HLC Visit
On October 16-17, 2023, a team of HLC Peer Reviewers will visit with BridgeValley’s faculty, staff, students, and Board of Governors to verify the College continues to meet HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation, is pursuing institutional improvement, and complies with requirements set by the U.S. Department of Education.
To help ensure a positive outcome, the entire BridgeValley community is encouraged to engage in the process and prepare for the visit.
The information presented on this webpage is provided to help BridgeValley’s Faculty, Staff, and Students become familiar with the HLC accreditation process and the Criteria for Accreditation and to become aware of how the College community as a whole plays a role in meeting each of the criteria.
January 2023
- Steering Committee established a Communication Team to facilitate a communication/awareness/engagement campaign.
February 2023
- Communication Team began creating messaging for Digital Messaging System monitors. A 10-12 week information messaging campaign is planned to run spring, summer, and fall of 2023.
- HLC Visit webpage established
March-May 2023
- Weekly Connection - HLC-focused information campaign for Faculty and Staff began for the Spring semester. Information excerpts will be included in the Weekly Connection between March 06 and May 01.
- Student Newsletter - HLC-focused information campaign for Students began for the Spring semester. Information excerpts will be included in the Weekly Student Newsletter between March 13 and May 01.
- Student Opinion Survey - A focused information item with an HLC Student Opinion Survey announcement and description will be posted in the Student Newsletter during the week on March 27
- Digital Messaging System (DMS) - HLC-focused information campaign for the college community began for the Spring semester. Information items will be included on the DMS monitors throughout the College from March 06 and May 01.
May-August 2023
- DMS messaging will be repeated for the summer semester
August – October 2023
- Weekly Connection - HLC-focused information campaign for Faculty and Staff will begin once the Faculty return for the fall semester. Information excerpts will be included in the Weekly Connection between August 11 and October 09.
- Student Newsletter - HLC-focused information campaign for Students will begin once students return for the fall semester. Information excerpts will be included in the Weekly Student Newsletter between August 21 and October 09.
- Digital Messaging System (DMS) - HLC-focused information campaign for the college community will begin once the student return for the fall semester. Information items will be included on the DMS monitors throughout the College from August 21 and October 09.
Between the weeks of March 06 and May 01, the College shared HLC-focused informational topics using the Digital Messaging System. Below are the weekly displays.
Week of March 3, 2023
Week of March 10, 2023
Week of March 17, 2023
Week of March 24, 2023
Week of March 31, 2023
Week of April 7, 2023
Week of April 14, 2023
Week of April 21, 2023
Between the weeks of March 13 and May 01, the College shared HLC-focused information with Students by posting topics in the Weekly Student Newsletter. Below are the topics that were shared.
Week of April 3, 2023
Between the weeks of March 06 and May 01, the College shared HLC-focused information with Faculty and Staff by posting topics in the Weekly Connection. Below are the topics that were shared.
Week of March 6, 2023
Week of March 13, 2023
Week of March 27, 2023
Week of April 3, 2023
Week of April 10, 2023
Week of April 17, 2023
Week of April 24, 2023
HLC Student Opinion Survey
HLC conducts student opinion surveys to help inform peer review teams visiting institutions as part of comprehensive evaluations. The results will help the peer review team identify possible questions for meetings with faculty, staff, and students during the visit. The survey is distributed electronically to all registered students. The survey gives all students, rather than just students who happen to be on campus at the time of a visit, an opportunity to voice their opinions.
Since BridgeValley is scheduled for an evaluation in October, the Student Opinion Survey will be distributed during the spring semester to your BridgeValley student email account on April 03 and will be available through April 12. The survey will remain open for ten (10) days, with a reminder email sent at least four (4) days after the survey opens. Keep in mind that the HLC Student Opinion Survey is different from your Course Evaluation Surveys. One is focused on your College experience, and the other on your class experiences.
