Excitement was in the air as members of the visiting team for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC), applauded FAMU’s work in its effort to reaffirm its accreditation.
“In terms of the report, you should be very, very proud,” said Carol Z. Garrison, chair of the visiting team and president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “You knew what this process was all about — creating a stronger and better university.”
“I am very proud of your QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan),” she went on to say. “Overall the plan was well thought out and developed. I could feel all of the excitement around campus about it, even from the students. The biggest challenge will be channeling all of this excitement and making sure you remain focused.”
While the visiting team had two recommendations — one regarding the standards and one regarding QEP — the decision regarding whether FAMU’s accreditation will be reaffirmed will be made at the Commission’s December meeting in Atlanta, Ga., noted Joseph H. Silver, vice president of SACS-COC. He also pointed out that one out of a possible 77 compliance standards was not bad.
“I am proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “To be here with two recommendations is truly phenomenal.”
The recommendations were related to Comprehensive Standard 3.7.1 and the QEP. Standard 3.7.1 deals with the “employment of competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution.”
The visiting committee found a relatively small number of professors who were not in compliance with Standard 3.7.1. But, the members expressed full confidence in FAMU’s ability to address the issue.
“You will have from now until December to address this,” Garrison said. “It may be a case of providing more information or evaluating the teaching assignments of a few individuals. I’m sure you will have your arms around it soon.”
Regarding the QEP, J. Patrick O’Brien, president of West Texas A&M University, said that the university needed to develop an annual program of assessment to measure the outcomes. O’Brien said this would provide the university with a mechanism to determine if changes need to be made and the overall impact of the QEP. He noted that the findings of the assessment should be communicated with the campus.
The five-year QEP, entitled "Enhancing Performance in Critical Thinking," was developed under the leadership of FAMU Chemistry Professor Maurice Edington. It grew out of a broad-based institutional process that identified key issues emerging from the campus assessment of the institution.
“In terms of the report, you should be very, very proud,” said Carol Z. Garrison, chair of the visiting team and president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “You knew what this process was all about — creating a stronger and better university.”
“I am very proud of your QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan),” she went on to say. “Overall the plan was well thought out and developed. I could feel all of the excitement around campus about it, even from the students. The biggest challenge will be channeling all of this excitement and making sure you remain focused.”
While the visiting team had two recommendations — one regarding the standards and one regarding QEP — the decision regarding whether FAMU’s accreditation will be reaffirmed will be made at the Commission’s December meeting in Atlanta, Ga., noted Joseph H. Silver, vice president of SACS-COC. He also pointed out that one out of a possible 77 compliance standards was not bad.
“I am proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “To be here with two recommendations is truly phenomenal.”
The recommendations were related to Comprehensive Standard 3.7.1 and the QEP. Standard 3.7.1 deals with the “employment of competent faculty members qualified to accomplish the mission and goals of the institution.”
The visiting committee found a relatively small number of professors who were not in compliance with Standard 3.7.1. But, the members expressed full confidence in FAMU’s ability to address the issue.
“You will have from now until December to address this,” Garrison said. “It may be a case of providing more information or evaluating the teaching assignments of a few individuals. I’m sure you will have your arms around it soon.”
Regarding the QEP, J. Patrick O’Brien, president of West Texas A&M University, said that the university needed to develop an annual program of assessment to measure the outcomes. O’Brien said this would provide the university with a mechanism to determine if changes need to be made and the overall impact of the QEP. He noted that the findings of the assessment should be communicated with the campus.
The five-year QEP, entitled "Enhancing Performance in Critical Thinking," was developed under the leadership of FAMU Chemistry Professor Maurice Edington. It grew out of a broad-based institutional process that identified key issues emerging from the campus assessment of the institution.
“We were able to work as a team and complete this process,” Ammons said. “We are here with only two recommendations because of a lot of sleepless nights and the dedication of faculty and staff. I am proud of this campus.”
This is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!! I love my school and job.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful news. I'm sure SACS will look favorably on FAMU for receiving such a good evaluation. If everything continues to go smoothly, FAMU should have no problem getting another ten years of full accreditation - all the way up to 2019.
ReplyDeleteGREAT JOB FAMU!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWay to go faculty and staff! I appreciate you and the administration.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I feel it was a fair pool of students to be able to voice there issues with the school. The SACS visit just-so-happened to be during Spring Break when most students are not on campus anyway. Students and faculty were brainwashed into this QEP mumbo jumbo a week before the visit. Basically FAMU did what they all ways do. Bullshit there way through it. The same old nepotism is still in place and unfortunately they were able to fool SACS. I was a die hard undergraduate student and chose to return back as a graduate student and the B.S. they pull now has made me ban my future children from coming to this university until real changes are done. Most alumni already know not to give back unless their going to build what they want the money to go towards. Nepotism is still alive in kicking. Financial Aid is still a month late. Dorms are still in the same condition they were in the 90s. Yet, the administration and whoever else has continued getting pay raises. Instead of relieving bad professors they move them to other offices but allow them to keep their teaching salary. It's sad to see the destruction of a school that has the potential to be among the ranks of the Ivy Leaguers due to selfishness. Oh and the rude, hood, attitudes of the people in the offices still haven't changed. So don't let this SACS visit fool you. You know how we ACT in front of company!
