Contents
Cal Poly Pomona

Capacity and Preparatory Review Sub Committee

Charge for the Capacity and Preparatory Review Sub-Committee

First Draft: 11/29/2005

As a member of the Sub Committee for the Capacity and Preparatory Review, you play an important role in assisting with the collection, analysis, and reporting of data as it relates to Cal Poly Pomona's capacity and preparedness to fulfill our mission. This is a critical Sub Committee that sets the stage for the Sub Committee on Educational Effectiveness.

The Preparatory Review examines the extent to which Cal Poly Pomona meets Core Commitment One of the WASC guidelines: "The institution functions with clear purposes, high levels of institutional integrity, fiscal stability, and organizational structures and processes to fulfill its purposes." This review is sometimes referred to as the "capacity review," since it examines the resources that would make it possible for Cal Poly Pomona to provide a stable, responsible, and educationally effective education for all of its students.

The Preparatory Review is intended to be a focused review which includes a site visit with clearly defined purposes and procedures. These purposes and procedures include:

  1. Assure that the data presented fairly and accurately portray the state of Cal Poly Pomona at the time of the review.
  2. Evaluate key resources, structures, and processes to assure that they operate at or above the threshold levels acceptable for accreditation and, where appropriate, identify any capacity- related issues that need to be carried forward in the Educational Effectiveness Review.
  3. Assess Cal Poly Pomona's preparedness to undertake the Educational Effectiveness Review and assist the Steering Committee in refining its focus and plan for that review.

To support the Preparatory Review, Cal Poly Pomona is responsible for developing a Preparatory Review Report. The following structure is suggested:

  1. An Introduction that describes the contents of the Institutional Presentation together with any changes in the context that may have arisen since the approval of the Proposal.
  2. The Institutional Proposal, which includes:
    1. An updated set of Basic Descriptive Data originally submitted with the Proposal;
    2. A set of prescribed exhibits and statistical data displays;
    3. A set of exhibits and data displays chosen by Cal Poly Pomona as evidence of its Commitment to Capacity.
  3. Reflective Essays in regard to each specific Standard that indicate what the exhibits contained in the Portfolio mean to Cal Poly Pomona, what issues they raise, and why those included were chosen in addition to the prescribed exhibits.
  4. A Concluding Essay that summarizes Cal Poly Pomona's case that it meets the Commitment to Capacity, provides a reflective view of its strengths and weaknesses in relation to the Commission's Standards, and proposes appropriate recommendations and follow-up steps. The Concluding Essay should include commentary on Cal Poly Pomona's preparedness for undertaking the Educational Effectiveness Review.
  5. An Appendix that documents Cal Poly Pomona's response to previous concerns identified by the Commission in its action letter and major recommendations of the last visiting team.

To verify the evidence included in the Preparatory Review Report, there will be a brief site visit using the methodology of academic visit. Characteristics of the site visit include the following:

  1. Review Teams will normally range from two to four people;
  2. On campus reviews normally last between one to two days;
  3. The Review Team is responsible for assuring "due diligence" on the part of Cal Poly Pomona. A sample of key processes and issues will be selected by the Review Team in advance of the visit for review and auditing.
  4. The Review Team is expected to review the Report prior to the site visit to clarify any ambiguities, request additional evidence, and/or submit questions or issues that it wishes to explore in more detail.
  5. The Review Team will prepare a report commenting on Cal Poly Pomona's compliance with accreditation standards, especially those in relation to the Core Commitment of Institutional Capacity. The team is also expected to comment on the Cal Poly Pomona's preparedness to engage in a serious analysis of Educational Effectiveness. The team report will be submitted to Cal Poly Pomona for comment in errors of fact before the report is finalized and sent to the Commission.