Accreditation

Accreditation

CRITERION 3 - Student Learning and Effective Teaching

The Higher Learning Commission defines Criterion Three as:

The organization provides evidence of student learning and teaching effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational mission.

The foundations of Criterion Three are the programs/processes that assess how well students learn. The institution must define goals for student learning, assess students’ progress toward those goals and use the assessment results to make improvements that help its students achieve the goals. The commission expects institutions to foster a “culture of assessment.”

CORE COMPONENT 3a:

The organization’s goals for student learning outcomes are clearly stated for each educational program and make effective assessment possible.

Examples of Evidence

• The organization clearly differentiates its learning goals for undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate programs by identifying the expected learning outcomes for each.
• Assessment of student learning provides evidence at multiple levels: course, program, and institutional.
• Assessment of student learning includes multiple direct and indirect measures of student learning.
• Results obtained through assessment of student learning are available to appropriate constituencies, including students themselves.
• The organization integrates into its assessment of student learning the data reported for purposes of external accountability (e.g., graduation rates, passage rates on licensing exams, placement rates, transfer rates).
• The organization’s assessment of student learning extends to all educational offerings, including credit and noncredit certificate programs.
• Faculty are involved in defining expected student learning outcomes and creating the strategies to determine whether those outcomes are achieved.
• Faculty and administrators routinely review the effectiveness and uses of the organization’s program to assess student learning

Subcommittee Membership
Regina Chen-Coordinator
Wendy Rheault
Nancy Collins
Phil Gianfortune
John Vitale

CORE COMPONENT 3b:

The organization values and supports effective teaching.

Examples of Evidence

• Qualified faculty determine curricular content and strategies for instruction.
• The organization supports professional development designed to facilitate teaching suited to varied learning environments.
• The organization evaluates teaching and recognizes effective teaching.
• The organization provides services to support improved pedagogies.
• The organization demonstrates openness to innovative practices that enhance learning.
• The organization supports faculty in keeping abreast of the research on teaching and learning, and of technological advances that can positively affect student learning and the delivery of instruction.
• Faculty members actively participate in professional organizations relevant to the disciplines they teach.

Subcommittee Membership
John Tomkowiak-Coordinator
Emily Bubbers
James Carlson

CORE COMPONENT 3c:

The organization creates effective learning environments.
Examples of Evidence

• Assessment results inform improvements in curriculum, pedagogy, instructional resources, and student services.
• The organization provides an environment that supports all learners and respects the diversity they bring.
• Advising systems focus on student learning, including the mastery of skills required for academic success.
• Student development programs support learning throughout the student’s experience regardless of the location of the student.
• The organization employs, when appropriate, new technologies that enhance effective learning environments for students.
• The organization’s systems of quality assurance include regular review of whether its educational strategies, activities, processes, and technologies enhance student learning.

Subcommittee Membership
Rebecca Durkin-Coordinator
Shawn Norris
James Carlson
Steve Weiand

CORE COMPONENT 3d:

The organization’s learning resources support student learning and effective teaching.
Examples of Evidence

• The organization ensures access to the resources (e.g., research laboratories, libraries, performance spaces, clinical practice sites) necessary to support learning and teaching.
• The organization evaluates the use of its learning resources to enhance student learning and effective teaching.
• The organization regularly assesses the effectiveness of its learning resources to support learning and teaching.
• The organization supports students, staff, and faculty in using technology effectively.
• The organization provides effective staffing and support for its learning resources.
• The organization’s systems and structures enable partnerships and innovations that enhance student learning and strengthen teaching effectiveness.
• Budgeting priorities reflect that improvement in teaching and learning is a core value of the organization.

Subcommittee Membership
Bruce Manion-Coordinator
Preston Cannady
Jason Lashley
Curt Stilp

Criterion Committee Members

Name	Position	Affiliation
Emily Bubbers	Student	Chicago Medical School
Preston Cannady	Professor Department of Medicine	Chicago Medical School
Jim Carlson (Chair)	Head of Clinical Education Education and Evaluation Center	Rosalind Franklin University
Regina Chen	Assistant Professor Physician Assistant Department	College of Health Professions
Nancy Collins	Associate Professor Department of Neurology	Chicago Medical School
Rebecca Durkin	Associate Vice President for Student Affairs	Rosalind Franklin University
Phil Gianfortune	Professor & Chair Department of Medicine	Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine
Jason Lashley	Student	Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine
Bruce Manion	Associate Professor & Chair Basic Biomedical Sciences	Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine
Shawn Norris	Student	Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine
Wendy Rheault	Dean	College of Health Professions
Curt Stilp	Instructor Physician Assistant Department	College of Health Professions
John Tomkowiak	Associate Dean, Medical Curriculum	Chicago Medical School
John Vitale (Liaison)	Assistant Professor & Acting Chair Pathologists’ Assistant	College of Health Professions
Steve Weiand	Director, Academic Support	Rosalind Franklin University

* The business of the Criterion Committees is divided amongst the individual Core Component Subcommittees. The subcommittees meet on a regular basis throughout the data collection/ compilation process and report back to the Criterion Committee Chair who, in turn, provides an update to the Steering Committee.