Unit Example Data Base

As a portion of the Institutional Self-Study every unit was asked to submit examples of how they fulfill the NCA criteria for accreditation (see the Unit Responsibilities page). These examples were used in the preparation of the self-study report. They were also entered into a database. Currently, over 1,000 unit examples have been received and entered into the MSU NCA Unit Example database. Each example was coded to indicate the NCA criteria and core component it addresses, as well as whether or not it is an international, technology, or diversity based example.

• MSU NCA Unit Example Database

Tips for Use

Performing a Search

You can perform a search by any of the following criteria (or combinations thereof):

• Keyword
• Author
• MAU
• Department/Unit
• Criterion Number
• Core Component
• International
• Technology
• Diversity

Simply type or select the criteria you want to search for and press the search button. (While not case sensitive, it is punctuation sensitive).

Special Note:

The Keyword field was primarily used for entering the names of programs (e.g. “Freshmen Seminars Abroad”). Therefore, its use is limited for searches; it does not function like a keyword search in the MAGIC catalog or Google. For example, if you are interested in searching for “research” examples, perform a search using criterion 4, core component A and not by typing “research” in the keyword field (see below for criterion and core component information).

Viewing and Navigating Results

Once you have performed a search, the results will appear at the bottom of the screen in groups of 25 records. By default, they are listed alphabetically by author, but you can change this to display records in order by MAU, Department, Criterion, Core, or Date Modified by clicking on those headings. To list results by Criterion and Core Component, click first on Criterion and then on Core Component. This will display all results coded 1A together, then 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 1B, 2B, etc.

To view the record, click on the “author” link on the left. To view the unit example itself (the actual file), click on the link on the right (under “Link”). The file should open in a separate window. Please note that often the file contains every example submitted by that department, so you may have to scroll down to find what you are looking for (i.e. if you want to find the example for 5D, it is almost always last in the document).

NCA Criteria and Core Components

Unit examples are usually organized according to the NCA criteria and core components, so this is the most effective way to organize your search. For a description of the criteria and core components, visit http://accreditation2006.msu.edu/assessment/Criteriaforaccreditationabvversion.htm

Here is a brief overview.

Criterion One: Mission and Integrity

(includes information on governance and administration)

Criterion Two: Preparing for the Future

(includes information on planning, resources, and university wide assessment)

Criterion Three: Student Learning and Effective Teaching

(includes information on assessment of student learning, teaching, and academic/student support services)

Criterion Four: Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge

(includes information on research)

Criterion Five: Engagement and Service

(includes information on outreach and engagement, extension, and service learning)