Category: preparation

Announcement of Higher Learning Commission Site Visit

Posted on by Alexis Nicolle Petri

November 21, 2019
Dear Colleagues,

The upcoming site visit with our peer review team from the Higher Learning Commission is drawing near. This visit, scheduled for December 2 and 3, will play a critical role in renewing our accreditation – an imperative for our mission of teaching, research and service.

In order to prepare for this important event, I am inviting our entire university community to review our final assurance argument.

I also want to urge as many members of our community as possible to participate in the open forums that will be part of the site visit. The schedule for the open forums is included below. If the HLC Peer Review Team Chair makes any changes to the schedule, the changes will be updated on the UMKC accreditation website.

Open Forum:  Criterion 1 & 2 (Mission & Integrity)
Monday, December 2
9:45-10:30 am, Student Union 401 AD

Open Forum:  Criterion 3 & 4 (Teaching & Learning)
Monday, December 2
2:15-3:00 pm, Student Union 401 AD

Open Forum:  Criterion 5 (Finances & Planning)
Tuesday, December 3
9:30-10:15 am, Student Union 401 AD

The HLC Site Team Chair has requested that a special invitation be sent informing you of two special times for “drop in” visits:

Monday, December 2
10:45 – 11:30 a.m.
Administrative Center – Swope Park Room

Tuesday, December 3
8:30 – 9:15 a.m.
Administrative Center – Swope Park Room

I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of this process. Accreditation holds our university to a high standard of quality. It provides confirmation that we are living up to our promise to offer students the best educational experience possible. As an accredited university, we are able to attract more research funding and recruit renowned faculty to teach and discover here at UMKC. Finally, our value to the community we serve is dependent upon our accreditation; it is how our constituents certify our position as a leader in learning. More information, including a summary of our assurance argument, study guide and a 5-episode podcast to prepare for the site visit, can be found at our accreditation page.

I want to offer my sincere gratitude to the dedicated faculty and staff who have been working toward this site visit for more than two years. Your work has been vitally important, and done with skill, care and commitment.

Respectfully,

Barbara A. Bichelmeyer, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Professor of Management

Episode Four: Alignment

Posted on by Alexis Nicolle Petri
logo for the podcast

Through a Common Lens: A Podcast to Prepare for Our Accreditation Site Visit has 5 episodes. One episode will be published each week with the goal of helping the campus community get to know UMKC through a common lens.Episode Four: Alignment

Episode four continues a conversation with UMKC’s Provost about accreditation, higher education, and our university.

The podcast is edited and hosted by Alexis Petri.

Music “Truth in the Stones” from Spirit by Kevin MacLeod. Released: 2017. (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

Thank you to Angela Elam and New Letters on the Air for recording the interviews.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Episode Three: Leveraging Accreditation

Posted on by Alexis Nicolle Petri
logo for the podcast

Through a Common Lens: A Podcast to Prepare for Our Accreditation Site Visit has 5 episodes. One episode will be published each week with the goal of helping the campus

community get to know UMKC through a common lens.

Episode Three: Leveraging Accreditation

Episode three features UMKC’s Provost talking about how to leverage accreditation for continuous improvement. In this episode, which is the first of two parts, Provost Bichelmeyer discusses what accreditation is and what faculty, staff, and administrators can get out of it.

The podcast is edited and hosted by Alexis Petri.

Music “Truth in the Stones” from Spirit by Kevin MacLeod. Released: 2017. (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

Thank you to Angela Elam and New Letters on the Air for recording the interviews.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Episode Two: We’ll Go to the Moon and Back

Posted on by Alexis Nicolle Petri
logo for the podcast

Through a Common Lens: A Podcast to Prepare for Our Accreditation Site Visit has 5 episodes. One episode will be published each week with the goal of helping the campus community get to know UMKC through a common lens.

Episode Two: We’ll Go to the Moon and Back

Episode two features UMKC’s Chancellor talking about what accreditation is and why it is important. In this episode Chancellor Agrawal shares three stories and his perspective on why universities matter and why we strive for excellence.

