Savannah State University

Self-Study Goals

The goals of the self-study are four-fold:

First, members of the faculty, staff, student body, and alumni association will document conclusively that Savannah State University provides a solid, effective educational program, aided by appropriate support services, to satisfy the criteria as set forth by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Second, we will review strategic planning and effectiveness of Savannah State University, measuring all educational programs and support services to ensure that they are congruent with one another and with the university's guiding mission.

Third, we will provide specific recommendations to enhance the continuous improvement of academic programs, academic and organizational units, and institutional processes as are appropriate.

Fourth, we will enhance the integration of the academic community at Savannah State University by minimizing unit parochialism as a result of including as many stakeholders in the self-study process as is possible, given the limits of productive committee behavior and timeline.

Self-Study Leadership and Committee Structure

Steering Committee

A Steering Committee, appointed by Dr. Carlton E. Brown, President of Savannah State University, on the recommendation of Dr. Joseph H. Silver, Vice President for Academic Affairs, shall have general oversight of all self-study activities. Currently, the Steering Committee is composed of six members of the Savannah State University faculty and staff. The Savannah State University Faculty Senate appointed one member, and the Student Government Association (SGA) will appoint a student member.

Steering Committee Membership

With a student member to be appointed by the Student Government Association, the current membership of the Steering Committee includes the following members of the faculty and staff:

• Mrs. Mestewat Alemayehu, Director of Budget and Financial Analysis
• Michael Crow, Director of Institutional Research and Planning
• Dr. Obi C. Emeh, Assistant Dean (College of Sciences and Technology) and Professor of Biology
• Dr. Douglas Goings, Associate Professor of Management (Co-Chair)
• Dr. Willie Johnson, Professor of Public Administration (appointed by the Faculty Senate)
• Dr. Jerry Wright, Professor of Social Work and Anthropology (Chair)
• (Student Representative)

Responsibilities of the Steering Committee

The Steering Committee has the primary responsibility for developing the self-study plan, supervising and coordinating its implementation, and compiling committee reports into a meaningful, coherent final report. The committee will oversee the principal committees, each of which is charged with addressing one area of the criteria. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review all SACS documents, materials, and manuals to understand all the substantive and procedural requirements of the self-study process.
• Interview, as necessary, SACS officials and colleagues from sister institutions to form a solid, rigorous understanding of the self-review process.
• Travel to at least one site where a successful accreditation study has been completed; interview key stakeholders in that effort and all review materials germane to that effort.
• Develop a process for identifying and recommending a SACS committee structure and members of the faculty and staff to the president for appointment.
• Develop a set of "charges" to inaugurate the work of each committee and meet with each committee for its inaugural meeting to explain the purpose of the self-study and the role of the committee in completing their work.
• Monitor the continuous progress of individual committees by receiving monthly logs of minutes and maintaining a continuous dialogue with the committee chairs.
• Develop and implement a "marketing campaign" for the self-study process to ensure that the university community remains involved and motivated throughout the self-study process.
• Develop and maintain a web-site, with timely updates, devoted to the self-study process, accessible to all university stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain regular communication with the university and its constituents to keep involvement in and motivation about the self-study process high.
• Review the final draft of the self-study report from the Editorial Committee as to substantive content and recommend changes and alterations as necessary, returning any report sections to working committees for clarification as may be necessary.
• Submit final self-study report to the Commission on Colleges.
• Oversee arrangements for the visiting team visit and subsequent activities necessary.

Self-Study Director

Dr. Jerome Wright was appointed as Self-Study Director by Dr. Carlton Brown, President of Savannah State University on the recommendation of Dr. Joseph H. Silver, Vice-President of Academic Affairs. A professor of social work and anthropology, Dr. Wright is also the Fuller E. Callaway Professor. Dr. Wright was formerly professor of human services and anthropology at California State University, Fullerton. He received a Ph.D. in social anthropology at Harvard University and a Master of Social Work degree from California State University at Long Beach. Dr. Wright is presently leading the initial accreditation process for the Master of Social Work program at Savannah State University.

Steering Committee Co-Chairs

Dr. Jerome Wright and Dr. Douglas Goings were appointed as Co-Chairs of the Self-Study Steering Committee by Dr. Carlton Brown, President of Savannah State University on the recommendation of Dr. Joseph H. Silver, Vice-President of Academic Affairs.

Dr. Douglas Goings is associate professor of management. Dr. Goings was formerly assistant professor of business administration at the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette. He received a Ph.D. in business education at Michigan State University and a Master of Education degree from Louisiana State University. Dr. Goings has participated in self-study processes in business at several colleges.

