Accreditation

The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.

CORE COMPONENTS

1. A. The institution’s mission is articulated publicly and operationalized throughout the institution.

1. The mission was developed through a process suited to the context of the institution.
2. The mission and related statements are current and reference the institution’s emphasis on the various aspects of its mission, such as instruction, scholarship, research, application of research, creative works, clinical service, public service, economic development, and religious or cultural purpose.
3. The mission and related statements identify the nature, scope, and intended constituents of the higher education offerings and services the institution provides.
4. The institution’s academic offerings, student support services, and enrollment profile are consistent with its stated mission.
5. The institution clearly articulates its mission through public information, such as statements of purpose, vision, values, goals, plans, or institutional priorities.

1. B. The institution’s mission demonstrates a commitment to the public good.

1. The institution’s actions and decisions demonstrate that its educational role is to serve the public, not solely the institution or any superordinate entity.
2. The institution’s educational responsibilities take primacy over other purposes, such as generating financial returns for investors, contributing to a related or parent organization, or supporting external interests.
3. The institution engages with its external constituencies and responds to their needs as its mission and capacity allow.

1. C. The institution provides opportunities for civic engagement in a diverse, multicultural society and the globally-connected world, as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves.

1. The institution encourages curricular or co-curricular activities that prepare students for informed citizenship and workplace success.
2. The institution’s processes and activities demonstrate inclusive and equitable treatment of diverse populations.
3. The institution fosters a climate of respect among all students, faculty, staff, and administrators from a range of diverse backgrounds, ideas, and perspectives.

The institution acts with integrity; its conduct is ethical and responsible.

CORE COMPONENTS

2. A. The institution establishes and follows policies and processes to ensure fair and ethical behavior on the part of its governing board, administration, faculty, and staff.

1. The institution develops and the governing board adopts the mission.
2. The institution operates with integrity in its financial, academic, human resources, and auxiliary functions.

2. B. The institution presents itself clearly and completely to its students and the public.

1. The institution ensures the accuracy of any representations it makes regarding academic offerings, requirements, faculty, and staff, costs to students, governance structure, and accreditation relationships.
2. The institution ensures evidence is available to support any claims it makes regarding its contributions to the educational experience through research, community engagement, experiential learning, religious or spiritual purpose, and economic development.

2. C. The governing board of the institution is autonomous to make decisions in the best interest of the institution in compliance with board policies and to ensure the institution’s integrity.

1. The governing board is trained and knowledgeable so that it makes informed decisions with respect to the institution’s financial and academic policies and practices; the board meets its legal and fiduciary responsibilities.
2. The governing board’s deliberations reflect priorities to preserve and enhance the institution.
3. The governing board reviews the reasonable and relevant interests of the institution’s internal and external constituencies during its decision-making deliberations.
4. The governing board preserves its independence from undue influence on the part of donors, elected officials, ownership interests, or other external parties.
5. The governing board delegates day-to-day management of the institution to the institution’s administration and expects the institution’s faculty to oversee academic matters.

2. D. The institution is committed to academic freedom and freedom of expression in the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning.

2. E. The institution’s policies and procedures call for responsible acquisition, discovery, and application of knowledge by its faculty, staff, and students.

1. Institutions supporting basic and applied research maintain professional standards and provide oversight ensuring regulatory compliance, ethical behavior, and fiscal accountability.
2. The institution provides effective support services to ensure the integrity of research and scholarly practice conducted by its faculty, staff, and students.
3. The institution provides students guidance in the ethics of research and the use of information resources.
4. The institution enforces policies on academic honesty and integrity.

The institution provides quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.

CORE COMPONENTS

3. A. The rigor of the institution’s academic offerings is appropriate to higher education.

1. Courses and programs are current and require levels of student performance appropriate to the credential awarded.
2. The institution articulates and differentiates learning goals for its undergraduate, graduate, post-baccalaureate, post-graduate, and certificate programs.
3. The institution’s program quality and learning goals are consistent across all modes of delivery and all locations (on the main campus, at additional locations, by distance delivery, as dual credit, through contractual or consortial arrangements, or any other modality).

3. B. The institution offers programs that engage students in collecting, analyzing, and communicating information; mastering modes of intellectual inquiry or creative work; and in developing skills adaptable to changing environments.

