Accreditation
2019 Ursinus College Self-Study
Intended Outcomes of the Self-Study:
- Demonstrate how the institution is currently meeting MSCHE Standards for Accreditation and Requirements for Affiliation.
- Assess the quality and effectiveness of academic programs and administrative services in all departments to identify challenges and opportunities and make recommendations for improvement.
- Identify challenges and specific opportunities related to enhancing diversity and inclusivity of the campus community.
- Inform investment priorities by demonstrating alignment between the Ursinus 150 Plan strategic objectives and resource needs.
Standards of Accreditation and Criteria
Standard II: Ethics and Integrity
Standard III: Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience
Standard IV: Support of the Student Experience
Standard V: Educational Effectiveness Assessment
Standard VI: Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement
Standard VII: Governance, Leadership, and Administration
Standard I: Mission and Goals
The institution’s mission defines its purpose within the context of higher education, the students it serves, and what it intends to accomplish. The institution’s stated goals are clearly linked to its mission and specify how the institution fulfills its mission.
Standard II: Ethics and Integrity
Ethics and integrity are central, indispensable, and defining hallmarks of effective higher education institutions. In all activities, whether internal or external, an institution must be faithful to its mission, honor its contracts and commitments, adhere to its policies, and represent itself truthfully.
Standard III: Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience
An institution provides students with learning experiences that are characterized by rigor and coherence of all program, certificate, and degree levels, regardless of instructional modality. All learning experiences, regardless of modality, program pace/schedule, level, and setting are consistent with higher education expectations.
Standard IV: Support of the Student Experience
Across all educational experiences, settings, levels, and instructional modalities, the institution recruits and admits students whose interests, abilities, experiences, and goals are congruent with its mission and educational offerings. The institution commits to student retention, persistence, completion, and success through a coherent and effective support system sustained by qualified professionals, which enhances the quality of the learning environment, contributes to the educational experience, and fosters student success.
Standard V: Educational Effectiveness Assessment
Assessment of student learning demonstrates that the institution’s students have accomplished educational goals consistent with their programs of study, degree level, the institution’s mission, and appropriate expectations for institutions of higher education.
Standard VI: Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement
The institution’s planning processes, resources, and structures are aligned with each other and are sufficient to fulfill its mission and goals, to continuously assess and improve its programs and services, and to respond effectively to opportunities and challenges.
Standard VII: Governance, Leadership, and Administration
The institution is governed and administered in a manner that allows it to realize its stated mission and goals in a way that effectively benefits the institution, its students, and the other constituencies it serves. Even when supported by or affiliated with governmental, corporate, religious, educational system, or other unaccredited organizations, the institution has education as its primary purposed, and it operates as an academic institution with appropriate autonomy.
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The fifteen Requirements of Affiliation and seven Standards for Accreditation should be viewed as an integrated whole.
In addition to the self-study process, the college must also demonstrate that it meets federal requirements in eight accreditation related areas. A separate Verification of Compliance report is to be completed and submitted for review.
Verification of Compliance with Accreditation-Relevant Federal Regulations - 2017 Edition
This document is a blueprint for the entire process through spring 2019.
Self-Study Design initial draft of Documentation Roadmap (4/12/17)