Information on when and how the survey will be distributed to students was shared in the Weekly Student Newsletter and using student email accounts.
Below are questions that are commonly associated with the Student Opinion Survey
- What academic program are you currently enrolled in? (e.g., Certificate or Associate)
- How do you primarily take classes at your school?
- What is your current age?
- What is your gender?
- What is your race?
- What is your ethnicity?
- Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements.
Using the Likert Scale – Strongly Disagree/ Disagree/ Neither Agree nor Disagree/ Agree/ Strongly Agree - If the statement does not apply to you, please mark the "Not Applicable" button.
- The communication I received from the school about the overall enrollment process was clear
- I received clear information as to how much my education would cost
- A school financial aid officer provided financial aid counseling to help me understand the responsibilities of borrowing money to finance my education
- The school worked with me to identify an academic program that met my goals
- An academic advisor provided me with accurate information about the requirements necessary to fulfill my course of study
- An academic advisor was available to help me with questions about my course of study
- I was placed at the appropriate course level that matched my academic preparation
- I am satisfied with the progress I am making toward completing my degree
- Course content is appropriately challenging for my program of study
- Courses required to complete my degree are available when I need to take them
- Faculty who teach provide helpful instruction
- Faculty are available when I need help
- Faculty who teach are knowledgeable about their subject areas
- When I have non-academic questions, I can reach someone who can help me in a timely wayOverall, I am satisfied with my experience at the school
- Open-ended question: Please provide comments.
HLC Photo Campaign
The Steering Committee and Student Services Team created a series of digital signage that featured people across the campus. The signage identifies individual criteria and publicizes the dates of the HLC visit, along with the HLC Visit website URL.
As photos become available, they will be posted here.
BridgeValley’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.
BridgeValley acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.
BridgeValley provides quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.
BridgeValley demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.
BridgeValley’s resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.
Possible HLC Questions
During the October 16 & 17 on-campus visit, HLC representatives may stop students, faculty, and staff and ask them questions. While only the Review Team knows what questions will be asked, we provided examples of questions to help the BridgeValley community prepare via the Weekly Connection, Weekly Student Newsletter, and this web page. Below are the lists of questions by respective groups.
- What do you know about accreditation?
- Have you seen or read BridgeValley’s Assurance Argument?
- Did you play a role in preparing for the site visit?
- How would you describe BridgeValley’s mission?
- Do you know where you would find the official statement?
- What are the College’s current strategic planning priorities?
- What are BridgeValley’s greatest strengths?
- What are the biggest challenges facing BridgeValley?
- What makes BridgeValley unique in your state and among higher education institutions in general?
- Provide an example of how BridgeValley is committed to freedom of expression.
- Describe your codes of conduct and how they are used.
- Do you know where to find information about academic integrity and policies regarding academic misconduct?
- How would you describe the campus climate for diversity?
- Describe any campus processes that could be improved or made more efficient.
- What kinds of changes are taking place at BridgeValley? Do you see these as positive or not?
- What is BridgeValley doing to ensure a campus environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and increasingly diverse?
- How are planning and budgeting tied together?
- When a policy, process, or program is being examined or proposed, is it publicized and/or communicated to the appropriate constituencies?
- Why did you choose to enroll at BridgeValley? Have your expectations been met?
- What do you think is special about a BridgeValley education?
- Would you recommend BridgeValley to other students?
- What do you like best about BridgeValley? What would you change if you could?
- Describe your experiences with academic advising.
- Have you experienced any problems getting the courses you need in a timely manner?
- Do you know where to go for help with the following? (a) academic support; (b) career planning; (c) personal counseling; (e) making a complaint; (f) technology support.
- Do you use any of the following: library, tutoring services, counseling services, or accessibility services? If yes, what has been your experience?
- Are you able to estimate your bill each semester, or are you surprised when you receive it?
- Do you know if you are enrolled in an accredited program?
- How is the relationship between students and faculty?
