HLC Questions

What Might HLC Ask Me?

During a comprehensive visit, the HLC peer review teams may request meetings with students, faculty and staff to ask them questions.  Here are some possible questions they may ask:

  • What do you know about HLC accreditation and MATC's written assurance argument?
  • What are MATC's greatest strengths?
  • What are the biggest challenges facing MATC?
  • What distinguishes MATC from other colleges in Kansas?
  • What is it like to work at MATC?
  • How is the morale on campus?
  • Do you believe academics are the top priority at MATC?  Why or why not?
  • Describe any campus processes that could be improved or made more efficient.
  • What kind of changes are taking place at MATC?  Do you see these as positive or not?

  • Do you know MATC's mission statement?
  • Where can you find the official mission statement?
  • Do you support MATC's mission?
  • How does your department support MATC's mission?
  • What is MATC's current strategic plan?  What are the current strategic planning priorities?
  • How are you involved in the strategic planning process?
  • Has MATC made progress toward achieving the identified strategic goals?
  • Are you familiar with MATC's vision, values, and objectives?
  • How does MATC support students?  What about students who are unprepared or struggling?
  • Are budget decisions made on the strategic plan?
  • Do budget decisions take into account recommendations from the program review?
  • What do you believe have been the major accomplishments of MATC over the past 5-10 years?
  • How does MATC support the community?
  • Are marketing materials accurate and up to date? 

  • Describe the campus climate at MATC.
  • Describe shared governance and how faculty participate in decision-making at different levels of the college (department, division, institution).
  • For some common faculty issues (workload, salary, etc.), what works well and what needs to be improved?
  • Are you satisfied with the support you receive to enhance your teaching?
  • Have MATC administrators established a culture of trust within the college?
  • Do you understand the FERPA policy?
  • Does MATC have academic and financial requirements which are presented clearly and completely to students and to the public?
  • What are the major responsibilities of the Board of Directors?
  • Who is responsible for curriculum additions/deletions/modifications?
  • Who is responsible for academic policy creation/modification?
  • Do you believe you have academic freedom in your teaching?
  • Does MATC have policies and procedures in place to address ethical conduct for both faculty and students?

  • What characterizes a MATC education?
  • What is the process for making curriculum changes in your program?
  • Are you familiar with MATC core abilities?
  • Are MATC core abilities the same thing as general education outcomes?  Why or why not?
  • What is the purpose of MATC's core ability assessment?  How could it be improved?  What are its strengths?
  • Do you know your program student learning outcomes?
  • How do you know if your program students are meeting the program learning outcomes?
  • What is your department's vision for the future?  How does it relate to the college's vision?
  • How is course quality and consistency ensured in multiple section face-to-face courses?  In online courses?  in concurrent enrollment courses?  How do you ensure academic rigor between courses/sections no matter the delivery method or location?
  • Does the college provide support for the development of online courses?
  • Are classes offered by your department taught by qualified faculty, including adjuncts and concurrent enrollment course instructors?
  • What is the role of faculty in ensuring academic quality?
  • Does MATC provide sufficient technology support?
  • What resources are available to support faculty?  Are they sufficient?
  • How would you characterize the relationship between faculty and administration?
  • Are students provided with adequate academic and personal support services?
  • Are students provided with sufficient and relevant co-curricular experiences?
  • Does MATC have sufficient facilities to instruct students?
  • Are facilities appropriately maintained?
  • How do you know if your program students are successful after they graduate?
  • Does MATC have a commitment to student success?  What does that look like?  How successful have the efforts been?
  • Does your program or the college offer opportunities to gain experience with community or civic engagement?  With diversity or multiculturalism?

  • Describe the program review process.
  • Describe the transfer policy process (general education & technical education).
  • Are faculty appropriately qualified.
  • Describe the general education course approval process?
  • Is your department actively involved in assessing student learning?
  • How has your department used its assessment findings?
  • How are you made aware of MATC's student achievement of student learning outcomes / core abilities?  Where is this information located?
  • Do you know MATC's first-year retention rates?  Graduation rates?  How we compare to other institutions?
  • What is MATC doing to improve retention/graduation rates?

  • What are the different streams of revenue utilized by MATC to fund the institution?
  • What challenges do you believe MATC will need to deal with in the next 5-10 years?
  • Do you understand the annual budget process?
  • Are capital improvements (facilities, technology, equipment) based on strategic needs of the institution?
  • How does KBOR and/or the MATC Board of Directors fit into the institutional governance structure?
  • What is the role of Faculty Senate?
  • How are faculty given the opportunity to provide input into important initiatives?
  • How are assessment results taken in to consideration during the budget decision making process?
  • How are program review recommendations taken into consideration?
  • How are strategic planning goals taken into consideration?

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