The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) fosters through its accreditation standards, policies, and eligibility standards a process of continuous quality improvement centered around student success and the fulfillment of each member institution’s unique mission. NWCCU’s unique accreditation model allowing institutions to define their mission; core themes; and meaningful, assessable, and verifiable indicators of achievement that form the basis for evaluating mission fulfillment respects the diversity of institutions within the region and their methods of educational delivery, culture, and measures of student achievement.[1]
NWCCU’s Mission Fulfillment Fellowship prepares higher education leaders to advance institutional mission fulfillment and quality initiatives through assessment, reflection, and planning. The Fellowship is designed to introduce faculty, staff, and administrators from NWCCU institutions to regional and national leaders in assessment, accreditation, data analysis, quality assurance, educational innovation, and educational effectiveness – and Fellows are expected to work in pairs of institutional partners to produce a final project advancing their institution’s practices quality improvement activities.
The Fellowship’s curriculum includes two four-day residential experiences (virtual, if residential experiences are not safely possible), on-line and hands-on experiential activities, and a final project designed to advance the Mission Fulfillment of the Fellows’ own institutions. Fellowship materials and presenters are selected to offer Fellows a wide range of subject-matter, including: the role of assessment in institutional planning and decision-making, the use of data and analytics to demonstrate and guide institutional mission fulfillment, creating a culture of institutional evidence and excellence, engaging with faculty to support institutional advancement, the use of technology to support institutional efforts, creating systems of ongoing quality improvement, and how national and regional policy shapes institutional practice. Fellows will also be matched with a peer mentor from a prior Fellowship Cohort, if desired, and placed in small-group peer Communities of Practice based on the Final Project area selected.
Fellowship Requirements
The Fellowship is open to faculty, staff, and administrators who are committed to:
Fellowship Outcomes
Graduates of the NWCCU Mission Fulfillment Fellowship will be able to:
NWCCU Mission Fulfillment Fellowship Curriculum
Unit One – The Purpose, Value, and Context of Mission Fulfillment and Quality Improvement
Unit Two – Introduction to Assessing Student Learning
Unit Three – Introduction to Assessing Mission Fulfillment
Unit Four – Building a Culture of Engagement, Evidence, and Excellence
Unit Five – Building Ongoing, Integrated Quality Improvement Processes
Unit Six – Mission Fulfillment and Quality Improvement
The Final Project
NWCCU Mission Fulfillment Fellows will present a final project applying mission fulfillment best practices to an institutional challenge/opportunity at their institution. The two (2) Fellows from each institution will collaborate and present a single project that analyzes, interprets, and integrates data into their own institutions’ planning, facilitates a collaborative solution with internal stakeholders to advance student learning, student achievement, and mission fulfillment within the fellows’ institution.
The project should include a description of the challenge or opportunity experienced at the Fellows’ institution (and the historical context), reflection upon current literature and best practices, and a discussion and analysis of the implementation efforts employed during the Fellowship. Finally, the project should offer a reflection upon how the solutions brought to bear on the opportunity/challenge could be applied to wider contexts or different institutional challenges.
Institutional Visits
NWCCU Fellows are required to participate in an observation role with two (2) other institutions. The institutions can be tribal, two-year, four-year, private, public, or faith-based from within or outside of the region. The visits are an opportunity to assess the practices and capacity of institutions, and to bring back and apply best practices to the Fellow’s own institution. Fellows will be required to write-up two (2) three-page summaries that explore the practices of the observed institutions and how they can be applied to the Fellow’s own institution.
Tuition and Associated Costs
Tuition cost for the NWCCU Fellowship is $3,900 per Fellow this year due to the likely virtual nature of the fellowship (which covers all seminars and webinars). Institutions that wish to send more than the required two (2) Fellows, or who wish to send only one, should contact the Fellowship Director. In addition, Fellows will meet virtually for two days in June 2021 and perhaps on-site for three days in March 2022; Fellows will be responsible for their overnight food and lodging costs (approximately $500 should in-person meetings occur in 2021).
The inaugural gathering, which will take place in June 2021, will be held virtually due to ongoing health concerns. The University of Nevada – Las Vegas will host the on-site gathering in March 2022.
For more information, please contact Dr. Mac Powell at mpowell@nwccu.org.
[1] https://nwccu.org/accreditation/standards-policies/standards/
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) fosters through its accreditation standards, policies, and eligibility standards a process of continuous quality improvement centered around student success and the fulfillment of each member institution’s unique mission. The process of revising the NWCCU Standards of Accreditation and Eligibility Requirements has highlighted and expanded a renewed focus on student learning and student achievement – the driving measure of institutional success.
The NWCCU Academy for Retention, Completion, and Student Success (ARCSS) is a mentored experiential learning platform to support institutions and faculty in their efforts to promote student success.
Initially, ARCSS will bring together 20 institutions and their representatives in a two-year program designed to support efforts around retention, completion, and the use of data to create and deploy interventions that can drive positive institutional results, particularly with students from underrepresented groups.
ARCSS will comprise four phases: Information Gathering, Planning, Action, and Assessment.
In the Information Gathering Phase, Academy faculty will create resources from around the United States and other countries on best practices to promote transformative support at the institution by providing expertise and model practices in retention, completion, and student achievement, and ask institutional representatives to provide current and actionable data on ongoing, planned, and diverted activities occurring on their campuses.
In the Planning Phase, institutional representatives will be paired with peer institutions that are excelling in student success and work with Academy faculty to establish a plan for creating and executing one or more interventions appropriate to institutional mission and context.
In the Action Phase, institutional representatives, with continued mentorship of Academy faculty and NWCCU staff, will help lead activities at their institutions supported and funded by institutional leadership.
In the Assessment Phase, Academy faculty will support evaluative analysis and sharing of data to guide institutional decision-making around future efforts.
Onsite and Online Collaboration
Participants in the Retention, Completion, and Student Success Academy will meet for one day preceding the 2019 NWCCU Annual Conference, participate in monthly webinars and facilitated mentored activities, and present their results at the 2020 NWCCU Annual Conference.
Costs and Fees
Because NWCCU believes that the majority of funds for student success should be spent directly on campus activities, the two-year Retention, Completion, and Student Success Academy is offered at a price of $5000 per institution. This amount covers the cost of two onsite hosted meetings, webinars, online classroom instruction, mentor salaries, and faculty salaries.
Institutions may identify up to 10 participants to participate in the onsite and online collaboration, but all representatives are expected to attend all onsite and online events.
Outcomes and Deliverables
Institutions are expected to identify, fund, implement, and assess a program designed to impact retention, completion, or another element of student achievement aligned with the institutional mission and strategic priorities.
A final written report on the results of the practices employed is required and interested institutions will be given the opportunity to present the results at the 2020 NWCCU Annual Conference; in future years, institutions will be availed the opportunity to mentor other institutions.