September 2, 2015 | SharkAdmin The countdown has begun. We have a little less than a month to plan for the on site review team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges or also known as SACS-COC. This is the time to “put our best foot forward.” NVC is accredited by SACS-COC, which is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices among the diverse institutions in the region that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s or doctoral degrees. Without such regional accreditation, our students would not have access to federal financial aid/grants. Maintaining regional accreditation also affords the transfer of credits between NVC and other accredited colleges/universities. On Tuesday, Oct. 6 through Thursday, Oct. 8, a group of peer consultant evaluators will be on campus to assess NVC in relation to the SACS-COC accreditation standards, which serves as the culmination of the 10-year accreditation process. In addition, the team will review our Quality Enhancement Plan, which is a five-year action plan developed by the college that relates to the mission of the college and is designed to improve student learning. The QEP, “InFuse,” was developed following the assessment of NVC faculty, staff, students and area partner survey results designed to identify educational outcomes critical to student success. Information literacy was identified as one of the more important student success factors. It’s important that we help our students learn how to critically find, use, synthesize and evaluate information. To learn more about InFuse go here. While not everyone has been directly involved in writing of the reaffirmation compliance report, focus report or the QEP, we all should understand the importance of the visit and be prepared and ready to respond to questions from the team. As positive ambassadors of the college, proudly wear your nametags and badges so our visitors can easily identify who you are and ask you questions. As I noted in the State of the College address during Convocation, we have a new 2015-18 Strategic Plan. Additionally our mission statement has been expanded to: “Northwest Vista College creates opportunities for success by offering quality academic, technical and life-long learning experiences to its diverse communities in a collaborative, student-centered, data-informed and shared leadership environment.” It’s not every day that we have the opportunity to visit with a SACS-COC peer review team, so this is our moment to shine and tell our NVC story.
