{"id":25414,"date":"2025-10-16T13:44:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?post_type=story&p=25414"},"modified":"2025-10-16T13:48:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:48:02","slug":"self-assessment-never-stops","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/16\/self-assessment-never-stops\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Self-assessment never stops\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Clark community prepares for NECHE reaccreditation visit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

From Nov. 2 to 5, Clark will host representatives from the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) to assess University operations and strategies, set benchmarks, and consider effective pathways to continue meeting its academic and research goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaccreditation takes place every 10 years, with NECHE as a key partner and arbiter of the University\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccreditation signals to the external community a sense of accountability, and that accountability can be equated with the integrity of our academic portfolio,\u201d said John LaBrie, dean of graduate studies and international programs, and co-chair of the Reaccreditation Steering Committee with Eduard Arriaga-Arango, who chairs the Department of Language, Literature, and Culture at Clark.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"John
John LaBrie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Clark recently completed the self-study portion of the accreditation process, launched in late spring 2024, which involved teams of faculty and staff members composing a narrative of accreditation \u201cstandards\u201d that critically assess the institution\u2019s progress in nine distinct areas: Mission and Purpose; Planning and Evaluation; Organization and Governance; The Academic Program; Student Services; Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship; Institutional Resources; Educational Effectiveness; and Integrity, Transparency, and Public Disclosure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to an introduction and description, each standard includes both an appraisal of current operations and a projection of how strategic initiatives will inform program and goal alignment. The self-study<\/a> is a comprehensive document, with a narrative of 100-plus pages and about another 200 pages of supporting documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur mission clearly states that we’re here for the betterment and the education of our undergraduate and graduate students and expresses a desire to better society through that education,\u201d LaBrie says. \u201cThe question we need to answer for evaluators is, are we doing those things that our mission says we are committed to doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accreditation process is a time for institutional reflection \u2014 about those things the University does well and areas where improvements can be made, Arriaga says. He notes that recommendations emerging from past evaluations have yielded valuable changes, including the creation of the Office of Strategic Analytics, Assessment, and Institutional Research, \u201cwhich is so instrumental\u201d for Clark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Eduard
Eduard Arriaga-Arango<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe involvement of faculty, staff, and administrators in pulling Clark forward is just amazing,\u201d Arriaga says. \u201cThey\u2019ve identified important things we need to do to continue to make this place even better for our students to study here, and for our faculty and staff to work here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the rigor of developing the self-study and working through all the standards, we\u2019ve discovered things that we can do better with. Those are reflected in the self-study,\u201d LaBrie says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can the Clark community expect when NECHE\u2019s review team arrives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the evaluation team will take part in a series of interviews with the authors of the individual standards, members of the faculty (chairs of the departments, for instance), and the leadership team. Five separate dialogue forums will be scheduled with various Clark constituencies: undergraduate students, graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni and community members (days, times, and locations to be announced).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process, LaBrie and Arriaga emphasize, is voluntary and collaborative rather than punitive, with NECHE already having provided workshops and guidelines to facilitate an impactful presentation. Evaluators \u201ctry to get a feel for the institution and understand its purpose and mission and how well they\u2019re doing,\u201d says LaBrie, who has served as a NECHE reviewer in the past. \u201cIf there are gaps between what your self-study says and what they\u2019re hearing on the ground or seeing through data, then it\u2019s their job to ask questions about those gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re telling the story of Clark: what we have been doing, and what we are prepared to do.\u201d<\/p>eduard arriaga-arango<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSelf-assessment never stops,\u201d Arriaga says. \u201cThe NECHE visits are cycled, with a preliminary report every five years and the big report every 10 years. But reflection is continuous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accreditation is determined by a panel of commissioners appointed from among NECHE-member schools, of which Clark is one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to LaBrie, the self-study authors needed to be nimble to adjust the standards for changes in budget and strategic planning necessitated by lower-than-anticipated student enrollment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re telling the story of Clark: what we have been doing, and what we are prepared to do,\u201d Arriaga says. \u201cWe need to be prepared, candid, and transparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe force and the strength of the Clark community working together, even in difficult times, really surprised me,\u201d he continues. \u201cPeople contributing their time to think through each of these standards, doing revisions, pulling together data. It\u2019s quite a thing to accomplish in any institution, and everybody has rallied to get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Nov. 2 to 5, Clark will host representatives from the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) to assess University operations and strategies, set benchmarks, and consider effective pathways to continue meeting its academic and research goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":25415,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"var(--clarku-color-dark-orange)","story_headerImg":25415,"section_label":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[223],"displayed_author":[],"featured":[494],"topic":[536,255,150],"class_list":["post-25414","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clark-community","featured-secondary","topic-accreditation","topic-administration","topic-faculty"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Self-assessment never stops\u2019 | ClarkU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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