2013 Self Evaluation

CSM's 2013 Institutional Self Evaluation

Important message: please read the entire message!

Dear Colleagues,

In fall 2011 College of San Mateo will kick off its two-year comprehensive accreditation self evaluation process (which will be referred to as the 2013 institutional self evaluation), culminating in the submission of CSM’s 2013 Self Evaluation Report of Educational Quality and Institutional Effectiveness (Institutional Self Evaluation Report) to the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges during summer 2013. The 2013 institutional self evaluation is a four-part process:

• CSM’s internal self evaluation, a process that will occur from fall 2011 through spring 2013 and that will result in the preparation of the Institutional Self Evaluation Report,
• an on-campus visit by an accreditation team composed of peer evaluators in fall 2013,
• the ACCJC’s review and decision on the accredited status of College of San Mateo, and
• CSM’s ongoing self-improvement to meet regional and federal standards.

I am writing to you now because it is extremely important that all members of our campus community are aware of the process and that each of you participates in the process and contributes to its successful completion as much as your schedule will allow. This e-mail will tell you what has already been done in preparation for the two-year institutional self evaluation and what to expect in the next two years.

The Accreditation Oversight Committee, whose agendas and meeting summaries are available at collegeofsanmateo.edu/accredinfo, has met on an ongoing basis since spring 2008 and has actively overseen CSM’s activities related to accreditation for the past three years. Among other documents on the committee’s Web site are the Follow-Up Report submitted in fall 2008; the Follow-Up Report submitted in fall 2009; and the Midterm Report, which was submitted in fall 2010. I invite you to read these reports carefully so that you are familiar with CSM’s current status concerning accreditation. All three reports were accepted by ACCJC.

The work of the Accreditation Oversight Committee has placed CSM in a strong position to complete a thorough, detailed, and accurate self evaluation. It has guided the initial steps in preparing for the 2013 institutional self evaluation including the selection of the 2013 self evaluation co-chairs (Laura Demsetz and Susan Estes) and the formation of the 2013 Institutional Self Evaluation Logistics Committee and the 2013 Institutional Self Evaluation Communications Committee. The memberships of these committees can be found on the 2013 institutional self evaluation Web site: collegeofsanmateo.edu/2013selfevaluation. The standards committees are currently being formed. If you are interested in serving on a standards committee, please contact Laura Demsetz or me. And Laura and I extend a huge thank-you to those who have already agreed to serve on a committee; your commitment is greatly appreciated.

The 2013 self evaluation Web site will contain other essential resources such as the self evaluation timeline; links to sites, reports, evidence, and other information critical to the research and writing done by the standards committees and the Planning Agenda Committee; and a “contact us” feature. Much of the site has already been populated; the remainder of the site will be populated over the summer.

After an all-college meeting early in the fall 2011 semester, the standards committees will begin their work of gathering information and conducting research in preparation for writing the Institutional Self Evaluation Report. If you are contacted by committee members asking for information, please extend your time to them so that they can include accurate, broad-based, comprehensive information in their sections of the report.

I ask that you visit the 2013 self evaluation Web site, collegeofsanmateo.edu/2013selfevaluation, frequently. The site is dynamic and will serve as the principal means for providing all-college communication about the institutional self evaluation process. In addition, you will see posters and printed materials related to the process at various locations on campus.

As CSM’s Accreditation Liaison Officer, I look forward to working with the campus community as we conduct our 2013 institutional self evaluation. I ask that you read carefully e-mails that I send concerning the self evaluation process because it is vital that all of you are aware of the ongoing process and provide input into the process.

And thanks for reading this first e-mail!

Susan
Accreditation Liaison Officer

Susan Estes, Ph.D.
Vice President, Instruction
College of San Mateo
1700 W. Hillsdale Blvd.
San Mateo, CA 94402
(650) 574-6404
estes@smccd.edu