Middle States Commission on Higher Education Accreditation Process 2008

 Accreditation is granted every 10 years.  Every 10 years a university-wide self study is conducted.  Following the self-study, MSCHE reviewers come to campus for a period of 2-3 days to verify the self-study document.  The review team makes suggestions and recommendations based on the self-study document and their visit.

 This information is given to the commission and the commission either grants or denies accreditation. The commission meets in October, universities receive their recommendation in November.  The Periodic Review Report is due 5 years after the self study. The PRR must include responses to all of the MSCHE recommendations from the self study, as well as any recommendations made by the institution (SUNY Canton ).

 The Commission had 9 recommendations that we were required to respond to.  Our institution had 77 recommendations that we were required to respond to.  In fall 2006, Dr. Kennedy appointed 2 co-chairs and 22 subcommittee members to gather the data and information needed to respond to all 86 recommendations. Data collection took place from Nov through March  Although 24 “formal” members gathered data— everyone on campus contributed and cooperated with the PRR (Thank you!)

 The 1 st PRR Draft was completed in early March 2008, a 2 nd in late March, & a 3 rd draft in mid-April.  The PRR draft(s) were reviewed by the Provost, Associate Provost and Deans.  The PRR consists of a 50-page report, (not including appendices). The entire document* is 105 pages in length.  The next step was to make the PRR accessible to all faculty, administrators and staff for review; accessible on our Faculty / Staff web site. (*The full document in hardcopy is available in FOB 614)

 From here, it will get “official” approval from Dr. Kennedy and the Board of Trustees.  May 2, we will be given the names of two MSCHE appointed reviewers.  Our PRR must be forwarded to the reviewers by June 1.  Additional copies (15) must be sent directly to MSCHE  In July / August, the reviewers will forward their recommendations to us, or request additional documentation, comment, etc.  The 2 reviewers final recommendation will be sent to the Middle States Commission.

 The PRR does not require an on-campus visit by the review team. The review team only visits at the time of the self-study.  The Commission meets in October. They base their findings on the results of the review.  In November 2008, we will receive notification of our accreditation status (denied, confirmed) and MSCHE recommendations.

 Involvement in the self-study or PRR process is an excellent way to understand the history, progress, programs and areas of the college.  The College has made incredible progress since Most notably with Outcomes, Assessments, Strategic Planning & development of the College’s Mission and Vision.  Much information pertaining to courses, assessment, department outcomes, etc., is accessible on our web site.  The PRR allows us to examine our success and to identify areas of weakness, and our “works in progress”.  SUNY Canton’s Self-Study Reports, Periodic Review Reports and related documents are always available to faculty and staff for review. These documents are housed in the Provost’s office.  For more info re: MSCHE & Accreditation:  Interested? The 2012 self study awaits....

 Jan Robinson, Co-Chair  Maureen Maiocco, Co-Chair  Ryan Deuel  Judy Singh  Susan Kramer  Jen McDonald  Nancy Rowledge  Brian Washburn  Christine Gray  Diane Muehl  Patrick Hanss  Brian Lee  Molly Mott  Barbara Porter  David Norenberg  Chris Sweeney  Deb Backus  Kathleen Horton  Alice Reed  Karen Spellacy  Mary Bucher  Ken Erickson  Robbie Gittings  Carli Schiffner With special assistance from: Pauline Graveline, Bill Trumble, Ryan Deuel, Ken Erickson, Linda Pellett, Karen Spellacy & Dave Wells