CAMPUS PORTFOLIO: A GUIDE

Navigating the Website

Use the top navigation links to access key areas.

Left links are to pages associated with a key area.

The top "breadcrumb" links provide a navigation trail.

The Site Index may also be used to locate specific information.

The Website Diagram provides a graphical illustration of how the website sections interrelate.

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An Introduction

This web-based portfolio has been created to meet the needs for reaccreditation of the university by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and to provide the campus community with a critical appraisal of the campus and easy access to a variety of data on university operations.

Accreditation by the WASC Senior College Commission is based upon two Core Commitments against which institutions are evaluated. The first core commitment, the foundation of the first analytical essay, the preparatory review, is a commitment to institutional capacity. As defined here, capacity refers to the full range of qualities necessary for an educational institution to function successfully, from its vision to its facilities, from its fiscal and organizational stability to the quality of its faculty. A detailed list of these capacities can be found with the four Standards and the Criteria for Review (CFR) marked with a "C." California State University, Fresno was assessed in terms of those capacities during the Fall 2003 semester, based upon the Preparatory Review Essay and a visit by a team of assessors. That team prepared a report to the commission which, together with the campus response to that report, formed the basis for the Commission's finding, at their meeting in February, 2004 of continued accreditation following the preparatory review.

The second core commitment, the foundation of the second essay, Educational Effectiveness Review, is to document success in using this capacity to educate students in appropriate areas and levels. Standard 2 and several of its Criteria for Review, indicated by an "E," deal with this core commitment. California State University, Fresno expects to be assessed against these criteria during fall semester, 2004. The Educational Effectiveness Review Essay has been completed and forwarded to the review team. The team visit is expected on October 20-22, 2004. Their report on that visit and the campus response to that report will then be presented to the WASC Senior College Commission in early 2005.

Review Team Pathways

The layout of the portfolio can be seen from the Site Index and Website Diagragm For the accreditation review teams there are two basic approaches. Consistent with our proposal, we have responded to the relevant Core Commitments, Standards and CFRs in the context of two essays, each consisting of an Introduction, three thematic sections entitled Opportunity, Exploration, and Interaction, and a Summary and Conclusions section The essays provide the university's assessment of how it measures up to those criteria in an order appropriate to those themes. Links are provided with the essays to the section on Strategic Planning, to data resources supportive of the conclusions reached, and to relevant Criteria for Review. This approach provides response to the criteria while "telling our story" in a manner which best captures the nature of the campus.

An alternative approach is provided by the Standards and CFRs pages. Within each CFR, links are provided to sections of the essays which provide comment on how well each criteria is satisfied. This approach provides the most direct method of measuring compliance with the CFR. We anticipate that review team members will wish to explore both routes.

As a supplement to these pathways, the portfolio also includes, as a separate section, the Required Displays as called for in the Accreditation Handbook. These will, in some cases, be linked from the essays or CFR as evidence but will be supplemented by other evidentiary sources.

Community Pathways

For members of the university community, the most interesting sites will likely be the two accreditation essays; the section on Strategic Planning at the university; and the Required Displays.

Resource Documents

The Resource Documents page contains selected documents for printing, which may be easier to use for some purposes. Some are in pdf format and will require the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print.

(free download)

October 25, 2004