Faculty, staff and students appointed to self-study accreditation team
(ATHENS,
Ohio —Feb. 14, 2014) The Heritage College’s Office of Institutional
Assessment and Planning has formed a
self-study team to assess how the college is
meeting each of the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA)
standards in preparation for COCA’s next full-accreditation site visit to
the college later this year.
The
self-study team is made up of faculty, staff and students who were appointed
by Heritage College Executive Dean Kenneth Johnson, D.O., in October 2013
based on their individual content expertise within each COCA standard area.
The team is led by Nicole Wadsworth, D.O., associate dean of academic
affairs and assistant professor of emergency medicine.
“Each
member of the team contributes their own individual strengths,” Dr.
Wadsworth said. “We are working as a team, not only to address the standards
for this cycle of accreditation, but also to assess our processes with a
long-term eye so that we can be continuously engaged in exceeding the
standards.”
The team
includes standard leaders, who are assigned one of the eight COCA standards
required for continued accreditation based on their area of expertise. These
leaders collaborate with work groups developed to critically assess how the
college is meeting the standard, assessing both strengths and weaknesses.
Alexander
Murphy, medical education program evaluator in the Office of Institutional
Assessment and Planning and one of the standard leaders, said, “I selected
work group members that I knew would contribute valuable expertise and
insight to our standard. These individuals contribute to the assessment of
the standard and help to finalize a document for review.”
The
Heritage College is accredited through fall 2014. COCA will conduct a
comprehensive, full-accreditation site visit during the week of Nov. 10,
visiting both the Athens and Dublin campuses. In preparation for this
on-site visit, the college will submit the final self-study report to the
COCA in September.
Continuing accreditation is granted to colleges that meet or exceed the
accreditation standards for educational quality. Accreditation status is
reviewed every seven years following a cycle of self-study and a
comprehensive on-site evaluation.
During the last full site visit in
2007, the Heritage College met all of the accreditation standards and
received four commendations for achievements in research productivity, the
Office of Student Affairs’ financial literacy programs for students, the
recruitment of a diverse student body, and the development and commitment of
the college’s executive committee.
Theresa Lester, accreditation and
program analyst with the the Office of Institutional Assessment and
Planning, said, “As a college, we need to be actively engaged in a
continuous improvement process that provides evidence for how we meet the
COCA standards. Being open to new ideas, policies and processes that can
improve the way we operate is an important part of this self-assessment.”
The Office of Institutional Assessment
and Planning was established in 2009, after the self-study process that
preceded the 2007 accreditation visit identified the need for increased
college-wide assessment. Since that time, the office has been responsible
for organizing and evaluating institutional data for program and planning
analyses and to produce recommendations that further the Heritage College’s
mission. The Office of Institutional Assessment and Planning manages the
college’s accreditation process.
Wayne Carlsen, D.O., senior associate
dean and associate professor of geriatric medicine/gerontology, serves as
the administrative reviewer for the self-study team, along with Dr.
Wadsworth and
Lester.
Kapil Bajaj, medical informatics analyst, offers document sharing and IT
support for the team and work groups.
The self-study team relies heavily on
administrative support staff for editorial and meeting support, research and
other communication efforts.
Each of the eight standards has one to
three individuals leading the assessment:
·
Standard 1,
Mission, Goals and Objectives: Jill Breeze, coordinator of
medical informatics operations and OHF
Vision 2020.
·
Standard 2,
Governance, Administration and Finance: Shelley Ruff,
chief financial officer.
·
Standard 3,
Facilities, Equipment and Resources: Beth Maxon,
chief administrative officer.
·
Standard 4,
Faculty: Angela Spangler, director of human
resources,
and Dr. Wadsworth.
·
Standard 5,
Students: John Schriner, Ph.D.,
assistant dean of
admissions;
Pat Burnett,
Ph.D.,
assistant dean of student
affairs; and Nate
Overmire, CPCII Curriculum Advisory Committee representative and Albert
Schweitzer Fellow.
·
Standard 6,
Curriculum: Angie Mowrer, director of preclinical education; Virginia
Regula, primary care family medicine associate; and Dr. Wadsworth.
·
Standard 7,
Research: Jack Blazyk, Ph.D., associate dean of research.
·
Standard 8,
Graduate Medical Education: Murphy and Robert Cain, D.O., associate
dean for graduate medical education.
For more information,
visit the accreditation Web page at
http://www.oucom.ohiou.edu/accreditation/.
In April, members of the self-study
team will present a session titled “Planning for your Site Visit: Compliance
with Assessment Standards” at the Committee on College Accreditation
Training Workshop in Washington, D.C., at COCA’s request as an example of
best practices in assessment.
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