We recently caught up with Katrina Chavez, director of curriculum planning and management, to find out how things went during the first year of our new curricular system. Then, we touched base with members of Missouri State’s delegation to the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Annual Conference about their experience.

Curriculog: Takeaways

First up: Chavez’s takeaways about Curriculog. This new platform to support curricular development processes rolled out last fall, and Chavez says it’s a hit. Since September, over 400 curricular requests have been submitted through the system.

It Helps Clarify Timelines

Curriculog adheres to existing processes, but it allows for clearer timelines and deadlines. In the old system, Chavez says, these were gray areas that left room for questions and confusion. “With Curriculog, we can be more efficient and effective with the process,” she says. “For example, the 2024–25 curricular year is complete. Curriculog closed to new submissions in February. It will reopen in July so that faculty can start submitting proposals for the next curricular year.” This clarity helps ensure that the timeline for approval corresponds to the curricular year, which makes it easier to plan for the implementation of curriculum.

Learning Its Structure Can Help Level Up Your Proposal

When faculty develop entirely new programs — majors, minors, certificates or graduate programs — Chavez encourages them to get familiar with Curriculog’s structure. Sometimes, people invest significant energy in program development, assuming that entering the proposal into Curriculog will be “a last, quick step,” she says. In reality, it’s the connection point between all the work that went into developing the program and the reviewers who are responsible for evaluating it. The more intentionally the information is put into Curriculog, the easier it is for approvers and reviewers to understand the proposal.

Chavez recommends setting aside time to enter the proposal into Curriculog. You might even check out Curriculog’s structure as you’re beginning program development to be sure you gather the most useful information. The extra effort, she says, pays off in a proposal that’s more likely to find success.

It Allows for Edits

Curriculog makes small edits possible during the review process — a popular change from the previous system. “From a technical standpoint, the old system couldn’t support edits,” Chavez says. “Once you were in the process, if you needed to make a change, you probably had to start over. In Curriculog, we still have rules, but within those rules, we have more agility.”

HLC Annual Conference: Takeaways

A Missouri State delegation recently attended the HLC’s Annual Conference in Chicago. The group included:

• Richard Amberg, professor in the department of communication, media, journalism and film
• Mary Bohlen, assessment and accreditation consultant
• Stephanie Dixon, assessment specialist
• Chelsey Giles, director of institutional research
• Dr. Algerian Hart, associate dean of the McQueary College of Health and Human Services
• Dr. Egon Heidendal, associate provost for institutional effectiveness
• Dr. Tamera Jahnke, interim provost
• Dr. Andrea Weber, assistant vice president for student affairs/dean of students
• Dr. Kelly Wood, associate provost for student success
• Mark Woolsey, director of assessment and accreditation

Preparing for Comprehensive Evaluation

Mary Bohlen, assessment and accreditation consultant, says that HLC’s broad range of sessions made it possible for everyone to zero in on areas of particular relevance. “We were all able to focus on things that are most connected to our needs at this time,” she says.

For Bohlen — along with Mark Woolsey, director of assessment and accreditation, and Dr. Egon Heidendal, associate provost for institutional effectiveness — this meant focusing on sessions related to HLC’s comprehensive evaluation process. Next March, Missouri State will welcome HLC peer reviewers for an on-site visit, the ultimate step in the ongoing evaluation process that accredits our university. Before this visit, we’ll submit our Assurance Argument, a written document that demonstrates how we align with the criteria and core components the peer reviewers use to evaluate us.

Crafting Our Assurance Argument

Bohlen was thrilled to find a conference session on the most common stumbling blocks for the Assurance Argument. “The presenters shared the top five things that have been challenges for institutions in the past five years — the areas where peer reviewers have been most likely to find flaws or weakness in the argument,” she says. This real-life, tactical information “showed me where our current draft of the Assurance Argument is in great shape and where we need to go a bit deeper.”

The timing couldn’t be better, says Dr. Tamera Jahnke, interim provost.

“The HLC Oversight Committee has made significant progress in writing our Assurance Argument for the university’s comprehensive evaluation in 2026,” Jahnke says. “Drafts of each of the four criteria will be available for faculty, staff and students to review first thing this fall. The input we received this spring was very helpful, and we appreciate it a great deal.”

Sharing What We’ve Learned

Bohlen and Woolsey not only attended HLC conference sessions; they also presented on Missouri State’s Quality Initiative — a project that’s designed to support our commitment to continuous improvement. Our current Quality Initiative focuses on the assessment of graduate programs, and it’s already exceeded its participation goals.

In their presentation, Bohlen and Woolsey shared how they cultivated interest in the initiative and helped faculty use it as an opportunity for open conversation and rigorous assessment. Richard Amberg, professor in the department of communication, media, journalism and film, provided a faculty perspective about the initiative’s value to his department.

For Bohlen, the key point was that the Quality Initiative offers a chance to try something innovative. “Identify a question, design a way to test it and see if you can make positive change,” she says. “That’s the spirit of continuous improvement.”