Mapping the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys to the ACCJC Standards for Accreditation
Many institutions rely upon the Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) suite of satisfaction and priorities survey results to demonstrate the fulfillment of institutional accreditation requirements. In the region served by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) – California, Hawaii, and the US territories in the Pacific – ACCJC-accredited colleges and universities are responsible for showing fulfillment of the Standards of Accreditation. Ruffalo Noel Levitz student surveys can help!
The PDF documents available via the links below show the Ruffalo Noel Levitz survey items mapped to the ACCJC requirements, tailored specifically to each RNL survey.
RNL survey items mapped to the ACCJC Standards of Accreditation
Download the appropriate document(s) based on the survey version(s) you are using on your campus:
Make note of the following
- ACCJC requirements are stated in the PDF “ACCJC Standards of Accreditation” adopted June 2014 (available online). As described by that document, there are four standards, most of which have several components, further detailed in criteria for evaluation. For ease in locating specific requirements, ACCJC uses a standard rubric containing a number (standard), letter (component), and number (criterion). Thus, for example, 3.B.1 denotes the third standard (“Resources”), the component “Physical Resources”, and its first numbered evaluative criterion. The mappings here also use the rubric system just described. To interpret the meaning of the mappings in full context, users may need to consult ACCJC publications that further define accreditation requirements.
- Some ACCJC requirements are stated in multiple sentences or paragraphs under their respective standard / component / criterion. Where discrete ideas are articulated, the rubric used here further separates these ideas with an appended lower-case letter, such as: 2.A. 10a, and 2.A. 10b.
- In order to ease recognition of the key ideas, the text of some ACCJC criteria has been lightly edited or truncated, especially in sentences of more than 20 words. In some instances, “it” substitutes for reference to “the institution.” Please see the original text from ACCJC to understand any given requirement as stated in its entirety in context. Fulfillment of all the requirements is necessary to achieve ACCJC accreditation.
- Not all ACCJC criteria refer to processes that students can experience, so not all ACCJC criteria can be mapped to an affiliated RNL survey item. For example, students rarely have any meaningful exposure to institutional financial planning, stability, liabilities, and contracts (Standard 3, Component D), so no survey items have been mapped to that component or its criteria.
- The documents available for download here list accreditation requirements in numeric order, with RNL items as they appear on the survey instruments clustered beneath the criteria they support. Some RNL survey items are mapped to multiple criteria. Only the RNL survey items which students rate for “Importance” and/or “Satisfaction” appear in these mappings.
- Most relationships in these mappings should be self-evident. Mapped relationships between a survey item and ACCJC requirements may be either direct or indirect. For example, not only do students experience instructional and support services directly, but also, employee training programs indirectly influence the quality of the services that the students experience. The mappings are meant to be illustrative, not comprehensive and definitive.
- The final section of the document lists survey items which may be related to ACCJC requirements at the discretion of the survey user – especially, the campus-created survey items.
- Questions about these documents or the survey instruments? Please contact Ruffalo Noel Levitz.
Additional Assessment Tools
Within this family of surveys are instruments for various populations:
- Student Satisfaction Inventory, the instrument for traditional students, available in versions for four-year colleges and universities, community colleges and career schools;
- Institutional Priorities Survey, the companion to the Student Satisfaction Inventory, assesses campus personnel;
- Adult Student Priorities Survey, used by many graduate and adult undergraduate programs;
- Priorities Survey for Online Learners, for students in online distance learning programs;
- Parent Satisfaction Inventory, a companion to the four-year Student Satisfaction Inventory, for the parents of currently enrolled students.
You receive the data in an organized tabulation report that you can use right away. Of particular interest:
- College Employee Satisfaction Survey, which measures satisfaction of faculty, staff, and administrators in areas such as institutional mission and planning, level of support, resources to accomplish objectives, campus communications, and work environment;
- Alumni Outcomes and Loyalty Survey, which measures institutional success and alumni engagement;
- Employer Satisfaction Survey, which measures employers’ satisfaction with your institution’s graduates;
- And many other tools for particular populations.
Our custom research projects can include such elements as telephone and written surveys; in-depth interviews; predictive modeling; geodemography; focus groups; environmental scans; awareness and opinion measurement; research-based publications and websites; and audits of current practices, programs, and communications. We have experience conducting small, medium, and large market research projects that are highly customized to each institution, campus, and system. Our research has helped institutions take the actions they needed to be more competitive.
