ACCJC Standards Glossary

Assessment— Methods that an institution employs to gather evidence and evaluate quality.

Collegial— Participative and mutually respectful

Dialogue— Self-reflective exchanges engaged in by the college community, characterized by a free exchange of ideas without the purpose of defending or deciding on a course of action.

Evidence of Institution and Program Performance— Quantitative and qualitative data which an institution as a whole uses to determine the extent to which it attains the performance goals it establishes for itself.

Information Competency— Capability to access, evaluate, and use information in fulfillment of coursework and independent study.

Ongoing— Addressed regularly as part of the business of the college rather than in response to periodic external requirements.

Qualitative Data— Data relating to, or involving quality or kind, which cannot be represented numerically, such as portfolios of work, narrative description and evaluation of a performance, learner description and analysis of a learning experience.

Quantitative Data— Data which can be represented numerically

Student Learning Outcomes— Knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes that a student has attained at the end (or as a result) of his or her engagement in a particular set of collegiate experiences.

Total Cost of Ownership— In addition to the initial cost of a purchase, all long-term and indirect costs resulting from that purchase.