1. The general education program is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings, and degree levels of the institution. The institution articulates the purposes, content, and intended learning outcomes of its undergraduate general education requirements.
2. The program of general education is grounded in a philosophy or framework developed by the institution or adopted from an established framework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to students and develops skills and attitudes that the institution believes every college-educated person should possess.
3. The education offered by the institution recognizes human and cultural diversity and provides students with growth opportunities and lifelong skills to live and work in a multi-cultural world.
4. The faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work, and the discovery of knowledge to the extent appropriate to their offerings and the institution’s mission.

3. C. The institution has the faculty and staff needed for effective, high-quality programs and student services.

1. The institution strives to ensure that the overall composition of its faculty and staff reflects human diversity as appropriate within its mission and for the constituencies it serves.
2. The institution has sufficient numbers and continuity of faculty members to carry out both the classroom and the non-classroom roles of faculty, including oversight of the curriculum and expectations for student performance, assessment of student learning; and establishment of academic credentials for instructional staff.
3. All instructors are appropriately qualified, including those in dual credit, contractual and consortial offerings.
4. Instructors are evaluated regularly in accordance with established institutional policies and procedures.
5. The institution has processes and resources for assuring that instructors are current in their disciplines and adept in their teaching roles; it supports their professional development.
6. Instructors are accessible for student inquiry.
7. Staff members providing student support services, such as tutoring, financial aid advising, academic advising, and co-curricular activities are appropriately qualified, trained, and supported in their professional development.

3. D. The institution provides support for student learning and resources for effective teaching.

1. The institution provides student support services suited to the needs of its student populations.
2. The institution provides learning support and preparatory instruction to address the academic needs of its students. It has a process for directing entering students to courses and programs for which the students are adequately prepared.
3. The institution provides academic advising suited to its offerings and the needs of its students.
4. The institution provides students and instructors with the infrastructure and resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (technological infrastructure, scientific laboratories, libraries, performance spaces, clinical practice sites, and museum collections, as appropriate to the institution’s offerings).

The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and it evaluates its effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.

CORE COMPONENTS

4. A. The institution ensures the quality of its educational offerings.

1. The institution maintains a practice of regular program reviews and acts upon the findings.
2. The institution evaluates all the credit that it transcripts, including what it awards for experiential learning or other forms of prior learning, or relies on the evaluation of responsible third parties.
3. The institution has policies that ensure the quality of the credit it accepts in transfer.
4. The institution maintains and exercises authority over the prerequisites for courses, rigor of courses, expectations for student learning, access to learning resources, and faculty qualifications for all its programs, including dual credit programs. It ensures that its dual credit courses or programs for high school students are equivalent in learning outcomes and levels of achievement to its higher education curriculum.
5. The institution maintains specialized accreditation for its programs as appropriate to its educational purposes.
6. The institution evaluates the success of its graduates. The institution ensures that the credentials it represents as preparation for advanced study or employment accomplish these purposes. For all programs, the institution looks to indicators it deems appropriate to its mission.

4. B. The institution engages in ongoing assessment of student learning as part of its commitment to the educational outcomes of its students.

1. The institution has effective processes for the assessment of student learning and for the achievement of learning goals in academic and co-curricular offerings.
2. The institution uses the information gained from assessment to improve student learning.
3. The institution’s processes and methodologies to assess student learning reflect good practice, including the substantial participation of faculty, instructional, and other relevant staff members.

4. C. The institution pursues educational improvement through goals and strategies that improve retention, persistence, and completion rates in its degree and certificate programs.

1. The institution has defined goals for student retention, persistence, and completion that are ambitious, attainable, and appropriate to its mission, student populations, and educational offerings.
2. The institution collects and analyzes information on student retention, persistence, and completion of its programs.
3. The institution uses information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs to make improvements as warranted by the data.
4. The institution’s processes and methodologies for collecting and analyzing information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs reflect good practice. (Institutions are not required to use IPEDS definitions in their determination of persistence or completion rates. Institutions are encouraged to choose measures that are suitable to their student populations, but institutions are accountable for the validity of their measures.)

The institution’s resources, structures, processes, and planning are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.

CORE COMPONENTS

5. A. Through its administrative structures and collaborative processes, the institution’s leadership demonstrates that it is effective and enables the institution to fulfill its mission.

