Communications

On October 1-2, 2018, Lawrence will host a team of reviewers from the Higher Learning Commission as part of our reaccreditation process.

As part of the site visit, the HLC reviewers want to hear from the Lawrence community on a number of important topics. Your presence at meetings and forums that touch on areas where you may have insight to offer is a valuable piece of the reaccreditation process. These meetings and forums are open to students, faculty, and staff. PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR E-MAIL FOR INVITATIONS TO MEETINGS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE VISIT. View the current visit schedule here. More information about accreditation available here.

As part of the preparation for the visit, there will be a town hall next week to discuss topics that will be covered in the criteria meetings. This town hall meeting will be held at two different times to accommodate as many schedules as possible.

Accreditation Visit Preparation Town Hall Times and Locations:

Wednesday, September 26

4:30-5:30 p.m.

Warch Campus Center, Nathan Marsh Pusey Room

Thursday, September 27

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Warch Campus Center, Nathan Marsh Pusey Room

As many of you know, the sweet songs of retirement reached the ears of two members of the communications team: Craig Gagnon, our associate vice president, and Rick Peterson, our director of media relations. (In case you missed our story about Rick’s 39 years at Lawrence, here it is, along with our thanks to so many in our community who contributed to it.)

Last week we announced that Megan Scott will join us this fall to lead our communications team. And just yesterday we officially launched the search for a new Director of Public Information.

Because we are not yet fully staffed on our communications team, we are asking for some help and open-mindedness from our campus colleagues with projects they are sending into the office. Due to these changes and available resources, that may mean the communications team may not be able to produce every request but can provide information and resources on how you can complete your project. Your colleagues in the communication office will work with each project request on an individual basis, seeking the most efficient and effective path to production and distribution.

In the meantime, please direct media requests and inquiries to the Office of Communications at 920-832-7325 or communications@lawrence.edu.

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Lawrence is preparing for an accreditation review, a process that every institution of higher education undergoes. Below are answers to questions about where we are in the process. (See the original Accreditation FAQ at http://go.lawrence.edu/accredfaq1 for information about what accreditation is and why it matters.)

What’s happening with accreditation?

The Accreditation & Assessment Committee has been preparing materials for our upcoming review by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The review has three parts:

(1) Quality Initiative Report: Title III Project Director Matt Stoneking is preparing a report on years 4-5 of our Title III project to improve retention, persistence, and completion by first-generation students and students from traditionally underrepresented groups.

(2) Assurance Argument & Evidence File:  The committee has drafted arguments for the five quality assurance criteria set by the HLC, and these arguments link to evidence documents collected from across the university. The arguments and evidence are being loaded into the HLC system for further editing and review.

(3) Federal Compliance Form:  Director of Research Administration Kristin McKinley has gathered evidence to show our compliance with federal requirements—including 25 appendices!

The Higher Learning Commission has selected a team of five peer reviewers from public and private universities. The team will review our materials in September and visit campus to meet with administration, faculty, staff, students, and trustees on October 1-2.

Students and the public have been invited to submit comments to the HLC via a student survey emailed to all students in April and public notices sent to our public email list and placed in alumni magazines and local newspapers.

What’s coming up?

This summer we will edit our materials and update the evidence before we lock our submission at the end of August.  In September, we will communicate with the campus community about preparing for the review visit.  On October 1-2, the HLC peer review team will be on campus to conduct their comprehensive evaluation.

How can I help?

If you receive a request to provide information or documents for the evidence file, please respond right away.  You may also be asked to review parts of the argument or evidence for accuracy.  At the start of the academic year in September, we expect that you will be eager to hear about our review visit and the role that you might play.