Update on NWCCU mid-cycle review

UAA Community,

As many of you may know, UAA is in the mid-cycle evaluation period of its seven-year institutional accreditation cycle with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

UAA submitted its Mid-Cycle Self-Evaluation Report in August, and in October the university hosted a team of two peer evaluators for a virtual site visit. The evaluators assessed UAA’s progress in the areas of mission fulfillment, student achievement and assessment of student learning.

I am providing an update about the mid-cycle evaluation process and site visit.

Mid-Cycle Evaluation Process

Report: UAA’s report is posted on the Institutional Accreditation website. It was a collaborative effort, with the initial draft posted back in February 2021 and several rounds of feedback sought from across UAA’s campuses. The report outlines the alignment between UAA’s accreditation efforts and UAA 2025, UAA’s definition of mission fulfillment, our ongoing assessment and improvement processes, and several years of work by faculty, staff and students focused on student learning, student success and closing equity gaps.

Site visit: The evaluators held several meetings with individuals and groups, particularly those focused on evaluation, planning and resource allocation. Overall they met with approximately 80 individuals, including representatives from student, staff and faculty groups.

Peer evaluation report: The evaluators wrote a peer evaluation report based on the UAA Mid-Cycle Self-Evaluation Report and the site visit. Together, the report and site visit are “intended to ascertain an institution’s readiness to provide evidence (outcomes) of mission fulfillment and sustainability in the Year Seven.”

Board of Commissioners’ decision: While the final decision regarding UAA’s Mid-Cycle Evaluation will not be made until January, I can share that UAA received several compliments, as well as some areas to reflect on for improvement or clarification, which is exactly what an institution would hope to see in a mid-cycle evaluation. The evaluators were very impressed with UAA faculty, staff and students and noted that:

• UAA is an institution that knows its mission and is passionate about that mission;

• UAA is serious about putting students first;

• UAA students expressed care and concern for their faculty and staff.


Cabinet and other university leaders feel very positive about the visit. We are already moving forward on guidance from the evaluators and we look forward to sharing with you the peer evaluation report and letter when UAA receives the final decision from the Commission in January.

Thanks for all you do to make UAA an amazing place to learn, teach and work.

Sincerely,
Sean Parnell,
UAA Chancellor

November Archive