NCATE selects team chairs from the Board of Examiners (BOE) members who have been recommended as chairs by their peers or institutions. They have a record of high performance, leadership skills, and interest in being a chair. Successful BOE team chairs:

• have a thorough understanding of process and standards;

• make the on-site visit a “learning experience” for less experienced team members;

• are conscientious in following NCATE guidelines and timelines; ask questions when uncertain; and keep in touch with NCATE when problems arise;

• exercise leadership without being overbearing or inflexible; willing to hear all sides, yet able to keep discussions focused; and

• are organized, good managers, and able to coordinate activities with institutions and states.

Team chairs are usually selected four to six months before a visit. They are expected to begin communications about the visit with team members as soon as team members have been identified. As the visit approaches, the chair informs team members about the airport they should use, the hotel, and transportation from the airport to the hotel. They also ask team members to identify the people they need to interview during the visit and the standards to which they would prefer to write.

Approximately two months before the on-site visit, BOE team chairs conduct a previsit to the institution to become familiar with the institution, key institutional representatives, the state consultant, the state co-chair (if a joint state/NCATE visit), and state partnership requirements. During the previsit, the chair negotiates the logistical arrangements for the on-site visit that range from identifying travel to and from the airport to establishing a preliminary interview schedule to requesting computers for team members. They arrange the times that team members can review exhibits on Saturday and Sunday. (Team members can not be on campus or interact with faculty and candidates on either Saturday or Sunday in some religious institutions.)

During the on-site visit, team chairs are responsible for managing the work of the BOE team, which often includes state representatives, state consultants, and state NEA and AFT representatives. They assign team members to be primary and secondary writers of standards. They set the times of team meetings on each day of the visit. They lead team meetings. They meet once or twice a day with the unit head and NCATE coordinator to provide an update on the team’s findings and request missing information.

In states with a single NCATE/state team, the leadership is shared with the state team co-chair. The chair(s) manage the team’s time so that team members do not have to work beyond nine or ten o’clock in the evenings. To manage time, chairs may set norms for group work that include setting time limits for discussion on a standard and allowing team members to make the same point only once. Chairs may work with team members on their writing assignments beginning on Monday of the visit. By Tuesday evening, the team should be ready to determine whether standards are met and the areas for improvement (if any) that will be cited in the BOE report. The team chair expects all team members to have completed their writing assignments by the team meeting on Wednesday morning.

The chair, state co-chair, and state consultant conduct an exit conference with institutional representatives Wednesday in the late morning or early afternoon. Before the exit conference, the chair prepares the Preliminary Statement of Areas for Improvement (MS Word) to leave with the unit head. The statement lists the areas for improvement that the team plans to include in the BOE team report with a disclaimer indicating that the statements will be edited and additional areas for improvement may be cited as the BOE report is finalized.

The team chair leaves the on-site visit with an electronic and printed copy of the BOE report, which includes the sections written by each team member. Most team chairs also email a copy of the report to themselves and other team members. Following the visit, team chairs are responsible for compiling and editing the report and adding the sections on sources of evidence and corrections to the institutional report. The chair then emails the draft report to the NCATE office and each team member, including the state team members and state consultant, for further editing. After the recommendations of team members and NCATE staff have been incorporated into the report, the chair emails a copy to the unit head and NCATE coordinator at the institution to check for factual errors. When corrections from the institution have been incorporated, the chair emails the final report to NCATE.

Although the report has been submitted, the chair’s responsibilities may not be finished. The chair should retain his/her notes from the visit until the Unit Accreditation Board (UAB) has determined the accreditation of the unit. If an institution is denied accreditation or accredited with probation, conditions, or provisions, it may appeal the decision. The team chair and chair of the UAB’s audit committee that reviewed the case are asked to participate in the appeal hearing via conference call. After institutional representatives summarize their rationale for the appeal during the hearing, the Appeals Panel chair will ask the team chair and UAB audit committee chair to make comments. The team chair may confirm and/or refute statements made by the institution about the conduct of the visit. Appeal panel members may ask the chair questions during the hearing.

The performance of team chairs is evaluated by the institution visited and the state and national BOE members on the team. Team chairs often serve three or four terms on the BOE.