An accreditation team will visit the U from Oct. 28 to 30 to evaluate the campus and its programs.
The Northwestern Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) plans to meet with faculty, staff and students as part of the process that every university periodically undergoes to ensure it is meeting national standards. While the evaluation teams investigate the areas where schools are lacking, they also highlight what is being done well.
The U is encouraging members of the community to give feedback during the process. There will be three sessions, for staff, faculty and students respectively, where members of the evaluation team will meet attendees and ask questions. Mark St. Andre, assistant dean of Undergraduate Studies, values the process.
“Accreditation is important because it brings outside individuals into the university to look at our programs and resources and give us feedback about how we can strengthen and improve what we do,” he said.
After the evaluation team has left and the accreditation has ended, the process is not over. Every year the U must write an update for the NWCCU detailing what has changed since its last visit. This prevents the university from failing to follow through on the changes that were proposed.
“It’s a really wonderful time for campus to make sure our programs are doing what they’re supposed to do,” said Martha Bradley-Evans, senior associate vice president of Academic Affairs. “I think it’s really important for our university to go through that kind of self-reflection.”
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