March 19, 2007
After two years of meetings, emails, analysis,
report writing, and fact checking, The Chicago
School has concluded its comprehensive self-study
for reaccreditation by the Higher Learning Commission
(HLC). The final 147-page document was published this month and is available
online along with more than 300 pages of appendices
material. Read the Executive Summary.
The project is at the heart of the school’s preparation
for a comprehensive evaluation, April 16–18, 2007,
by a team from the Higher Learning Commission of the
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
“HLC Accreditation is our No. 1 institutional
priority for this year," said President Michael
Horowitz. "I am pleased to say that the self-study
helped us to examine our mission and identify opportunities
for improvement and growth. It also provides trustees,
faculty, and staff with rich information for future
decision making. I wish to thank the entire school
community and in particular the members of the
various self-study committees that galvanized our
process and produced such a useful report.”
The project was launched in spring 2005 when President
Horowitz appointed Vice President of Administration
Tamara Rozhon as self-study coordinator. Next,
a small four-member steering committee was selected
by the President’s Cabinet from nominations and
volunteers.
The broad goals established for the self-study
were to examine the school’s mission, identify
opportunities for institutional improvement, and
provide institutional leaders with information
for future decision making. In addition, the school
sought successful reaccreditation and a broadened
scope of accreditation.
Over the next two years the steering committee
and self-study coordinator meet biweekly to establish
and execute the self-study plan. Each steering
committee member was responsible for leading a
subcommittee of at least five members. Subcommittees
were chosen from volunteers and nominations to
ensure broad departmental representation.
All self-study participants were charged with
the goal of collecting and analyzing evidence to
make a case that The Chicago School is meeting
the five HLC Criteria for Accreditation, as stated
in the HLC Handbook of Accreditation (2003):
- Mission and Integrity – “The
organization operates with integrity to ensure
that fulfillment of its mission through structures
and processes that involve the board, administration,
staff, and students.”
- Preparing for the Future –
“The organization’s allocation of resources and
its processes for evaluation and planning demonstrate
its capacity to fulfill its mission, improve
the quality of its education, and respond to
future challenges and opportunities.”
- Student Learning and Effective Teaching –
“The organization provides evidence of student
learning and teaching effectiveness that demonstrates
it is fulfilling its educational mission.”
- Acquisition, Discovery, and Application
of Knowledge – “The organization promotes
a life of learning for its faculty, administration,
staff, and students by fostering and supporting
inquiry, creativity, practice, and social responsibility
in ways consistent with its mission.”
- Engagement and Service – “As
called for by its mission, the organization identifies
its constituencies and serves them in ways both
value.”
Whereas it is customary for a school to structure
its self-study around the five criteria, The Chicago
School opted to organize its self-study around
four HLC cross-cutting themes: future-oriented,
learning-focused, distinctive, and connected.
“From the beginning we wanted to ensure that our
self-study was a true communitywide undertaking,
from faculty, staff, and students to trustees,
alumni, and partners,” said Rozhon. “By using the
cross-cutting themes, our subcommittees fully examined
each criterion through the prism of their particular
theme, allowing our community to research and reflect
on all workings of The Chicago School, not just
its individual parts.”
The self-study subcommittees where assembled for
the first time in January 2006 for a day-long community
workshop. They met frequently over the spring and
summer 2006 terms to research and draft working
papers centered on The Chicago School’s strengths,
challenges, and opportunities as related to the
criteria for accreditation and the cross-cutting
themes. The school met again in August 2006 to
listen to steering committee members present their
findings.
“What fascinated me was to step back and look
at how well planned the growth of The Chicago School
was over the past five years,” said Dr. Michael
Barr, chair of the future-oriented subcommittee.
“Speaking from an organizational psychology perspective,
I think any organization would benefit greatly
from this type of self reflection.”
Next on the agenda was the compilation of the
working papers into a single document that would
become the official self-study institutional report.
A reader’s panel of representative community members—including
a trustee, student, faculty member, advisory board
member, staff member, department chair, and graduate—was
assembled to review this document and offer feedback.
In all, more than 40 community members were directly
involved in the self-study process. Opportunities
to participate will continue this spring with the
scheduling of more workshops during which the final
self-study report will be presented and community
feedback will be solicited.
HLC is one of six accrediting agencies in the
United States that provide institutional accreditation
on a regional basis. Whereas some agencies grant
accreditation for individual programs, HLC evaluates
and accredits institutions as a whole. Recognized
by the U.S. Department of Education, HLC accredits
approximately 1,100 higher education institutions
in a 19-state region. Accreditation is voluntary.
The Chicago School first received HLC accreditation
in 1984. Since then, the school has conducted self-studies
in coordination with HLC visits. Each of these
visits has reaffirmed accreditation. Prior to 2007,
the most recent comprehensive evaluation was conducted
in April 2001.
Third-Party Comments
As part of the HLC evaluation process, the public
is invited to submit comments regarding The Chicago
School to:
Public Comment on The Chicago School of Professional
Psychology
The Higher Learning Commission
30 North LaSalle St., Suite 2400
Chicago, IL 60602
Comments must address substantive matters related
to the quality of The Chicago School or its academic
programs. Written, signed comments must be received
by March 16, 2007. HLC cannot guarantee that comments
received after the due date will be considered.
Comments should include the name, address, and
telephone number of the person providing the comments.
Comments will not be treated as confidential.
Individuals with a specific dispute or grievance
with The Chicago School should request the separate
“Policy on Complaints” document from the HLC office.
The Higher Learning Commission cannot settle disputes
between institutions and individuals. Complaints
will not be considered third party comments.
