Middle States Accreditation
2020 Reaccreditation of the Graduate School and University Center
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What is Middle States accreditation?
The Graduate School and University Center is embarking on its reaccreditation effort by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Middle States is the accrediting body for higher education institutions in the mid-Atlantic region. Schools accredited by Middle States go through a reaccreditation every eight years.
What is the Graduate School and University Center?
The Graduate School and University Center includes the following schools and programs, which will go through the reaccreditation process together as one institution:
How does Middle States accreditation evaluate us?
Middle States evaluates schools on how well they meet 7 Standards for Accreditation and 15 Requirements of Affiliation.
The standards address seven key questions that are important to the success of any institution of higher learning:
- Does it have a well-defined mission appropriate to higher education?
- Does it comply with high standards of ethics and integrity?
- Does it provide students with rigorous and coherent learning experiences?
- Is it committed to supporting students in their learning experiences?
- Does it effectively assess how well students are learning?
- Do planning and resource processes support the mission of the school?
- Is the school governed in a way that supports its mission and goals?
For each Standard, Middle States asks if the institution has processes in places to assess its success and use the results of the assessment for continuous improvement.
Why does Middle States accreditation matter?
Middle States accreditation is a collective reflection process evaluating how well higher education institutions like ours achieve their mission and goals, what things need to be addressed immediately and what can be recommended for the next eight years. Most importantly, this is an opportunity for the community in each school to think critically about its priorities and bring constructive suggestions and healthy discussion to ensure student success and the institution’s sustainable development.
How do we prepare?
We are preparing a self-study overseen by a Middle States Steering Committee, which includes co-chairs of seven working groups and representatives of each of the schools involved. The study will report on each of the standards for each of the schools. The first draft of that self-study will be available to the community for review in early May 2019.
How can you get involved?
Whether you are a student, faculty member, or staff member, you have the opportunity to make your voice heard. A good place to start is by browsing this website for information on the self study process and past accreditation documents.
We will soon provide an opportunity for you share your feedback to the self-study report. We look forward to your thoughtful questions and constructive opinion for our continuous institutional improvement.