motive for the placement of this language in Faculty Code, and while I do not agree with this interpretation, I appreciate this concern.
NWCCU Revised Standards:
The Northwest Council on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) proposed a new set of accreditation standards in December–January of 2019. After receiving concerns from many regional colleges and universities, the Council collected feedback during face-to-face meetings with representatives from many of these institutions. A few members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee were able to remotely attend one of these meetings and also submitted a letter highlighting faculty concern about the removal of language in the standards related to academic freedom and commitment to shared governance. In response, the NWCCU provided a second set of accreditation standards on 1 July 2019. Due to the sweeping extent of the changes, this second set of standards also included a detailed mapping of the changes from the present standard. Over the next few weeks, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, along with representatives from the Provost’s Office, will review and respond to the new accreditation standards. As before, we ask that the Board pay close attention to the proposed changes in accreditation standards and advocate for shared governance and academic freedom in conversations with commissioners and legislators. During the 2018–2019 academic year, the standing committees of the Faculty Senate were instrumental in helping to move forward important initiatives to improve the experience of students at Central Washington University. General Education Implementation : As fall 2019 approaches, we look forward to a successful roll-out of our new General Education Program. This new program will provide students with opportunities to engage in the campus community at an earlier stage in their careers at Central. Our hope is that these opportunities to engage will help students build cross-department connections and enhance their learning and critical thinking. Importantly, the changes to the General Education program, coupled with upcoming changes in programming from the CWU Department of Housing and Residence Life should lead to improved retention and re-recruitment of students. We would like to highlight the positive way in which all parties involved worked together during the General Education implementation process. The complexity of this project and the continual challenges related to details were an excellent test of our ability to work together as a university in a positive way towards a common goal—improving the student experience. We look forward to future projects and hope that we can continue building trust across all levels while working towards our common goals. Updates on Senate Initiatives:
Faculty Senate 400 E University Way • Ellensburg WA 98926-7418 • Office: 509-963-3231 office location Barge 409 • Email: senate@cwu.edu • Web: cwu.edu/faculty-senate EEO/AA/TITLE IX INSTITUTION • FOR ACCOMMODATION EMAIL: DS@CWU.EDU. This is an electronic communication from Central Washington University.
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