To the University community:

Our accreditation reaffirmation site visit from the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC: https://www.wscuc.org/) is scheduled for March 21 to 23; in preparation for this visit, we want to provide information to you about what to expect. Our site-visit team includes university personnel who have served in a number of capacities during their academic careers (http://wasc.humboldt.edu/sites/default/files/wscuc_sitevisitteamroster.pdf). The site-visit team will be interviewing a number of individuals and groups on campus regarding specific lines of inquiry, which are based on our institutional report submitted July 23, 2017 (http://wasc.humboldt.edu/node/159). These specific lines of inquiry are as follows:

1. What effect has turnover of senior level administration and multiple interim positions and creation of new positions had on institutional effectiveness?
2. What are the obstacles at HSU to having developed consistent program reviews and assessment of student learning efforts across all programs that would foster a culture of assessment? What are the institution’s plans to foster a culture of assessment?
3. How does the institution plan to advance the use of data and evidence in institutional decision-making? What are the institution’s plans to foster a data driven decision-making culture?
4. How are the institution’s numerous initiatives sustainable, scalable, and positively impacting student achievement results? How is the institution measuring the effectiveness of its programs?
5. Is HSU’s budgeting process sustainable? Does it allow HSU to anticipate and respond to the changing higher education environment?

We have been working diligently to address the lines of inquiry, and we have developed a communications plan to provide campus with information about some of our current and ongoing initiatives (abbreviated version at http://wasc.humboldt.edu/sites/default/files/wscuc_loi_infographic.pdf and detailed version at http://wasc.humboldt.edu/sites/default/files/wscuc_areasofinterest_expanded.pdf). If you are interviewed by our site-visit team, please do provide your perspective.

The visiting team has scheduled open meetings with students, staff, and faculty (complete three-day schedule http://wasc.humboldt.edu/sites/default/files/wscuc_sitevisitschedule.pdf) to provide an opportunity for informal input from all members of the University community about your experiences with Humboldt State. Students are particularly encouraged to comment on issues of academic rigor and consistency, availability of student support services, accuracy of information provided by Humboldt State, and other matters related to the quality of the educational experience.

A confidential e-mail account (hsu@wscuc.org) also enables individuals to send messages directly to the site-visit team. WSCUC understands that not everyone who may wish to participate can attend the scheduled meetings, and therefore this confidential e-mail account has been established to give everyone the opportunity to communicate with the team. The e-mail account was created by a WSCUC staff member, and only authorized WSCUC staff and team members have access to it. The e-mails cannot be viewed by any representative of HSU.

The e-mail account is created for this visit only, and it will be closed once the WSCUC team leaves the campus on March 23. Only comments made before or during the visit will be considered as part of the review process.

Institutional reports, on-campus interviews, open sessions, and e-mail comments become part of the information collected and reviewed by the team. Please note that team members will not respond individually to comments provided through any of these venues. However, the input from e-mail comments, along with other forms of information, will be considered as the team undertakes its work and develops recommendations to the institution. The team is not able to meet individually with members of the campus community, so please do not use the e-mail account to request private appointments.

In the next several weeks, we will be visiting a number of campus units and discussing the accreditation reaffirmation process. Additional information can also be found on our website.

Thank you for your time and attention concerning this vital University matter.

Kind regards, 

Rock Braithwaite, Ed.D. 
Interim Vice Provost and
Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies 

Lisa A. Rossbacher, Ph.D. 
President