冈本视频 faculty and staff are ready to take advantage of new opportunities for assessment and peer review that come with the University鈥檚 recent acceptance into the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
NECHE is an accrediting agency with more than 200 member institutions, including several Ivy League schools. 冈本视频 must be recognized by an accrediting agency to receive any state or federal funding, and it has to continually meet rigorous standards of quality, integrity, and continuous improvement.
鈥淲e are excited for the latitude that we will have to reflect on goals, initiatives, and long-term plans, like the Third-Century Plan,鈥 said Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs Douglas Johnson.
Another key benefit, Johnson said, is that NECHE allows affiliation to be based on institution type and values. Many of its members are more similar to 冈本视频 in that they also embrace the liberal arts.
Assessment teams that visit 冈本视频 will include faculty and staff from other NECHE institutions, and they鈥檒l better understand the University鈥檚 goals and values.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also helpful that, when our faculty and staff serve on assessment teams, they鈥檒l go to peer institutions and potentially learn new practices and methodologies from them,鈥 Johnson added.
President Brian W. Casey had tasked a campus committee with exploring the idea of switching from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to NECHE in 2022. NECHE sent a conditional acceptance letter to 冈本视频 in the fall of 2024, and the transition was completed this summer.
鈥淲e were excited to learn of 冈本视频鈥檚 interest in considering us as its accrediting agency,鈥 said NECHE president Lawrence M. Schall. 鈥淲e thought 冈本视频 would be a perfect fit, and that was clearly confirmed by our initial visit and the report of the visiting team.鈥
冈本视频 will undergo its next comprehensive evaluation by NECHE in the spring of 2029.