In the spring of 2006, the HLC Steering Committee was convened. The committee began their work with a review and discussion of the criteria for accreditation and the goals and objectives of the self study. A timeline was developed for self-study activities. The Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and the three self-study chairs attended the HLC Annual Meeting in Chicago.
In the summer of 2006, the Steering Committee organized into groups addressing themes drawn from the HLC criterion and began to collect data from various units throughout the University. A Blackboard site was created to facilitate discussion among Committee members and as a centralized location for the review of incoming data and materials.
In the fall of 2006 steering committee members developed working papers on their thematic assignments. These working papers involved descriptions of the campus and its activities, an analysis of performance indicators, and a presentation of hallmarks and challenges in the thematic areas. In October and November, a panel of steering committee members presented their findings to the campus community in four open forums. The campus community was invited to have lunch, listen to the findings of the panel members and provide feedback to the self study process. Each forum revolved around on one element of the UIS mission so that discussions could be focused. These discussions were recorded and transcribed; 147 members of the campus community attended these open forums.
In early spring of 2007, the self-study chairs and the reaccreditation coordinator began to prepare a draft of the self-study report and develop the reaccreditation website.
In the mid-spring of 2007, the draft of the self-study report was first reviewed by the steering committee and was released to the campus community. The reaccreditation website was released to the public at this time also. Two open forums are scheduled to collect feedback from the campus community. Feedback was also collected through a link on the website.
In the late spring and early summer of 2007, feedback from the campus community was incorporated into the self-study report. A final draft and supporting documents were submitted to the HLC and Site Visit Team in late summer. The development of the website and electronic resource room continued through this time period.
The site visit will take place on October 22, 23, and 24, 2007. In preparation for the site visit, UIS will seek Third Party Comments from the surrounding community.
