IOWA LAKES WOWS ACCREDITATION TEAM

Iowa Lakes Community College will sustain its state accreditation through 2008, according to Tom Grimm, Iowa Department of Education consultant and chair of the 2003 Accreditation Team visiting the college October 27-29.

During an exit interview Wednesday with President Mike Hupfer, the Team complimented faculty and staff of Iowa Lakes for their focus on students and learning; response to suggestions of the 1998 accreditation teams for institutional quality improvement purposes; use of data for  program improvement and collegewide decision-making; and, team-approach to problem-solving.

Iowa Lakes has many strengths, not the least of which include a caring faculty and staff, according to those involved in the exit interview.  They also shared that it's evident that employees are proud of this college, and students feel valued.  Iowa Lakes was commended for:

The College's Core Book project and the comprehensive approach to raising awareness on issues of diversity;

The Program Review & Evaluation Process, the college's use of multiple assessment tools, and the comprehensive focus on the intent of program evaluation and continuous quality improvement;

The Assessment Review Committee and its demonstrated faculty-based leadership;

Common course syllabus format that, when fully implemented, will provide comparability and consistency across courses;

Identification of general education outcomes and the use of CAAP as an outcome measure and feedback loop for improving student learning;

Use of Diploma Technologies software as an innovative approach to providing students with immediate feedback and tracking learning outcomes; and,

Enrollment Management Process for placing college core values on center stage and the enthusiastic team approach to recruitment and retention that has led to a collegewide impact.

In terms of AQIP readiness (a new option for national accreditation), the evaluators said the Iowa Lakes culture is consistent with AQIP values and currently demonstrates evidence of applying the attributes of continuous quality improvement in numerous ways, including:       Strategic Planning Processes; Data use; Team approach (e.g., Enrollment Management Team, Assessment Review Committee); and, Classroom Research projects.

A formal accreditation report will be sent to President Hupfer in approximately 60 days.