College seeking your input

We are about to learn a lot about ourselves, and we invite the greater Lakes Region community to be a part of the process.

Every 10 years, academic institutions check in with themselves and each other to evaluate and review the ways they provide education to students and the greater community. The formal process of accreditation results in the affirmation that a college or university has achieved a minimum set of globally recognized standards of excellence and integrity. In New Hampshire, our regional accrediting body is the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).  A team made up of colleagues from other member institutions will be visiting our Laconia campus Oct. 28-31 as part of our reaccreditation process.

To ensure NECHE gets an accurate picture of where LRCC is now, and where we wish to go in the future, we ask our community – students, Board members, industry partners, and alums – to participate. During the visit, we will host a public forum at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30 in the Academic Commons in the Health and Science building, where students, parents, business owners, community members, colleagues and anyone passionate about LRCC and its mission are invited to attend.

Accreditation (and reaccreditation) in many ways follows the widely-held belief in academia that one is accountable to one’s peers. So, when a faculty member or researcher conducts research and produces an article, paper or book, it is expected that piece will be reviewed by a group of peers prior to publication. Similarly, colleges and universities write a self-study that is reviewed by peers, who then visit the college to make sure that the document reflects the reality at that institution.

That’s why what you share is an important part of LRCC’s reaccreditation evaluation. It reinforces the college’s commitment to transparency and community. It’s also a great way to offer your thoughts, feedback, recommendations or anything else you think is important for the college community and the visiting team to know.If you’re a former student, for instance, what impact did LRCC have in your career or in your personal life? Did it meet your expectations? What does LRCC mean to you and this community?

LRCC is committed to the notion that achieving academic excellence involves a process of constant self-evaluation and improvement.  The 2018 self-study is our attempt to evaluate our work in the last 10 years on the measures identified by our peers in the region and a part of our vision for the future.  We encourage you to read our 2018 self-study report at lrcc.edu.

Our mission is to serve all students seeking a high-quality education, whether their goal is to transfer to a four-year college or university, enter immediately into employment in a technical or professional field, or simply improve their current skills and knowledge. Central to our mission is serving our community and that’s why it is so important for us to ask our community, our peers, and ourselves: how are we doing?

I look forward to hearing your answers at the public forum.

To RSVP to the public forum or for more information about LRCC’s reaccreditation process, please contact Jennifer Aiken at 603-524-3207.

Larissa Baía is the president of Lakes Region Community College, a fully accredited, comprehensive community college in the Lakes Region that serves over 1,200 students annually.