Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
We hope you have had a smooth and successful start to the fall term. As you are likely aware, for any college or university to continue to deliver its academic programs and provide Federal financial aid to its students, it must be accredited by an institutional accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education. Mercy College has been accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) since 1968. Every eight years we are required to demonstrate our compliance with the Commission’s expectations.
The College is currently in the self-study phase of the MSCHE review. This effort is being led by 85 faculty and staff from across the College who have formed workgroups to address each of the seven MSCHE Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation. Over this academic year, these workgroups will collect and review evidence and write a report detailing to what extent we have maintained compliance with the accreditation standards. The report will highlight our strengths, as well as opportunities for improvement and innovation aligned with the institutional mission. Through the development of this report, the College will also make recommendations for areas of improvement and innovation that further align with the institutional mission. Ultimately the self-study will be reviewed by a panel of faculty and administrators from peer institutions who will visit the College in spring 2024. This team will then submit to MSCHE their evaluation of whether we are compliant and a recommendation on reaccreditation.
This is intended to be a collaborative and transparent effort, and we appreciate your commitment to this process. If you haven’t already, you may be asked by workgroup members to provide evidence or answer questions from your area of focus/expertise.
We will continue to provide updates throughout the year and post information to the Mercy MSCHE Webpage.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions.
Sincerely,
MSCHE Steering Committee Co-Chairs
Jessica Haber
Chief of Staff
Dena Whipple
Associate Provost for Academic Affairs & MSCHE Accreditation Liaison Officer
Peter West
Dean, School of Liberal Arts