Abstract: Accreditation is a fact of life for the University of San Francisco and nearly all colleges and universities in the United States. External evaluation teams from six accreditation regions in the country visit campuses to validate the quality of the learning experience and environment. Financial resources, academic preparation of the faculty, and the diversity of cocurricular activities make up just part of the comprehensive examination by the accreditation team members. Although voluntary, accreditation is attractive to most eligible institutions. Federal and state loan certification, availability of student financial aid, and student admittance to most graduate programs are a few of the useful advantages for an accredited institution. Self-appraisal comprises the core of the external accreditation process. An extensive preparation usually precedes the team's site visit. This self-study report by the institution offers an evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses relating to its educational purposes and the regional agency's accreditation standards. Preparing a self-study involves the participation of all campus constituencies who assist with the process of data collection, analyses, and writing. Although the process is useful, some campus officials argue that the process is time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating for participants because the extensive efforts are directed towards the accreditation visit, taking away time and energy from other vital institutional business. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is the regional accreditation agency for the University of San Francisco. In 1988, USF completed its last comprehensive accreditation site visit. A focused site visit was completed in 1991 with full re-accreditation granted until 1997. As part of USF's response to the 1991 site visit, the University revised and updated its mission statement. I became president that year. In December of 1994, I called for a university-wide review of the implementation of the USF mission through the year 2005, our sesquicentennial anniversary. I appointed a task force with representatives from across the university, which became the Vision 2005 Committee. Its task was to create a final document bridging the mission statement, which gives continuity to the identity of USF over time, and our planning documents, which address concrete and changing methods of implementing the mission. The committee began its work by reviewing the mission statement and identifying areas that define and describe our distinct nature. It identified the following six strategic themes central to our mission: the learning community, Catholic and Jesuit identity, pluralism, university community, the broader community, and human, physical, and financial resources. Committee members next developed a set of goals for each of these six strategic areas. After extensive university-wide collaboration, the document Building a Bold Tomorrow: The Vision was approved by the USF Board of Trustees in June, 1996. At that time, the Board also underscored the need to carry the Vision Statement another step: to translate it into a plan of action through the year 2005. Plan 2005: the Vision was developed with action plans to achieve the goals of Vision 2005. Concurrent with the Vision and Plan 2005 process, the university began to plan for the 1997 accreditation site visit. The link was obvious between the ongoing strategic planning project and the self-appraisal preparations for the accreditation visit. The ten WASC accreditation and special topic standards were carefully crossmatched with the goals described in the six strategic themes of Vision 2005. In April 1996, the university submitted a proposal to WASC for an experimental self-study design. The proposal requested that the 1997 site visit and all supporting documentation be structured around the six strategic themes of Vision 2005, rather than the traditional WASC standards. …
Publication Year: 1998
Publication Date: 1998-06-22
Language: en
Type: article
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