1. Shared governance at the institution engages its internal constituencies—including its governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students—through planning, policies, and procedures.
2. The institution’s administration uses data to reach informed decisions in the best interests of the institution and its constituents.
3. The institution’s administration ensures that faculty and when appropriate, staff and students are involved in setting academic requirements, policies, and processes through effective collaborative structures.

5. B. The institution’s resource base supports its educational offerings and its plans for maintaining and strengthening its quality in the future.

1. The institution has qualified and trained operational staff and infrastructure sufficient to support its operations wherever and however programs are delivered.
2. The goals incorporated into the mission and any related statements are realistic in light of the institution’s organization, resources, and opportunities.
3. The institution has a well-developed process in place for budgeting and for monitoring its finances.
4. The institution’s fiscal allocations ensure that its educational purposes are achieved.

5. C. The institution engages in systematic and integrated planning and improvement.

1. The institution allocates its resources in alignment with its mission and priorities, including, as applicable, its comprehensive research enterprise, associated institutes, and affiliated centers.
2. The institution links its processes for assessment of student learning, evaluation of operations, planning, and budgeting.
3. The planning process encompasses the institution as a whole and considers the perspectives of internal and external constituent groups.
4. The institution plans on the basis of a sound understanding of its current capacity, including fluctuations in the institution’s sources of revenue and enrollment.
5. Institutional planning anticipates evolving external factors, such as technology advancements, demographic shifts, globalization, the economy, and state support.
6. The institution implements its plans to systematically improve its operations and student outcomes.

Credits are recorded on the official academic transcript in semester credit hours. LRSC uses the federal definition of a credit hour. Per LRSC Policy 800.05, one credit hour is equal to:

1. One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class work each week for approximately 15 weeks for one semester; or
2. At least an equivalent amount of instruction and other academic activity as established by LRSC. This may include laboratory work, internship, practicum, studio work, and other academic activities, including online learning, leading to the award of credit hours.

LRSC operates under a common academic calendar produced by the North Dakota University System (NDUS). Per North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) Policy 406.1, academic calendars include at least 160 class days, including test days and excluding holidays and days reserved for orientation, registration, and commencement. The fall semester is sixteen total weeks in length, including one week for final exams. The spring semester is seventeen total weeks in length, including one week for final exams and excluding one week for spring break. During the fall and spring semesters, early and late eight-week sessions are offered. The summer semester is eight weeks in length with the exception of certain laboratory courses that are ten weeks and the Peace Officer Training program is 14 weeks. LRSC Policy 300.05 designates responsibility of the academic calendar to the president, in consultation with the Administrative Council and other appropriate persons. The calendar must be published at least six months prior to the beginning of each academic year.

SBHE Policy 403.2 allows each institution to modify its course offerings as necessary to provide up-to-date, high-quality courses and programs for its students. This process is expected to involve both the deletion and addition of courses, resulting in a master course catalog that accurately reflects the current course offering. The Curriculum and Academic Standards Committee, a subcommittee of the Faculty Senate, grants approval for new courses, course modifications, and course inactivation per LRSC Policy 900.02. A request for a new course, course modification, or course deletion is initiated by the instructor via the New Course Request Form, Course Modification Request Form, or Course Inactivation Request Form. Upon approval, the course is added to the master course catalog in Campus Connection by the Director of Academic Affairs. Following this process, the course can be added to the class schedule. When the term schedule is created for each semester, the credit hours carry over from the master course catalog to the class schedule. The Director of Academic Affairs audits the class schedule to ensure that course meeting times meet the minimum length for the number of credits assigned. Per LRSC Policy 300.06, the class schedule is prepared by the Vice President of Academic Affairs and other appropriate persons at least three school calendar months prior to the beginning of each term/semester.

Courses offered online are overseen by the Director of Academic Affairs. To ensure instructional equivalencies between on-campus and online courses, faculty qualifications, syllabi requirements, assessment expectations, course objectives, student learning outcomes, and curriculum are all standard. Online courses are developed at the highest level of course development rubrics, including Online Consortium and Quality Matters, and are reviewed by the Instructional Designer prior to the course starting. Online instructors are provided training and technology to ensure the quality of online courses in terms of standards and rigor. In some cases, instructors within the same discipline will utilize a one-course assessment method between online and on-campus course sections. All online instructors have access to in-service opportunities in either a face-to-face or virtual setting.

