Over the two-year course of the Middle States self-study process, a committee of more than 85 people representing all areas of the college-students, faculty, staff, and administration-contributed to the report. The committee also visited faculty, staff, and Student Government Association meetings, held public feedback sessions, and posted the report on an OpenLab site to solicit comments. All contributions were carefully considered and many were used to improve the self-study.

The Constituent Feedback and Executive Committee Responses document is a summary of the questions, comments, and critiques offered by the college community in response to the self-study drafts.

The role of the self-study in the accreditation process is primarily a retrospective analysis and documentation of how the institution has meet the MSCHE accreditation Standards. The self-study is also intended to formulate in broad outlines the few most critical priorities for the next eight years.

The feedback from the college community overwhelmingly confirmed the broad priorities that were proposed, while prompting useful clarification and adjustment to their expression in the form of the final four self-study recommendations. Feedback coalesced around common themes:

1. Clarity of institutional identity, mission, and vision;
2. Retention, graduation, and student success;
3. Transparency, communication, and dissemination of information about institutional processes and procedures;
4. Institutional climate with respect to diversity, inclusion, and community;
5. Assessment to measure achievement of education goals, student success, and fiscal and managerial effectiveness;
6. Institutional support for faculty in terms of working conditions, research facilities, service obligations, and equitable personnel practices;
7. Physical plant for teaching and learning; and
8. Institutional planning and fiscal management.

The most important role of the feedback provided by the college community, however, is in the many detailed suggestion for implementation of those broad recommendations, and for the rich array of additional specific concerns and suggestions that will most appropriately inform the next strategic planning cycle (beginning fall 2018).

In the future, City Tech’s strategic plans will be held to another level of accountability under the reporting requirement of the MSCHE. Beginning in fall 2018, MSCHE-accredited institutions will be initiating a new annual reporting process, the Annual Institutional Update (AIU). This new process will focus on metrics that show progress toward achieving institutional goals, including update reports not only on the self-study recommendations, but also on the goals of the strategic plan.

Feedback Timeline

Feedback round one: April 2017

Student Focus Groups: April 3 and 6, 2017. Publicized via emails to all students from Student Affairs and SGA, and on the college and SGA social media feeds, and via the Alumni Relations email address list and social media feed.

Faculty Focus Groups: April 3 and 6, 2017. Publicized via emails to all faculty and staff. Staff Focus Group: April 3, 2017. Publicized via emails to all faculty and staff.

Feedback round two: November 2017

Student Government Association: October 5, 2017

Student Focus Groups: November 29 and 30, 2017. Publicized via emails to all students from Student Affairs and SGA, and on the college and SGA social media feeds.

Student Feedback Period: Online comments solicited November 2 - December 1, 2017. Publicized by emails to all students from Student Affairs, and on the college and SGA social media feeds.

Faculty and Staff Feedback Period: November 2 - December 1, 2017 via Open Lab. Publicized by emails to all faculty and staff.

Faculty Presentations: Given to full meetings of the below units, set up and publicized by each unit.

School of Arts & Sciences, November 9, 2017

School Technology & Design, November 14, 2017

School of Professional Studies, November 16, 2017

Division of Continuing Education, December 6, 2017

Staff Presentations: Given to full meetings of the below units, set up and publicized by each unit.

Finance and Administration, November 13, 2017

Academic Affairs, November 16, 2017

Enrollment Management, November 29, 2017

Middle States Evaluating Team Visits

The Evaluating Team visited City Tech March 25 - 28, 2018, and many in the college community met with one or more members.

The team shared their exit summary report on Wednesday, March 28, at 10:00am in the Atrium Amphitheater. All members of the college community were welcome to attend.

On August 23, 2016, Dr. Debra Kleinman from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education visited City Tech to review our documentation road map and self-study plan. She also held an informational session for the college community.