Why Does NWCCU Accreditation Matter? Learn More at An Open Forum

By 
Kim Greenwood

You may have seen the posters or read news posts about the site visit from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities in October and wondered, what does that have to do with me? Well, it's part of the university's accreditation cycle.

Institutional accreditation is what allows us to continue serving students and receiving federal financial aid. It's a critical piece of ensuring the high quality education Pacific seeks to deliver is available to students. Students, staff and faculty all have a vested interested in the process where we are evaluated on how we deliver on our university mission to help students think, care, create, and pursue justice in the world. 

As part of this site visit, evaluators from the NWCCU want to hear from faculty, staff and students. Join us at one of the open forum opportunities to share your favorite stories and experiences that meet our mission. 

They can be experiences inside or outside of the classroom in one of the many co-curricular activities Pacific offers. A shuttle is available for Hillsboro employees and students to the open forums. Email kimg@pacificu.edu to sign up. 

(High-level supervisors with personnel evaluation and budget setting powers should not attend.) Any student can attend the student forum, although employees who are students are advised to refrain from attending if their attendance could risk compromising the comfort of the non-employee student population to participate openly. To protect the confidentiality of participants, no photos or recording of forums is allowed.

Evaluators will also be interested in how our university uses assessment data to make changes and improvements that support our mission. Think about some of the ways you participate in collection of data to improve the student experience at Pacific. Course evaluations, employee surveys, the annual Campus Climate survey, and other methods of gathering input provide important information in measuring outcomes and effectiveness. How have you seen feedback bring about changes in areas within the institution?

Consider the areas in which we are doing well in the student experience, and where can we improve.

Evaluators will be interested in hearing about some of the things we are doing to meet student needs while delivering on our mission. What are some areas of academic and student support where we have celebrated meeting the needs of our diverse students and what are some areas that are still in progress?

Evaluators will review the reports at the links below. They are available for members of the Pacific community on the Accreditation webpage. 

Policies, Regulations, and Financial Review Report (PRFR), submitted September 2022

Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness Report, submitted in August 2023

 

 

Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023