NCCTThe he LLittle ittle TTrainrain

TThat hat DDid!id!Successfully Writing to the New Criteria!

Northwest Iowa Community CollegeSheldon, IA

Your Conductors Today Are:

• Steve Pearce

• Rhonda Pennings

• Gretchen Bartelson

• Alethea Stubbe

All Aboard!

Steve PearceNCA Co-Chair

Organizing & Getting Started

• NCC

• Organization

• Advantages

• NCA Alert – Campus

NewslettersAll

Ab

oar

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All

Ab

oar

d!

Leaving the Station

Rhonda PenningsNCA Editing Team

The writing of the first drafts and the first work of editing.

• Writing in teams

• First Drafts & First Editing

• Institutional Challenges

• Food helpsLea

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Keeping on Track In spite of Detours, Delays

& Changes in Destination.

Gretchen BartelsonEditing Team – Final Editor

Main Issues

The Editor

Avoiding Duplication & the New Criteria

Writing Tips

Graphic Design & LayoutKee

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& Editing team

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Kee

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rack • Find an editor with the

time to do the Job!

• Get a good technical writer

• Maybe a journalist or a

grant-writer

The Editor & Editing TeamThe Editor & Editing Team

Don’t write in Silos!

The Editor or The Editor or Editing TeamEditing Team must work with all writing teams from the beginning.

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An Editing Editing TeamTeam with representatives from all Writing Teams?

The Editor & Editing TeamThe Editor & Editing Team

Have a Retreat

Spend time analyzing the

• 5 Criteria

• 21 Core Components

• and suggested patterns of evidence

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New CriteriaNew Criteria

Writing to the New Criteria

• Redundancy, redundancy & more redundancy!

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Maybe not!Maybe not!

• Schedule brain-storming sessions

& Turn the Ball!Turn the Ball!

New CriteriaNew Criteria

Turning the Ball … or learning to take a look

at something from all sides – even if it is round.

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• When two groups use the same evidence for different points – are they making the right distinction?

• What are they looking for? Look at the language.

New CriteriaNew Criteria

• Mission and Integrity

• Preparing for the Future

• Student Learning & Effective Teaching

• Acquisition, Discovery & Application of Knowledge

• Engagement and Service Kee

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It’s about Your CollegeYour College!

• Find YOUR OWNYOUR OWN patterns of

evidence.

• SnapshotSnapshot of your college –

set an end date for data/

language.

• What are YOUYOU good at?Kee

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New CriteriaNew Criteria

It’s about Your CollegeYour College!

• None of us does it all

• Don’t hide your shortcomings –

admit them.

• Try to have a plan for

addressing those shortcomings

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New CriteriaNew Criteria

• We avoided redundancy by putting common material in the appendix/resource room

• We looked at what was really different about similar patterns of evidence

• Combined patterns that were similar

• Used introductory paragraphs about key ideas

The Mysterious

• They did appear!

• We used pull-out quotes in the margins and color coded them.

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CCROSSROSS C CUTTING UTTING THEMESTHEMES

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Our New Branding

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Writing tips

• Make it clear and easy to read

• Use a journalistic approach to

writing.

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Writing TipsWriting Tips

The Inverted PyramidThe Inverted Pyramid

Put the most important information first

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Put the supporting information elsewhere

Writing TipsWriting Tips

Use Language that is descriptive and to the point.

Lori Richards – the other

member of our team!

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Get a GREAT Graphic Designer!

Layout & DesignLayout & Design

Layout & Design

• Graphically outline the criteria, core components and patterns of evidence.

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Layout & DesignLayout & Design

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Layout & DesignLayout & Design

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Layout & DesignLayout & Design

Layout & DesignK

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• Lots of white space & judicious use of color.

Layout & DesignLayout & Design

Black & Blue

Color in Charts

Layout & DesignLayout & Design

Layout & DesignK

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• 12 pt Times Roman & about 1.25 spacing

• 2 inch margin on the right for appearance and for note taking.

Layout & DesignLayout & Design

2 Inch Margins

Layout & DesignLayout & Design

Do not make the reader Do not make the reader

look for anything – ever!look for anything – ever!

• Put page numbers for the appendix in the self-study

• Websites

• Reference RoomKee

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Layout & DesignLayout & Design

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Layout & DesignLayout & Design

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Layout & DesignLayout & Design

Layout & DesignLayout & Design

Coming intothe Station

Alethea StubbeNCA Co-Chair

Working with the Higher Learning Commission,

Outside entities,

and the Visiting Team

• Working with the Higher

Learning Commission

• Outside entities

• The Visiting Team

Co

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to t

he

Sta

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Reaching our Destination

• Organized document & resource room

• Campus wide participation• Honest snapshot – reflected who

we were• Plans to address issues – esp.

assessment• Demonstrated ability to get things

done Th

e Jo

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Jou

rney

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The View from the Caboose….

Questions? Th

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