The reaffirmation process is an extensive one that requires broad-based participation from across the campus community, including those people who work or study at UTD as well as those who support the University within the community, such as alumni and community partners. UTD SACS-Project teams began their work as early as July 2005. The work on compliance certification will continue through at least August 2008, and QEP efforts will continue through 2012 and beyond.
The Steering Committee works in concert with the Leadership Team and the Executive Committee to lead the various teams in their efforts to prepare for the compliance certification. Comprised of members from across the campus community, the Steering Committee provides not only guidance but also resources and support for the work of all other committees. Meeting at least twice monthly, this committee reviews the work of all teams and offers recommendations to the President regarding needed changes and improvements in UTD policy and practice.
Led by Graduate Dean Austin Cunningham, the Federal Mandates team reviews UTD’s compliance with all federal regulations that are related to the university, its mission, its operation, and its students. Specific areas of focus include student achievement, program length, curriculum design, student-related policies, recruitment materials, and Title IV (financial aid) compliance.
Led by Assistant Vice President Abby Kratz, the Faculty team reviews a variety of issues related to the faculty at UTD. The University must demonstrate that it has an adequate faculty as well as a faculty that has members qualified to teach in the areas they are assigned. As a part of this review process, Dr. Kratz and her team will review the academic record (transcripts, vitae, research, and publications) of every faculty member who offers instruction to the students at UTD. Additionally, the transcripts of every faculty member who received a graduate degree at an institution outside the United States will be reviewed by an outside agency to ensure the credentials are equivalent to similar credentials earned at accredited universities in the U.S.
It is entirely possible that the IE Committee has the most difficult job of any group within the SACS team. This committee must determine the degree to which UTD is actually effective in its work and to which UTD displays institutional integrity. The difficulty in such a determination is in defining the standards, in identifying how our measures of effectiveness relate to achievement and to performance.
Led by Executive Director Lawrence Redlinger, this committee must review program assessment plans as well as program mission statements to determine the degree to which all campus programs and departments have aligned their missions with the university’s mission statement. (See UTD’s Strategic Plan: http://www.utdallas.edu/strategicplan/)
The General Education team reviews all courses in the core curriculum and determines the degree to which the core curriculum at UTD meets the goals of general education. In the Principles of Accreditation, the Commission on Colleges asserts that UTD must require “in each undergraduate degree program the successful completion of a general education component at the collegiate level that (1) is a substantial component of each undergraduate degree, (2) ensures breadth of knowledge, and (3) is based on a coherent rationale.” To measure UTD’s compliance, this committee must review the course assessment of the various courses offered as a part of the core curriculum as well as the rationale for the courses included in the “core.” Led by Associate Provost and Undergraduate Dean Michael Coleman, this team works with the Core Curriculum Committee closely in determining what, if any, changes are required to be in full compliance with this goal.
Led by Associate Provost and SACS Liaison Robert Nelsen, the Academic Assessment team works with every degree and certificate program at UTD to determine the degree to which all programs and courses mesh with good educational practice and the mission and goals of the University. Simply, academic programs offer a slate of student learning outcomes (SLO’s) that should be the result of each student’s participation in the academic major and course work. These SLO’s require various measures (or assessments) to determine the degree to which students meet those outcomes or goals. While academic assessment focuses on samples of students rather than all students, good research methodology requires that sampled students are representative of the students within each program.
The Committee for Administrative Services serves an important function within the SACS Reaffirmation Process at UTD: This team serves as the primary liaison between the Steering Committee and the members of all other committees across the university – and the team also serves as the primary communication link between the various SACS committees and the various program and department leaders, including the school deans and the various vice presidents. The Administrative Services team remains constantly aware of the various reviews and processes in place so that they may provide assistance when needed to ensure the smooth operation of the SACS reaffirmation process.
