MSCHE Staff Outreach | April 2022

MSCHE President Dr. Heather Perfetti served as a guest co-host on the EdUp Experience Podcast with Dr. Joe Sallustio and featured guest Dr. Erica Moore. Dr. Moore serves as the Executive Director of Native Student Success at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), and the podcast focused on The Native Student. Dr. Perfetti was initially a guest in September of 2020 for what was then a relatively new podcast. The podcast has since grown to over 400 episodes featuring many presidents and chancellors from the MSCHE membership institutions.

On June 7-9, 2022, Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff Dr. Stephen Pugliese will represent MSCHE at the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE) Annual Conference Communities of Assessment: Reengaging and Learning Together in Providence, RI. He will be a member of a panel Conversation with Accreditors, which is the sixth time MSCHE has been included in their annual event. An additional session on the Benefits and Expectations of Becoming an Accreditation Peer Evaluator will be offered this year.

On April 30-May 2, Senior Vice President for Accreditation Relations Dr. Ellie Fogarty will represent MSCHE at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Annual Conference Community Colleges Take Center Stage in New York. Her attendance will provide additional opportunity to interact with the higher education community and expand MSCHE’s presence.

On April 13 and 18, 2022, President Dr. Heather Perfetti participated in two workshops Quality Distance Education in the 21st Century: Convening at the Intersections of Accreditation, State Regulation and SARA with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), the National Council for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), and the National Council for State Authorization and Reciprocity Agreement (NC-AARA). The workshops gave accreditors and state regulators an opportunity to explore and articulate their understanding of the roles, relationships, and responsibilities for assuring quality post-secondary education as captured within NC-SARA’s 21st Century Distance Education Guidelines.

On April 13-15, Senior Vice President for Accreditation Relations Dr. Ellie Fogarty, Interim Senior Director for Accreditation Services Ms. Carmella Smith, and Vice President for Institutional Field Relations Dr. Paul Starkey attended the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Annual Meeting. Dr. Fogarty and Ms. Smith presented Quality Partners: Working Collaboratively with your Accreditor.  The presentation featured MSCHE as a partner who can help college and university presidents navigate substantive change.

On April 12, 2022, President Dr. Heather Perfetti served on a featured session panel titled A New Future: The Online Enterprise as a Driver of Quality for the Institution at the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration and Roundtable (SOLA+R) offered in collaboration with UPCEA.  UPCEA is the only organization in North America focusing on professional, continuing and online education.  The SOLA+R audience included vice presidents, deans, directors, and other senior staff responsible for the design, delivery, and strategic direction of the online learning enterprise at institutions.  Other panelists included Dr. Roxanne Gonzales, Provost, New Mexico Highlands University (Moderator); Dr. Deb Adair, Executive Director, Quality Matters; Dr. David Cillay, Vice President for Academic Outreach and Innovation & Chancellor, Global Campus, Washington State University; and Dr. Lori Williams, President & CEO, NC-SARA.

In featuring quality assurance agencies, the panel engaged institutional representatives and offered ways for institutions to see the alignment across the work specific to distance education.  Additionally, the panel’s discussion recognized institutions are so differently positioned with regard to online education from where they may have been a few years ago. Dr. Perfetti notes that she is grateful to her colleagues who were on the panel, which provided differing perspectives for the audience.

On April 12-14, 2022, Vice President for Institutional Field Relations Dr. Robert Bonfiglio, Vice President for Institutional Field Relations Dr. Sean McKitrick, and Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel Dr. Tracey Schneider represented MSCHE at the AGB National Conference on Trusteeship, Beyond Disruption. A series of sessions labeled the AGB Summit on Strategic Transformation ran throughout the event, and this thread of programming allowed participants to attend up to six sessions dedicated to key subtopics of strategic transformation. The 2022 AGB National Conference on Trusteeship offered insights as to the nature of the sector’s most pressing challenges with a focus on practical solutions and an informed sense of possibility.

On April 4-5, 2022, Commissioner COL(R) Gerald Kobylski moderated the MSCHE Town Hall at the 10th Annual Conference of the Assessment Network of New York (ANNY), The Way of the JEDI: Intentionality in Assessment in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Interim Senior Director for Accreditation Services Ms. Carmella Smith and Vice President for Institutional Field Relations Dr. Paul Starkey hosted the Town Hall, in which they presented information and answered questions.

On March 17, 2022, Senior Director for Communications and Events Mr. Brian Kirschner attended the CUPPIES awards ceremony for the Spring Professional Development Conference for the College and University Public Relations and Associated Professionals (CUPRAP) organization. He serves on the CUPRAP board as treasurer as well as chairs the CUPPIES award committee. The Conference was held in person in Lancaster, PA.

CUPRAP Board and support staff (left to right): Secretary Ms. Gail Towns, Georgian Court University; Vice President Mr. Paul Redfern, St. Lawrence University; President Ms. Lisa Baldi, Penn State Berks; Web Content Manager Ms. Amanda Drumm, Amanda Drumm Communications; Immediate Past President Mr. Tom Durso, Drexel University; Private Institutions Representative Ms. Jamie Yates, Gettysburg College; Executive Director Ms. Elizabeth Hanson, E.Hanson Unlimited; State Universities Representative Ms. Jennifer Umberger, Bloomsburg University; At-Large Representatives Mr. Joseph Master, Drexel University; and Treasurer Mr. Brian Kirschner, Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Not pictured: Administrative Support Ms. Kathy Ettinger, Penn State University, and Community College Representative Ms. Megan Smith, Bucks County Community College.

From February 2-April 21, 2022, Senior Director for Technology Services Mr. Christian Slater participated in the EDUCAUSE Senior Director Institute, a professional development program for senior leaders in higher education, such as deans, directors, and program chairs. The program is designed to address high-level campus wide and leadership issues, while focusing on developing skills to effectively communicate, motivate and engage employees, spearhead strategies for institutional change, exercise strategic decision making, and lead the way in overcoming enterprise-level challenges. During the program, participants dedicated 5-10 hours per week and once a week joined a live, synchronous online meeting to discuss resources, activities, and projects in support of the five program competencies.

Coffee with the Commission

The Coffee with the Commission series led by MSCHE’s President and her Executive Leadership Team concluded on March 22 and March 29, 2022 with institutions from Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and international institutions. In addition, both the Senior Director for Communications and Events Mr. Brian Kirschner and Director for Events Ms. Victoria Clark provided support.

Throughout the 10-meeting series, presidents from MSCHE institutions connected in small groups divided by regions for informal conversations about important issues in higher education including advocacy and the future of accreditation. The small, group gatherings were held regularly throughout 2021 and spring 2022 and lasted an hour. The Commission invited questions from the presidents in advance of each virtual event and shared specific topics to guide discussions. All told 103 presidents participated in the course of the series.

Thank you to the Commissioners who provided remarks at the meetings, including Dr. Steve Rose, Dr. Jonathan Peri, Dr. Susan Looney, Dr. Davie Gilmour, Dr. Jim Sunser, Dr. Kate Conway-Turner, and Dr. Fran Felser (former Commissioner).