From: Richard J. Helldobler, PhD, President

To: William Paterson University Community

Date: December 3, 2018

Subject: Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Accreditation

William Paterson University is scheduled for its Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) reaccreditation site visit during the 2020/2021 academic year. This means that the work on our self-study will begin in earnest during the spring 2019 semester. While preparing the self-study does require a substantial amount of work on the part of faculty, staff, and administrators from all divisions at the university, the benefits of a thoughtful and thorough self-study can also be substantial. The self-study process requires that we take a critical look back at our programs, processes, and accomplishments and also gives us an opportunity to look forward as a community and identify the priorities we will work on for the next eight years.

A successful self-study requires full participation of the university community so there will be many different opportunities for your participation. We will need community members to serve on working groups that research and draft different portions of our self-study, members to review and comment on drafts of the self-study chapters, and all members to participate in town hall and other meetings to discuss and provide feedback on various aspects of the self-study. Associate Provosts Sandra Hill and Jonathan Lincoln, along with Associate Director of Institutional Effectiveness John Runfeldt, recently attended a MSCHE workshop designed specifically for colleges and universities preparing for reaccreditation in 2020/2021, and are in the process of organizing and planning our self-study. A website has been established to provide the WP community with information and updates about the MSCHE accreditation standards and self-study process.

https://www.wpunj.edu/middle-states-self-study/index.html

You can volunteer (self-nominate) and/or nominate appropriate community members to participate on the various working group committees by using the online form at:

Click here to access the nomination form

Please volunteer or submit your nominations prior to December 21 so that our working groups can begin their work with the start of the spring 2019 semester.