Caring Campus Certification
The Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC) developed Caring Campus as an intentional way to augment our shared mission of improving and increasing student success. Caring Campus accomplishes this by creating a campus culture in which everyone—students, staff, faculty, and leadership—feels cared for and connected.
The Caring Campus Certification program exists for several reasons. First and foremost, it is intended to keep Caring Campus front and center at the institutional level as a way to support the program’s institutionalization and sustainability.
Second, the certification categories and criteria are meant to inspire all Caring Campuses by suggesting avenues for increasing the scope of their Caring Campus implementations.
Finally, the certification process can help a college or university understand how Caring Campus is currently integrated into the life of their campus community.
Eligibility and application process
Any college or university that has completed at least one of the primary Caring Campus coaching programs (Caring Campus Staff or Caring Campus Faculty) and is a member of the Caring Campus Network may apply for certification.
There will be a yearly application period during which eligible institutions may submit their applications. Applications will be submitted online. At the close of the application period, the applications will be reviewed and scored by IEBC according to the rubric in effect at that time. Institutions will be notified of IEBC’s decision on their application by the start of the next calendar year.
There is no additional cost to apply for certification. Eligibility to apply is a benefit of membership in the Caring Campus Network.
All decisions by the IEBC Caring Campus team are final.
Certification
IEBC will notify each institutional applicant of the result of their review and will provide their rubric scores and any appropriate feedback. Successfully certified applicants will be notified of their achievement and the level of certification they have earned. Their achievement will also be announced publicly by IEBC.
Certification, once earned, is effective for three calendar years as long as the institution remains a Network member during that period. IEBC recommends that certified Caring Campuses plan ahead for re-application during the application period of the year in which their certification will expire.
A Certified Caring Campus institution may reapply during any year in which they are a Network member, even before the expiration of their existing certification. To reapply, the institution will submit a regular application during a subsequent application period, and the application will be reviewed as normal. In this case, the institution’s new application results, regardless of review decision, will replace the applicant’s previous results.
Certification renewal is neither automatic nor predetermined. Each (re)application will be reviewed on its own merits without regard to an institution’s certification history. Although it is not anticipated, please be aware that a new (re)application may result in a lower level of certification than previously earned, or even decertification.
Certification levels
Bronze-Certified Caring Campus
The Bronze-Certified Caring Campus has implemented concrete steps toward sharing and institutionalizing the program’s spirit and principles across the entire institution.
Silver-Certified Caring Campus
The Silver-Certified Caring Campus has put in place institutionalization and sustainability processes. The institution’s faculty and/or staff and leadership demonstrate active adoption and participation in Caring Campus.
Gold-Certified Caring Campus
The Gold-Certified Caring Campus has incorporated the faculty and staff principles at every level and supports institutionalization and sustainability with explicitly and specifically designed policies, processes, and practices.
SCORING RUBRIC
This section explains the criteria against which applications for certification will be scored. There are both required and supplemental criteria each certification level: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Explanations of each criterion are provided, and all requirements and scoring rules are provided.
To be eligible for Caring Campus Certification, a college or university must have completed at least one Caring Campus coaching course (Staff, Faculty, or Administration) and must be a member of the Caring Campus Network at the time of the institution’s application for certification.
Certification scoring
IEBC has determined certain activities, policies, or procedures to be required for qualification at each level of certification. However, IEBC also recognizes that every institution has its own culture, and therefore allowances for variety and customization have been made in the application process. Each of these items is recognized as an additional way to support or pursue a greater commitment to institutionalizing and sustaining Caring Campus at your college or university. Achievement on each will be determined by the explanation and evidence submitted for that criterion. The point value for each item is weighted according to IEBC’s assessment of its contribution to and support of Caring Campus implementation and institutionalization.
Note that if not all of the required criteria for a particular certification level are met, any of those criteria that are met will contribute points for the purposes of determining any lower level of certification.
Bronze Tier
To be eligible for Bronze-Tier Certification, the institution must:
- meet each of the required criteria below AND
- earn at least 5 additional certification points on the overall rubric.
Bronze-Certified Caring Campus
As they are considered minimum requirements, the required criteria for Bronze-Level Certification cannot earn any certification points.
- Visual materials
- Regular meetings
- Recognition programs
- Leadership at meetings
- Leadership champion
Additional Bronze-tier criteria
Each of the additional criteria, if met with sufficient evidence, will earn 1 point toward certification point requirements.
- New employee orientation
- Senior leadership involvement
- Managers involvement
- Governing board awareness
Silver Tier
To be eligible for Silver-Tier Certification, the institution must:
- meet the Bronze-tier certification requirements AND
- meet each of the required criteria below AND
- earn at least 10 total certification points on the overall rubric.
Required Silver-tier criteria
- Custom branding
- Level of participation
- Caring Campus Moments
Additional Silver-tier criteria
Each of the following criteria, if met with sufficient evidence, will earn 2 points toward certification point requirements.
- General communications
- Policy support
- Advertising and marketing
- Data collection
- Ongoing training
- Governing board involvement
Gold Tier
To be eligible for Gold-Tier Certification, the institution must:
- meet the Silver-Tier certification requirements, AND
- have completed both the Caring Campus Faculty and Caring Campus Staff coaching programs AND
- meet each of the required criteria below AND
- earn at least 15 total certification points on the overall rubric.
Required Gold-tier criteria
- Incorporation into planning and strategic documents
- Job descriptions
- Hiring advertisements
- Hiring process
- New employee training
- Employee evaluations
- Campus-wide celebration
Additional Gold-tier criteria
Each of the following criteria, if met with sufficient evidence, will earn 3 points toward certification point requirements.
- Outcomes reporting
- Community outreach
- Internal communications
- Governing board adoption
- Caring Campus Network participation
- Data-informed culture
Extent of employee participation
Culture change does not happen without widespread participation. Accordingly, IEBC hopes that each Caring Campus will find ways to measure the level of employee participation in the program. To encourage proactive leadership and accountability, evidence of campus-wide participation is scored for certification points as follows:
- 2 points for at least 50% participation among the employee group(s) that have been engaged in the Caring Campus coaching program, OR
- 3 points toward Bronze Certification for at least 75% participation (note that this level of participation is a requirement for Silver and Gold Certification), OR
- 4 points toward any certification level for at least 90% participation.
For questions or clarifications, please contact us at info@iebcnow.org.
