Introduction

Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) began preparations for a self-study and NEASC reaccreditation in fall 2009. The associate vice president for assessment, planning, and academic programs, Dr. Marianne Kennedy, was appointed to serve as the chairman of the Steering Committee, and committee members were chosen from among members of the administration, faculty, and staff. Committees were formed for each standard, with two to four co-chairmen for each standard. On November 23, 2009, Cheryl J. Norton, then President of SCSU, met with the Steering Committee and charged the group with creating a comprehensive and transparent self-study in preparation for the university's reaccreditation process in fall 2011. Via email announcements and posts on the university's Website and Facebook, the Steering Committee put out a call for volunteers to take part in the process. After seeking wide participation by faculty, staff, and students in December 2009 and January 2010, the committee heard from a number of individuals who expressed interest in helping with the self-study. Those who volunteered to participate spent three semesters working with members of the steering committee on crafting narratives that address the 11 standards. In all, about 84 individuals - faculty, staff, and students - served on the NEASC Standards committees.

Beginning in January 2010, standards committees began gathering material for their Data First forms. Online groups were set up within MySCSU, the university's portal, to enable communication among committee members and the sharing of documents. The Steering Committee met in January to discuss the process of data gathering and to address issues raised in the interim NEASC report from 2006. Standards subcommittees began to meet to discuss what data were needed and how it would be obtained.

In February 2010, the Steering Committee met with Dr. Patricia M. O'Brien, SND,
Deputy Director of NEASC, who gave an overview of the self-study process and answered questions. In March 2010, Dr. Kennedy advised members of the Steering Committee that they should be ready to begin the writing process, adding that the first draft of the self-study would be due on September 1. At the May 2010 meeting, the final meeting of the Steering Committee for the 2009-2010 year, members took stock of information collected and planned ahead for a student, faculty, and staff survey for the fall to gather additional information on selected topics.

At the start of June 2010, President Cheryl Norton retired and was replaced by Interim President Stanley Battle, who attended the Steering Committee's first meeting of the new academic year in September 2010. Also at this meeting, the Steering Committee made plans for the survey, and for publicizing the self-study and convening focus groups for gathering information. The committee also began to plan for a university-wide town hall meeting to introduce the SCSU community to the self-study in its current form.

In October 2010, the reaccreditation Website was updated with information about the upcoming town hall meeting, scheduled for November 12; the first draft of the self-study; and an email address (neasc@southernct.edu) for feedback on the draft or any other aspect of the self-study or reaccreditation process. A story ran on SCSU's home page, announcing the town hall meeting, and email announcements went out on campus list servs to faculty, staff, and students. The town hall meeting was also announced on SCSU's Facebook and Twitter pages, President Battle's blog, and in SouthernLife, the monthly campus newspaper published by the Office of Public Affairs. Steering Committee members led focus groups with various constituencies within the SCSU community -- e.g., the Faculty Senate, Administrative Faculty Senate, Student Government Association, Graduate Student Affairs Committee, Programs Council, commuter students - and asked a set of questions pertaining to the mission statement, where students and faculty find the information about the university that they need, and other related questions. Responses from all focus groups were compiled into a report. Meanwhile, a survey regarding several other issues, including use of library services, information technology on campus, and ethics and integrity, was distributed electronically. Data were collected from 389 faculty and staff members as well as 1,249 students. Results were compiled, analyzed, and shared with the Steering Committee so that the results could be included throughout the self-study where appropriate. At the town hall meeting on November 12, Dr. Kennedy described the self-study process to those in attendance, went over the timeline for reaccreditation, and introduced members of the Steering Committee. Following the town hall, the article about reaccreditation on the SCSU home page was reposted to Facebook and Twitter. Based on feedback gleaned from
the focus groups regarding visibility of the mission statement, new plaques and banners with the mission statement printed on them were posted around campus.

