Process and Timeline
Accreditation affirmation by the Higher Learning Commission involves an extensive self-study followed by a site visit by an external team of consultant-evaluators. The Palmer College self-study process began in September 2007 with the appointment of a self-study Steering Committee.
Sub-committees to address the five themes of the self-study were created in October 2007 and will collect and analyze data and develop reports during the 2007-2008 academic years.
An initial draft self-study report, prepared by the Steering Committee, will be available for campus comment in May 2008. The final report will be delivered to the Higher Learning Commission in February 2009.
The Higher Learning Commission consultant-evaluator team will visit Palmer College’s three campuses in May 2009. A report from that team is anticipated shortly after the visit.
Project Timeline
| April 5, 2007 | Assemble a group from the three campuses to attend the Annual NCA Meeting in Chicago |
| September 15, 2007 | Assemble the Steering Committee; develop a budget for the self-study process |
| September 30, 2007 | Review other self studies for style and outline; develop preliminary outline of the Self-Study document; develop a task list for individuals and groups affiliated directly with the self-study process |
| October 15, 2007 | Set up gold share drive for document depository (directory format should be by Criteria and Components); Steering Committee review the 1999 comprehensive NCA Self-Study Report |
| October 20, 2007 | Begin introducing the Self-Study process through a PowerPoint presentation to the college communities |
| October 25, 2007 | Meet with selected Criteria Chairs to discuss the NCA Self-Study process and introduce the Criteria with Components. |
| October 30, 2007 | Develop a set of Self-Study Objectives that will guide the work; begin assembling Criteria subcommittees with members from across the three campuses; identify criteria needed to write the Substantive Change document |
| November 5, 2007 | Provide each Criteria Committee with 5 examples of Self-Studies done by other colleges and universities to review; provide Criteria Chairs with data collection instruments for progress tracking. |
| November 7, 2007 | Criteria Chairs introduce the Self-Study and data collection process to their subcommittees with a PowerPoint presentation. |
| November 15, 2007 | Identify the writers for the sections of the document that do not address the Criteria. |
| November 29, 2007 | Submit Self-Study Plan to the HLC and invite the HLC liaison to meet with the Steering Committee |
| November 30, 2007 | Subcommittees begin meeting via videoconference to identify types of evidence that support compliance with the accreditation standards; college-wide NCA Awareness event - send out email to all college constituencies about the Self-Study process and ways to be involved; begin planning the design/look of the Self-Study document with the Marketing Department; |
| December 15, 2007 | Meet with HLC liaison representative to review plan and receive feedback. |
| December 30, 2007 | Review timetable and progress with the Board of Trustees |
| January 15, 2008 | Begin development of a Self-Study webpage as an information center and depository for documents for system-wide feedback |
| January 20, 2008 | Review the Marketing design/look of the Self-Study document; Chapter Review Committees are assembled |
| January 30, 2008 | Identify existing data sources and any related gaps. Begin interviewing key people and people groups. Post data to the shared drive; Steering Committee meets to determine a writing format for the Criteria subcommittees, to agree on the writing targets (evidence), and to determine interview and survey strategies; IPR begin development of additional survey instruments and assist in implementation of surveys |
| February 15, 2008 | Steering Committee visits Florida branch campus to raise awareness of self-study process and to interview key administrators, faculty, staff and students |
| February 25, 2008 | Steering Committee visits West branch campus to raise awareness of self-study process and to interview key administrators, faculty, staff and students |
| March 10, 2008 | Steering Committee meets with key administrators, faculty, staff and students on the Davenport campus |
| March 15, 2008 | Complete primary data collection. Chairs begin assembling first drafts of Criteria |
| March 30, 2008 | Chapter Review Committees receive training on review protocols and processes; Self-Study webpage is operational as a depository for documents for system-wide feedback; final determination of the design/look of the Self-Study document and a working template is available for inputting draft language |
| April 11, 2008 | Steering Committee to attend the Annual NCA Meeting in Chicago |
| April 30, 2008 |
First draft and data collection documents are submitted to the Steering Committee |
| May 10, 2008 |
Train Review Committees on SharePoint software for editing and document version control |
| May 15, 2008 | Chapter Review Committees begin review and editing the First Draft; post First Draft on the web and invite reactions to the draft report from the community |
| May 30, 2008 | IPR assists with tables and charts development |
| June 7, 2008 | System-wide marketing awareness activity of the progress on the Self-Study |
| June 30, 2008 | Chapter Review Committees provide the Steering Committee with edits on the First Draft |
| June 14-July 13, 2008 | College-wide Summer Break |
| August 26, 2008 | Review Committees provide the Steering Committee with edits on the First Draft; Begin writing Change Request chapter; Criteria Chairs and Review Chairs begin working together on Third Draft |
| August 30, 2008 | Post Second Draft on the web and invite reactions to draft report from the community; Send second draft to external reviewers (Dr. Susan Hatfield and Dr. Robin Dasher) for feedback. |
| September 30, 2008 | Begin writing Introductory Chapter; Marketing begins selecting pictures for the Criteria Chapters; Begin writing Significant Accomplishments Chapter; Marketing finalizes document design; Criteria and Review Chairs provide Steering Committee with edits on the Third Draft; Third Draft includes analyses, strengths and challenges; ensure that Self-study reflects staffing and enrollment data through Fall 2008. |
| October 1, 2008 | Begin editorial review of document for grammar/syntax and style |
| November 8, 2008 | Provide an update to the Board of Trustees. |
| November 20, 2008 | Editorial review completed. |
| December 15, 2008 | With the help of the Marketing Department, the Steering Committee assembles a Final Draft of the Self-Study inclusive of all hyperlinks; Final Draft is compiled sent out to external reviewers for feedback |
| January 15, 2009 | Marketing Department converts the final electronic draft of the Self-Study report into hard copy and begins implementing a system-wide marketing plan to familiarize faculty, staff, students, alumni and administration with the contents of the Self-Study |
| January 30, 2009 | Prepare an Executive Summary of the Self-Study report |
| February 10, 2009 | All final edits completed. |
| Feb. Board Meeting | Review final draft with the Board of Trustees |
| March 5, 2009 | Self-Study is completed; send one complete set of evaluation materials to each member of the Evaluation Team and to NCA liaison, Dr. Robert Appleson |
| March 10, 2009 | Send materials for visit, including the Worksheet for the Statement of Affiliation Status, to the Commission |
| March 15, 2009 | Distribute copies of the Self-Study to Board of Trustee members, key administrators and key constituent groups across three campuses; prepare agenda for the site team visit; Organize logistics for the team visit; Third Party Comment Public Announcement - send out announcement and letter inviting 3rd party comment to local and county municipal entities and other community partners |
| March 30, 2009 | Assemble a virtual resource room and actual resource rooms on each campus |
| May 9, 2009 | NCA Site Team Arrives at PCC-Davenport |
| CELEBRATE! |