Overview of SVSU's Self-Study Process

I.1 Overview of SVSU's Self-Study Process

This Saginaw Valley State University self-study report has been produced by a Steering Committee, appointed by the President of the university, in collaboration with an Editorial Board. The report, organized around the goals defined in the University Five-Year Strategic Plan Next Steps 2000-2005, demonstrates that Saginaw Valley State University meets all General Institutional Requirements (GIRs) and Criteria for Accreditation defined by the Higher Learning Commission/NCA.

Over the past 18 months, well over 100 people across campus have directly contributed to the self-study process through participation in committees, subcommittees, workshops, and focus groups; this number increases considerably when all those who participated in surveys and interviews are also included.

The following chart identifies the members and their roles within the three groups who carried out the major self-study tasks—the Self-Study Steering Committee, the Self-Study Editorial Board, and the Operational Committees:

Self-Study Steering Committee

Robert S. P. Yien (Chair)
Vice President, Academic Affairs

Mary Hedberg (Coordinator)
Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs

Diane Boehm
Director, Instructional Support Programs

Merry Jo Brandimore
Assistant Vice President/Director, Residential Life

Clifford Dorne
Assistant Dean, Arts and Behavioral Sciences

George Eastland
Professor, Chemistry

Eric Gardner
Associate Professor, English

Gene Hamilton
Special Assistant to the President, Government Relations

Robert Maurovich
Vice President, Student Services & Enrollment Management

James Muladore
Vice President, Administration & Business Affairs

David Pape
Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Mamie Thorns
Special Assistant to the President for Diversity Programs

Self-Study Editorial Board

Mary Hedberg (Coordinator)
Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs

Diane Boehm (Editor)
Director, Instructional Support Programs

Eric Gardner (Editor)
Associate Professor, English

Sandra Nagel
Assistant Professor, Psychology

Mamie Thorns
Special Assistant to the President, Diversity Programs

Jack Wood
Head, Library Circulation, Media, and Archives

Operational Committee Chairs

Clifford Dorne
Mission, Planning, and Governance

George Eastland
Campus Culture

Mary Hedberg
Academic Programs

James Muladore
Resources

Steering Committee: The Self-Study Steering Committee was chaired by the Vice-President for Academic Affairs, who appointed the Assistant Vice-President for Academic Affairs as the Self-Study Coordinator. Steering Committee membership included three of the four Vice-Presidents, faculty, and staff. The Self-Study Coordinator appointed four Steering Committee members as Operational Committee chairs.

The Steering Committee served as the oversight and coordinating body, evaluating data and report drafts as they became available, with special responsibility for addressing the cited issues of concern in the 1994 Visiting Team’s Report. The Steering Committee charged and supervised the work of an Editorial Board and the Operational Committees described below, and approved all drafts and documents. The chair of the Steering Committee was also responsible for communication with both the HLC/NCA and the university community.

Editorial Board: The Editorial Board, chaired by the Self-Study Coordinator, was responsible for the coordination and production of the University Self-Study Report, based on information and analysis provided by the four Operational Committees.

To undertake the self-study, the Editorial Board developed a sequential process. It correlated the goals and objectives of Next Steps 2000-2005 with the GIRs and Criteria of the Higher Learning Commission. It then conducted a number of workshops for Operational Committee and subcommittee chairs, as well as multiple forums about the self-study process for faculty, staff, Board of Control members, students, and community members. The forums not only informed people about the accreditation process, but also recruited people to become involved in the process in order to make it as inclusive as possible. The next step was the formation of the four Operational Committees to study defined aspects of the university (see below).

Following this work, the Editorial Board organized, identified, and categorized the information, resources, evidence, and documentation provided by the four Operational Committees, and drafted and produced the self-study report under the advisement of the Steering Committee. The Editorial Board also developed and maintained a resource room and an electronic portfolio to disseminate the final report. In addition, the Editorial Board regularly published a newsletter, The Self-Study Update, to keep the university community informed about the self-study process and its progress.

Operational Committees and Subcommittees: The four Operational Committees appointed to carry out the work of the self-study used the relevant General Institution Requirements (GIRs) and Criteria for Accreditation; the Operational Committees were organized according to goals outlined in Next Steps 2000-2005:

University Mission, Planning, and Governance
Academic Programs
Resources
Campus Culture

The four Operational Committees were charged as follows:

To provide the context/description for their assigned area of university organization/culture
To gather and interpret data, providing patterns of evidence to demonstrate progress toward the established goals and criteria
To provide an evaluative summary of strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement in the area being studied, based on the evidence gathered.

Each of the four Operational Committee chairs, who served as members of the Steering Committee and as ex officio members of the Editorial Board, organized subcommittees; the subcommittee chairs comprised the membership of the four Operational Committees.