In February 2011, Steering Committee members, who had been meeting regularly with their standards' subcommittees, submitted a second draft of their respective standards to Dr. Kennedy, who then presented the complete draft to President Battle and the Cabinet for their review and feedback. During February and March, updating of the drafts continued. A second town hall meeting was held on April 8, 2011, at which the reaccreditation process was discussed in more depth and the results of the focus groups and surveys were shared. The most recent draft (April) of the self-study was posted on the SCSU reaccreditation Website along with the PowerPoint presentation from the town hall. The April draft was also submitted to the NEASC Commission for feedback. Very helpful feedback was received from Dr. Louise Zak, Associate Director of the Commission, and shared with the Steering Committee.

On April 25, 2011, Dr. Selma Botman, President of the University of Southern Maine and chairman of the SCSU site visit committee, visited the SCSU campus to meet with administrators and the Steering Committee. She discussed the site visit process and answered questions. In May 2011, the Steering Committee learned that NEASC had posted newly revised Standards on its Website, and that the SCSU self-study would have to reflect the updates to the Standards. Dr. Kennedy requested that final drafts of Standards be given to her by June 1. In June, Dr. Kennedy assumed the role of interim Provost when the previous Provost, Dr. Selase Williams, left SCSU for a new position elsewhere. However, she continued to work on the self-study draft over the summer of 2011, and in early August convened a small team from among the members of the Steering Committee to review and edit the document before final submission. The team included the interim Provost, the interim Associate Dean of the School of Health and Human Services, an Assistant Director of Public Affairs, the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences, and an Associate Researcher in the Office of Assessment and Planning. Dr. Kennedy also presented the self-study narrative to the President, the Cabinet, and Deans Council and incorporated their comments and suggestions into the document before submitting it to NEASC in early September 2011.

The self-study process took place during a period of tremendous uncertainty and upheaval -- both financial and administrative -- for SCSU. Yet the process presented an opportunity for members of the university community to take stock of where the institution has been and where it is headed. The preparation of the self-study has allowed us to acknowledge our many achievements and identify areas in which we need to grow and improve. Despite very significant challenges, Southern Connecticut State University remains a strong and vibrant learning community committed to our academic mission and vision. With our campus culture of creativity and collegiality, we will continue to move forward even in the face of such challenges.

Members of the NEASC Steering Committee were:

Standard 1 Mission and Purposes

DonnaJean Fredeen, Dean, Arts and Sciences
Aaron Washington, Associate Dean, Student Affairs
Peter Madonia, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership

Standard 2 Planning and Evaluation

Marianne Kennedy, Interim Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs
Nick Edgington, Associate Professor, Biology

Standard 3 Organization and Governance

Jaye Bailey, Associate Vice President, Human Resources

Standard 4 The Academic Program

Bruce Kalk, Associate Dean, Arts and Sciences
Cesarina Thompson, Interim Associate Dean, Health and Human Services
Deborah Weiss, Associate Professor, Communication Disorders
Jane McGinn, Professor, Communication

Standard 5 Faculty

Diane Mazza, Labor Relations and Employment Officer
Bonnie Farley-Lucas, Professor, Communication

Standard 6 Students

Peter Troiano, Interim Vice President, Student and University Affairs
Rosalyn Amenta, Director of Women's Programs
Richard Riccardi, Director of Management Information and Research
Michele Lawler, Counselor

Standard 7 Library and Other Information Resources

Christina Baum, Library Director
Stan Walonoski, Director of Teaching and Learning Technology
Cindy Schofield, Librarian, Library Services
Adam Goldberg, Associate Professor, Education

Standard 8 Physical and Technological Resources

Robert Sheeley, Associate Vice President for Capital Budgeting
John Young, Director of Support Services
Lisa Lancor, Professor, Computer Science
James Dolan, Professor, Physics

Standard 9 Financial Resources

Lise Brule, University Controller
Emmanuel Emenyonu, Professor, Accounting

Standards 10 and 11 Public Disclosure and Integrity

Betsy Beacom, Assistant Director of Public Affairs
Marcia Smith Glasper, Executive Assistant to the President and Director of
Diversity and Equity
Thuan Vu, Professor, Art
Jerome Hauselt, Professor, Psychology