Minutes for June 2, 2005 -- Missouri State HLC Self-Study Steering Committee

Portfolio for HLC Accreditation > Steering Committee > Minutes for June 2, 2005

2005 HLC Self-Study Steering Committee
Review of June 2, 2005 Meeting

Members present: Jim Baker, John Catau, Bill Cheek, Tom Dicke, Sue George, Tammy Jahnke, Etta Madden, Vic Matthews, Roger Sell, Don Simpson, and GA Linda Rogers.

The steering committee met at 9:00 a.m., Thursday, June 2nd in the Academic Development Center.

Old Business

Bill made several announcements at the start of the meeting:

	The committee has received permission from VPAA and six of the eight deans to use the overviews which were prepared for Dr. Nietzel.
	As of this date we are still missing reports from the Distance Learning committee as well as the Multi-Cultural Services committee. The information in these reports will be important as it relates respectively to the use of technology and to issues of diversity.
	We have now officially solicited third-party comments for the self-study. Announcements have been place in newspapers, the alumni paper, and on the Missouri State University Web site.
	The site-team visit will be November 7-9. The dates have been posted on the University Calendar of Events. There was some discussion as to the expected role of the steering committee during the visit.
	Case Western University has recently submitted a self-study that uses a theme approach, but rather than using the cross-cutting themes of the HLC, they created their own themes. We may want to check the format of that self-study.

The committee next took up the issue of working with the rough draft of the self-study. As it currently stands:

	There are some, though not many, gaps in information.
	There are a number of redundancies
	There is a wide variety of styles
	There are too many examples, they need to be pared down and then related closely to the themes, as well as the Core Components and Criteria.
	We need to write summaries of strengths and challenges for each section as well as for the whole report.
	We need to address the issue of changing expectations for the University that are occurring with the name change to Missouri State University.

The question for the day to the committee was, "With the above issues in mind, what is the best approach to take now?" It was agreed that the writing committee would start working on the draft, taking the individual chapters and beginning to list strengths and concerns. The steering committee went on to make suggestions and provide guidance to the writing committee by bringing up topics that need to be addressed clearly, including:

	Enrollment issues, such as recruitment, retention, and graduation rates, and competition from other institutions.
	Diversity issues, both for faculty and staff as well as students. Recommendations need to be formulated for moving the University beyond compliance issues and creating a climate that truly appreciates diversity.
	We have listed a number of services we provide, but this needs to be fleshed out into a discussion of how these services are evaluated for their value to our constituents.

The committee then took up the issues of the University’s mission, goals, and vision. A lively discussion evolved on these issues and how they relate, and how they differ. It was agreed that these are issues that will pervade the report; one concern that must be addressed will be how to implement the mission, goals, and vision in a world where, realistically, funding is limited. In a recent address, Dr. Nietzel presented his vision of five goals for the University; it was agreed that these points should be woven into the report as well.

The writing committee will meet within the next week to compile a list of strengths and concerns for each chapter. The steering committee should be prepared to add their own suggestions and comments to the list at next week’s meeting, which will be held at 9:00 a.m., Thursday, June 9th at the ADC office.

HOME
Copyright 2000 Board of Governors, Missouri State University
URL: http://www.missouristate.edu
Maintained by Web Coordinator
Last Modified: September 08, 2005