College Connection — Accreditation ensures quality
By Randy Griffin
Friday, October 16, 2009 11:42 AM PDT
With more students on campus, more classes and even more activities, the day-to-day life of Treasure Valley Community College is often hectic. The immediate demands of everyday tasks can make it difficult to take time to stop, take a step back and spend time assessing where we, as a college, have been and where we are going.
But every once in awhile we get the chance for self-reflection. In fact we are required to do just that, as we prepare for our accreditation visit. A college’s accreditation review requires us to re-examine our mission and vision as a community college as well as provide proof and explanation for what we are doing to fulfill our mission.
In fall 2010, an accreditation team from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities will be visiting our campus. Of all the accreditations that TVCC must secure, the one granted by the NWCCU is the most important. At least every 10 years, we are required to seek reaffirmation of this accreditation. It provides outside validation of the quality of the degrees we grant and maintains our eligibility for a number of federal funding programs, including those that provide vital student support.
Accreditation is the tool used to monitor, assess and evaluate the standards and quality of the education a student receives at a college, university or other institution of higher learning.
I think it’s important to note that the NWCCU accredits not only community colleges in the Northwest, but all of the area universities as well. Boise State University, the University of Oregon, Eastern Oregon University, the College of Idaho and all accredited colleges and universities are reviewed under the very same standards used to assess TVCC.
By being held to the same standards, students can be assured that degree programs will transfer and courses’ equivalencies will be recognized.
Because of the accreditation process, students can trust that the education they are paying for is valuable and worthwhile.
Although TVCC’s review is more than a year away, this year is when the real work begins for TVCC. We have nine committees working to document just how we are fulfilling our mission and how we are serving our students and our community.
TVCC’s review team who will visit our campus is comprised of other community college leaders from colleges throughout the Northwest, except Oregon. Part of the integrity of the review process is that peers from colleges in our own state do not review each other.
I have had the privilege of serving on more than six accreditation review teams. I believe the opportunity to evaluate the practices at other colleges has been a tremendous experience. Several of our faculty members also serve on accreditation review teams for other colleges, and the information they bring back is often implemented into our practices.
Our mission statement is: “TVCC is a comprehensive community college providing quality educational opportunities and cultural enhancement in a financially responsible manner throughout our service area.”
Rest assured we’re working hard this year, and every year, to make sure we’re fulfilling that mission. Accreditation ensures that you don’t have to just take our word for it.
Randy Griffin is acting president of Treasure Valley Community College. He can be reached at rgriffin@tvcc.cc or (541) 881-8822, ext. 310
