Accreditation 101's Podcast

This interview took place in two parts:  right before and right after they appeared before the ABHE Commission on Accreditation for a major decision. Agron & Associates, Inc. is a team of accreditation consultants that, since 1999, have specialized in helping Bible colleges achieve accreditation.  Our mission is to raise up Christian colleges in quality, quantity and reputation.

A discussion of how to qualify to grant F-1 study visas, how to apply, how to opperate the program, and where to find resources Agron & Associates, Inc. is a team of accreditation consultants that, since 1999, have specialized in helping Biblecolleges achieve accreditation.  Our mission is to raise up Christian colleges in quality, quantity and reputation.

One of my research areas for my dissertation was the types of instructional methods that can achieve character qualities (e.g, affective objectives, habits, will, ...).  I saw that the visual and performing arts are ideal for impacting the heart.  They can be used to mitigate some of the weaknesses of the traditional academic model.  Even more exiciting was to realize how the visual and performing arts could become an outstanding tool for communicating exegesis in a manner that would draw and impact hearers.  I propose the following model: 1. Students perpare an exegesis.  From that same exegesis, students create a      A. sermon      B. Sunday school lesson      C. piece of visual art (e.g., comic book, photo display with captions, slide show, chalk talk)      D. piece of performing art (e.g., radio drama, pupet show, You-tube video) 2. Repeat the process often enough to make the new skills stick.

Student services are important for student retention, student development, and cultivating future donors (i.e., alumni who look back fondly on their college experience).

Board Development (Personnel Committee) Recruiting the Right Board Members Orienting New Board Members Ongoing Training Evaluating Board Performance and Individual Members

Listen to this (and other material) as a podcast at www.accreditation101.com.  If you are a board member, you have a great honor, and a great responsibility.  Certainly you would be volunteering your time, talent, and treasure because you see your school’s ministry as something worth doing for God.  Occasionally, a school has board members who are not good stewards of this important responsibility.  Maybe they did not realize what they were volunteering for.  Maybe they were just appointed.  Maybe they don’t give much time, effort, or money because they do not see service to the school as something worth doing for God, or maybe there are even occasionally members of a board who are more interested in building their own kingdom than God’s kingdom.   Can you see why some presidents are tempted to say, “Get, give, or get off”?  (Get being get money.)  So how does a school end up with the outstanding board members who understand their purpose and energetically fulfill their stewardship?  The key can be a personnel committee that is tasked with board development.  And that is the topic of chapter 8 in our board handbook.  The chapter deals with how to recruit the right types of members, orienting and training them, and evaluating both the board and individual members.

Today I am replacing chapters 3-5 with chapters 6-7.  Chapter six deals with the relationship of the board with the administration.  It is important that they understand each other's unique role (and that neither usurps the authority of the other).  Chapter seven deals with various policies.  I welcome your feedback.  After all chapters are reviewed, this workbook will appear in the online store at www.accreditation101.com. 

Organizations suffer when board members or administrators usurp the role of the other.

