1. Cal Poly's Distinctive
Mission
2.
Accreditation: Past, Present,
and Future
3.
Cal
Poly's Self-Study Plan
Accreditation:
Past, Present,
and Future
Standards
implied or stated,
have served as
a basis for accrediting
decisions since
the accrediting
process began
in this country
at the turn of
the century. When
many institutions
were created in
the 1960's, and
non-traditional
students entered
institutions for
the first time,
traditional notions
of quality were
widely challenged.
The decade of
the 1970's started
with aspirations
to make the accrediting
process more qualitative
and flexible with
an eye to the
future development
of each institution’s
distinctive mission.
As the number
of non-traditional
institutions and
programs increased,
it became apparent
later in the decade
that more specific
accrediting standards
were needed in
order to provide
the academic community
and the many publics
of accreditation
with more reliable
indicators of
quality. In 1980,
the Commission
adopted nine standards
and many relevant
policies that
were assembled
in the Handbook
of Accreditation,
which reflected
the best judgment
of institutional
representatives
throughout the
region of normative
expectations,
for the operation
of any accredited
institution of
higher education.
A comprehensive
revision of accrediting
standards occurred
again in 1988.
In order to access
what types of
accrediting processes
would be most
effective to institutions
and the public
for the year 2000
and beyond, the
Commission initiated
another revision
of its standards
of accreditation
to include the
policies and procedures
outlined in the
Handbook in 1998.
This work is still
in process.
It is important to the WASC Commission that the self-study is
candid, provide meaningful data to the university, and is aligned
with the goals of the university. The self-study should be a learning
vehicle, not a reporting document, using a process that works
for the university and provides interconnectivity between its
various planning initiatives. A new conceptualization will be
created with what is stated in the self-study and the issues that
are relevant to what is accountable.
The new format
for reporting
a self-study is
a learning process
for both WASC
and the university.
WASC is developing
a handbook that
will share with
other institutions
the learning-centered
standards created
by pilot institutions
including Cal
Poly.
|