Responsibilities of the Self-Study Director and Steering Committee Co-Chairs

The director and Steering Committee co-chairs will:

• Coordinate and manage the self-study process.
• Ensure that the university leadership is informed of the resources required to conduct the self-study and seek appropriate support.
• Serve as the liaison between the Commission on Colleges and the university.
• Ensure appropriate review of preliminary working drafts and approval of the final draft of the self-study report by university personnel.
• Ensure timely publication of the self-study report.
• Ensure that appropriate follow-up activities are in place to consider the recommendations generated by the self-study.
• Coordinate and be responsible for production and distribution of the self-study report.
• Assist with preparations for the visiting committee.
• Assist with the development of a plan for follow-up and the implementation of self-study recommendations.
• Preside over and administer the work of the Steering Committee.
• Coordinate the work of the self-study principal committees.
• Maintain the schedule of the self-study and ensure appropriate progress toward the completion of the self-study report.
• Oversee the development of the self-study plan and the self-study manual.
• Consult with the editor and the editorial review of committee reports and the initial and final drafts of the self-study report.
• Work with the Steering Committee on matters related to the visiting committee.

Self-Study Editor

The editor of the self-study report is Dr. Douglas Goings, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee. Responsibilities of the editor will include:

• Work with the Steering Committee to develop and distribute self-study editorial guidelines.
• Assist the Steering Committee in reviewing preliminary drafts of reports.
• Edit the final draft of the self-study report and other appropriate documents.
• Assist in making appropriate arrangements for publication of the self-study report

Procedures and Policies of the Self-Study

The Steering Committee will find it necessary to establish certain policies and procedures to facilitate the self-study. Consideration should be given to the development of clearly defined policies and procedures, including:

• General and specific objectives for the self-study.
• Specific duties and responsibilities for each self-study principal committee.
• Specific expectations concerning characteristics and format of self-study committee reports.
• Approval and use of questionnaire and other self-study data-collection instruments.
• Use of clerical and other support services provided for self-study committees.
• Travel related to self-study activities.
• Documentation of self-study deliberations and findings.
• Means for reducing duplication of effort among self-study committees.
• Coordination of studies for specialized accrediting agencies and the institutional self-study.

Responsibilities of the Principal Committees

Committee on Principles and Philosophy of Accreditation

The Committee on Principles and Philosophy of Accreditation has primary responsibility for Section I of the Criteria for Accreditation, which includes the institutional commitment and responsibilities of the accreditation process, conditions of eligibility, and representation of status. Table 2 presents the membership of the committee. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review output of and documents collected by Committee on Institutional Purpose and engage in dialogue as necessary to refine and perfect understanding.
• Review all prior self-study documents for Savannah State University.
• Review other relevant institutional planning documents.
• Review Criteria for Accreditation (1998) and Handbook for Institutional Self-Study (1994), especially "Conditions of Eligibility."
• Prepare draft statement, i.e., Role of Accreditation Process in Furthering the Development of Savannah State University
• Indicate particular domains of Savannah State University likely to be "at risk" when reviewed by visiting committee.
• Suggest community role models for benchmarking and improving such domains.

Prepare suggestions for Strategic Planning Committee and the President's Cabinet for current medium-range goals and objectives for the university necessary for enacting the recommended mission and positioning statements. Helpful questions might include:

• What does the university need to do to be perceived by its stakeholders as occupying the specified position?
• What attributes of the university need to be amplified and developed to enable it to provide students the benefits identified?
• What does the university need to do to affect the position established in the minds of stakeholders?

• Suggest how the self-study process, institutionalized, becomes the guiding structure for on-going university strategic planning process. (Savannah State University, a small institution, lacks personnel to populate a full complement of parallel planning and self-study committees; consequently, the convergence of functions is necessary. Important dialogue should occur between self-study committees, not between self-study review committees and separate operations committees.)
• Review Section I, "Principles and Philosophy of Accreditation," of the Criteria for Accreditation (pp. 1-15) to ensure that Savannah State University satisfies each "must" statement. Identify specific documents or measurements to be collected and used as evidence in satisfying these "must" statements and in judging the overall effectiveness of the self-study process.
• Submit copies of all minutes to the Steering Committee on the first working day of each month.
• Write narrative for self-study report regarding principles and philosophy of accreditation, presenting suggestions and recommendations for compliance and enhancement. Submit report to the Editorial Committee to ensure compliance with required form.

