Council for 2016 Annual Conference (January 25-27) The Future Is Now: Where Is? Capital Hilton Hotel 1001 16th Street NW Washington, DC Final Program
THE FUTURE IS NOW: WHERE IS ACCREDITATION? (All plenary sessions to be held in the Presidential Ballroom) Monday, January 25 5:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. OPENING RECEPTION (South American Room) Tuesday, January 26 7:30 a.m. REGISTRATION AND CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST (Foyer 1) 8:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. PLENARY I: OPENING SESSION Welcome and Introduction Judith Eaton, President, Council for () James Gaudino, President, Central Washington University and Chair, Board of Directors The 2016 Elections and Their Impact Speaker: David Gregory, Journalist and Former Moderator, Meet the Press The upcoming 2016 elections in the United States mean that a new President will be chosen and a number of new Senators and Representatives will be elected. Presidential candidates have addressed higher education and even called for changes to accreditation. What will be the impact of the changes the elections will bring? Will a new administration mean major changes for cabinet departments such as the U.S. Department of Education? Might there be a change of majority in the Senate or House, meaning new education committee leadership? 9:15 a.m. 10:15 a.m. PLENARY SESSION II New Ideas for : Differentiated Review, Multiple Paths to Student Aid, Multiple Gatekeepers Nancy Marlin (Moderator), Provost Emerita, San Diego State University; David Bergeron, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Kevin James, Research Fellow, Center on Reform, American Enterprise Institute; Bethany Little, Principal, EducationCounsel LLC; Terri Taylor, Policy and Legal Advisor, EducationCounsel LLC Ideas for changing traditional accreditation have become a cottage industry. What are the major alternatives that have been proposed? Who is offering them and what are the alternatives expected to accomplish? 10:15 a.m. 10:30 a.m. BREAK
2016 Annual Conference Washington, DC January 25 January 27, 2016 10:30 a.m. 11:45 a.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS 1. The EQUIP Federal Experimental Site and Its Potential Impact on (This session to be repeated in the afternoon) (South American Room) Richard Pattenaude (Moderator), President, Ashford University; Joe D. May, Chancellor, Dallas County Community College District; Burck Smith, Chief Executive Officer, StraighterLine; David Soo, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education EQUIP, the Educational Quality through Innovative Partnerships initiative from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), has the potential to significantly alter the accreditation landscape. The experiment focuses on the quality of emerging innovative providers outside the scope of traditional accreditation. It calls for establishing new forms of external quality review that potentially could serve as additional reliable authorities on quality, alongside accreditation as we know it. How will this experiment be conducted? Who will be engaged? What is its likely result? 2. The (CIQG) International Quality Principles: How Are They Influencing the International Dialogue About Academic Quality? (Senate Room) Stamenka Uvalić-Trumbić (Moderator), /CIQG Senior Advisor on International Affairs and former Chief, Section, UNESCO; Nadia Badrawi, Professor/Vice President, Arab Network for Quality Assurance in ; Concepcion Pijano, Executive Director, Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities; The International Quality Principles were published in Spring 2015 and provide a framework or foundation for inquiry into the quality of colleges, universities and programs. Available to the academic and quality assurance/accreditation communities worldwide, the principles reflect areas of common interest, aspiration and concern when addressing quality assurance and quality improvement. What has been the experience with the Quality Principles to date and what is their likely future? 3. Outcomes - Getting to the Core of Programmatic Education and (Federal Room) Joseph Vibert (Moderator), Executive Director, Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors; Crystal Calarusse, Chief Officer, Commission on Peer Review and, Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (Federal Room) Much of the discussion about accreditation today involves how accreditors are addressing or not addressing outcomes. The Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors shares the results of a survey of programmatic accreditors to gain a better perspective on the practices employed in the assessment of student learning, program outcomes and establishment of benchmarks.
THE FUTURE IS NOW: WHERE IS ACCREDITATION? (All plenary sessions to be held in the Presidential Ballroom) Noon 1:45 p.m. PLENARY III: LUNCHEON SESSION Presidents and Chancellors: Perceptions and the Future of Judith Eaton (Moderator), President; John Bassett, President, Heritage University; James L. Gaudino, President, Central Washington University and Chair, Board of Directors; Dorothy Leland, Chancellor, University of California, Merced Even as chief executive officers address the complex and many challenges facing their colleges and universities, accreditation and maintaining accredited status remain central to the future of their institutions. As accreditation is evolving amidst calls for change to match the changes in the higher education landscape, what is important to chief executive officers? What would they like to see from accreditation? Should accreditation mainly stay the same? Should accreditation change and, if so, how? 2016 Award Presentation /CIQG Quality Platform Certificate Presentation 2:00 p.m. 3:15 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS 4. Do Graduation and Completion Matter: How Does Address Substandard Institutions and Programs? (Federal Room) Judy Miner (Moderator), Chancellor, Foothill-De Anza Community College District; Barry Currier, Managing Director, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, American Bar Association; Leah Matthews, Executive Director, Distance Education Accrediting Commission; Mary Ellen Petrisko, President, WASC Senior College and University Commission One of the most challenging issues for accreditation is dealing with substandard institutions whether bad actors or mediocre schools. at present is structured around the primary value of careful work with problematic institutions to improve, not to remove, them from accredited status. It does not nor could it, based on current law and regulation, precipitously remove accredited status. Yet, there are instances where such action may be warranted. For example, the new federal Experimental Sites Program (EQUIP) calls for the proposed new quality assurance entities to have a type of early warning process. What is the current thinking of accreditors on this issue? Have accreditors made any changes? Will they be making any changes? Council for
