Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA^SM)

Participation Agreement

The institution, as a member of AASCU or NASULGC, hereby agrees to become a participant in the Voluntary System of Accountability and to utilize the College Portrait web reporting template. As a VSA participant, the institution agrees that it will abide by the following conditions, reporting requirements, and timelines.

Display of College Portrait template

1) The institution will generate the College Portrait template using the tools and specifications provided and display the resulting template on the institution website without altering its form or content.

a) A supplemental page can be included with the College Portrait template if it is clearly labeled as a page added by the institution. The supplemental page must be added after the last page of the College Portrait.

2) The institution will include the College Portrait/VSA icon on the institution home page or no more than one click away from the home page on another appropriate page (e.g., admissions page) and maintain an active link from the icon directly to the College Portrait.

Reporting of Consumer Information

3) Report data that is available through the Common Data Set (CDS) and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) within three months of becoming a VSA participant.

4) Link to supplemental information as required by the VSA program including out-of-state tuition costs, listings of undergraduate, and graduate degree programs, and the Clery Report on campus crime statistics within three months of becoming a VSA participant.

5) Add text descriptions of institution mission, the campus community, and campus safety. Select information that will be linked to the “campus community” buttons. Link to supplemental institutional data as desired by using the “MORE” links.

Measurement and Reporting of Undergraduate Success and Progress Rates

6) Utilize National Student Clearinghouse StudentTracker tool to report the Student Success and Progress Rates on the template within one year of becoming a VSA participant.

7) Link to the detailed success and progress tables generated by the National Student Clearinghouse as part of the VSA program within one year of becoming a VSA participant.

8) If the institution has not been submitting enrollment and graduation data to the Clearinghouse, submit back files from Fall 2000 to the present within six months of becoming a VSA participant. Fall 2000 within six months of becoming a VSA participant submit back files from Fall 2001 to the present within a time frame that allows the reporting of the Success & Progress Rate within one year. (revised 2/28/08)

College Cost Calculator

9) Include a link on College Portrait to the college cost calculator provided as part of VSA or link to another tool to estimate net costs for prospective students based on a student’s individual circumstances within 6 months. (revised 2/28/08)

Future Plans of Bachelor’s Degree Recipients

10) Administer a common survey question provided by the VSA to graduating seniors using an appropriate delivery method (e.g., add the question to an existing senior survey, incorporate into application for degree process, etc)

11) Report the survey results on the College Portrait template no later than two years after becoming a VSA participant and update results annually at least every three years. (corrected 2/28/08)

12) Provide a link to information on the survey question administration, sample, and response rate.

Measurement and Reporting of Student Experiences and Perceptions

13) Link to institution-specific data on the student experience within six months. (corrected 3/16/08)

14) Administer either the CSEQ, CSS, NSSE or UCUES survey to a random sample of seniors as soon as feasible.

15) Report the survey results on the College Portrait template no later than two years after becoming a VSA participant and update results at least every three years.

16) Provide a link to information on the survey administration, sample, and response rate.

Measurement and Reporting of Student Learning Outcomes

17) Link to institution-specific learning outcomes data within six months. (corrected 3/16/08) The choice of what data to report is at the institution’s discretion and may include reports on program assessments, employer satisfaction with graduates, licensing exam pass rates, etc.

18) As soon as feasible begin trial measurement of student learning gains using either the CAAP critical thinking and writing essay components, MAPP scores for the critical thinking and written communication, or the CLA instrument to random samples of freshmen and seniors following the directions of the test maker in selecting the sample. (Optional: Institutions may chose to measure student learning gains for incoming transfer students and seniors who entered as transfers)

19) Report student learning gains on the template no more than four years after becoming a VSA participant and update results at least every three years.

20) Provide a link to information on the test administration, sample, and response rate.

Conditions of Participation

21) The institution acknowledges that it is receiving value in the form of access to and use of the College Portrait report generator, the College Report logo, the VSA cost calculator, software administrative tools and documentation and in return VSA is receiving value in the form of the institution’s participation and compliance with this agreement.

22) An institution may withdraw from VSA participation at any time if it chooses not to report the data elements outlined in the VSA Reporting Timetable for College Portrait Data Elements included as Attachment 1 in this document. If an institution chooses to end their participation in VSA, the institution will voluntarily remove the College Portrait template from their website.

23) When a senior official of a participating institution learns that their institution fails to meet the conditions outlined in this document as determined by the VSA Oversight Board and does not bring the institution into compliance within three months the institution will voluntarily remove the College Portrait template from their website.

24) If an institution is unable to meet the conditions outlined in this document due to unusual or extraordinary circumstances and does not wish to end participation in VSA, the institution may petition the VSA Oversight Board for an appropriate remedy. The resulting decision of the VSA Oversight Board will be final.

25) The institution warrants that that it is responsible for the accuracy of the data that appears on its College Portrait template.

Additional Conditions of Using the VSA Cost Calculator

a) The use of the VSA cost calculator is optional. If a participating institution uses the VSA calculator it agrees to leave intact the warnings that accompany the cost calculator to the effect that the calculator provides estimates, not guarantees, and students must apply for admission to a specific institution and complete all required applications for financial aid eligibility to receive final and certain aid packages and cost of attendance figures. Further, the institution electing to use the VSA calculator acknowledges that estimates generated by the VSA calculator are intended only as a first estimate of potential affordability of the institution to the user and, as such, are to prompt users of the calculator to follow procedures provided by the institution, lenders and the U.S. Department of Education to obtain financial figures on which they can rely.

b) Participation in VSA is a voluntary activity. The institution understands and agrees that AASCU and NASULGC, their officers, employees, and board members, the VSA Oversight Board officers and members, the template contractors, and the VSA calculator contractor have supplied VSA as a service to participating institutions and bear no responsibility for any errors of fact that appear on a participating institution's template or any data errors supplied or entered by the institution in its template or calculator. Further, estimates generated by the VSA calculator are intended only as a first estimate of potential affordability of the institution to the user and are intended only to prompt the user to follow routes provided by the institution, lenders and the U.S. Department of Education to obtain financial figures on which they can rely.

c) The institution may not remove or obscure any copyright notices or any other indications of ownership on the VSA calculator, nor may the institution create any derivative works of, or otherwise modify, the VSA calculator.

All of the above terms and conditions constitute an agreement by and between the institution and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), and the VSA Oversight Board.

Note: The VSA Oversight Board elected to limit VSA participation to 4-year public universities that are members of AASCU or NASULGC in the short-term. The decision will be revisited at a future date. Expressions of interest in participation from nonmembers should be directed to VSA Executive Director Christine Keller. (2/28/08)

ATTACHMENT 1

VSA Reporting Timetable for College Portrait Data Elements

	Within Three Months	Within Six Months	Within One Year	Within Two Years	Within Four Years
Consumer Info
CDS/IPEDS data	X
Supplemental data links	X
Text and Links	X
Success/Progress Rate
Data to Clearinghouse		X
Report rate			X
Link to detail tables			X
Link to College Cost Calculator	X	X
Report Future Plans Survey Results				X
Student Experiences and Perceptions
Link to institution-specific data		X
Report results of CSEQ, CSS, NSSE or UCUES				X
Student Learning Outcomes
Link to institution-specific data		X
Report results of CAAP, CLA, or MAPP					X