North Central Accreditation Self-Study Process
Executive Summary 2000 NCA Self-Study Report
| Introduction | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five |
| Strengths | Challenges | Response | Conclusions | Committee | NCA Team |
The self-study process began in Fall 1998 with the creation of the NCA Organizing Committee (team members listed at the end of this document) and development of the goals for the self-study process. Working committees began writing chapters in the self-study document in Fall 1999 with the writing continuing through Spring 2000 and Summer 2000. The self-study process has provided DSU with an opportunity to:
• Evaluate progress toward meeting the seven strategic initiatives included in DSU's Strategic Statement.
• Highlight the institution's strengths and areas of concern.
• Initiate discussions and solicit input from campus constituencies for addressing concerns and building on strengths.
• Continue 10-year accreditation.
• Change affiliation status to offer established programs via distance without NCA approval.
The introductory chapter provides an overview of the institution's history
(before and after the mission change) and its accreditation history. It
describes the self-study process and explains the structure of the self-study
document itself. It includes the institution's responses to concerns expressed
in the 1990 NCA comprehensive evaluation and in each of the focused evaluations
in 1999-2000 (for the two master's degrees and for distance delivery of the
Health Information Administration degree program). The chapter concludes with a
summary of the 24 general institutional requirements (GIRs) and the 19
guidelines for distance education established by NCA.
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Chapter 1 provides evidence that the institution has a clear and publicly understood mission and clear educational purposes. Chapter 1 begins with the institution's mission and then discusses the institution's long-range and short-range goals relative to that mission. The chapter also discusses the planning and evaluation processes used by the institution and the institution's commitment to excellence in the teaching provided by faculty and the learning expected of students. In Chapter 1, the institution provided these patterns of evidence relative to Criterion 1:
• The institution has a clearly stated mission statement, approved by the South Dakota Legislature in 1984 and more recently by the Board of Regents in 1999.
• The institution's mission is clearly understood and supported by its constituencies. The institution's mission statement is published in numerous public documents.
• The institution's strategic statement and its strategic initiatives are shaped by the institution's mission and include goals appropriate to an institution of higher education.
• DSU supports academic freedom and freedom of inquiry for faculty, staff, and students. The institution also demonstrates a strong commitment to excellence in teaching and learning.
• In its institutional planning processes, DSU has included both internal and external constituencies and continues to include these constituencies in the formal and informal mechanisms used to evaluate the institution and its goals.
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Chapter 2 provides evidence that the institution's resource base _ financial, physical, and human _ is appropriate to meet current and future institutional needs. The chapter includes an overview of DSU's administrative, staff, faculty, and student governance structures and summarizes the financial resources available to the institution. The chapter also discusses the allocation of the institution's human, financial, and physical resources. In Chapter 2, the institution provided these patterns of evidence relative to Criterion 2:
• It is governed by a board of informed individuals who understand their responsibilities, function in accordance with stated policies, and have the resolve necessary to preserve the system's and the institution's integrity.
• The administration effectively manages institutional activities and exercises appropriate responsibility for those activities. The administration is guided by well-defined and understood organizational structures, policies, and procedures.
• The organizational structure and the institution's systems of governance provide dependable information to the institution's constituencies. When appropriate, the institution's constituencies are involved in the decision-making process.
• The faculty has the appropriate academic credentials and a sufficient number of students are enrolled in the institution's academic programs.
• The average faculty salary at DSU has increased dramatically in recent years, primarily because of market competition for qualified faculty. As both the number of faculty and the size of faculty salaries grow, DSU will be challenged to manage its academic resources carefully.
• The institution provides the appropriate services, academic resources, and academic equipment so that all admitted students have the opportunity to succeed.
• The institution maintains a physical plant that supports effective teaching and learning and provides students with a safe and healthy learning environment.
• The institution manages its financial resources to maximize the institution's capacity to meet its educational and other purposes and has a pattern of financial expenditures that demonstrates a commitment to effective teaching and learning.
• Wherever possible, the institution has added faculty and staff positions to reduce the workload of current employees.
• The institution has added new academic programs (primarily graduate and undergraduate programs related to technology), which will undoubtedly generate additional student enrollments. Although new academic programs (and increased enrollments in established programs) enhance DSU's stature within the state and region, they also create real funding challenges by placing increased pressure on the institution's infrastructure and on its program delivery systems.
• Where appropriate, institutional policies are published in public documents and include the appropriate grievance procedures.
• Policies are in place for monitoring contractual arrangements with government, industry, and other organizations.
• Dakota State University has responded well to the challenges and conditions that confront all public institutions of higher education and has responded particularly well to the demand for current technology that is required by the institution's mission. Program reviewers and NCA focused visit teams consistently comment on the institution's ability to stay current with and ahead of the technology integration curve.
