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NCA evaluation team visits UA

With a self-study report that says the UA is academically strong and anticipates the challenges of the next decade, the university will now host an evaluation team in the final step of the re-accreditation process.

Every 10 years, the University of Arizona undergoes an institutional accreditation process held by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. An NCA evaluation team - consisting of 15 deans and administrators from all over the country - arrived yesterday and will stay until Wednesday.

The team will be meeting with UA faculty, students, deans and Arizona Board of Regents members Hank Amos and Judy Gignac to see if the UA has met all its challenges over the past 10 years.

"We address the criteria the NCA has put forward, and we think we have met them all quite well," said John Lopez, senior research specialist with the Office of Academic Planning.

"We want to prove that we are a quality institution," Lopez added.

The university's request for continued accreditation began in March 1998, when Betty Atwater, associate head of the department of physiology, and Randy Richardson, assistant vice president for undergraduate education, were appointed co-chairs of the self-study report steering committee by Provost Paul Sypherd.

"The theme of the self-study is the UA's vision of becoming a student-centered research university," Atwater said.

Atwater said there are many ways that people have interpreted this theme, but she personally feels that the UA has taken many steps in accomplishing its goal.

"Over the past 10 years, we have had growth in student services, which include classes that involve learning through research and focusing on learning processes that challenge students for active knowledge," she said.

The self-study steering committee included 20 members, and each of the eight working teams were composed of eight to 12 students and faculty members.

The eight teams that completed the report provide evidence that the UA satisfies the five basic criteria for accreditation.

Some of this evidence says that the university is accomplishing its educational purposes, it can continue its pursuits of becoming a student-centered research university, and it has stated purposes consistent with its mission to an institute of higher education.

"I am really excited about this self-study because we can look back on our accomplishments, and I am really proud of our theme," Richardson said.

A couple of achievements Richardson said he has worked on concerned undergraduate education.

"We have spent $10 million on classroom renovations, and we would like to make them state-of-the-art, and we have made a commitment to have ranked professors teaching the Tier One classes," Richardson said.

The NCA was founded in 1895 and has been accrediting the UA since 1917.

During their free time, the NCA evaluation team will be walking around campus today and tomorrow, giving them the opportunity to speak with students.

An open student forum will be held today with members of the NCA team, in the Senior Ballroom of the Memorial Student Union from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

"We encourage students to share their thoughts and experiences about the university's programs, activities and services," Lopez said.

Lopez said the final NCA decision will come about eight or nine weeks after the evaluation team visit.