“With an eye sharply focused on the bottom line,” Associate Vice President Jody Nelsen works with her team to ensure that the University meets the stringent guidelines for fiscal soundness and stability, financial aid administration and regulation, sponsored research programs, and physical facilities. As a part of the team’s work, this group also focuses on environmental health and safety issues as well as campus security. While such a description suggests a simple review might meet the requirement, even a casual observer must realize that the auditing of financial records involving millions of dollars of federal, state, local, and student monies is a gargantuan task. Add to that the monitoring of every facility on the campus, and you have a team with a remarkably large task.
Link to The Committee for Financial and Physical Resources page
Dr. Kimberly Kempf-Leonard and the Graduate Education team must ensure that the graduate program at UTD meets the stringent guidelines of the SACS Principles. As a result, the Graduate Education team must review every graduate program (both degree and certificate) to ensure that the programs offer a progressively more advanced sequence of courses and that these programs foster independent learning as well as a general knowledge of the academic field in which each student is engaged. This team has already developed a matrix of data to examine the completion and attrition rates for graduate students in each of the major academic programs across the last few years. With this information, the team hopes to lead each school in an in-depth review of the academic programs, the course sequencing, and the general goals of each program.
Associate Dean Duane Buhrmester leads the Undergraduate Education team in its efforts to ascertain the University’s compliance with the SACS goals associated with undergraduate education. This compliance requires an examination of the general education component as a part of the undergraduate program but also focuses on the role of on- and off-campus programming as a contributor to student success. This team also focuses on the evaluation of transfer course work and the academic policies that contribute to “good educational practice.” The team, along with the Graduate Education team, also examines the role of academic support services in student success and the degree to which the University secures students’ confidential and private information.
Associate Library Director Ellen Safley leads the Learning Resources team in its efforts to determine the adequacy of UTD’s support systems for student achievement. Simply, this team must examine McDermott Libraries and the libraries' holdings, budget, staff, and program mission and goals to determine whether or not the libraries meets the needs of the UTD student population and faculty. Beyond the library services, however, this team also reviews the entire Information Resources program, including the computer labs, the wireless network, email systems, and even the UTD web to identify the degree to which UTD IR service not only meets the needs of students but also provides adequate safeguards against internet-driven viruses and scams.
Link to Committee for Library and Other Learning Resources page
Dean Dennis Kratz spearheads the team effort to review not only UTD’s compliance with the SACS Principles but also the UT System’s and Coordinating Board’s compliance. Both the System and the Board play an integral role in UTD’s operation, and to the extent they provide the framework for UTD’s performance, their performance is also a factor. Additionally, this team reviews UTD’s mission statement, how that mission statement translates into action, and the role of the faculty and the administrative staff in leading the institution. Academic governance (the role the faculty plays in determining the direction of the University) is a critical element in UTD’s reaffirmation. That UTD has an active Academic Senate and an active Staff Council suggests that the policies and procedures do have a rigorous review process, and such a review process is an important element in a successful university. That the Student Government has also taken an active role in recent discussions about tuition policy and seats official representatives on virtually every major university committee also suggests that the role of students in the University’s governance is not only important but also vital.
Link to The Committee for Mission, Governance, and Administration page
The Committee for Operational Assessment mirrors, to some degree, the work of the Academic Assessment team. The difference, however, is that this team focuses on non-academic units; this team focuses on departments and programs not directly associated with the offering of degree credit. For example, this team reviews the effectiveness of operations within such areas as Learning Resources, Purchasing, International Student Services, the Women’s Center, the Career Center, the Bursar’s Office, Intercollegiate and Intramural Athletics, and Payroll and Tax Compliance.
Dean of Students and Assistant Vice President Donna Rogers leads this team in its review of some overlapping areas from other areas and in its review of areas specifically focused on Student Services. The team focuses on student rights and responsibilities, the integrity and confidentiality of student records, and the effectiveness and quality of student affairs programming. This team also reviews the credentials of staff dedicated to the Student Affairs and Student Life programs to ensure that only qualified personnel are engaged with student programming.
Link to The Committee for Student Affairs and Student Services page
