#7. Looking Back
Updated: Apr 16, 2018
How many institutions applied in 2015 and how many got classified?
This question may sound simple, but there's a lot going on under the surface.
Surface-level answer
62% of submitted 1st-time applications resulted in classification, but just 45% of institutions that registered to apply never submitted their application.
Below-the-surface-level answer
2 Major Myths surrounding this question...
Some people believe the classification is competitive. WRONG! Every institution is judged on its own merits. While the standards get more stringent every cycle, making the classification a little harder to achieve each time, there is no limit to how many institutions can be awarded the classification. So, the number of other campuses applying has no bearing on your institution. Stay in your own lane.
Some argue the application process is beneficial whether or not you get classified. MAYBE! Beneficial to whom? One campus may use its increased self-awareness to make improvements where it doesn’t meet best practices. That’s a huge benefit! But another campus may mistake being declined for the classification as a signal that its CE leaders are underperforming, when in fact the classification is about the institutionalization of CE across an entire campus. Misinterpretations like this are beneficial to no one.
A Note on Self-Studies
The application process is meant to be inherently beneficial. There can be real value to conducting a self-study of your campus and learning how it stacks up against best practices in the CE field. The chance to be publicly noted as Carnegie classified gives campuses a sense of urgency and high stakes, which are often missing from your typical self-study exercise.
However, if a self-study is what you’re after, lots of SLCE institutionalization rubrics and other tools exist for just that purpose. You can start today. The most recent Carnegie Classification “Document Framework,” or list of questions, is free and available anytime. The list of 2020 questions will also become available in January.
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