Date
8-9-2024
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Chair
Meredith Park
Keywords
silos, assessment, accreditation, strategic planning, institutional effectiveness
Disciplines
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Higher Education
Recommended Citation
Juenemann, Dana Marie, "Understanding the Silos of Assessment, Strategic Planning, Institutional Effectiveness, and Their Relationships to Accreditation" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5838.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5838
Abstract
The purpose of this case study was to understand how collaboration, or lack of collaboration between community college-level silos, affected the process of accreditation as conducted by the Higher Learning Commission. The theory that guided this study is Smith’s theory of seven silos of higher education, as it explains the relationships between the areas of assessment, strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, and their impact on accreditation. This study sought to discover how collaboration and communication between administration, faculty, and staff, as well as between the silos of assessment, strategic planning, and institutional effectiveness, affected accreditation efforts at Moses Community College. The site was one community college in Kansas that had findings during its last Higher Learning Commission visit. The sample included the administrative team, assessment team, site steering committee, and others involved in the institution's assessment, strategic planning, and accreditation. Data were collected using interviews, document analysis, and focus groups. All interviews and focus groups were transcribed and provided to the participants for member checking. Data were analyzed holistically using Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS).
