SSC Prepares for Accreditation Review with NEASC Report

Members of the Salem State  community are gearing up for next spring's accreditation review by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, NEASC, by preparing a self-assessment report that reviews all aspects of campus life at the college.

According to the association's website, NEASC is responsible for reviewing accreditation at every educational level from Pre-K to colleges and universities throughout New England. The Association assigns separate committees for the various levels of education. The Commission on Institutes of Higher Education is responsible for reviewing colleges and universities based upon 11 standards that review topics such as student services and the quality of academic programs at undergraduate and graduate levels.

Each college or university has a full accreditation review every 10 years, with an interim report every five years, according to Neal DeChillo, Dean of the Schools of Human Services and co-chair for NEASC at Salem State. Although SSC's actual site visit from NEASC is not scheduled until March 2011, DeChillo said most schools begin preparing for this review two years in advance. During this process, DeChillo is working closely with Susan Cirillo, Dean of the Library, Instructional, and Learning Support.

"The accreditation body generally has certain guidelines or standards and they ask you to respond to those. So, that's the process that we are currently engaged in," said DeChillo. "Then the second part of that process is a group of your peers come and talk with you about that report and observe what's going on at the place to say whether or not the report you write is accurate. So, it's really a process of peer approval in some way."

One of the ways in which Salem State is trying to assess students' perspectives on the college is through a 16-question survey designed by DeChillo, who also aided the college during the interim report in 2006. With the help of Communications Department

Chairperson Judi Puritz Cook, the survey is now available on the main page of Navigator for students to partake in. They survey is designed to identify the most important aspects of college life for Salem State students and asks questions on what students think are strengths and weaknesses at the college.

"I think students should know about the NEASC accreditation visit and understand what it means for the college. As for the survey, the more students who take it and voice an opinion, the better the chances are that the college will grow in a direction that meets students' needs," said Cook. "It is really a good way for students to let the college know the things that are important to them."

Since September, DeChillo has also been meeting with faculty and students to determine what their concerns are regarding the college. He said that although the college is still in the process of writing up the self-assessment that will be delivered to NEASC in October, they have tentatively identified some of the major pros and cons of life at Salem State, which include issues with parking, food service, and activities available for resident students.

"On the plus side so far,students are very clearly telling us that they sense a strong commitment from the faculty and the college to their success," DeChillo said. "Students believe the quality of the teaching is very high and they also believe that the quality of the academic programs is high."

 DeChillo said that he is inclined to agree with many of the things that students have identified as strengths and weaknesses. He said the report that will be written based on all of the information gathered from faculty, staff, students, and alumni will likely be made available to the college community around the time that it will be submitted to NEASC.

Each of the 11 NEASC standards will be addressed in the report. After reviewing, NEASC will send representatives to the campus for a few days determining whether or not the report is accurate. They will then draft their own report based upon what they see during this visit, which will be delivered to the college in May or June of 2011. DeChillo said that although Salem State has not had issues with accreditation in the past, it is important for students to understand that "no accreditation means no federal financial aid."

"We want students to have an input into this process," DeChillo said. "These reports will be seen by the people that make decisions at the very least, so they will know what the concerns are. So, this is a place for students to have a voice, which is important."

DeChillo encourages all students to look for the NEASC survey on Navigator, or by visiting www.surveymonkey.com/s/79VY9W3.