• The institution has worked diligently in the last two years to update policies and procedures that govern promotion and tenure and workload.
• The institution has committed itself to an authentic assessment program and to curriculum changes driven by authentic assessment data.
• In keeping with its commitment to shared governance and authentic assessment, the institution continues to refine and augment its efforts in soliciting internal and external feedback from constituents.
• The institution's process of shared governance and evaluation of its management team has improved since the last accreditation review, and continued improvement is anticipated in all areas pinpointed by the faculty, staff, and students who participated in the management evaluation process.
• The institution has modified the budgetary process to bring resource allocation in line with the institution's strategic vision.
• The institution's increased student enrollment has strained, somewhat, the institution's human, physical, and financial resources and makes it more difficult to maintain the institution's competitive edge in technology. However, the institution has also been aggressive in seeking corporate partnerships and other sources of external funding to stretch the resources currently in place.
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Chapter 3 provides evidence that the institution's resources are being used to support its current educational purposes as well as the plans the institution has for the future. The chapter begins with an overview of DSU's undergraduate degree programs and the integration of computer technology into the curriculum before moving into a detailed discussion of the assessment process used to measure undergraduate student achievement. The information on the institution's undergraduate degree programs is followed by an overview of the graduate degree programs, curriculum, and assessment. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the student services provided to support the institution's academic programs. In Chapter 3, the institution provided these patterns of evidence relative to Criterion 3:
• The institution provides educational programs that are appropriate to an institution of higher education.
• The institution provides graduate programs that are appropriate to an institution of higher education and that are clearly distinct from the institution's undergraduate degree programs.
• The institution has established a comprehensive assessment plan that includes assessment of appropriate academic achievement in all its degree programs and of the institution as a whole.
• The institution's faculty-developed assessment program is fully implemented and is reviewed on an annual basis. Data from this assessment program is used by the faculty and by the institution to support curricular revisions and to support strategic planning and budget appropriations to functional units.
• The institution ensures that the faculty provides effective teaching and learning and ensures that appropriate student services are provided to support the institution's purposes.
• The institution is committed to meeting the educational needs of distant / external constituencies and provides both appropriate academic programs and student services to those constituencies.
• To support the institutional mission and the institution's strategic initiatives, DSU has integrated computer technology into all its coursework and academic degree programs.
• Hiring practices have been revised so that the number of faculty with terminal degrees has dramatically increased in the past ten years.
• DSU faculty have become more involved on a regional and national level as presenters at conferences, as members of national professional organizations, and as authors of published journal articles.
• Because of its location in the upper Midwest, the institution has difficulty attracting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff, and student population. However, the institution is committed to continuing its efforts in diversity recruitment / awareness and has taken a major step forward by funding a diversity coordinator position.
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Chapter 4 provides evidence that DSU has made progress toward attaining the strategic initiatives adopted by the institution in 1997. The chapter begins with a summary of planning activities that occur at DSU and at the BOR level. The chapter describes each of the seven strategic initiatives in DSU's Strategic Statement and evaluates the institution's progress toward meeting those initiatives. The chapter concludes with a forecast of the institution's ability to accomplish its educational purposes in the future. In Chapter 4, the institution provided these patterns of evidence relative to Criterion 4:
• Major plans and decisions made since the DSU Strategic Statement was adopted in 1997 have been guided by the seven strategic initiatives included in that document. A mechanism to evaluate the current strategic plan and to develop an updated strategic plan in 2003 is currently under discussion.
• The institution has a clear vision of its mission and a clear plan for strengthening its educational programs in the future. And, its resources are organized and allocated to support current and future plans.
• The institution has a resource base - financial, physical, and human - that positions the institution for the future.
• Structured assessment processes are in place to provide meaningful and useful information for planning.
• The institution's planning and decision-making processes allow the institution to respond effectively to anticipated and unanticipated challenges.
• All the regental institutions continue to be concerned about tight budgets and the somewhat lean administrative and support structure that has resulted from those tight budgets.
• DSU continues to be concerned about attracting and retaining highly trained, technologically literate faculty in all disciplines - a necessity if DSU is to continue to successfully carry out its mission and its vision statement.
• Because of its strong academic programs, excellent faculty, strong technology infrastructure, and focused recruitment efforts, the institution anticipates that enrollment growth will continue, despite a predicted decline in the number of traditional college students in the region and nation.
• DSU does not seek to be all things to all people but has a clearly defined and focused set of academic programs. Because of the campus' acceptance of continual revision for improvement and excellence, Dakota State University should be able to grow and prosper in the niche it is carving for itself. However, the institution must not get complacent if it is to maintain the momentum it is currently experiencing.
