There is no doubt that Patricia Brewer is a versatile HLC volunteer. With nearly half a century of experience in roles at colleges across the nation, the Ohio native, who today lives in an historic farmhouse near Dayton, has found time to serve as an HLC peer reviewer, Institutional Actions Council member and Assessment Academy mentor. She is a big believer in the power that quality assurance can have in making a difference, and views her HLC experience as a chance to advance and strengthen teams of learning communities across the higher learning landscape.
When and how did you first learn about accreditation?
My first interaction with accreditation came when I was a senior at Wilmington College in Ohio where I was working on a degree in elementary and secondary education. When the education accreditor came to visit, it was unclear whether my college would retain its good standing. I quickly learned about accreditation and the many benefits it offers to institutions and higher education in general.
How do you explain your work with HLC to people who aren’t familiar with accreditation, in 10 words or less?
Accreditation ensures the continuous quality improvement of colleges and universities.
Why did you want to get involved with HLC?
I was a faculty member at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, from 1988 – 2001, and we were fortunate to have several employees who served as peer reviewers. When my colleagues talked about their work with HLC and what a good source of professional development it could be, I knew it was something I wanted to experience as well. This professional development afforded me career opportunities as special assistant to a provost at Capital University from 2001-2004, associate provost at Union Institute & University from 2007-2013 and as the Midwest regional liaison for the American Council on Education, and later the director of accreditation and academic affairs for Laureate Education in Baltimore, Maryland.
What aspects of your background have been particularly helpful in your work with HLC?
My doctoral work at Teachers College Columbia University focused on adult education and included coursework in organizational aspects of adult learning. I think teams that work through the Assurance Argument process, or four years in the Assessment Academy, become learning communities. Their institutions are strengthened by the work they do and the learning that accompanies it. Through the years, I’ve become familiar with other accreditation structures, such as the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the New England Commission of Higher Education in the United States, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the United Kingdom and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency in Australia, among others. It’s been very interesting to better understand how the goals of quality assurance can be carried out in different environments.
What have you learned from working with HLC that’s been beneficial to you?
So, so much! I’ve worked as a peer reviewer while employed at a community college, and I’ve worked at both not-for-profit and for-profit colleges, having spent the last 21 years as a senior contributing faculty member at Walden University. The peer review experience has given me a broad look at all sorts of institutions, their challenges, and how they find solutions that benefit students. My colleagues at Sinclair Community College were the first to tell me that HLC can be a great professional development experience. And they were right!
What has been one of your most memorable experiences working with HLC?
I am fortunate to have had a variety of experiences. I started as a peer reviewer in 1999, where I did everything from traditional and AQIP reviews, to serving on substantive change panels, chairing substantive change visits, and going on multi-location review visits, prison program reviews and non-financial indicators reviews. At one point, I was asked to join HLC’s Corps Education and Advisory Team. It was a wonderful experience that enabled me to work with peer reviewers just starting out with HLC.
How do you find the time to volunteer with HLC?
Fortunately, my employers have always encouraged my affiliation with HLC, so time has never been an issue. Since this is work that I value, I’ve always made HLC a priority.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A teacher, of course!
What is your greatest career or life achievement so far?
As a first-generation college student from a small farming community, I found the biggest present under my career tree to be the Adult Education Guided Intensive Study (AEGIS) doctoral program at Teachers College Columbia University. It was a wonderful learning experience and one that I still draw upon regularly in my work.
What’s your favorite part of being a member of the HLC community?
I love the variety and all the possibilities that are open to peer reviewers. I started as a team member on visits to colleges and universities. A stint with the Ohio Award for Excellence led me into HLC’s AQIP. For the past several years, I’ve been an HLC Assessment Academy mentor and facilitator, and also a member of the Institutional Actions Council. Most recently, I have also trained to do Prison Education Program (PEP) visits. I am very much looking forward to the experience and opportunity to support prison education again, as it was one of the earliest jobs I had as a college teacher. I think HLC is unique in that it invites peer reviewers to become involved in so many ways – each with its own roles and responsibilities. It’s a very rich accreditation environment.