Appointed by the NWCCU Board, the process to become a site visitor includes a nomination by another individual—which in Dr. Isaacson’s case was Dean LeAnn Maupin of Oregon Tech’s College of Health, Arts, and Sciences—an application review, and a display of prior knowledge related to teaching and leadership. Out of the hundreds of individuals nominated for the responsibility, NWCCU chooses 30 people to train and add to their current list.
Dr. Isaacson’s role as a site visitor makes her responsible for working as a team member to visit higher education institutions throughout the Northwest which are seeking initial or continued accreditation status. On-site reviewers are asked to work with institutions to evaluate the Commission’s established standards of educational quality and effectiveness. Accredited status indicates that the institution has clearly defined appropriate educational objectives; operates under conditions by which achievement of those educational objectives can reasonably be expected; is substantially accomplishing its educational objectives; and is organized, staffed, and supported to warrant confidence that it will continue to achieve its educational objectives in the foreseeable future.
“I am excited to serve in this role and hope to bring back best practices to Oregon Tech,” said Dr. Isaacson. “I feel very honored to be nominated and am passionate about doing this work, as it focuses on improving student learning.”
NWCCU is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the authority on the educational quality and institutional effectiveness of higher education institutions in the Northwest region of the United States, including the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, as well as Canada.
NWCCU recognizes higher education institutions for performance, integrity, and quality to merit the confidence of the educational community and the public. Accreditation or pre-accreditation by NWCCU also qualifies institutions and enrolled students for access to Title IV federal funds to support teaching, research and student financial aid.
Dr. Isaacson is currently the program director for online degree completion courses in the undergraduate Echocardiography and Vascular bachelor’s degree programs and the Master of Science in Allied Health. She also works as an associate professor in the Medical Imaging Technology department. She has been teaching at Oregon Tech since 1994 and currently serves as Chair of the Executive Commission on Assessment for Oregon Tech.
Dr. Isaacson obtained her doctorate in Educational Leadership along with her Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling, from Seattle University and is a nationally licensed therapist. Her dissertation work was primarily centered around interviewing great leaders and analyzing the themes from those conversations. Dr. Isaacson also obtained a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix in education, specializing in teaching diverse learners. She graduated from the Echocardiography Program at Spokane Community College, and trained at Duke University and Geisinger Medical Center; and is also an alumna of Oregon Tech for her undergraduate studies. Dr. Isaacson is a Fellow in the Society for Vascular Ultrasound and served as a board member and Education Chair.
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