Academy Mentors and Scholars
Mentors
Academy Mentors offer guidance, advice and feedback to institutions in the Assessment Academy and Student Success Academy. They work with the team throughout the Academy experience to help develop the project.
Academy teams are matched with a primary Mentor based on the Mentor’s experience in higher ed and the team’s needs. The team interacts with their Mentor in multiple ways:
SparQ
SparQ is HLC’s platform for the team to manage their Academy progress, and to be inspired by new ideas and build a network of support.
In SparQ, mentors:
- Read and respond to updates submitted by assigned Academy teams.
- Provide a Results Response to each assigned Academy team at the end of the program.
- Track additional points of contact with teams.
Consultations
Through virtual meetings scheduled at key points in the Academy cycle, the team consults with their Mentor to discuss their work in the Academy. In consultations, mentors:
- Review the Academy team’s progress.
- Offer feedback and strategies for developing and sustaining the team’s work and continuing efforts after the Academy experience is complete.
Academy Events
Mentors may also be invited to facilitate at Academy events. Event facilitators are chosen prior to each event based on the need of HLC and participating Academy teams. For events, facilitators:
- Read materials from Academy teams to understand where they are in their project.
- Use exercises, prompts and questions to facilitate discussions.
- Participate in opening and closing sessions, presentations on special topics, and poster sessions.
The Mentor Role
Interested in Becoming a Mentor? Periodically, HLC seeks new Mentors, typically those with previous experience in the Academies and has been working in higher ed with assessment or student success efforts for at least five years.
Training
Mentors must complete in-person training on mentoring and event facilitation before being assigned Academy teams. After the initial training, mentors are expected to complete biennial in-person training as well as periodic webinar trainings to remain current on HLC policies and procedures.
Honoraria
Mentors and event facilitators receive honoraria from HLC for completing certain Academy activities. The institution participating in the Academy reimburses Mentors for travel and lodging expenses for any trips made to the institution as part of the Academy.
Mentor Resources
Academy Scholars
In addition to feedback and guidance from the Academy Mentors, teams receive advice on their work from experts in assessment of student learning and student success: the Academy Scholars and Senior Scholars. They provide responses to project updates in SparQ and facilitate Academy events.
Susan Murphy
Susan Murphy is retired from a career at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Central New Mexico Community College (CNM). She taught in Campeche, Mexico at the Universidad Autonoma during a Fulbright assignment and has served in numerous administrative positions. At UNM she coordinated the operations of branch campuses for the Office of the Provost; at CNM she served as Dean of Arts and Sciences, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Vice President for External Affairs. She led CNM’s work in assessment and institutional effectiveness spanning the liberal arts, career, and professional degree programs. Dr. Murphy has consulted widely on issues of accreditation and assessment guiding institutions in developing outcomes, mapping curricula, and designing viable assessment plans. She obtained her doctorate in Romance Languages from the University of New Mexico.
Rosemary Niedens
Rosemary Niedens currently serves as the Assistant Dean for Assessment & Outcomes and Associate Professor, Research at the proposed Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas Health Science Center. She is responsible for developing and implementing a robust assessment and evaluation process for the proposed institution.  Her experience includes Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, Assistant Vice President of Student Development, and Dean of Students with developmental and supervisory responsibility for first-year programs, persistence programs, concurrent enrollment programming, and academic and student support services, probationary and conditional student status program, advisor training, disability services, international student services, Title IX and certified peer tutoring, among others.
Jenny Schanker
As Senior Director of Learning and Research at the Michigan Community College Association, Jenny Schanker leads Michigan’s work on Guided Pathways, Math Pathways, Open Educational Resources and developmental education reform. At the MCCA, and while serving in her former role as an English instructor and department chair at Lake Michigan College, Dr. Schanker has focused on issues related to college readiness, developmental education, dual enrollment, transfer, and alignment of non-credit and credit career education and training. She has served as a Mentor in the Higher Learning Commission’s Persistence and Completion Academy from 2013-2018 and as an Academy Scholar since 2018 and holds an M.A. in English from DePaul University and an Ed.D. in Community College Leadership from National Louis University.
Jan Smith
Jan Smith is the Special Assistant to the Provost for HLC Accreditation at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. She has given numerous international, national and regional presentations on topics related to higher education, most notably accreditation. Jan has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Wyoming and has 20 years of experience as a professor in the Department of Psychology and Counseling at Pittsburg State. Jan was a long-time mentor for HLC’s Assessment Academy before becoming an Academy Scholar.
Senior Scholars
The Senior Scholars lead the development and improvement of Academy programs and provide mentorship to Academy participants. They present research and best practices at Academy events, as well as other HLC programs.
Janice Denton
Professor Emerita, University of Cincinnati
Janice Denton is Professor Emerita in the Chemistry Department at the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College where she taught from 1990 – 2023. During that time, she chaired the college assessment committee, directed the university’s General Education program, and served as department head. She is a member of her university’s Academy of Fellows for Teaching and Learning and was awarded the Blue Ash College Distinguished Teaching Award in 2001. She served as a mentor in HLC’s Assessment Academy from its inception in 2005, became a mentor in the Persistence and Completion Academy when it started in 2013, assumed the role of Scholar for both Academies in 2016, and became a Senior Scholar for the Assessment, Persistence and Completion, and Student Success Academies in 2018.
Susan Hatfield
Professor Emerita, Winona State University
Susan Hatfield is Professor Emerita in the Communication Studies Department at Winona State University (WSU), where she taught from 1981 to 2015. During that time, she developed and directed WSU’s assessment program, served as a department chairperson, and coordinated the First Year Student Experience. She has previously served on the Board of Visitors for the Marine Corps University and the Board of Directors of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology. Susan is currently a Trustee with the Palmer College of Chiropractic.
Related Resources
