used to document that Missouri State University meets the Criteria for Accreditation. An interactive index of the Criteria/Core Components and the annual performance measures is found in Appendix 3.

Following are examples of charges that will be provided to specific standing university committees. Also included are listings of current committee membership. Two standing committees (the Committee on General Education and Interdisciplinary Programs and the Assessment Council), one elected body (Faculty Senate), and one committee appointed by the Missouri State University President (University Planning Advisory Committee) were chosen as examples for inclusion in this Self-Study Design.