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On February 5, 2024, we launched the current cycle of the Middles States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) reaccreditation process at Queens College. Accreditation is vital to our institution. It is what assures students and their families that Queens College provides a high quality education. Institutional accreditation is also a requirement for the college to participate in the Department of Education’s Title IV federal financial aid program and for academic credits earned at our institution to be transferable to other accredited institutions of higher education. The importance of this process cannot be overstated.
This two-year project entailed the cooperation of hundreds of faculty and staff who contributed to the development of Queens College’s Self-Study Report, submitted this past February to our MSCHE accreditation team. On Wednesday, the MSCHE accreditation team completed their three-day site visit with an Exit Report Readout Session at Queens College. I extend my thanks to all students, faculty, and staff who watched the webinar.
For those of you who were unable to watch the report, we have made arrangements to show the 17-minute video for in-person viewing on Monday, March 30 in the Q-Side Lounge (Dining Hall) at 9:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 3:30 pm. Consistent with MSCHE guidelines, viewing is limited to members of the Queens College community and no recordings may be made. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
While Queens College awaits the formal decision of the Middle States Commission this summer, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all those who participated in this process. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge and thank the Self-Study Executive Steering Committee comprised of Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Patricia Price, Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness Rebekah Chow, and Faculty Liaison for Evaluation and Assessment Christopher Hanusa. These three individuals have put in hundreds of hours developing the Self-Study Report and organizing this week’s site visit.
The Middle States Self-Study report is organized according to seven standards of accreditation. For each standard, a working group was set up with a faculty and staff co-chair plus eight faculty and staff members, and these working groups developed the Self-Study Report. The 14 co-chairs constitute the Steering Committee, and I would like to thank them for their service: Susan Davis (Music Education), Rebecca De Jesus (Academic Advising), Julie George (Political Science), Leslee Grey (Secondary Education and Youth Services), Elizabeth Ijalba (Linguistics and Communication Disorders), Bobbie Kabuto (School of Education), Ivan-Scott Lee (Accelerate Complete Engage), Sayashmini Madhow (Academic Affairs), Concettina Pagano (Psychology), Sean Pierce (Student Affairs), Susan Rotenberg (Chemistry and Biochemistry), Mary Ann Watch (Academic Affairs), Daniel Weinstein (School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences), and Chris Williams (English). We extend our tremendous gratitude to the steering committee and faculty and staff members who worked tirelessly and with great dedication on this project.
We thank Interim Senior University Dean for Graduate and Undergraduate Programming Gladys Palma de Schrynemakers for her expert participation and CUNY for their longstanding support provided during this process.
The site visit is a major component of the reaccreditation process. Many thanks to Sayashmini Madhow and Kamilah Roach, who helped organize the site visit, and to my Cabinet and all of their reports who helped facilitate participation and logistical arrangements. We appreciate all those who participated in the forums and other aspects of the visit.
The site visit team is made up of volunteers from peer institutions whose job is to produce a fact-finding report for the Middle States Commission. We are grateful to the chair of the team, Dr. Lamont Repollet, esteemed president of Kean University, as well as team members Instructional Specialist Dennis Fotia (Center for Teaching & Learning Design at Stockton University), Professor Sharmila Pixy Ferris (William Paterson University of New Jersey), Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Institutional Effectiveness Jeffrey Scott Harmon (Thomas Edison State University), Associate Vice President for Student Resolution Services Benita Rashaw (University of Maryland Global Campus), Associate Provost Tracy A. Schoolcraft-Eichelberger (Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania), Dean Sophia Sotilleo (Bowie State University), and Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Aimee L. Turner (University of Delaware).
It was immensely gratifying for me to see the faculty and staff collaboration that went into this process. This work surfaced many excellent initiatives that are taking place across the college and highlighted our commitment to improvement so we can provide the best for our students. The peer evaluator team applauded Queens College's culture of strong shared governance and affirmed our identity as a student-centered institution. We are encouraged to continue building the college-wide infrastructure for planning, reporting, and assessing to ensure continuous improvement and to prepare for future accreditation cycles.
Again, my thanks to the entire college community for your participation in this vital process.
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