NEASC Steering Committee Meeting

April 8, 2008

11:00 a.m.

Presidents Conference Room

Minutes

Present:         C. Lovitt, P. Lemma, M. McLaughlin, T. Craine, A. Alling, M. Toston, R. Cernock,                        L. Wilder, C. Magnan, K. Kollar

Debriefing of President Meservey’s Visit—P. Lemma          

P. Lemma discussed the details of President Meservey’s March 31, 2008 visit.  She explained that the purpose of President Meservey’s visit was for her to familiarize herself with the campus, as well as help the committee gain a sense of what the visit will be like in the fall.  The following is some of the information that was obtained during President Meservey’s visit:

Self-Study Details:

·         P. Lemma informed L. Wilder that the most recent financial statements will need to be sent to NEASC as soon as they are drafted.  L. Wilder confirmed that these drafts would be complete by September 2008. 

·        P. Lemma informed the group that the self-study and all corresponding documents need to be sent to every member of the NEASC visiting team as well as the Commission. 

Visit Details:

·         President Meservey provided P. Lemma with a preliminary list of the visiting team members. She will inform P. Lemma when the list has been finalized.  The team will be nine members from NEASC and one member of the Department of Higher Education. 

·         There will be one NEASC team member in charge of a specific standard of the self-study, perhaps two for more complex standards.  A secondary party will be assigned to help each member.

·         Team members will be staying at the Marriott Hotel in Farmington.  P. Lemma reserved a conference room for them in addition to their individual rooms.

·         Members will need a computer and a printer in the conference room at the hotel.  C. Lovitt asked R. Cernock to be in charge of this task.

·         There will be a working dinner on Sunday, October 19, in which President Meservey asked that a small group of about 30 people attend.  It will be up to the Steering Committee to decide who to invite to this dinner.

Document Room:

·         President Meservey was satisfied with the way that the documents and links were being compiled for the visit.

·         President Meservey was concerned that there may not be enough workspace for the team members.  She asked the committee to provide the team with another table.

·         President Meservey will let P. Lemma know how many computers will be needed in the room.  Most team members will bring their own laptops.  There will need to be at least one computer in the room that is connected to the printer.

·         All team members will need to be given key access to the Document Room as well as to all equipment within that room.  P. Lemma and K. Kollar will be in charge of this task.

Meetings with the Site Team Members:

·         During her visit, President Meservey informed P. Lemma of a few groups that the NEASC team would like to meet with during their visit in the fall.  These groups included:  the Chancellor, members of the BOT, faculty, students, external constituencies, the Steering Committee, and any other groups the University feels they should include. 

·         While on campus, the NEASC team will want to have open forums, where any members of the campus community can come and participate in the self-study process. 

·         President Meservey asked that the Chancellor come to the CCSU campus for his meeting with the visiting team.  P. Lemma will arrange this meeting.

C. Lovitt asked P. Lemma to find out exactly which groups the visiting team will want to meet with, as well as how large these groups should be.  C. Lovitt would like to get an idea of who the team will want to meet, so that the Steering Committee can get these groups together to familiarize them with the self-study process and prepare them for the visit. 

Marketing the NEASC Self-Study—M. McLaughlin:

C. Lovitt asked M. McLaughlin to attend the meeting in order to provide assistance in increasing the visibility of the NEASC Self-Study.  C. Lovitt added that the committee must make every effort to encourage participation and increase awareness in this process.  M. McLaughlin and the committee discussed a few ways in which to achieve this goal.   

C. Lovitt suggested that the Steering Committee create one-page executive summaries of their standards, in order to generate campus talking points for the NEASC visit.  He added that this would allow individuals to learn about the self-study without having to read the entire report.    

L. Wilder suggested that a formal meeting be arranged in the fall to commence the Self-Study visit.  L. Wilder added that this meeting should be an open forum in which President Miller formally introduces the reaccreditation process and highlights the important issues that the community needs to know about the visit.  M. McLaughlin agreed that this was a good idea.

T. Craine suggested that all departments include the Self-Study on their department meeting agendas.  He added that the Faculty Senate can also add this to their agenda items.  C. Lovitt added that the SGA and the GSA should also include the Self-Study in their agendas.

M. McLaughlin then made some recommendations:

1.      Ask the Courier do a front-page story about the NEASC visit. 

2.      Send a consistent flow of e-mails to the campus community. 

3.      Add a message on Central Pipeline to gain the attention of the students.

C. Lovitt suggested having a “Get Ready for NEASC Day,” in which activities will be held to increase awareness of the accreditation process.  The committee agreed with this idea.  C. Lovitt asked that a subcommittee be formed to coordinate the event.  P. Lemma, T. Craine, M. McLaughlin, and K. Kollar offered to join this committee.

Discussion of Agenda for Town Meeting—C. Lovitt 

C. Lovitt discussed the agenda for the May 1, 2008 Town Meeting.  He asked that all committees submit their appraisal sections so that they can be discussed and feedback can be given.  C. Lovitt explained that the feedback given by the meeting attendants would be used to assist the committee in writing the projection sections.   C. Lovitt added that he would like to have a complete draft of the self-study completed before the summer.

The Next Steering Committee Meeting will be held on May 6, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. in the Presidents Conference Room.  

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