Update from Stacey

Things have been very busy! As I write this, we are just concluding our site visit with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) as part of our re-accreditation process. The visit is designed to supplement our assurance argument materials submitted to the HLC, which allows peer reviewers to ask questions and verify whether the materials and the “on the ground” experience are consistent. We will receive a report from the accreditation team in several weeks. We anticipate receiving positive feedback as well as suggestions for further improvements. I have learned so much participating in this process. The 35,000-word assurance argument document is a wealth of information about how the University operates and continues to improve.

Every year I wonder—is September always this busy? I think this year might have been an especially busy start of the term. Thanks to all of you. We have contributed to a successful start of the term in so many ways!

Update from Stacey

I wanted to share a couple of updates on items I’m working on that are less visible to ASR. The first I’ve mentioned before—the preparation for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) reaccreditation process. My main role has been leading the drafting of the Federal Compliance Report and assembling the appendix. The overall materials for the HLC will be over 100 pages but the federal compliance report itself is relatively short. It spans instructional time requirements, federal aid requirements, ethics in admissions, and several other topics. I’m nearing the finish line and we will be submitting our materials to the HLC in the coming weeks to prepare for the site visit this fall.

The second item is preparing briefing materials for the new provost to learn about ASR and OUE. Dr. Gretchen Ritter officially starts on July 31, but she is already engaging in meetings and reading background. For ASR, I’m providing the annual report materials—thank you to all of you that participate in that process—and additional narrative to help contextualize the information in the report and highlight work that will need her input in the near future. I am excited to work with her and help get her up to speed prior to our HLC site visit.