Chairman of the  Board Vice Chairman www.accreditation101.com  

Chapter I.  Purpose of the Board of Directors             In Susan Scribner’s book, Boards from Hell, Scribner describes a variety of dysfunctional boards.  Among others, she suggests these types of boards that you would never want to participate in: Phantom Boards (Missing in Action).   Tennessee Fainting Goats Boards (I Can’t) Bordellos (Self-Serving Members) Mutant Ninja Board Members (Bad Apples) Bored Boards (Uninvolved, Uninformed)  The former president of Columbia International University, Robertson McQuilkin, reportedly coined the term “rubberstamping” for this type of under-involved board members.   Perhaps Scribner could have also suggested “Interfering Mother-in-Law Board” Members (Acting as Bosses Outside Board Meetings).  McQuilkin reportedly calls this type of interference by board members, "rubbernecking", and accrediting agencies do not like to see it.               Many times, a dysfunctional board results from misunderstandings of the purposes of a board.  A board should primarily be concerned with furthering the fulfillment of the institutional mission statement in six areas: securing, evaluating and maintaining an effective administration (primarily selecting, evaluating and assisting the president – but, if necessary, dismissing him or her) developing and maintaining effective policies and procedures (including approving all handbooks, catalogues, programs, the budget, and promotional materials) raising friends and funds for the school and using their influence to cultivate multiple streams of revenue Ensuring that funds are managed appropriately Strategic planning (i.e., visioning and planning for a future that will remain within the bounds of the institutional mission) Recruiting and orienting new board members, learning to operate as a more effective board, and assessing both the board and its individual members   In Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards, Richard Ingram suggests that the short description of a board’s responsibilities are to govern, implement, and volunteer.   govern, implement, and volunteer   govern, implement, and volunteer Governance describes the board’s role in setting policy.  The board as a whole makes decisions and sets policies.  Individual board members do not govern; they interact with their fellow members to come to a decision.  Governing is only occurring during meetings with proper notice and enough members to constitute a quorum.               Implementation describes a role for board members that can occur outside of meetings. Decisions are made in meetings, but some decisions may require action beyond the meeting.  In many cases, that implementation is the responsibility of the president and his or her staff.  In some cases, the board may authorize one or more members to implement a decision (e.g. choose a contractor for a planned improvement, contact a foundation, meet with a member of the city council or a denominational leader).  Perhaps a report will be submitted to the board on the results of the action taken.   Volunteerism also describes a role for board members that can occur outside of meetings.   Board members are normally expected to volunteer beyond attendance at meetings.  Many times they assist in an area of their special expertise (e.g. a lawyer may look over contracts, a banker may interview accounting firms).  It is also common for board members to assist the president or development officer in building relationships with influential friends.    Note that the board’s role differs from the administrative role.  The board sets policy, and then gives the president and his or her staff the freedom to determine the details of implementation.  A board develops or approves the school’s initial mission statement.  From that point on, the mission statement serves as a plumb line to measure proposed goals or initiatives.    A.  Guardians of the Mission             Perhaps the chief purpose of the board is to safeguard the accomplishment of the mission and goals of the school.  The school’s mission statement is a compass, a map, a guidance system.  It is our understanding of God’s purpose for our school.  A donor may approach our school to offer a significant amount of money if the school would engage in a certain project or initiate a new degree program.  The first question the board should ask is not, “Will this bring our school more money, students, and prestige?”  The first question is whether the proposal fits with our understanding of God’s purpose for us (i.e., our mission statement).    A school’s mission statement must remain in focus during board meetings.  The decisions should be made in the context of that mission.  Therefore, accrediting agencies expect schools to widely publicize their mission.  Some schools recite or explain their mission statement (and possibly goals) at every meeting.  Other schools produce a banner or attractive sign with the mission statement and display it at every board meeting.  A school could place their mission statement in the margin of every page of the notes used at a board meeting.  How will your board keep the mission in focus?                 The mission statement is further elaborated upon by its goals (and possibly by more specific – and measurable – objectives).  We need to have two types of goals:  student learning outcomes goals and institutional effectiveness (administrative) goals.  Outcomes are the changes we intend to occur in students as a result of studying with us.  Outcomes goals are primarily achieved through required courses, though they can also be achieved through student selection, chapel, ministry assignments, …even housing (e.g., assigning missions students to room with foreign students studying English as a second language).  Achieving outcomes goals in our students should cause us to be achieving our mission.   The administrative goals are used to assess the resources and activities the school intends to provide.  Each administrative department (e.g., administration, business, development, student life, academics) will have goals and objectives (e.g., number of reference hours per week by a qualified librarian, amount of money we expect to be raised through donations, how often required courses will be offered, how students will be given academic counseling before registration, how quickly bills will be paid, enrollment patterns, board performance and satisfaction, how we are perceived by our community or denomination).  Every administrative department needs to have its own goals so that the mission can be fulfilled.               How can we assure that our school stays on target in relation to achieving our mission, goals, and objectives?  To assist us, the administration (i.e., director of institutional research) produces an annual institutional research report.  This is required by accrediting agencies.  A detailed plan is developed for how each objective, goal, and component of the mission statement is to be measured.  This research plan includes the instruments to be used (e.g., a survey, focus groups), persons responsible for administering the instruments and analyzing the responses, populations to be measured, schedule for administering instruments, and acceptable results.  Not every instrument will be scheduled or goal will be measured every year.  Instead, a repeating cycle will be scheduled so that all goals are measured within a specified amount of time (e.g., three years, five years).  An annual report will be produced to show achievement of the goals scheduled for that year.  This report will show how strongly our school is achieving specified goals.  Strengths and weakness will be identified (and possibly opportunities or threats to complete a “SWOT analysis”).  The report will also include suggestions for change (which may be inserted into an annually updated five-year plan).  So, a complete cycle of institutional research will be a complete report on how well the school has been achieving its mission.  The board will want to pay close attention to these annual reports so that it can help safeguard the achievement of the school’s mission and goals.    This material comes from chapter one of our Board of Directors Workbook.  Later, this workbook will be for sale in our online store at www.accreditation101.com.  However, listeners in January and perhaps February 2010 can have access to this board training resource for free.  We are currently posting chapters online for your review and comments.  Please give us feedback so we can improve this book.  Find it on the accreditation 101 podcast page.  

How to Write an Institutional Research Plan - Overview

Show Notes 081218: How to Write a Self Study – Overview of the Compliance Document What is a Self Study The Heart of the Process 3 Documents A Committee writing a Dissertation (broad participation – steering committee and subcommittees) The Compliance Document Based on Agency Standards (vs IR Plan) – for example: o Mission and Goals o Governance and Administration o Resources: Financial, Facilities, Human o Academics (Curriculum, Faculty) o Student Services o Information Services o Institutional Research · Subheadings under standards (e.g., criteria, elements) – example from mission and goals 1. What review process ensures that the mission statement is current and appropriate for the institution. What constituencies participate in its review and revision? 2. What procedures are being followed to confirm that the mission is communicated clearly to the constituency? 3. To what extent do the goals reflect the institutional mission? 4. To what extent do program objectives reflect the institutional mission and goals? 5. In what ways does the institution ensure that its mission, goals, and objectives are used as guides for decision-making, resource allocation, and program development?What to Write o Describe and Analyze o Assess (yes or no) o Document o Recommend & Suggest · Results o Mentor Your Team o Identify SWOT o Make Plans to Upgrade Your School in Soooo Many Areas o Enable Accrediting Agency to Evaluate You · Pitfalls o Assessment Vs Enhancement o Not a PR Document o Not Having a Team o Re-Writing an Old Document

In this podcast we will discuss 1. Why schools want to be accredited 2. Possible time lines and steps 3. Common roadblocks Why: Benefits of Accreditation 1. Certification of quality 2. Process for developing quality 3. More students will want to attend your school a. Value of the degree to students – resume, transferability b. FAFSA 4. Achieve your mission – bear fruit How to Start the Accreditation Process 1. Choose an accrediting agency 2. Application process Timeline and Steps 1. Phase 1 – ABHE has three steps: a. applicant vs others that tell you to do the same things before applying 2. Visits, reports, responses 3. Start the clock – start the self study 4. Team Visit 5. Commission 6. 4 years + 4 years to repeat 7. The good news Next Time Self Study: The heart of the Process And in 2 weeks we will have an interview with the ABHE Chairman of the Commission on Accreditation to talk about distance education.