Capacity and Preparatory Review

2005 Capacity and Preparatory Review Report

This review is designed for WASC to determine whether the institution fulfills the Core Commitment to Institutional Capacity.

Commitment to Institutional Capacity

The institution functions with clear purposes, high levels of institutional integrity, fiscal stability, and organizational structures to fulfill its purposes. CLU completed its Capacity and Preparatory Review in 2005.

The Preparatory Review has clearly designed purposes and procedures. These are to:

1. Audit and verify the information presented in the Institutional Presentation, and to assure that the data accurately and fairly portrays the state of the institution at the time of review.
   
   
2. Evaluate key institutional resources, structures, and processes reflecting the WASC standards to assure that the institution operates at or above threshold levels acceptable for accreditation, and, if necessary, to identify any capacity-related issues that need to be addressed in the Educational Effectiveness Review.
   
   
3. Assess the institution's readiness to undertake the Educational Effectiveness Review as proposed, and to help the institution to refine its focus and preparation for the review.

WASC also uses four standards that define the scope of the review in more specific terms:

1. Standard 1: Defining Institutional Purposes and Ensuring Educational Objectives

   Evidence of this standard at CLU includes: mission statement, educational objectives, leadership system, academic freedom, diversity, grievance policies, etc.
   
   

2. Standard 2: Achieving Educational Objectives through Core Functions

   CLU has many core functions that help us to achieve our educational objectives. These core functions include: appropriate educational programs, sufficient number of faculty, general education competencies, organization/content of curricula, policies (admissions, grading, graduation), advisement, library resources, academic challenge, program review, scholarship & creative activity, integrated co-curricular programs, student support services, and others.
   
   

3. Standard 3: Developing and Applying Resources and Organizational Structures to Ensure Sustainability

   CLU has many functions in place to support Standard 3, including: sufficient number of personnel, instructional staffing plan, diversity, recruitment, workload, incentives, evaluation practices, faculty development, fiscal/physical/information resources, organization chart, governing board, qualified & effective administrators, effective faculty academic leadership, etc.
   
   

4. Standard 4: Creating an Organization Committed to Learning and Improvement

   Many different types of planning and evaluation are in place or being developed at CLU that include: strategic planning, definition of future direction, alignment of needs with strategic objectives, quantitative & qualitative data, quality assurance processes, program review, ongoing evaluation, institutional research, etc.