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What is accreditation?

  • Process that provides external quality assurance and promotes continuous improvement.
  • Examines the institution as a whole – mission, student learning, student outcomes, planning, resources, governance, and assessment.

 

What is MSCHE?

  • The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) is one of several institutional accreditors that is authorized to review institutions and make determinations regarding accreditation.
  • Requires that institutions submit a compliance document (self-study) every eight years to maintain accreditation.

 

What are the benefits of accreditation?

  • Required for institutions to access and disperse federal financial aid.
  • Provides public assurance of the quality and integrity of the institution.
  • Creates a structured opportunity to examine what is working well and where we can improve.

 

What are the Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation (14th Edition)?

  • Access link
  • MSCHE has seven standards, each with a holistic statement and specific criteria.
  • Institutions must demonstrate compliance with all standards to achieve and maintain accreditation.
  • The standards are:
    • I: Mission and Goals
    • II: Ethics and Integrity
    • III: Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experiencfe
    • IV: Support of the Student Experience
    • V: Educational Effectiveness Assessment
    • VI: Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement
    • VII: Governance, Leadership, and Administration
  • Note: The 15th edition of the Standards was recently released, but WP is still governed by the 14th Edition.

 

What are the Evidence Expectations?

  • Access link
  • A companion document that identifies the evidence institutions are expected to provide to demonstrate compliance.
  • The document is organized by Standard and criterion.
  • It is not a checklist per se, but peer evaluators expect to see most of the artifacts contained in the document.

Announcements

Middle States Kick Off Meeting - Tuesday, September 1 @ 12;30pm - Library Auditorium

Good day…
We would like to invite you to our Middle States Kick-off Event on Tuesday, September 1 at 12:30pm in the Library Auditorium. We recognize that all may not attend due to conflicts, but we are eager to get started.
We received an outstanding response from faculty and staff across the University, allowing us to create working groups that reflect a broad range of perspectives and experiences. We appreciate your willingness to contribute to this important work and look forward to launching us into our next phase.
The Steering Committee, comprised of working group chairs and coordinators, has been meeting throughout the summer to develop the Self-Study Design. We will review the framework and general timelines for the next phases.


Thank you again for your commitment.
Francisco Díaz, Sue Gerber, Payton MacDonald Middle States Self-Study Tri Coordinators