2016 Annual Conference Washington, DC January 25 January 27, 2016 5. The EQUIP Federal Experimental Site and Its Potential Impact on (Repeat Session) (South American Room) Richard Pattenaude (Moderator), President, Ashford University; Joe D. May, Chancellor, Dallas County Community College District; Burck Smith, Chief Executive Officer, StraighterLine; David Soo, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education EQUIP, the Educational Quality through Innovative Partnerships initiative from USDE, has the potential to significantly alter the accreditation landscape. The experiment focuses on the quality of emerging innovative providers outside the scope of traditional accreditation. It calls for establishing new forms of external quality review that potentially could serve as additional reliable authorities of quality, alongside accreditation as we know it. How will this experiment be conducted? Who will be engaged? What is its likely result? 6. Technology and : The Continuing Imperative of Change and Innovation (Senate Room) Carol Bobby (Moderator), President and CEO, Council for of Counseling and Related Educational Programs; Sir John Daniel, Research Associate, Contact North Contact Nord The moderator will introduce three topics for discussion: The 2015 Babson report Tracking Online Education in the United States reports that 70 percent of university leaders think that online learning is a critical element of their institutions future strategy, but academic officers say that only 28 percent of their faculty think that online learning has value and legitimacy. What are the implications of this dichotomy? Open Educational Resources already enable faculty to enrich their courses with external material. Now proprietary providers are offering ready-made online courses for institutions to integrate into their programs. What are the implications for quality assurance and faculty roles? Are technologically driven changes and innovations, as well as developments in quality assurance practice, all converging towards a greater focus on learning outcomes?... evening on your own... Council for
THE FUTURE IS NOW: WHERE IS ACCREDITATION? (All plenary sessions to be held in the Presidential Ballroom) Wednesday, January 27 8:00 a.m. CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST (Foyer 1) 8:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. PLENARY SESSION IV The U.S. Department of Education: Outcomes, Accountability and Craig Swenson (Moderator), Member, Board of Directors; Roger Nozaki, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education; Susan Phillips, Chair, National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), formerly Provost and Vice President for Strategic Partnerships, University at Albany, SUNY and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate; Jamienne Studley, Former Deputy Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education and Former Chair, NACIQI USDE is now central to the national discussion of change in accreditation. This includes the experimental sites addressing competency-based education and, as discussed elsewhere at this conference, an experimental site exploring innovative providers and quality assurance entities, the 2015 recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and NACIQI s current focus on outcomes and accountability. Where will the discussion take us? What does it suggest about the future of accreditation? 9:45 a.m. 10:45 a.m. PLENARY SESSION V A New Kind of : Minerva Bob Kerrey (Moderator), Managing Director, Allen and Company; Stephen Kosslyn, Founding Dean, Minerva Schools at KGI The Minerva Schools, in alliance with the Keck Graduate Institute, were established in 2012 to provide liberal arts and sciences education and offer four-year undergraduate degrees in five accredited majors. Minerva offers a newly invented curriculum, cultural immersion and small interactive online seminars. What is different about Minerva s approach to higher education? 10:45 a.m. 11:00 a.m. BREAK Council for
2016 Annual Conference Washington, DC January 25 January 27, 2016 11:00 a.m. 12:15 p.m. CONCURRENT SESSIONS 7. Competency-Based Education and (South American Room) Paul Shiffman (Moderator), Chief Executive Officer, The Presidents Forum, Excelsior College; Sally Johnstone, Vice President, Academic Advancement, Western Governors University; Paul LeBlanc, President, Southern New Hampshire University; Patricia O Brien, Senior Vice President, New England Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education Competency-based education now involves hundreds of institutions and has involved accreditation for some time. With the recent federal interest in exploring eligibility for student aid for competency-based offerings, accreditation s engagement with these offerings has taken on additional dimensions. How would we describe the ongoing accreditation role in competency-based education and its emerging role as such offerings become eligible for federal funds? 8. Protecting Students and the Role of (Federal Room) Michale McComis (Moderator), Executive Director/CEO, Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges; Elizabeth Sibolski, President, Middle States Commission on Higher Education; Peter Vlasses, Executive Director, Council for Pharmacy Education One theme in the current national dialogue about accreditation is that it needs to do more with regard to protecting students. This is a task that accreditation has done and done well for some time. Yet, the current conversation often turns on a call for accreditation to do more. What has accreditation done and what might it do in the future? 9. Who Are the Innovative Providers and What Do They Do? (Senate Room) Michael Goldstein (Moderator), Co-Chair, Education Practice, Cooley LLP; Rick O Donnell, Founder and CEO, Skills Fund; Michelle Weise, Executive Director, Innovation Lab, Southern New Hampshire University Much of the conversation about change in higher education focuses on innovative providers typically, non-institutional, non-degree-granting operations that are often online courses or bundles of courses leading to some type of certificate. Who are these providers? To what extent are they attracting students? What makes these providers innovative? Council for
THE FUTURE IS NOW: WHERE IS ACCREDITATION? (All plenary sessions to be held in the Presidential Ballroom) 12:15 p.m. 1:45 p.m. PLENARY VI: CLOSING SESSION AND LUNCHEON How the Press Is Covering Paul Fain (Moderator), News Editor, Inside Higher Ed; Douglas Belkin, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal; Goldie Blumenstyk, Senior Writer, The Chronicle of Higher Education; Emily DeRuy, Education Reporter, National Journal/Next America During the past year, accreditation has received a great deal of attention from the press, both nationally and internationally. And, much of this attention has been either critical or calling for change or both. What is important to the press when examining accreditation? How will the press likely address accreditation in the future? Conference Adjourns Information about the Council for and the can be found at www.chea.org and www.cheainternational.org Council for One Dupont Circle, Suite 510 Washington, DC 20036 (tel) 202.955.6126 (fax) 202.955.6129 email: chea@chea.org www.chea.org