News from the Chair's Desk
March 2006
The Evaluation Team Visit is now just around the corner--Sunday, March 26th to Wednesday, March 29th, and we are busily preparing to welcome the team to our campus. I'll post the schedule for the visit as soon as it is finalized.
I've spent much of the last month preparing and organizing the exhibits and other documents that demonstrate our compliance with the Middle States Standards of Excellence. We are looking forward to a productive and successful visit!
January 2006
New Year's Greetings! The fall semester was a busy one, and the major focus of the Steering Committee's work was making sure that our self-study report addresses all of the Fundamental Elements set forth by the Middle States Association. During the last month, the Steering Committee made a final set of revisions, and now I'm busy preparing a CD and online version of the report. These versions will feature an electronic set of exhibits that will be internally linked to the report, so readers will have virtually all supporting documentation at their finger tips. Those exhibits that are too large to be captured electronically will be available in the visiting team's work rooms. The report will available for your review in early February.
As the March Team Visit grows closer, we are also busy making preparations for the 3-day visit. We wish to impress the team with our many strengths and accomplishments, and to provide a welcoming atmosphere for them.
September 2005
After a long summer of writing, reviewing, and revising, our Self-Study report is going through a final round of review by the Faculty Senate leadership, the Executive Council, and the Board of Trustees. In early October it will be distributed around campus, and there will be a second set of Open Forums:
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Tuesday, Oct. 18th, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in A-113
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Thursday, Oct. 20th, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in A-113
The first session will focus on Chapters 1 to 7, and the second on Chapters 8 through 14. On behalf of the Steering Committee, I wish to encourage your active participation in these final phases of the Self-Study process. It is we--the campus community--that help make the Self-Study into a "living" document.
P.D.
June 2005
While drafting and review of the narrative chapters continues, I have a couple of news items to report:
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In the interest of maximizing participation, the Steering Committee has decided to hold the next Open Forum (on the narrative report) in early September, rather than early August.
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Dr. James Linksz, President of Bucks County Community College, has been named as the Middle States Evaluation Team Chair.
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Dr. Linksz will make a preliminary visit to our campus on October 24th and 25th, 2005.
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The Evaluation Team Site Visit will be March 26th through 29th, 2006.
I'll post details on the Open Forum as soon as they are available. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the summer.
P.D.
May 2005
I wish to thank all those who participated in the Open Forums, and who went on during the last month to carefully read and submit written comments. Our report will certainly be all the stronger as a result.
For most of this month, and much of next month, I'll be busy converting the report outlines into narrative chapters. I haven't done this much writing since I was a boy in graduate school! The Steering Committee is planning another round of Open Forums once all 14 chapters have been drafted, and these will likely take place in early August. We look forward to your further input at that time.
Stay tuned for details, and best wishes for an enjoyable summer!
P.D.
March 2005
With the Middle States Open Forums just under two weeks away (they will take place March 15th through 17th—see the main page for Forum schedules), our Study Group Chairs are giving a sigh of relief that their draft reports are finally done. The Steering Committee has recently completed its reviews of the 13 study group reports, and, in the process, created and reviewed a 14th report (on Standard 6: Integrity) that is basically a compilation of findings from the other 13 reports and our subsequent discussions of them. The review process was time-intensive (the committee spent roughly two hours per review for most of the standards), but we believe that the already strong reports have been strengthened through these careful reviews.
Needless to say, the success of our Self-Study will depend, in large part, on the continuing broad participation of the campus community. Approximately 140 people have contributed to the Study Group reports, and over the span of the three days of Open Forums, we would like to see hundreds participate. As I've said before, a campus-wide conversation is needed to get it right.
See you at the Open Forums, and thanks in advance for your good campus citizenship!
P.D.
January 2005
Happy New Year to all! We’re officially into the third major phase of the Self-Study, the phase in which Study Group reports are reviewed, revised, and then presented to the college community in a series of Open Forums for discussion and feedback. The Open Forums will be in the middle of March; stay tuned for dates and times.
The Steering Committee has begun to review the reports, which are overall very strong. Of course, we’ve found plenty to discuss and debate, but our main goal right now is to make sure that the reports are comprehensive, accurate, well-supported, and well-reasoned. Once reviewed, reports will go back to the relevant Study Group Chair for revisions, and in some cases this may involve reconvening the Study Group.
Thanks once again to all those who served on a Study Group. Our Self-Study is truly a collective effort.
P.D.
October 2004
If you're wondering what's happening with the Self-Study, you're in the right spot. I will give a kind of informal monthly update on this page from now through the end of the Self-Study process, which will be in the spring of 2006. Not quite frequent enough to be a Middle States blog (short for "web log"), but in the same spirit!
The news right now is that there is not much news: Study Groups are busy gathering information and preparing their reports, so much of the activity is behind the scenes. The Steering Committee is in the final stages of preparing an online survey for faculty, students, and staff/administration, and it should be distributed shortly. Also, a short progress report from each Study Group is due on November 1st, but the Study Group report itself is not due until December 1st.
Before I close, I would like to express a word of gratitude, on behalf of the College, to all of my colleagues on the Self-Study project, from Steering Committee members to Study Group volunteers. All of you were good enough to step up and volunteer your valuable time on a project that all of us at the College benefit from, and need: reaccreditation. Thank you for your generosity and dedication to BCC.
P.D.
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