November/December 2005 Update

Self-study work towards reaccreditation continued as committees turned in their first drafts in mid-November and received comments from the self-study coordinator to assist them with revisions and continued development of their respective sections. Progress has been dramatic as committee members put their findings on paper and begin to identify areas of strength and areas needing improvement. It is exciting to see the document starting to take form. All self-study surveys are now complete and committees are using the results to confirm their findings and/or to identify new areas to investigate as part of their evaluation process. Thanks to all faculty, staff and students who completed the surveys. Although our response rates were not as high as we had hoped, we believe that the results provide valuable information. Committees will continue to write and refine their respective sections in preparation for a 2 nd draft which is now due on February 1 (previously the draft was due January 15 th ). In December, the Self-Study Steering Committee approved a revised self-study timeline, at the request of the self-study coordinator, to allow for more time for the committees to develop their 2 nd draft, and to allow for a final drafting process within committees following feedback to draft #2. All committees will again meet in Red Wing on January 9 th for another half-day meeting to assist them in their work. The revised timeline has drafts of each section being made available for input from the university community in early March, and again in May as the individual sections are merged into a single document. The deadline for the final document is the first week of June. A special thanks to the more than 75 employees who are working diligently on this important university-wide initiative.