Feedback is welcomed from the university community in preparation of accreditation evaluations.

The steering committee wants public feedback on the study’s portrayal of the academic conditions at Iowa State. The committee is currently in its draft process.

Organized in November 2004, the Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Self-Study Steering Committee has created a self-study document and Web site.

The final draft will be submitted to the nine-member HLC Search Team.

The search team is comprised of representatives from other Midwestern universities who will visit campus from March 27 to 29 to tour facilities and meet administrators and faculty to evaluate Iowa State’s viability for re-accreditation.

Although Iowa State has been an accredited institution since 1916, every 10 years the university must be examined by the Higher Learning Commission to ensure institutional-wide academic service and quality.

“Accreditation is basically the seal of quality that shows we are among those institutions that have that standard of quality,” said Kristen Constant, associate professor for materials science and engineering and member of the HLC Self-Study Steering Committee. “It is very important — we want to maintain our accreditation at all costs.”

The Web site will be easier for the HLC search team to navigate than a paper document, said David Holger, leader of the steering committee and associate provost for academic programs.

Because of the large number of academic programs at Iowa State, the self-study will help the search team examine Iowa State’s programs prior to their campus tour.

Two open forums regarding the accreditation self-study will also be held Oct. 6 and 7 in the Memorial Union.

The final draft of the self-study will highlight all academic programs available at Iowa State, including undergraduate classes, research projects, graduate programs and extension outreach.

Although the self-study will feature Iowa State’s strengths, Holger said room for future improvement remains.

“I think our self assessment will show that we are doing reasonably well in a variety of these; there are areas that have probably suffered because the financial resources have suffered from reduced state appropriations,” he said. “We need to work on reducing the student-to-faculty ratio; we would say more faculty and a vibrant high quality faculty are necessary to provide high quality research programs.”

Constant said there is a possibility Iowa State would not be re-accredited after the visit, although the chance is minimal.

“Certainly, there is always a chance, but we are very strong, so right now we are documenting our procedures and processes so we maintain continuous improvement,” she said. “The goal of a self study is to look for ways we can improve and find strengths to build upon.”

Feedback can be submitted by e-mailing David Holger at [email protected], or through the accreditation Web site linked from the ISU homepage.