Update on RTC Accreditation
3/28/2013
Background
Renton Technical College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. Institutional accreditation consists of a rigorous process of peer review. The accreditation process has recently shifted from a 10-year review cycle, to a more continuous process that repeats every 7 years. In fall 2013, RTC will present the Year 7 self-study report and be visited by the accreditation team for review. Due to the initial shift in cycle timelines, RTC is completing the 7 year cycle in 3 years.
Core Themes
Renton Technical College has already identified five core themes that represent the fundamental aspects of the college mission:
1. Workforce Education
2. Academic Education
3. Basic Skills Education
4. Student Access and Diversity
5. College Stewardship
The core themes were presented to and approved by the Board of Trustees at their annual retreat in August 2011.
Each core theme has identified 2-4 objectives. For each objective, there are Indicators of Success and Desired Outcomes so that the college can measure our success under each core theme. The core themes were reported to NWCCU in September 2011 in the Year 1 report.
Self-Study Report
The college is currently focused on using broadly representative writing committees to complete the Year 7 self-study report, which includes the original (updated) Year 1 report as well as reports on each of the NWCCU’s accreditation standards.
The RTC Accreditation Steering Committee is coordinating the overall writing of RTC's self-study report.
Eric Palo, Library Director
De Etta Burrell, ABE/GED Faculty and RFT President
Michelle Canzano, Executive Assistant, Admin & Finance
Pat Chakravarty, Research and Development
Marty Heilstedt, VP of Instruction
Jenna Pollock, Associate Dean for Basic Studies
Accreditation Writing Committees were created to work on individual sections of the self-study report. Below is a list of the committees with their elected committee chairs.
· Steering Committee = Eric Palo
· Basic Institutional Data & Eligibility = Marty Heilstedt
· Mission & Effectiveness = Leslie Lehnhoff
· Core Themes = Marty Heilstedt
· Governance = Becky Riverman & Jim Drinkwine
· Human Resources = Jodi Novotny
· Educational Resources = Ardene Niemer & Heather Stephens-Selby
· Student Support = Scott Latiolais and Jessica Supinski
· Library & Info Resources = Debbie Crumb
· Financial Resources = Melinda Merrell
· Physical & Tech Infrastructure = Mary Kay Wegner
· Institutional Planning = Larry Bovard
· Mission/Conclusion = Marty Heilstedt
Timeline
Below is the timeline for completion of the Year 7 self-study report.
Friday, Apr 12, 2013: Final Drafts Due to Steering Committee
Writing committees submit their final drafts to the Steering Committee for review and editing.
Monday, Jun 17, 2013: Final Draft Posted for RTC to Review
Final self-study draft is posted for the RTC community to review and make comments.
Monday, Jul 29, 2013: Final Document sent to RTC Trustees for Approval
Final self-study document is sent to the RTC Board of Trustees for their approval.
Thursday, Aug 8, 2013: Final Document Sent to Printer
Final self-study document is sent to the printer.
Monday, Sep 30, 2013: Final Printed Document Distributed
Final, printed self-study document is distributed to RTC community and NWCCU.
Wednesday, Oct 16, 2013 to Friday, Oct 18, 2013: NWCCU Visiting Team at RTC
The NWCCU visiting team of accreditation evaluators will be visiting RTC.