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Chapter 5 provides evidence that DSU demonstrates integrity in its practices and relationships by adhering to both the letter and the spirit of local, state, and federal laws and to the code of ethics commonly accepted by the academic community. The chapter begins with an overview of the institution's working relationships with its primary internal constituencies (faculty, staff, and students) before moving to an overview of the institution's working relationships with its primary external constituencies. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the institution's compliance with state and federal laws. In Chapter 5, the institution provided these patterns of evidence relative to Criterion 5:
• The strategic initiatives adopted by each functional unit are reviewed on an annual basis for continued relevance and progress.
• Institutional publications, statements, and advertisements accurately and fairly describe the institution, its operations, and its academic programs.
· The institution's policies and practices are consistent with its mission,
and all relationships (with both internal and external constituencies) are
conducted in an ethical and responsible manner.
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Through the self-study process, the University has identified these institutional strengths:
• The University's mission is clearly understood and supported. The mission is used to shape the institution's strategic planning / decision-making.
• The University demonstrates a strong commitment to teaching and learning.
• The University demonstrates a commitment to staying ahead of the technology curve and to providing increased access to technology.
• The University has effectively organized its student services, providing all students with an equal opportunity to succeed.
• All academic programs have integrated technology into the program requirements / curriculum.
• The assessment program is fully implemented and undergoes annual review. The colleges use assessment data in their strategic planning and curricular revisions.
• The number of terminally degreed faculty has increased since 1990.
• The University has advanced programs to increase the diversity of faculty, staff, and students.
• The University has clearly articulated and communicated procedures related to workload, compensation, promotion and tenure, and grievances.
• The University has an effective long-range planning process.
• Faculty and staff are dedicated and enthusiastic about the institution's mission and their role in providing services to students.
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Although the institution is well positioned for the future, the self-study process did identify several issues that continue to require special attention:
• Continuous evaluation / implementation of the strategic initiatives requires commitment and involvement from faculty, staff and students.
• The increase in enrollment strains the resources of the institution.
• The institution needs to continue to attract and retain a diverse faculty, staff, and student population.
• The institution needs to continue to refine and augment its efforts in soliciting internal and external feedback from constituents.
• The institution needs to maintain its competitive edge in technology and technology-based curriculum.
• The institution needs to explore issues related to learning via distance.
• The institution needs to review and better define the workload of CSA employees.
• The institution needs to continue to use assessment data to modify its curriculum and to document student learning.
• All internal constituencies need to support and take part in the comprehensive evaluation process.
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As the institution prepared for the NCA comprehensive visit, faculty, staff, and students were invited to propose solutions to the institutional challenges. The solutions that the institution was able to implement immediately include:
• Campus communications
o Instituted a series of brown bag presentations on issues of concern to the campus
o Began to provide monthly updates on BOR actions and NCA activities
o Developed a campus-wide web calendar
• Employee satisfaction / recognition
o Improved employee recognition by publicly celebrating awards and promotions
o Expanded the supervisor evaluation process
o Increased access to faculty and staff training
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Dakota State University is well positioned for continued excellence and growth. The institution can continue to take pride in its strengths and to address its challenges, as those challenges are revealed through strategic planning and assessment processes. But, always remember that everyone is responsible for the quality of education received by students and for the quality of the institution's services and programs.
The self-study document has been prepared and has been forwarded to the NCA evaluation team for their review. However, the administration and the NCA Organizing Committee ask that all internal constituencies (faculty, staff, and students) take an active part in the comprehensive evaluation process that's still ahead.
The institution has planned for a formal, institution-wide, five-year
evaluation process for the strategic statement and strategic initiatives, in
addition to the evaluation process that occurs within each functional area of
the institution annually. This University-wide evaluation process is intended to
ensure that the seven strategic initiatives are used in institutional planning
and budgeting.
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Carrie Ahern
Ethelle Bean
Linda Brozik
Evan Gough
Mark Lee
Lynette Molstad
Nancy Moose
Cecelia Wittmayer
Dr. Susan Rydell, Professor, College of Professional and Community Studies Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN (team chair)
Dr. Willis Alberda, Professor of Mathematics and Dean of Natural Sciences Dordt College, Sioux Center, IA
Dr. Lawrence Davis, Jr., Chancellor University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR
Dr. Scott Herriott, Professor and Dean of On-Line Education Mararishi University of Management, Fairfield, IA
Dr. Patricia Miller, Professor and Head, Division of Professional Development Truman State University, Kirksville, MO
www.departments.dsu.edu/nca
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