Winter 2009

Features

SACS Updates

Academic Affairs has received the preliminary findings of the SACS Offsite Compliance Audit committee. We have now crafted our Focused Report to that report and hope to clarify some of the non-compliance issues raised by the committee. The preliminary report has sharpened our focus, especially in the areas of financial stability, assessment and governance. We are working to address areas of concern, many of them related to incomplete information or unclear passages from our compliance report.

We now turn our focus to the committee's on-site visit, scheduled for March 3-5; please mark your calendars now and save the date, so that you can be available to the SACS team during their visit. This on-site committee of professional peers will come to the campus to assess the educational strengths and weaknesses of our institution. The written report of the committee will help Regent University improve its programs, and refine our Quality Enhancement Plan, or QEP. It also provides the basis on which the Commission decides to reaffirm or withdraw accreditation.

During a typical three-day visit, committee members examine data and conduct interviews in order to evaluate the soundness of the QEP and ascertain whether the institution is in compliance with the principles. We will be sending out e-updates to the campus community to keep us informed regarding the site visit. These updates will offer the RU community some helpful tips on what to expect in a site visit, so that we can make the most of this unique opportunity. The committee offers written advice to the institution, develops a consensus on its findings and completes a draft report. Finally, the committee presents an oral summary in an exit report to the chief executive officer and invited institutional officials on the last day of the visit.

The departure of the committee from campus does not mark the end of the accreditation process. The visiting committee report and our response to the findings of the committee are reviewed by the committee on Compliance and Reports, a standing committee of the Commission. The Committee on Compliance and Reports recommends action on accreditation to the Executive Council of the Commission. The Executive Council, in turn, recommends action to the Commission on Colleges, which makes the final decision. These decisions are announced to the College Delegate Assembly during its annual business session in December 2009.

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Be "SACS Ready"

How can I prepare for the SACS visit? Glad you asked. Here are some simple ways to be prepared:

• Know the mission statement.
• Know how your department’s/school’s/unit’s goals align with the mission.
• What are your program’s/school’s/unit’s distinctive?
• Be able to describe—specifically—how we are shaping “Christian Leaders to Change the World.”
• Be conversant regarding the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and what it means to be a Christian who is “globally competent.”
• Be able to describe how you/your department/school/unit assess your work to ensure that you are constantly improving.
• What are the program outcomes in your school? How are they assessed? What changes—curricular or otherwise—have resulted from this assessment?
• Know what we want students to learn/experience and how we ensure that they learn/experience it.

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Budget Update

Like all universities, Regent is carefully monitoring our budget to ensure that we are effectively managing funds during the current financial crisis. We have been able to trim 15 percent from the 2009-10 budget and will assess our overall standing as the end of the fiscal year approaches. Our preliminary numbers for fall are fairly solid, but we are concerned that the economic conditions will force students to cut back on the number of classes they take. Our advancement team has hired directors to canvass all regional areas, and we are hopeful that they will have good success despite the economic downturn. In addition, we are reviewing all aspects of economic efficiency to ensure that we have a sustainable budget model as we move forward. Our hiring freeze remains in effect, and we are carefully scrutinizing all travel—especially international travel—as we protect our core functions of teaching and learning. The worldwide economic predicament demands that we look at creative ways to manage resources and become more efficient than ever before. To succeed during these times will require great cooperation throughout the university, and we are counting on all areas to find ways to manage more with less. Many of you have already sent suggestions to us regarding ways to increase efficiency, and we continue to welcome your input as we enhance our stewardship at Regent.

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The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)

Regent University's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is a five-year initiative designed to impact student learning outcomes and enhance the learning environment in a topic area that relates to the institutional mission and strategic plan. The goal of Regent University’s QEP is to increase the global competence of our students.

Global competence is defined by four dimensions: (a) global perspective, (b) intercultural engagement, (c) information literacy, and (d) global leadership. The goal of the QEP will be achieved through three primary objectives that align with our mission and strategic focus: (a) increase global learning in academic programs, (b) enhance faculty expertise in global teaching and learning, and (c) become a leading resource for Christ-centered global learning. These objectives address three critical components of the university: curriculum, faculty development and scholarly research. Management of the QEP will continue to rely on input and assistance from individuals throughout the organization, and we are counting on you to help shape this initiative’s success as we move forward. The QEP will impact the entire university community through curricular changes, faculty development programs and an increased focus on scholarly research related to global competence—all with an eye to produce students who are Christ-centered and globally aware and able.

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