Do you think faculty and staff should be more involved in accreditation at your institution?

While there have been attempts in the past at our community college to involve faculty and staff, most of the time the body of work falls to a few folk. It seems to many to be an empty chore...

The Northwest accreditation body is trying a new procedure that puts things on a seven-year cycle with ongoing visits and yearly reports. The small, yearly bites might make a difference in people's perceptions.
Michael Harves, Yakima Valley (Wash.) College Federation of Teachers

Right now, most institutions are terribly understaffed. Full-time, tenure-track professors are aging and are overburdened, although administrative positions reproduce like rabbits. While it would be nice to be able to participate more fully in accreditation, it would only add insult to injury. Surely administrators should handle this aspect of the institution.
Susan Kelley, AFT-West Virginia

Yes, the whole purpose of the process is to get those who actually do the work and have the information to the table to improve education. Administrators do not have the information they need, and the accreditation process is one vehicle to bring the groups together.

Further, faculty governance needs to be an important part of this process as well or accreditation will lack any power.
Fred Floss, United University Professions (N.Y.)

Faculty and staff should have more input with the accreditation team. Often the team visits the campus and talks to administrators but never talks to faculty and staff.

Also, there should be a limit on the percentage of adjunct faculty—40 percent in any department; otherwise, colleges can exploit part-time labor and not fill vacancies with full-time, tenure-track faculty.
David Cooper, Kentuck Faculty and Staff Alliance