The podcast is edited and hosted by Alexis Petri. Music “Crinoline Dreams” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

Thank you to Angela Elam and New Letters on the Air for recording the interviews.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

HLC Featured in UNews Article

Posted on by Alexis Nicolle Petri

UNews reporter Caleb Wilson interviewed HLC cochair Ken Novak for an article published today in UNews: UMKC to undergo accreditation evaluation

screen shot of article on UNews website
Screen shot of article on UNews website

 

There is an accidental misquote.

“I think that UMKC is in very good shape when it comes to whether our accreditation is going to be renewed. We should be very confident and proud,” said Novak. “I do not see anything that might be considered fatal, where there’s going to have to be drastic steps. But at the same time, I do not believe there is room for compliance  complacency.”

Novak does not believe there is room for complacency. Which is why the HLC team is working to engage UMKC faculty, staff, and students this fall.

 

#takethesurvey

Posted on by Alexis Nicolle Petri

UMKC is preparing for the Higher Learning Commission’s comprehensive evaluation of our university and programs this fall, culminating with a site visit Dec. 2 and Dec. 3. A team of faculty, staff and administrators are working hard at assembling our assurance statement and evidence. Accreditation is an opportunity for the university to see how we measure up to quality standards.

In early October UMKC students will receive an email asking them to take a short student opinion survey (approximately five minutes). This opinion survey is one of two ways the Higher Learning Commission plans to hear from students about their experiences at UMKC. The other will be to talk with them during their visit. The survey link will be active Oct. 7 through Oct. 16.

Please encourage students you know to take the survey. If they have questions about it, please talk with them about our accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission.

Resources:

Mock Open Forums

Posted on by Alexis Nicolle Petri
Dear Colleagues,

Please join me and members of our UMKC campus community for our upcoming Mock Open Forums on Thursday, September 26 and Friday, September 27 as part of our Reaccreditation Process with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

UMKC needs your engagement in this process.

This fall, UMKC will be participating in HLC’s decennial review. This is part of our commitment to building and maintaining public trust and promoting best practices in higher education. The UMKC site visit with our external peer review team has been scheduled for Monday, December 2 and Tuesday, December 3. Please hold these important dates on your calendar.

Central to the December site visit and the HLC review processes are a series of open forums focused on HLC’s core criteria. The review will focus on student learning; education as a public purpose; promoting a culture of continuous improvement; encouraging transparency and ethical behavior and practice; and conducting planning and management of resources to ensure institutional sustainability and efficiency (among other things).

In order to prepare for our site visit, we will be conducting Mock Open Forums. We have invited two consultants to facilitate these sessions. They have provided the university with guidance and recommendations throughout our planning process, and we feel this will provide the university community with a good sense of what we can expect in December.

Each of us has a part to play in ensuring we are complying with the standards we have set in place. Your participation is critical to ensuring we are putting our best foot forward.

More information can be found at https://info.umkc.edu/accreditation/hlc/

Thank you for considering this request, and thanks again to the co-chairs, the steering committee members and university leaders who have been working so hard on this initiative. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ken Novak, UMKC HLC Accreditation co-chair, at novakk@umkc.edu.

Respectfully,

Barbara A. Bichelmeyer, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Professor of Management

Thursday, September 26

Criterion 1 – Mission
Criterion 2 – Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct
10-11 a.m. Mock Open Forum for Criterion 1 and Criterion 2
Bloch Executive Hall, Room 413

Criterion 3 – Teaching & Learning: Quality, Resources & Support
Criterion 4 – Teaching & Learning: Evaluation & Improvement
1-2:30 p.m. Mock Open Forum for Criterion 3 and Criterion 4
Bloch Executive Hall, Room 413

Friday, September 27

8-9 a.m. Mock Open Forum for Student Learning Outcome Assessment
Student Union, Room 401BC

Criterion 5 – Resources, Planning & Institutional Effectiveness
10-11 a.m. Mock Open Forum for Criterion 5
Student Union, Room 401BC