ReplyDelete12:41 Ease up. What you're experiencing is probably no different than what grad students across the nation experience. It only seems worse because it's happening to you.
ReplyDeleteBut if you have fact, not opinion, that you feel SACS needs to be aware of you should contact members of the team directly. They will know exactly what to do with your complaints.
I agree with 1:01...you should really ease up..Not to say its not a problem, but most of those issues are a systemic issue in higher education
ReplyDelete12:41, Please do us all a favor and don't have any kids. But if you just luck up and have some, please don't send them to FAMU. The last thing we need at FAMU are some fool kids with fool parents.
ReplyDeleteYES!!!! 9:55 LMAO
ReplyDelete12:41 p.m. - Your comments and sentiments are felt throughout the campus and in some regards you are absolutely correct. The old guard and nepotism and most importantly lack of vision is keeping the university from being great. LEADERSHIP is lacking !!! The most revealing aspect of this in recent (and throw back) hires: Sterling Adams, Lou Murray, Sharma, Shetty, Barbara Cox, etc.. some inept when they were at FAMU before being released or retired. FAMU CAN'T move forward when they keeping looking back!!
ReplyDeleteStop the nepotism and political "hook ups" and hire qualified staff to move the university into the 21st century and beyond. FAMU has some of the personnel qualified to do this right on the campus NOW!! What does it say to the public when ONLY "throw backs" can run a public institution? Sounds "fishy" to me.
Unfortunately they don't provide a political posture for the President or they are not members of his family or perhaps they don't know something about him in order to move into leadership positions! Take for example the professor who got the university to the position of a certain "reaffirmation", Friday-Stroud. This professor should definitely be in a leading administrative role at the university! I bet she won't move anywhere because she is legitimately "straight up and kick-ass". She know her shit and she is authentic and can get things done!!!
To the poster who questioned the student activity with the QEP; please note that FAMU was up for reaffirmation in 2008 but due to the probation it was pushed to 2009. The dates for the site visit was established for 2008 and originally would NOT have occured during spring break had the visit actually had happened in 2008.
V.K. Sharma and Marie Shetty are two highly skilled accountants. They made sure there were no financial statement audit findings for more than two decades.
ReplyDeleteYou need to get your facts straight.
If you did your research you would know why the visit was during spring break but since you didn't let me inform you. The visit was scheduled for that time last year but since we had to tackle the probation problem first it was pushed back a year. The only other date available was too late for us and the SACS team had no immediate openings. FAMU did NOT want is during spring break but we had no choice.
ReplyDeleteNow FAMU is FAR from perfect but venting to SACS is not the solution. If we lose accreditation we lose federal funding therefore financial aid which most students use. How can FAMU solve anything without students???
10:24 - You are correct - so the question is why do we need Hardee at 200K salary?
ReplyDeleteUh...Because multimillion dollar organizations need more than just accountants. They need a CFO who's responsible for the entire financial operation.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you have a problem with UF having a CFO too.
http://www.cfo.ufl.edu/
10:08. Let's say you're right about the nepotism, the hiring of personal trusted friends. What else would you expect given that Dr. Ammons needed people he could trust. One untrustworthy person in his administration and every thing he was trying to do to save FAMU could have come undone.
ReplyDeleteYour suggestion that a time of crisis is the time to introduce an unknown quantity is perplexing. That's not to say that new people are not qualified or even better suited for the job. It's just that when you need people you KNOW you can count on, you get people you KNOW you can count on.
2:18- there is nothing perplexing about hiring qualified personnel. In order to do so, you have to have the "basic" knowledge of the subject area. If FAMU had this in leadership nepotism or your version of "trust" would not be the compelling factor in a hiring decision - it would be "best qualified" as it should be in a publicly operated business.
ReplyDeleteHiring people you "know you can trust" is one of FAMU's most significant problems. You have people you can trust who are incompetent or in some instances not the "best" person for the job. This line of operating has to STOP. How do you develop trust in someone? You have to be willing to give qualified personnel an opportunity.
1:55, you nailed it. Sometimes we have to open up to new people and ideas. If other highly trained and qualified folks don't get a chance, then how do we progress? How do we learn to trust w/o learning to trust? One situation feeds off the other. This isn't rocket science. Dang.
ReplyDelete