Linda buckley Tuan Tran
Dr. Linda Buckley, PhD
Vice President of
Institutional Effectiveness
& Accreditation
Dr. Tuan Tran, PhD
Director of
Institutional Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation at California Northstate University provides leadership in the following areas to support the University in achieving its mission and goals: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) regional accreditation; new and existing program development and educational effectiveness planning, including pedagogical and assessment of student learning best practices; and institutional research to inform and support decision-making.

Accreditation for CNU
  • Leads and facilitates the regional accreditation process by serving as the University’s liaison with WSCUC and collaborating with University constituents
  • Coordinates with the Office of the President to prepare and host regional accreditation visits
  • Maintains the University’s regional accreditation status by ensuring adherence to required reporting and compliance
  • Facilitates new program development and accreditation through substantive change process
  • Provides strategic consultation of the regional accreditation processes to the University’s leadership team and constituents to support institutional long-term planning
Educational Effectiveness, Planning, and Assessment
  • Provides programs with guidance in educational effectiveness that incorporate strong pedagogical and assessment practices
  • Provides guidance and support for institutional effectiveness efforts to internal audience
  • Coordinates Program Reviews that support academic improvement and planning
  • Provides guidance for the University assessment cycle to assess Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) at the institutional, programmatic, and course levels
  • Ensures quality improvements in student learning, student services, and administrative processes
Institutional Research
  • Facilitates the use of appropriate institutional research approaches in collaboration with University constituents to support data-driven, informed decisions
  • Provides institutional data for internal audience to support the University's continuous improvement efforts and for external audience to ensure information transparency
  • Reports and presents institutional data in a manner that promotes a culture of curiosity, innovation, and excellence