Strong faculty leadership in the development of the self-study is of utmost importance to its integrity. The local senate should be involved in the development of the self-study plan, including the committee structure. Also the local senate appoints faculty to the self-study committees. Accordingly, a steering committee, chaired or co-chaired by a faculty member and including representation from the institution's main constituencies, sets a calendar, establishes subcommittees to develop reports, identifies other necessary tasks, and establishes the procedures for completing those tasks. The subcommittees, one for each standard, are chaired by a faculty member or by a faculty member and either an administrator or classified staff person sharing responsibilities.
Subcommittees are responsible for developing drafts of the reports for each standard.
Each subcommittee should have input from all of the institution's constituencies. More people involved in this work means less each person will need to do. Also, it is very important that each of the school's employees feels that he or she shares responsibility for the development of the self-study. The Commission will also send someone to visit your campus to provide an orientation session for the staff. Everyone who will be part of developing the self-study should attend this introduction.