PVCC Puma Press: March 2005

On Thursday, February 3, PVCC administrators, including PVCC President Mary Kay Kickels and Vice-President of Learning Support Services Dr. Paul Dale, held two town hall meetings to announce the release of the Paradise Valley Community College Self-Study Report 2005.

The Self-Study, issued in compliance with the requirements set forth by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, is an instrumental part of maintaining future accreditation for PVCC. The Higher Education act requires all schools be accredited in order to receive any federal assistance.

”Not only was the Self-Study required by the Higher Education Act, accreditation allows us to operate as a transfer institution,” said President Kickels.

The self-study, available on the reserve shelf at the PVCC Library, presents extensive evidence that PVCC meets all continuous accreditation criteria, covering five key components: Mission and Integrity, Preparing for the Future, Student Learning and Effective Teaching, Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge, and Service and Engagement. The report indicates that PVCC is meeting all government accreditation requirements and, according to Kickels, proves “PVCC is a college dedicated to learning and teaching.”

Dr. Rick Vaughn, Self-Study Coordinator, addressed a number of the study’s supposed benefits. He called it an “opportunity for organizational learning” and praised the work done by his team, which included 11 faculty members who began assembling evidence in the Fall of 2002.

“We were able to answer some important questions,” Vaughn said. “Are we helping students learn? What are our strengths and challenges?”

Of the cost to PVCC in terms of man-hours lost to the study and taxpayer funds used, President Kickels was quick to point out that the study was a government requirement. Kickels then added, “The Committee spent an incalculable amount of man hours over the last two years in order to make recommendations, to overcome challenges and to use what they’ve learned going forward to improve the school.”

In addition to faculty, student Robbie Heffernan, a captain of the PVCC tennis team, spoke about his time at PVCC since declining an academic scholarship to ASU. He thanked the faculty of PVCC for teaching him the “power of learning, the use of gained knowledge.”

On Wednesday, March 2, after the Higher Learning Commission has considered the self-study, there will be an unofficial announcement regarding HLC’s visit and PVCC’s expected further accreditation.