Suggestions to prepare for a site visit.

Questions to ask your accreditation agency:

• How does one obtain a copy of the agency's standards?
• What is the format for a typical self-study report?
• Does the accreditation agency accept innovative self-study formats?
• How long is a typical self-study report?
• How much lead time will team members have for reading the self-study report
• Do other readers beside the site-visit team review the self-study?
• What are the accreditation agency's guidelines for reviewing self-studies?
• What are the "official" and "alternate" interpretations of individual standards?

The self-study report is a record of the institution's progress, a planning document and serves as the foundation for the site visit. The self-study development process begins at least one year prior to the on-site evaluation and should describe and analyze the program, present findings and conclusions, appraise strengths and weaknesses, and, outline steps necessary for improvement if deficiencies exist. It should also include qualitative and quantitative information on both faculty and student achievements and on outcomes which demonstrate the program's success in attaining its objectives.

Prior to your review, you should become familiar with your agency's standards. The standards serve as the framework from which to perform the evaluation. Be sure to ask your agency whether there are accepted alternate interpretations for any particular standard. Take time to acquaint yourself with the stated mission, goals and objectives of the program or institution, because this will give you the context from which to understand its workings. Give yourself sufficient time to thoroughly review the self-study, analyzing it from multiple perspectives. Knowing your responsibilities before the visit will also help you to focus on the information in the self-study that you'll need to perform your evaluation. For example, if you're assigned to conduct faculty interviews, you will pose more relevant questions if you have read your faculty-members' Curricula Vitae (CV's).

The appendices in some self-studies will be voluminous and will appear overwhelming, but they serve to support the main messages in the self-study narrative. Skim the appendices for any valuable insights; however, if time is limited, focus on the narrative of the self-study.

A useful preparation strategy is to schedule enough time in advance of the site visit to review the self-study document, faculty CV's and accompanying material three times:

1) Skim for a sense of the main themes and areas that will need closer scrutiny.

2) Read for content and details.

a. Take notes.

b. Highlight important information and bookmark as needed.

c. Note strengths/weaknesses, inconsistencies and warning flags that require further exploration during the site visit, especially regarding:

• Compliance issues with standards
• Problems found in the self-study report
• Student and institutional outcomes
• Balance of resources to needs
• Quality and quantity of faculty to students
• Complaints

d. Develop opening remarks and questions

3) Review prior to the on-site evaluation

Some accreditation agencies use a separate team of individuals to review self-studies. In some cases that team will also screen the study to determine which areas need or do not need further investigation by the on-site evaluation team. Always keep in mind that programs or institutions may appear better or worse in real life than they do on paper. Your challenge will be to know when to use information in the self-study report as a clue to probe deeper and when to move on.