Reaccreditation process starts once again
KEVIN FREESE
Seniour Staff Writer
Fredonia embarked on a two year process of reaccreditation. Still in the designing stages, this decennial assessment plans to identify both the strengths and weaknesses of the university
as set by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
"Right now we are examining the standards and how they apply to Fredonia, designing a study to apply the process to us," said Roger Byrne, biology professor and co-chair of the Re-Accreditation 2010 Committee.
According to their Web site, MSCHE has set 14 standards for institutions to focus on to start their review process. These are only basic guidelines given to institutions; it is up to the institutions themselves how they will evaluate these guidelines on their campus.
The accreditation steering committee has set up a plan to use the entire spring semester to create the design for Fredonia. It will not be until April when a liaison from MSCHE comes and May when the actual design proposal is submitted to the agency.
According to Kerrie Wilkes, associate librarian and the other co-chair of Accreditation 2010, between 80-100 people will be directly involved with the project in eight sub-committees. The real work for these committees will start in fall 2008 and last the whole year.
Wilkes has had experience in university assesment, even beyond Fredonia.
"I have also been involved in assessment on the SUNY level and have led the campus as co-chair of the sub-committee on assessing information management on campus,"
Wilkes said.
The last self-study at Fredonia was initiated in December 1997. In response to that study the Office of Campus Assessment was established in September 1999. Byrne is currently the director of this office. Byrne also noted that the standards of the MSCHE have changed over the decade and there is more emphasis put on the outcome of the study instead of the input into the study.
"It is very useful for the campus to look at ourselves and not be afraid of the answers. If the data says we can do things better then we go ahead and fix those things," Byrne said.
Another difference between the last self-study and this one coming up will be the use of technology. According to Wilkes, ANGEL will be heavily employed for correspondence between commmittee members. A Web site for the Accreditation 2010 campaign has also been set up at www.fredonia.edu/
accreditation2010.
The whole process will take two years. The actual visit by MSCHE evaluators will happen in February 2010. According to the MSCHE Web site these evaluators come from similar universities and have expertise in the areas that are focused on for the evaluation. This team is chosen by the commission.
Middle States is an agency designated by the Department of Education to set up evaluations of educational institutions that allow them to receive accreditation. This is a non-profit organization that is supported solely by the member institutions through fees and dues.
While there is no direct involvement by the federal government for an institution to gain accreditation, there are reasons for an institution to keep that status.
"Even though the federal government holds the purse strings, they usually do not interfere directly themselves," Byrne said.
In order for universities to acquire access to federal education funds they must have accreditation from the regional agency in their area. Students would also not have access to federal assistance funds such as Pell grants and Stafford loans.
More importantly though the reaccreditation process is a reflection of the level of education a student receives at Fredonia. The self-assessment of Fredonia will not be a quick, easy task.
"The process must begin so early because it is pretty labor intensive," Wilkes said. "It is what gives values to our degrees."
For more information on the MSCHE see their Web site at www.msche.org
