By Gordon Simerson, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Accreditation and Assessment
Have you ever wondered what is meant by that requirement that your courses and degrees must be “from a regionally accredited college or university”? This means that the regional accrediting agency has evaluated the university thoroughly with respect to its standards for accreditation, and has determined that the institution manages its affairs in such a way that you can be sure you are receiving a quality education.
The University of New Haven’s regional agency is the New England Association for Schools and Colleges (NEASC). NEASC monitors over 200 institutions with respect to the agency’s eleven accreditation standards. UNH was first accredited in 1948 and has enjoyed full accreditation by NEASC as a 4-year university since 1966.
Even healthy institutions undergo regular check-ups, however. A university’s ten-year reaccreditation evaluation is analogous to one’s annual doctor’s visit.
The University will host a site visit team from NEASC next week in support of our routine re-evaluation. Our last comprehensive evaluation was in 2000, followed by a standard interim focused visit in 2005.
Preparation for the evaluation began in 2008, including the University’s comprehensive “Self Study.” This document was compiled by a Steering Committee and ten task teams comprising faculty, students, administrative staff, alumni, and BOG members.
Our visiting team will be at UNH November 7 – 10. During their visit, the eight evaluators and an observer from the Connecticut State Department of Higher Education (DHE) will be involved in interviews with members of the Board of Governors, administrators, support staff, faculty groups, and students. The team will tour the facilities, examine a wealth of documents and records, and visit many staff offices. They will not be dropping in our ongoing meetings or classes, however.
Student and faculty leaders will be meeting with members of the Visiting Team over lunch on Monday 11/8 and Tuesday 11/9. An open meeting with the Team is scheduled for staff and faculty on Monday 11/8 at 3:00 pm and for students at 4:00 pm, both in Moulton Lounge. All members of the UNH community are welcome.