LRSC offers Associate degrees, Associate in Applied Science degrees, diplomas, certificates, and certificates of completion. LRSC Policy 800.20 specifies the required minimum number of credits for each degree type. The Associate in Arts degree, Associate in Science degree, and diploma are 60 semester hours. Associate in Applied Science degrees in career and technical education fields are a minimum of 60 semester hours and vary in length. Certificates are a minimum of 9 semester hours and certificates of completion are less than 9 semester hours; both vary in length. The program length of Associate in Applied Science degrees, certificates, and certificates of completion depends on the time necessary to deliver all students' learning outcomes required for program completion. Each program has a fact sheet that details the curriculum required to complete the program. The fact sheets, along with additional program information, are publicized on the Programs page of the LRSC website.

Per LRSC Policy 900.01, requests for new programs must be approved by LRSC Curriculum and Academic Standards Committee and Administrative Council. Upon institution approval, the request is progressed to the NDUS Academic Affairs Council (AAC) via a two-step process as detailed in NDUS Procedure 421. First, LRSC must announce its intent to offer a new academic program and complete the new academic program exploration form, which provides a brief program description, explains the relationship of the proposed program to the institution's mission and strategic plan, and briefly describes the anticipated student enrollment and employer demand for graduates of the program. Once this process is complete, LRSC can proceed to step two and complete the New Academic Program Request Form. This requires an in-depth review of the needs of the program, alignment of the program, the relationship of the program to other programs, cost of program implementation, accreditations associated with the program, and what new courses need to be created. Upon approval from AAC, the request advances to the chancellor's cabinet and then to the State Board of Higher Education as required by SBHE Policy 421. Upon approval, LRSC's Curriculum and Academic Standards Committee assumes responsibility for curricular matters. Changes to the approved program curriculum are presented to the committee by the program faculty via the Curriculum Change Form.

Tuition and fee rates are established each July for the upcoming academic year and are approved annually by the SBHE as detailed in SBHE Policy 805.1. To increase transparency to students about the cost of attending college, the SBHE mandated NDUS institutions to create tuition models that would meet five principles: (1) tuition will be charged at a flat rate to be accessed at either 12 or 13 semester hours; (2) to the greatest extent possible, blend together tuition and non-mandatory fees; (3) to the greatest extent possible, on-campus and online tuition rates should be the same and consistent within residency categories; (4) the SBHE may consider special institutional/program tuition rates based on unique markets, geographic location, enrollment considerations and/or the variable cost of unique academic programs; (5) assess tuition based on residency as defined by SBHE.

LRSC's tuition model, which went into effect Fall Semester 2019, addresses all of these principles and explains variances in fees based on program and delivery mode. A program fee, rather than the tuition rate, is the factor that differentiates the cost to a student between the various programs. Direct costs are calculated for each high-cost program and divided by projected enrollment to determine the program fee. For example, the Peace Officer Training program has the same tuition rate as the Associate in Arts degree program but has a program fee to cover the high cost of consumables and other operational costs. Program fees must be approved by the SBHE.

Per NDUS Procedure 513, the SBHE has delegated to NDUS college and university officials authority and responsibility to resolve student and other complaints. Absent applicable law or policy establishing another remedy, the first step in resolving student or other complaints or grievances is to attempt to resolve the matter directly with the administration of the involved institution under established institution complaint or grievance procedures. Every NDUS institution is required to establish, publish, and enforce policies related to the redress of complaints and grievances. With limited exceptions, a student or other person who contacts the NDUS office regarding complaints regarding NDUS institutions will be referred to college or university officials responsible for resolving those matters.

Lake Region State College takes pride in providing quality service, instruction, and opportunities for students. Student complaints are most often informally brought to the attention of the instructor, staff member, or administrator in charge of a class, service, or activity and are resolved informally. Major student misconduct and associated problems are very rare at LRSC. Likewise, formal complaints, grievances, and related formal resolution documents are equally rare. While there are minor complaints that occur daily throughout the institution, almost all are handled at the mid-management level and resolved informally.