- What opportunities do you have to participate in community or service learning experiences?
- What opportunities do you have to interact with people and cultures different from your own?
- What opportunities do you have to gain real-world experience related to your educational and career goals?
- Tell us about programming that happens outside of academic departments where you have learned something.
- If you have transferred in credits, what was the experience like for you?
- Do you think the College communicates clearly with students about topics such as financial aid, student conduct, costs, and graduation requirements? What improvements would you recommend?
- Do students have an opportunity to provide the administration with input?
- What are the characteristics of a BridgeValley education?
- How do you contribute to the College’s mission?
- What is your department’s vision for the future? How does this relate to the College’s vision?
- Can you describe the tenure and promotion process? What is your impression of the process?
- Talk about shared governance and how faculty participate in decision-making at different levels of the
- College (department, College, institution) (Governance structure). Can you share any examples?
- How would you describe the relationship between faculty and administration? What works and what needs improvement?
- What resources are available to support faculty (e.g., library, internal grants, external grant support, faculty development, travel, etc.)? Are these sufficient to meet faculty needs?
- What is the role of faculty in ensuring academic quality?
- Is your department actively involved in assessing student learning?
- How has your department used its assessment findings?
- What evidence do you have that students achieve your program’s intended learning outcomes?
- How do you ensure that all classes – online, blended, off-campus, dual credit - have the same student learning outcomes and equivalent assessments?
- Do you have Associate and Certificate students in the same classroom?
- How do you differentiate between Associate level a Certificate level learning outcomes?
- Does your department offer courses or programs via distance education? If so, how does the department ensure the quality of the curriculum regardless of how or where it is delivered?
- What is the purpose of general education?
- In what ways does the program achieve its goals for students? How could it be improved?
- How does the College ensure its General Education program (aka ILO assessment process) is high quality?
- What opportunities do students in your program have to gain real-world experience? Community or civic engagement? Leadership? Diversity or multiculturalism?
- How are your students doing once they graduate?
- For some common faculty issues (workload, salary, evaluation process, communication, etc.), what works well and what needs to be improved?
- How is academic freedom supported by the College?
- Is BridgeValley or your division/unit/department more effective than it was 4 years ago? Explain.
- What are the biggest resource challenges at BridgeValley?
- What are you most proud of at the College?
- How does your department support the academic mission of the College?
- What is it like to be a staff member at BridgeValley?
- How is morale on campus?
- What opportunities do you have for professional development?
- Are staff members treated equitably in their access to these opportunities?
- How are staff evaluated?
- What is your impression of the evaluation process?
- How are staff involved in campus decision-making processes?
- Do you think the staff has sufficient input into decisions that affect them?
- How would you describe the relationship between staff and administration? What works, and what could be improved?
- What do you like best about your job? What would you change if you could?
- How do units across campus work collaboratively? What works well, and what could be improved?
- Do you feel that the work you do is valued by the administration? Faculty? Other staff members? Students?
- How does your department contribute to student learning and development?
- How does your department assess or evaluate effectiveness?
- How is data used to inform improvements in the delivery of student services? Any examples?
- What are the challenges at BridgeValley or in Student Affairs?
- What are you most proud of in Student Affairs?
- What type of training is required to serve as a member of BridgeValley’s Board of Governors? Initial and annual?
- How are Board members selected?
- How long is a term of service?
- What is the purpose of the Board?
- How does the Board help BridgeValley support its mission?
- What role does the Board play in the development of the College’s mission, vision, and values?
- What role does the Board play in developing the strategic plan and priorities?
- How does the Board prevent conflicts of interest from occurring?
- What is the Board’s role vs. the President’s role in the functioning of the College?
- What is the Board’s relationship with the President?
- How is the President evaluated? How often?
- How is a disagreement handled if the President and the Board disagree on an action?
- Are there clearly defined expectations and protocols for Board member obligations and communications with each other, the President, employees, and community members?