Input

An essential step in the Middle States Accreditation self-study process is to gather input for campus constituents. This is accomplished through a variety of formal and informal methods. Input was originally gathered in online forms and town halls in the spring of 2020. However, due to changes in the self-study timeline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the draft that was reviewed in spring 2020 had to be updated.

On April 26, 2021, the Self Study steering committee released the updated draft for review and input by the UD community and campus stakeholders. Feedback was gathered through a form that closed on May 15, and in two town halls. We invite members of the campus community who were unable to join us at our Town Halls to view the recordings in UD Capture.

<<Click here to download the Draft Self Study – April 26, 2021>>

Surveys

Surveys are one method that the Self-Study committees are using to collect information and input from many constituents. Listed below are some of the surveys that we have used in this process.

  • Survey of faculty and staff: Representatives of the Self-Study committees have met with many groups of faculty and staff across and outside of campus. During these meetings, not everyone may have had an opportunity to respond to our questions or participants may have wanted to follow up with more detailed responses. Everyone at the University who is a faculty or staff member was invited to complete this survey; it required a UD login but was anonymous.
  • Survey of students: Representatives of the Self-Study committees have met with many groups of students across and outside of campus. During these meetings, not everyone may have had an opportunity to respond to our questions or participants may have wanted to follow up with more detailed responses. This survey ensured they could respond or provide the desired details. Every student at the university was invited to complete this survey. Although students needed to login with their UD account, responses are anonymous.
  • Survey of academic departments and units: Many of the accreditation standards focus specifically on student learning and how the university designs, delivers, and assesses student learning. Additionally, some standards also focus on how the university hires and supports faculty. Of course, faculty in academic departments and programs are best placed to help us understand and describe how UD does this critical work. A preview of the survey instrument, including all of the questions, is available at http://www.udel.edu/006360. Department chairs and academic unit directors have been invited to complete this survey; it is not anonymous.
  • Survey of academic programs: Many of the accreditation standards focus on student learning and how the university designs, delivers, and assesses student learning. Much of this focus is specifically placed on what occurs in individual academic programs. Of course, faculty in those programs are best placed to help us understand and describe how UD does this critical work. A preview of the survey instrument, including all of the questions, is available at http://www.udel.edu/006361. Department chairs and academic unit directors have been invited to complete this survey or forward it to appropriate colleagues (e.g., program directors, curriculum committee chairs); it is not anonymous.    Additionally, a listing of all of the programs included in this survey, including an indication of whether information has been provided for each program, is available at http://www.udel.edu/006359.

Please contact Kevin R. Guidry (kguidry@udel.edu), Associate Director of Educational Assessment in UD’s Center for Teaching & Assessment of Learning, if you have any questions about these surveys.

Prior Input

The original timeline was adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the external review team visit. On May 1, 2020, campus and community stakeholders were invited to review the original self-study draft, and offer comments via an online form through June 1, 2020. Virtual Town Halls were offered to current University students, faculty and staff to review the Draft Self Study that was first issued in May 2020.