LRSC Policy 800.31 details student complaints and grievance procedures. This policy addresses financial appeal, academic appeal, minor misconduct investigative, adjudication, and appeal, and major misconduct investigative, adjudication, and appeal. The Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs receives, tracks, and handles financial and academic appeals. The Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs receives, tracks, and handles minor and major misconduct complaints.

Complaints regarding sexual misconduct or sexual harassment are addressed in LRSC Policy 1500.09. The Title IX Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator receive, track, and handle Title IX reports.

All LRSC policies and procedures pertaining to student complaints are publicized in the Student Handbook for easy reference.

Acceptance of transfer credits for specific programs or to satisfy degree requirements is governed by institution policies, articulation agreements, system-wide Common Course Numbering (CNN) matrix, and General Education Requirements Transfer Agreement (GERTA)t.

Transfer policies are disclosed to the public on LRSC's Policies and Procedures Manual webpage. Specifically, LRSC Policy 800.17 details several means of establishing credit and includes what will and will not transfer.

GERTA and CCN Matrix, are all systems that are designed to improve student access to institutional degrees and avoid course duplication or loss of credit when students transfer. Detailed information about these transfer systems is on the Registrar's Office page of the LRSC website; click on GERTA or CCN Matrix.

LRSC lists information about its articulation agreements with other institutions on the Registrar's Office page of the LRSC website; click on the Articulation Agreements tab.

The Director of Academic Affairs is responsible for ensuring that LRSC operates in compliance with the provisions of the United States Federal Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) concerning the student identity in distance learning. The methods used by LRSC to ensure that all courses and programs offered through distance education verify that the student who registers for a distance education course or program is the same student who participates in and completes the course or program and receives academic credit include:

• Secure login and password along with a two-factor authentication process called Duo.
• Video monitoring services within its Learning Management System, Blackboard.  Faculty can utilize Blackboard Collaborate and Microsoft Teams to view students in a live environment, proctor exams, record speeches, and build community within their online classes.

To protect student privacy in verifying student identity, all LRSC employees abide by policies and procedures that ensure compliance with Gramm-Leach-Bliley ACT (GLB), Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Payment Card Industry security standards (PCI), Identity Theft Prevention Program (Red Flag). These policies and procedures are available in Section 1500 of the LRSC Policy and Procedure Manual.

LRSC enforces the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. LRSC Policy 800.13 defines an educational record, the information that is public and non public, the process for making a public record non public, and LRSC's administration of FERPA. All employees are required to complete annual Data Privacy Training provided by the North Dakota University System.

The Director of Academic Affairs is responsible for the collection, management, analysis, and archiving of information in support of decision-making, planning, and reporting. Specific to student outcome data, the director calculates and publicizes summary information via Quick Data, which details enrollment numbers, student demographics, credits generated, ACT scores, placement, retention rates, and graduation rates. Various data reports are published on the Student Outcomes and Institutional Data pages of the LRSC website to provide the campus community with information on student outcomes and institutional effectiveness.

The Department of Education requires institutions to disclose information and reports on various aspects of the institution's policies, procedures, operations, and costs. This information is accessible on the Consumer Information page of the LRSC website.

Below is the list of relationships LRSC has with specialized, professional, or institutional accreditors, including any governing or coordinating bodies in states in which the LRSC has a presence. The list notes whether LRSC is in good standing with the state agency or accrediting body.

Automotive Technology

• Accredited by the National Institution for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).

Fitness Trainer Technician

• Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) through 2028.
• Award Letter

Nursing

• Curriculum approved by the N.D. State Board of Nursing.
• The Associate Degree Nursing program at Lake Region State College located in Devils Lake, ND is accredited by the:
  Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
  3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850
  Atlanta, GA 30326
  (404) 975-5000
• The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the Associate Degree Nursing program is continuing accreditation through Fall 2028.
• Award Letter

 Peace Officer Training

• Curriculum approved by the N.D. Peace Officer Standards and Training (NDPOST) Board.

SARA

Lake Region State College has a comprehensive online program offering courses and complete degree programs. Online courses and degrees are available to out-of-state students based on state authorization. State and federal laws require authorization for colleges and universities to offer online courses and degree programs in states other than their own. The list of NC-SARA-approved states is available on the Online & Distance Learning page of the LRSC website.