Many activities in life warrant the phrase – it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. And I think this saying definitely applies to the accreditation process. We work with campuses that approach their accreditation from both perspectives – some beginning years in advance and others giving themselves no more than a few months. For some who are just beginning the work and have reports due in March of 2012, I hope you have your supply of Power Bars ready!

Here are a couple of ideas from campuses that start their accreditation endurance training years in advance:

Do an assessment audit across the campus. What data exists already versus what data still needs to be collected? It is pretty apparent from the accrediting standards that your campus will need lots of data about program level learning outcomes, but what about other data sources that could be helpful? While many of you are probably aware of your campus participating in NSSE, have you seen the helpful list that maps each NSSE question to accreditation standards? For your assessment audit, you can ask that each department organize their data in the Compliance Assist Gallery. Speak with your Campus Support professional about setting up access to the Gallery for others on your campus and for more information about how to link Gallery sources to specific accreditation standards.

Educate the campus community on the accreditation process. Is there a shared sense of what the process is all about and when things are happening? Calm some of the potential fears caused by even the word “accreditation” by looking at other campus’ self-studies. Many Compliance Assist member campuses have chosen to make their sites public. For those who have never run the accreditation marathon, have them check out these sites to get a sense of what is required and how to eventually represent all the great information about your campus:

• Morehead State University – http://sacs.moreheadstate.edu
• Henderson Community College – https://henderson.compliance-assist.com/Accreditation/index.aspx
• Northeast Mississippi Community College – https://sacs.nemcc.edu/index.aspx

Two of our Campus Labs colleagues completed marathons this fall and inspired me to NOT run a marathon, but instead to write a blog about it. Kristen Rohde, who many of you work with as your primary support contact for Compliance Assist, completed the Chicago Marathon. Sean Casey, our VP of Strategic Development, completed the Philadelphia Marathon.

Kristen Rohde, Senior Coordinator of Campus Support (pictured above)

Stop by our booth at the Annual SACS conference (booth #308) in Orlando on Dec 4-5, to congratulate Kristen and Sean and to get more tips and best practices.