WASC Capacity and Preparatory Review Team to Visit CSUDH Oct. 9-10

A Capacity and Preparatory Review Site Visit by a team from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) will take place on the CSU Dominguez Hills campus October 9-10. The second of a series of three visits by the accreditation body, the two days will focus on the capacity of the University to deliver effective educational programs that yield enhanced student outcomes including the structures and processes built to align assessment, planning, and resource allocation.

Caron Mellblom, director, Center for Learning and Academic Support Services and co-chair of the WASC Steering Committee, describes the self-study required to compile the WASC Capacity Preparatory Report (CPR) as “a chance to be introspective and think about who we are and what we do. We get to identify the questions that are most important for us as an institution to study. We’re a non-traditional institution with a very diverse population of students who have every intention of completing their degree but may have to stop on a regular basis to make money to come back to school. In this process, we are able to tell our story and show the job we do for this unique population we serve.”

The CPR describes the University’s efforts to address researchable questions and expected outcomes of four core issues which are identified by the CSUDH Self Study Institutional Proposal, and explored by subcommittees. “Academic Quality”
was chaired by Mellblom; “Campus Change” was chaired by Jamie Dote-Kwan, vice provost and WASC accreditation liaison officer; “Diversity” was chaired by Sandra Parham, dean, Leo F. Cain Library and Shirley Lal, associate professor, Teacher Education and co-chair, WASC Steering Committee; and “Civic Engagement” was chaired by Lal and Gary Levine, professor of interdisciplinary studies. A fifth subcommittee, chaired by Donna Cruz, technical support specialist, Academic Affairs, was established to complete the required data elements and Website that were essential to the CPR which was due this past July.

“In the report, we do two things,” says Mellblom. “We demonstrate that we are in fact pursuing the researchable questions, and continuing with the self-study that we designed in the first place, as articulated in the proposal. We also demonstrate
that we have the institutional capacity to offer effective educational programs.”

Lal points out that the report highlights the infrastructure of the University, with the elements required of any institution that seeks re-affirmation.

“Accreditation is about looking at how we demonstrate our capability to grant degrees, and the quality of the education program we provide, and writing a summary of what this all means to our campus,” she says. “That takes into consideration everything on campus, physical space, physical plant, maintenance, admissions, technology, finance, budget, all of those things that allow a university to flourish.”

The effects of WASC’s information gathering methods aren’t always directly tied to their reports, yet still benefit its campuses. Mellblom describes the results of the CSUDH poster sessions, which give even the most unsung department or program a chance to shine before the campus community.

“The first poster session was the first time in the 11 years I’ve been on this campus, when faculty, staff, and members of the campus community came together to show each other what they do,” she notes. “Connections were made through a breaking down of barriers and developing a better understanding of each other’s interests.”

“People do a lot of things on campus that go unnoticed, and don’t seem connected to anything,” says Lal. “From the poster sessions, I think we as a university discover more and more things that are not necessarily aligned but could be.”

The final phase of this self study will take place in February, 2008, when the WASC team will investigate the University’s educational effectiveness. Mellblom emphasizes that the long term effects of the campus’ self study are perpetual and
beneficial.

“Even after the visit in 2008, the studies that we’ve initiated as a result of this process will continue, because we see those as something that will affect our institution for the better,” she says.

For more information on the WASC Reaffirmation of Accreditation, including documents, core issues, and events, visit http://www.csudh.edu/wasc/Default.htm.

- Joanie Harmon