Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Printer-friendly version

Charge to the Steering Committee for the 2010 WASC Handbook Review

July 2010

Charge:

1. Review and approve the overarching plan, goals and outcomes, timeline, and milestones for the Handbook revision process, to ensure the process addresses federal regulatory requirements.

2. Frame the values and vision for the Handbook revision process and review the vision and values statement being developed for the revised Handbook.

3. Ensure that the Handbook revision incorporates the findings and recommendations from the External Review Process conducted in 2006-2007.

4. Set the context for a constructive dialogue in the Region, including

a. Identifying key changes in the regulatory and accountability environment and changes within higher education to establish a framework for how WASC should position itself to address these changes from 2012-20.

b. Identify key topics for deeper dialogues organized through corresponding Task Forces, and approve the Charge to each of the Task Forces.

5. Review and coordinate the recommendations arising from regional dialogues, survey results, and Task Forces, toward a set of changes to the Standards/Visit Process.

6. Interact with the Commission periodically on findings and emerging recommendations and receive corresponding feedback. Once the drafts to the changes to the Handbook are agreed upon by the Commission, review feedback from the Region, review revisions in all areas of the issues addressed in the process.

Composition of the Steering Committee:

1. Include members of the Commission as well as non-Commission members, who have first-hand experience with the WASC visit process and would bring an institutional perspective; also include diversity with respect to institutional type, position within institution, geographic location (such as Hawaii, Guam), gender, and race and ethnicity.

2. The Chair of the Steering Committee is the Chair of the Policy and Planning Committee of the Commission; the Vice Chair would be a representative drawn from the non-Commission members.

3. Meet physically three times during the revision process and other meetings will be conducted virtually. Expectation that 10-12 members will attend each meeting.