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Update on Institutional Reaccreditation and the

Foundations of Excellence

Fall Faculty In-ServiceAugust 19, 2010

Foundations of Excellence® (FoE)

• Customized self-study for HLC reaccreditation site visit

• Developed by the Policy Center on the First College Year (now called the Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education)

• Institution-wide assessment of first year using nine dimensions

• Goal is to produce plan to improve student learning and engagement

• www.uni.edu/foe 2

Foundations of Excellence® (FoE)Recommendations

1. Create a First-Year Council charged with the oversight of first-year programs.

• Charge with setting strategic direction of 1st year programs and for the assessment, monitoring, and reporting of specified first-year initiatives

• Joint leadership among Academic and Student Affairs

2. Develop a first-year philosophy statement and first-year learning outcomes.

Foundations of Excellence® (FoE)Recommendations

3. Develop a comprehensive plan for faculty development.

4. Task the First-Year Council to develop a first-year cornerstone experience for all first-year students.

5. Develop a systematic process to define, identify, and assess the needs of first-year students, especially underserved populations.

Foundations of Excellence® (FoE)Recommendations

6. Incorporate the findings of the Foundations of Excellence® process into other institutional improvement efforts that impact first-year students.

• Liberal Arts Core (LAC) Task Force• Diversity Council• Academic Advising Council

7. Develop and implement a comprehensive plan for assessing and improving first-year programs.

First-Year Council Work: http://www.uni.edu/foe/council1.shtml

Downloadable PDFs • First-Year Council Membership & Charge

• First-Year Council Subcommittees

• First-Year Learning Goals: Draft

First-Year Council Meeting Minutes• February 15, 2010

• March 29, 2010

• April 19, 2010

Cornerstone Course

• April 2010, First Year Council approved development of cornerstone course– 3 credit hour academic inquiry (academic focus)– Course developed by faculty in partnership with

student affairs– Assignments and activities include focus on

transition issues in the context of an interdisciplinary critical inquiry topic chosen by the faculty member

– Consider as part of the Liberal Arts Core (LAC)

Cornerstone Development

• Approval granted by Provost and VP Student Affairs to begin cornerstone course development

• Committee of faculty (representing all colleges), student affairs staff, and students are developing curriculum proposal

• Course must gain acceptance through regular curricular approval process

• Committee to use learning outcomes, assessment, and best practices research in development

• Early identification of first year student concerns• Transition survey completed after week 3• Students receive immediate, customized feedback• Faculty and staff with professional connections to

each student (direct connects) also obtain access to individual reports• Direct connects offer encouragement, support,

information, and referrals to students who need it most

Foundations of Excellence® – Transfer Focus (FoE-TF)

• John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Excellence

• Steering Committee and Nine Dimension Committees similar process as used in previous FoE self-study

• 33% of new students to UNI are transfer students and 2/3 of those are from two-year colleges

FoE Transfer Steering Committee• Mary Christ (CBA)• Kerri Clopton, Co-Chair (CoE)• Melissa Heston (CoE)• Christie Kangas, Co-Chair

(Admissions)• Cherin Lee (CNS)• Drake Martin (Residence)• Gene Morales (Student)• Kristin Moser (Institutional

Research)• Phil Patton (Registrar)

• Gayle Rhineberger-Dunn (CSBS)• Jake Rudy (NISG)• Colice Sanders (Student Support

Services)• Paul Sapp (Admissions)• Marilyn Shaw (CHFA)• Tony Smothers (Academic

Advising)• Malcom Thomas (Graduate

Student)• Kristin Woods (New Student

Programs)

Involvement in FoE Transfer Self-Study

• Faculty/Staff Survey– Available through MyUNIverse August 23rd

through September 10th • Dimension Committees

– Faculty interested in serving on a committee should contact Kerri Clopton

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