The team will evaluate TU on five criteria for accreditation.
This semester, TU has been preparing for the arrival of a Comprehensive Re-accreditation site visit team from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The team will be on campus on Monday, March 5, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Tuesday, March 6, from 8 a.m. to noon.
In an all-school email, Student Association President Andrew Hansen said that the site visit team will hold open forums March 5 on each of the five criteria for accreditation.
All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend these forums.
Hansen wrote, “Open forums will be an opportunity for the HLC site visit team to ask questions to better understand our university, to verify the evidence that TU has provided in the assurance argument and, in some cases, to find new evidence.
“If you choose to participate, please be prepared, be thoughtful, and use candor in your responses to questions,” he said.
Hansen also referred to the FISCH t-shirts and cups that were given out in order to promote TU’s new mission statement leading up to the HLC site visit. The five principles of the new mission statement are Free Inquiry, Scholarship, Character and Humanity.
The team’s visit will play into the HLC’s decision whether to maintain the University of Tulsa’s accreditation.
The HLC accredits higher learning institutions in a 19-state region of the United States. There are currently more than 1,000 HLC-accredited institutions. An HLC accreditation is reflective of an institution’s quality and continuous improvement.
Anyone wishing to familiarize themselves with the HLC Criteria for Accreditation can visit their website. Please see the accompanying box for a schedule of the open forums.
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9:45 – 10:30 a.m., Open Forum on Criterion 1 – Mission
The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.
11 – 11:45 a.m., Open Forum on Criterion 3 – Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources and Support
The institution provides high-quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.
1:30 – 3 p.m., Open Forum on Criterion 5 – Resources, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness
The institution’s resources, structures and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings and respond to future challenges and opportunities. The institution plans for the future.
3:30 – 4:30 p.m., Open Forum on Criterion 2 – Integrity: Ethical and Responsible Conduct
The institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.
4:30 – 5:15 p.m., Open Forum on Criterion 4 – Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement
The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.
