On April 22, 2013, the Higher Learning Commission Institutional Actions Council continued the accreditation of Kalamazoo College. So concludes an exhaustive evaluation process that began in 2009 with preliminary planning focused on the project. The next reaffirmation of accreditation will occur in academic year 2022-23. “We are delighted that accreditation continues with no monitoring required,” said Professor of Mathematics Eric Nordmoe, who chaired the Re-accreditation Committee, which formed in 2010. The process involved a comprehensive self-study book written by Assistant Professor of Journalism Marin Heinritz. The self-study book was based on evaluation input gathered from the entire campus community by some 40 employees associated with the self-study. The re-accreditation process continued with a three-day visit in October by a team of higher education professionals working on behalf of the HLC. Each member of that team had read the self-study book. During their campus visit team members interviewed the campus community and observed the K learning experience in action. Then, based on the self-study book and the visit, the HLC team wrote its report. The Institutional Actions Council based its decision to continue accreditation on that report, and the HLC board ratified that decision on April 22. According to Nordmoe, the report cited many things K does very well and suggested some opportunities for improvement. The College will study and act on both. “I’m happy about the decision, of course,” said Nordmoe. “But I’m most grateful for the process. It was a chance for K to think about our work and about the way we assess the outcomes of our work. That was very valuable. A kind of ’Know Thyself’ moment–or years of such moments–in order to live an examined (and therefore worthy) learning experience.”
assessment
K Quality Assessment Noted by National Organization
The National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment has a mission to make learning outcomes usable and transparent. Toward that end, it created and made available to colleges and universities the NILOA Transparency Framework. NILOA’s website featured several early and effective adopters, including Kalamazoo College.
Says Provost Mickey McDonald: “The College incorporated (with permission) some of the frameworks from NILOA and used some of the educational quality assurance framework outlined by Peter Ewell in his book Making the Grade.” Influence of the NILOA framework is evident on K’s Educational Quality Assessment website. And a portion of that website, “Elements of Educational Quality,” borrows from Ewell’s framework; student learning outcomes is central, but not the only point of focus for quality assurance at K.
McDonald adds, “We started work about three years ago with the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board about better understanding their role in Educational Quality Assessment. We have touched on this at nearly every board meeting since, and we wrap up each year with an executive summary of EQA work done that year.”