Why was BYU given only one year to make such significant changes?
From NWCCU’s perspective, it may appear BYU is in year 11, not year 1, of implementing campus-wide educational outcomes, evidence, and assessment. Here’s why. After its March 17-20, 1996 BYU accreditation visit, Northwest stated: “1. Brigham Young University must place focused, institutional wide, coordinated attention to the assessment of education outcomes in response to the Commission on College’s policy on educational assessment (Standards I and V, Policy Statement 25.) While some individual units within the institution have developed quite sophisticated assessment plans, other units have done nothing or close to nothing.” Northwest thinks it is calling on BYU to be accountable for educational outcomes, evidence, and assessment as mandated by national higher education institutional accrediting for some years now.