Committee on Institutional Effectiveness

The Committee on Institutional Effectiveness has primary responsibility for Section III of the Criteria for Accreditation, which includes planning and evaluation for the educational programs and administrative and educational support services. Section III also addresses institutional research. Membership for the committee is presented in Table 3. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review Savannah State University mission and positioning statements, together with the strategic goals, to validate congruence and recommend to the Strategic Planning Committee and the President's Cabinet any changes as needed.
• Assess the strategic goals of the university and identify or develop effectiveness measures to judge and validate the degree to which each goal is effective.
• Review the strategic planning documents for each institutional process, separate college, and academic program, including attention to mission statements, goals, objectives, and evaluation measures. (Consider the interrelationships between various support units and the overall processes of which they are an integral part.) Recommend changes as necessary to render mission, goals, and evaluation congruent and rigorous.
• Review evaluation processes, documents, and instruments for institutional processes, programs, and units to consider whether organizational units and processes can be judged effective. Ensure that multiple evaluation processes are available and implemented for each unit or process to be judged. Ensure that documentation is available to substantiate the evaluative judgment about each unit and/or institutional process.
• Review and appraise existing benchmarks and suggest additional benchmarks that may be available to help judge the relative effectiveness of individual process, programs, or units.
• Review Section 3, "Institutional Effectiveness," of the Criteria for Accreditation (pp. 19-22) and prepare a narrative report identifying exactly how Savannah State University satisfies each "must" statement contained therein and identify the documentation necessary to substantiate such claims.
• Submit copies of all minutes to Steering Committee on the first working day of each month.
• Review reports of other self-study committees to ensure that valid measures of effectiveness are identified to satisfy each "must" statement.
• Write narrative for self-study report regarding institutional effectiveness, presenting suggestions and recommendations for both compliance and enhancement. Submit report to the Editorial Committee to ensure compliance with required form.

Committee on Educational Programs

The Committee on Educational Programs has the responsibility to examine the entire educational program of the university, including distance learning. Membership for the committee is presented in Table 4. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review Section 4, "Educational Program," of the Criteria for Accreditation (pp. 23-54; excluding 4.8) to ensure that Savannah State University satisfies each "must" statement. Identify specific documents or measurements to be collected and used as evidence in satisfying each of these "must" statements and in judging the overall effectiveness of the educational program.
• Review the Academic Program Review Report, together with planning documents of programs themselves, with particular attention to evidence for outcomes effectiveness measures and documentation.
• Review operations of academic units to establish that outcome measures are being used appropriately in conjunction with a strategic planning process to improve unit operations.
• Review the mission and goals of each academic unit to ensure that they are congruent with the mission and goals of the university, recommending adjustments if and when appropriate.
• Consider how to improve the market positioning of programs in the higher education context of southeast Georgia develop a comparative advantage for better attracting and serving students.
• Suggest goals and objectives that programs might incorporate to better effect their missions.
• Submit copies of all minutes to the Steering Committee on the first working day of each month.
• Write narrative for self-study report regarding educational programs, presenting suggestions and recommendations for both compliance and enhancement. Submit report to the Editorial Committee to ensure compliance with required form.

Table 4: Committee on Educational Programs--Distance Learning

Committee on Faculty

The Committee on Faculty has the responsibility to examine the faculty, including the selection of faculty and the role of faculty. Table 5 presents the membership of the committee. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review Section 4.8, "Faculty," of the Criteria for Accreditation (pp. 42-51) to ensure that Savannah State University satisfies each "must" statement. Identify specific documents or measurements to be collected and used as evidence in satisfying these "must" statements and in judging the overall effectiveness of the faculty.
• Review of faculty evaluation and performance review processes to establish that outcome measures are being used appropriately in conjunction with strategic planning to improve faculty quality and effectiveness.
• Identify critical opportunities for faculty development, based on results of student evaluation of instruction.
• Suggest improvements, as warranted, to the instructional evaluation and performance review processes and instruments.
• Prepare a strategic plan for mobilizing the faculty senate to effective involvement and action with respect to pressing academic issues, including faculty evaluation and performance review.
• Write narrative for self-study report regarding faculty, presenting suggestions and recommendations for both compliance and enhancement. Submit report to the Editorial Committee to ensure compliance with required form.

Table 5: Committee on Faculty

Committee on Educational Support Services

The Committee on Educational Support Services has the responsibility to examine all educational support services provided by university. Table 6 presents the membership of the committee. This committee has been divided to create a subcommittee to review the library. Table 7 presents the membership of the library subcommittee. Other subcommittees may become necessary as the self-study progresses. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review Section 5, "Educational Support Services," of the Criteria for Accreditation (pp. 55-61--omitting section 5.4 & 5.5) to ensure that Savannah State University satisfies each "must" statement. Identify specific documents or measurements to be collected and used as evidence in satisfying these "must" statements and in judging overall effectiveness of educational support.
• Review operations of educational support services to establish that outcome measures are being used appropriately in conjunction with strategic planning processes to improve unit operations.
• Review the mission and goals of each educational support service to ensure that they are congruent with the mission and goals of the university, recommending adjustments if and when appropriate.
• Suggest goals and objectives that support services might incorporate to better effect their missions.
• Write narrative for self-study report regarding educational support services, presenting suggestions and recommendations for both compliance and enhancement. Submit report to the Editorial Committee to ensure compliance with required form.

