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Self-Identified Areas of Special Interest and Experience of NCHC Recommended Site Visitors

• International Education / Study Abroad and Honors
• Reinvigorating an Honors Program
• Relationship of Honors to Core Curriculum / University Requirements
• Research in Honors
• Honors Alumni
• Undergraduate Research and Honors
• Recruiting and Retention
• Service Learning

On the Role of the Site Visitor as Consultants & Program Reviewers
Anne Wilson, Director, Honors Program, Butler University

While I have not been a site visitor for any other organization, I have had experiences that would be valuable as an NCHC site visitor.  In addition to participation in the site visitors training institute, I have prepared information for on campus site visits and participated in a “Faith and Vocation” workshop.  From these disparate experiences I have developed my own perspective on the assessment process.

I am delighted that NCHC is not involved in accrediting Honors Programs or Colleges.  As a participant in site visits for University and departmental accreditation, these visits are very different than how I imagine that a site visit should be.  Accreditation visits are fraught with concerns about measurement (how many students, how much money is spent, percentages of graduates, number of students accepted to top programs, etc.).  My experiences with these visits were fairly negative even though the outcomes were positive.  While we found that we “measured up,” no one asked about our vision or the bigger picture and I felt that the experience was incomplete.

I have also been a participant in a “Faith and Vocation Faculty Workshop” on Butler’s campus and I think this would be an asset to me as a site visitor.  This workshop was designed to give faculty a vocabulary to discuss faith issues with current students and be able to assist students with discernment or a sense of “calling” to a job, vocation, or career path.  This was a very powerful yearlong workshop with faculty members from across the University.  It gave me the perspective to ask questions about our own Honors Program in the form of “what is the meaning of this requirement” and “what is the higher purpose of completion of Honors at Butler.”  This significantly sharpened the focus of our program and we have been able to gather data to support our purpose and goals.

I think it is very important to ask about all aspects of a program as a site visitor.  Assessment has become so very important for many aspects of higher education, but there is more to program evaluation than assessment.  I will strive to integrate the larger picture of reflection and evaluation into a site visit, while including important items of assessment into program review.

I am also cognizant that site visitors or reviewers serve different purposes at different times, even for the same institution.  Programs or colleges in their first five years have very different needs from a review than the same programs twenty or more years down the road.  Longstanding programs or colleges could have specific intentions for the review, and it is up to me as a reviewer to ask about those intentions if they are unclear.  Many reviews simply take place on a rotating basis.  It would be inappropriate for me to assume that a program is in need of rejuvenation or a fresh perspective (even if it may be) if that is not the intent of the review.  It would be up to me to measure the receptivity of the Honors staff, administration, and students of a given institution for ideas or suggestions, while reflecting the institutional objectives of the review.

As a site visitor, I feel that I would try to balance my role.  I would weigh the needs of the program or college with best practices as outlined by NCHC.  I would articulate the vision and goals and suggest appropriate measures by which these could be supported.  I would compare the objectives of the program with the objectives of the administrators.  I imagine that most reviews and site visits will be interesting and the programs will be very different than my own.  If given the opportunity to be a site visitor, I would look forward to the unique challenges of each.