Catching Up with the Office of Assessment and Accreditation

To continuously improve the quality of education at the university, every 10 years NC State engages in a reaffirmation process to retain accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). This peer review process signifies our commitment to the highest standards of academic excellence, transparency and improvement. 

At NC State, the Office of Assessment and Accreditation (OAA), led by Vice Provost Fashaad Crawford, is responsible for leading institutional accreditation and assessment efforts. Crawford serves as the SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison Officer for the university.

What is Reaffirmation?

Colleges and universities accredited by SACSCOC must demonstrate compliance with standards within the Principles of Accreditation. This process is called reaffirmation, which includes a rigorous two-year process of self-evaluation, concluding with a peer review from senior-level faculty and administrators at other institutions accredited by SACSCOC. During the reaffirmation, all aspects of the university are reviewed to ensure quality assurance, including the strategic plan, academic and student support programs, faculty credentials and more. 

The OAA is working with key stakeholders and partners across campus to compile our compliance certification (self-study), due by August 2023. This certification will demonstrate NC State’s compliance with the core requirements and standards of accreditation. 

Additionally, NC State is required to submit a report detailing the implementation of our newly selected Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). The QEP is a universitywide initiative that spans about five years and aims to significantly enhance student learning or student success. In fall 2021, the campus community was invited to submit potential QEP topics via a call for proposals; seven topics were submitted. These seven topics were narrowed down to three that were invited to develop a full QEP proposal:

Quality Enhancement Plan Pre-Proposals selected for full proposal development:

• A HIP [High-Impact Practices] Hub at NC State

Pre-proposal focused on creating a HIP Hub which will leverage the existing infrastructure of NC State programs, creating an integrated culture of HIPs to ensure meaningful engagement in one or more HIP by every NC State undergraduate. The HIP Hub would ensure equitable access to HIPs, increase students’ opportunities to participate in a variety of HIPs as well as reflect on their significance to academic and career success. 

• Think and Do Good – Cultivating a Growth Mindset and Entrepreneurial Mindset at NC State

Pre-proposal centered on instilling a growth mindset into the culture at NC State that can, over time, positively influence students’ ability to: set and achieve goals, respond creatively to challenges and setbacks, retain what they learn by connecting it to their lived experience, and identify opportunities for value creation. 

• Transfer Student Success Center

Pre-proposal described a universitywide Transfer Center that would provide consistent advising and support to all undergraduate transfer students, from the time of their initial interest in transferring to NC State, through their matriculation and beyond. It would serve as a one-stop office for all inquiries from potential and current transfer students.

The final QEP will be selected in early spring 2023. For more information about the QEP please visit the website.

What’s Ahead?

The self-study document, off-campus instructional report and QEP report will be sent to SACSCOC and reviewed by a peer review committee. After the initial review, the committee’s findings will be sent to another external peer review team who will conduct a two to three day site visit to NC State in 2024. During the site visit, which will determine if the institution is in compliance, the review team will meet with various students, faculty, administrators and staff to evaluate the QEP and address any questions from the off-site review.

Assessment Reporting Cycle

Student learning and achievement are critical parts of SACSCOC compliance; the OAA is preparing for the 2023 assessment reporting cycle to ensure 100% compliance in the report. It is important that NC State’s reporting is as accurate as possible since 2023 is our final year of record for the SACSCOC report. NC State’s in-house Academic Program Assessment (APA) application will be used for the current (2022-2023) learning outcomes assessment reporting process. Anthology Planning and Outcomes software will replace APA for the annual learning outcomes assessment reporting process beginning in 2024. The process for the assessment of academic programs is as follows:

Program Assessment Reporting Process Deadlines:

• February 28, 2023: Designated faculty or staff author and submit assessment reports in APA.
• March 31, 2023: Department head reviews and returns for edits or approves assessment reports.
• April 14, 2023: Department head submits a summary report in APA.
• April 28, 2023: Dean’s designee reviews and returns for edits or approves assessment reports in APA, at which time assessment facilitators review and return to edits or approve assessment reports in APA.
• May 12, 2023: Dean’s designee submits a college-level summary in APA, at which time the Provost’s Office reviews and responds to the summary report.

Welcoming Ying Xiong to OAA

Earlier this month the OAA welcomed Ying Xiong as the assistant vice provost of assessment and accreditation. In her new role, she will work closely with university stakeholders to facilitate and support the planning and implementation of campuswide assessment and accreditation processes, including the academic and administrative outcomes assessment, SACSCOC institutional accreditation and external/specialty accreditation for programs. Recently, Xiong served as the associate dean of assessment at Duke Kunshan University, a joint venture between Duke University and Wuhan University.