Table 6: Committee on Educational Support Services

Table 7: Educational Support Services Library Subcommittee

Committee on Student Development Services

The Committee on Student Development Services has the responsibility to examine university the student services. Membership for the committee is presented in Table 8. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review Section 5.4, "Student Development Services," of the Criteria for Accreditation (pp. 61-64) to ensure that Savannah State University satisfies each "must" statement. Identify specific documents or measurements to be collected and used as evidence in satisfying these "must" statements and in judging the overall effectiveness of the self-study process.
• Review operations of student development services to establish that outcome measures are being used appropriately in conjunction with strategic planning processes to improve unit operations.
• Review the mission and goals of each student development service to ensure that they are congruent with the mission and goals of the university, recommending adjustments if and when appropriate.
• Suggest goals and objectives to help focus student develop services on their missions.
• Submit copies of all minutes to the Steering Committee on the first day of each month
• Write narrative section of self-study report regarding student development services, presenting suggestions and recommendations for both compliance and enhancement. Submit report to the Editorial Committee to ensure compliance with required form.

Table 8: Committee on Student Development

The Committee on Organization, Administration, and Corporation has the responsibility to examine the administrative organization of the university, alone with any corporate relationships that the university maintains. Membership for the committee is presented in Table 9. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review Section 6, "Administrative Processes," of the Criteria for Accreditation (pp. 67-80; except 6.3, 6.4, & 6.5) to ensure that Savannah State University satisfies each "must" statement. Identify specific documents or measurements to be collected and used as evidence in satisfying these "must" statements and in judging the overall effectiveness of the self-study process.
• Review Organization, Administration, and Corporation to establish that outcome measures are being used appropriately in conjunction with strategic planning processes to improve unit operations.
• Review the mission and goals of each administrative unit to ensure that they are congruent with the mission and goals of the university, recommending adjustments if and when appropriate.
• Suggest goals and objectives that administrative units might use to better effect their missions.
• Submit copies of all minutes Steering Committee on the first working day of each month.
• Write narrative section of self-study report regarding Organization, Administration, and Corporation, presenting suggestions and recommendations for both compliance and enhancement. Submit report to the Editorial Committee to ensure compliance with required form.

Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics

The Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics has the responsibility to examine intercollegiate athletics programs. Table 10 presents the membership of the committee. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review Section 5.5, "Intercollegiate Athletics," of the Criteria for Accreditation (pp. 64-65) to ensure that Savannah State University satisfies each "must" statement. Identify specific documents or measurements to be collected and used as evidence in satisfying these "must" statements and in judging the overall effectiveness of the self-study process.
• Review Intercollegiate Athletics to establish that outcome measures are being used appropriately in conjunction with strategic planning processes to improve unit operations.
• Review the mission and goals of the athletic program to ensure that they are congruent with the mission and goals of the university, recommending adjustments if and when appropriate.
• Suggest goals and objectives that the athletic program might incorporate to better effect its mission.
• Submit copies of all minutes to Steering Committee on the first working day of each month.
• Write narrative for self-study report regarding Intercollegiate Athletics, presenting suggestions and recommendations for both compliance and enhancement. Submit report to the Editorial Committee to ensure compliance with required form.

Committee on Financial and Physical Resources

The Committee on Financial and Physical Resources has the responsibility to examine the financial and physical aspects of the university. Membership for the committee is presented in Table 11. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Review Sections 6.3, "Financial Resources", 6.4, "Physical Resources", and 6.5, Externally Funded Grants and Contracts", of the Criteria for Accreditation (pp. 71-79) to ensure that Savannah State University satisfies each "must" statement. Identify specific documents or measurements to be collected and used as evidence in satisfying these "must" statements and in judging the overall effectiveness of the self-study process.
• Review financial and physical operations to establish that outcome measures are being used appropriately in conjunction with strategic planning processes to improve unit operations.
• Review the mission and goals of financial and physical operating units to ensure that they are congruent with the mission and goals of the university, recommending adjustments when appropriate.
• Suggest goals and objectives that financial and physical administrative units might incorporate to better effect their missions.
• Submit copies of all minutes to Steering Committee on the first working day of each month.
• Write narrative section of self-study report regarding Financial and Physical Resources, presenting suggestions and recommendations for both compliance and enhancement. Submit report to the Editorial Committee to ensure compliance with required form.