Message from the President

2-2-2007

As you know, Central Ohio Technical College is scheduled for their 10-year reaccreditation site visit in academic year 2007-2008.  The actual visit will take place in either the Fall 2007 or the Spring 2008 quarter.  We will be working with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) over the next few months to confirm the actual dates of the site visit.  Although I am confident that our efforts over the past few years have prepared us for this visit, we have an enormous amount of work yet to be done.  Reaccreditation requires a comprehensive self-study of the organization that we expect to complete in Academic Year 2006-2007.

In preparation, we have invited the following individuals to serve as the Accreditation Planning Team and Self-Study Steering Committee— John Berry, Joel Daniels, Keith Fowlks, Peggy Ketner, Ken Ollish, Lisa Orr, Jackie Parrill, Rose Mary Saliba, Sam Saliba, Bill Sattelmeyer, Dorothy Skowrunski, Michelle Stapleton, and Jim Woolard.  We have also invited a community member, Marcia Downes, Managing Director of The Works and staff representatives to the team.  I have asked Jackie Parrill to serve in the role as Accreditation Planning Coordinator and Self-Study Coordinator.  In this role, Jackie will also serve as the chair of the Self-Study Steering Committee.  I am confident that Jackie’s leadership skills, organizational and project management skills, and her years of experience at multiple, diverse educational higher education institutions make her an excellent choice for this role.

In addition to these institutional resources, we are infusing a number of external consultants to support the process.  Dr. Phyllis Thompson has agreed to participate in the accreditation planning and self-study process.  As many of you know, Dr. Thompson played a significant role in our previous self-study process.  We have also secured the services of a nationally recognized academic/curriculum expert and will be employing the services of a technical writer to ensure the highest caliber report. 

Additional campus staff and faculty are invited to serve as principal subcommittee members.  If you are interested in participating or performing a leadership role, please contact Jackie Parrill. 

In preparation for the self-study, representatives of the college will be participating in the Annual Meeting hosted by the HLC.  Dean Michelle Stapleton and Mr. Sam Saliba, Assistant Dean, attended the meeting last spring.  This year we anticipate sending an expanded team including many members of the steering committee to this year’s meeting in the spring and will send additional team members to the 2006-07 meeting for final briefings and preparations.

Over the next few months, we will be visiting with faculty council, staff forum, enrollment issues, and other groups on campus to provide more information and timelines.

The reaccreditation process is an extensive and comprehensive process that will touch all aspects and individuals of the institution.  We are excited about this opportunity to showcase our successes and accomplishments since the self study conducted in 1998.  I look forward to your involvement, feedback, and support throughout this process.

Bonnie L. Coe, Ph.D.
President