The State Authorization Network (SAN) recently awarded Rio Salado College a 2024 SANsational Award for outstanding efforts in compliance and innovation within higher education.
This award recognizes the college for adapting to evolving educational landscapes, particularly in areas like professional licensure, distance education, and accessibility regulations. Specifically, SAN recognized the college for the project: College Compliance Calendar Tool: Free Accountability for Us All, a project led by Ramsey Itani, Director of Institutional Integrity and Compliance Office for the college.
“RSC’s Institutional Integrity and Compliance Office’s approach to collaborating with key stakeholders to monitor and maintain compliance with the regulatory triad is by creating a Google calendar with specific tasks for each user is not only a novel approach, but one that is extremely beneficial,” SAN noted in a letter to the college.
SAN also recognized the $0 cost needed to implement this solution.
“This project stemmed from necessity to ensure continuity with our previous compliance management system,” said Itani. “More importantly, this enhancement aligned with our vision of shared governance within the college while promoting transparency and staff accountability.”
Itani noted key work from Rio employees Trung Tang and Melissa Schrand, as well as support from Karol Schmidt, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness & Innovation.
“This was a true team effort and I am thrilled my team was recognized,” Schmidt said.
The award committee uses a rigorous evaluation process, with a panel of past winners and industry experts following a strict rubric to ensure only the most deserving institutions receive recognition.