Accreditation- review team on campus Wednesday

By Amy Roberts

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation team will spend Wednesday conducting a series of meetings with University President John Welty and various other groups and committees to examine information and documents relevant to Fresno State’s periodic review.

In an effort to involve students, Ethelynda Harding, CSUF accreditation liaison officer, sent e-mails inviting the student body to participate in the accreditation review.

An open forum with the visiting team will be held Thursday from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in UC 202 located above Round Table Pizza and down the hall, according to the e-mail. Students are also invited to listen to the WASC team’s exit briefing Friday at noon in UC 200.

While most students received the e-mail, about 4,000 were returned as undeliverable, Harding said. She said those e-mails continued to be sent out to try and reach all students.

Neil Gibson, president of Associated Students, Inc., said he hopes students take advantage of the time set aside for their comments.

“ It is extremely important that students are involved in the accreditation process,” he said. “After all, it is all about us, and the outcomes of this can affect our whole university.”

Members of the AS will also meet with the visiting team to field questions and explain the organization’s activities. Gibson said he doesn’t have anything specifically planned to bring up, but expects the team to ask questions of them.

“ I still have much to learn about how things are being assessed,” he said, “and I plan on being frank and open with the accreditation board as they ask questions about our school.”

Graduate students are invited to attend a forum designed to explore the school’s environment to conduct research and creative activity. This meeting, also on Thursday, starts at 2:30 in the same location.

WASC wants to know if Fresno State has the capacity to deliver on its self-study theme of exploration, Harding said of the graduate student forum. Research, she said, figures prominently in that arena. The other themes are opportunity and interaction. These three themes will be explored on this visit and during next fall’s visit.

The faculty meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the same meeting room.

The five-member visiting team reviewing Fresno State consists of:

-• Chair — Anthony Ceddia, president of Shippensburg State, Pa.

-• Devorah Lieberman, vice provost and special assistant to the president, Campus Initiatives, Portland State University, Ore.

-• W. David Conn, vice provost for Academic Programs and Undergraduate Education, Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo

-• Rodney Sakaguchi, vice chancellor for Administration, Finance and Operations, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

-• Rosina Becerra, associate vice chancellor, Faculty Diversity, UCLA

Coming to Fresno State is Becerra’s first visit to a university as a visiting team member.

Student involvement is an important part of a campus visit, she said. The main mission of a school is educating the students so their voice should be heard, Becerra adds.

According to the WASC Web site, Fresno State’s accreditation through its organization dates back to 1949. Accreditation was re-affirmed in 1994 after the school’s last visit in 1993. Fresno State also submitted an interim report in 1997. Prior to 1949, the Association of American Universities accredited the campus.

The Web site also notes that the school has professional accreditation is business, chemistry, engineering – including civil, electrical, mechanical, surveying and photogrammetry, home economics, industrial technology, journalism, music, nursing, physical therapy, rehabilitation counseling, social work, speech pathology, teacher education and theater.