Evaluating SSU (WASC)-- is it a Burden or an Opportunity? Do you have a vision for SSU? Do you have ideas about the kind of campus and university life that you would like to see at SSU? Do you have issues? Want to actually have a voice and hear what faculty and staff think about these same questions? There’s a Town hall meeting on Thurs., April 28, at 12 p.m. in Person Theater. The entire university community has been invited to participate. The university needs to hear from students! The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) is one of six regional associations that accredit public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the U.S. WASC was formed in 1962 to promote the welfare, interests and development of education in the Western Region. SSU does not need to be accredidated, but because of the recognized benefits, we want to keep our accreditation. Often times, members of university communities view accreditation such as the WASC as a burden rather than an opportunity. The Accreditation Review Steering Committee (ARSC) has a different point of view. “The WASC Accreditation process not only takes measure of how we are doing, but gives us an opportunity to think about who we want to become and where we want to go as a learning community,” said MaryAnn Nickel, ARSC member and chair of Literacy Studies and Elementary Education. ARSC is an active committee with 14 members who represent students, faculty, administration, and staff. This is the committee that will be compiling data and information from the entire university community in order to construct a proposal for the WASC Accreditation Review. “WASC gives SSU a lens to see how it performs in specific areas in comparison to other Universities. As one of the major stakeholders, students must participate in order for WASC and SSU to have an honest assessment of the campus,” said Chris Fadeff, vice-president of Finance for Associated Students Inc (ASI).In order for the ARSC committee to better understand your views and those of others the committee has scheduled an Open Forum from 12 to 1 p.m. on April 28 in Person Theater. This will be an opportunity for you to come and voice your ideas, share your sense of the strengths and potentials of SSU, as well as, the concerns about the institution as a whole. This Thursday at 12 p.m., we the students have an opportunity to speak out on the issues that concern us the most. “Student input on this campus is an integral part in understanding the issues facing SSU, however many times students, although aware of the voice they have, do not know how to seek out resources and the outlets to getting their voices heard, said Lindsey Simoncuc, incoming executive vice-president for ASI. “The open forum is the perfect opportunity for students and faculty collectively to give their input on the positive changes they want to see for the future of SSU.” The structure for the meeting includes an Open Forum and a Dialogue about the issues that we are facing. This is one of the best chances a student will have to engage in an open dialogue among faculty, administrators and themselves. The most important factor of the Open Forum is that the faculty and the administrators are anxious to hear from students because they need to accurately assess the student’s perspectives on the issues at SSU. This Thursday, students have a chance to be heard. Your experiences and your perspectives are important and they matter!
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