Campus Review

The conclusion of the ten-year Open Pathways review process is a site visit involving a review of all of the documentation prepared by the campus and meetings with stakeholders on October 15-16, 2018.  The review team includes five members:

• Dr. Kristen Warmoth (Chair), Professor of Communication Arts, Minot State University
• Dr. Susan B. Twombly, Department Chair, University of Kansas
• Dr. David M. Pecha, Vice President for Administration, Northwestern Oklahoma State University
• Dr. Gregor Andreas Thuswaldner, Dean of Arts and Sciences, North Park University
• Dr. Deirdre B. Heistad, Undergraduate Studies, Director, University of Northern Iowa

The team will hold sessions focusing on each of the criteria, the federal compliance report, and key issues that they wish to explore in more detail.  It is critically important that students, staff, and faculty from across campus participate in these sessions.  It is also important that they hear from a wide variety of people.  Attendance matters, and the team's ability to hear that what people say complements what is in the reports is an essential part of the on-site visit.  To help prepare for the conversations with the reviewers, below is a schedule and some resources.

Monday, October 15 (Tentative schedule)

• 7:30 - 7:50 a.m. Team Chair meets with Chancellor Dean Van Galen (Dr. Warmoth), UC 232 Wind River Room, by invitation
• 8:00 - 8:45 a.m. Team meets with Chancellor and Cabinet (entire HLC team), UC 232 Wind River Room, by invitation
• 9:00 - 9:30 a.m. Team meets with UWRF HLC Criteria Team (entire HLC team), UC 232 Wind River Room, by invitation
• 9:45 - 10:45 a.m. Team meets with UWRF Federal Compliance Team (Dr. Warmoth), UC 232 Wind River Room, by invitation

• 9:45 - 10:45 a.m.  Distance Education Discussion (Drs. Heistad and Twombly), UC Ballroom, Section A
• 9:45 - 11:45 a.m.  Facilities Discussion (Drs. Pecha and Thuswaldner), UC Ballroom, Section D
• 11:00 - Noon  Advising Discussion (Drs. Heistad and Twombly), UC Ballroom, Section A

• 12:15 - 1:15 p.m.  Lunch with members of the Board of Regents and the Chancellor's Advisory Council (entire HLC Team), UC 322 Chippewa River Room, by invitation

• 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.  Assessment Discussion (Drs. Heistad, Twombly, and Warmoth), UC Ballroom, Section A
• 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.  Fiscal Climate Discussion (Drs. Pecha and Thuswaldner), UC Ballroom, Section D
• 3:45 - 4:45 p.m.  Criteria 1 and 2 Discussion (Drs Pecha, Thuswaldner, and Warmoth), UC Ballroom, Section D
• 3:45 - 4:45 p.m.  Curriculum Committees/General Education Committee Discussion (Drs Heistad and Twombly), UC Ballroom, Section A
• 5:00 - 5:30 p.m.  Drop-in Session for any Faculty, Staff, or Students (Drs. Pecha and Thuswaldner), UC 325, Rush River Room
• 5:00 - 5:15 p.m.  Team Chair meets with Chancellor Dean Van Galen (Dr. Warmoth), UC 232 Wind River Room, by invitation

Tuesday, October 16

• 8:00 - 8:45 a.m.  Drop-in Session for any Faculty, Staff, or Students (Drs. Heistad and Twombly), UC 325, Rush River Room
• 8:00 a.m.  Campus Tour (Drs. Pecha and Thuswaldner), by invitation only
• 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.  Criteria 3 and 4 Discussion (Drs. Heistad, Twombly, and Warmoth), UC Ballroom, Section A
• 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.  Discussion with Students (Drs. Heistad and Twombly), UC Ballroom, Section A, Student only session
• 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.  Criterion 5 Discussion (Drs. Pecha, Thuswaldern, and Warmoth), UC Ballroom D
• 11:45 - Noon  Exit Meeting (entire HLC Team), UC 232, Wind River Room, by invitation

 

Potential Questions from the HLC Review Team

 

After the site visit

The team will share a draft of its report after the visit, tentatively at the end of October.  UWRF will have an opportunity to correct factual errors, and the final report will be submitted to the HLC by the team towards the end of November.  It will then be placed onto the HLC’s Institutional Actions Council (IAC) agenda for review.

There are essentially three possible results:

• The institution meets the criteria without concerns.
• The institution meets the criteria for accreditation with concerns.
• The institution does not meet the criteria for accreditation.

If UWRF is determined to meet all criteria without concerns, the institution can begin preparing for the next ten-year review cycle. 

If there are concerns in any areas, it is likely that some combination of interim reporting and follow-up work will be required.  If the team has significant concerns, follow-up reviews and visits could also be required by HLC.  In such cases, UWRF would retain its accreditation status. 

If the institution was determined to "not meet the criteria for accreditation," it would lose its Open Pathway status, be put onto a more stringent review cycle, and could be on probation.  That would involve significant work to reclaim accreditation status.  In a worst-case scenario, the institution would not receive any federal funding. 

HLC estimates that a majority of institutions fall into the second category, "meets with concerns," and are required to engage in some kind activity to improve their operations.  This is the category that is most likely for UWRF as well.