RIT and reaccreditation

Thomas Raco

by Thomas Raco

As a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, RIT participates in a reaccreditation review every 10 years. Our next full review will occur in March 2007 when an external team of evaluators, assigned by the commission, visits our campus. During this visit, they will conduct interviews with various university groups and individuals, review RIT documents and data related to performance, and prepare a summary of recommendations for the commission regarding reaccreditation status for RIT.

According to the commission, accreditation is “the means of self-regulation and peer review adopted by the educational community” to ensure integrity and quality worthy of public confidence. Effective self-regulation, within the context of thoughtful standards of excellence, can limit the need for external control.

Reaccreditation represents a statement of faith and confidence by the commission in the university’s ability to meet commission standards and to be true to its own mission and strategic goals.

As the March 2007 visit approaches, we at RIT find ourselves on task to complete the self-study report required by the commission, and expect to satisfy fully its expectations and requirements for reaccreditation. To date, we successfully hosted a preliminary visit by the chair of the commission’s Evaluation Team in early October. The first full draft of the self-study report was also completed and distributed to all faculty, staff, and students via a recent Clipboard survey, with the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft. The remaining tasks prior to the spring visit include incorporating survey feedback into a penultimate draft (December), a second opportunity for community feedback (January) and completion of the final self-study report for approval by Dr. Simone and the Board of Trustees. The report will then be forwarded to the commission and the Evaluation Team in February.

Completion of the self-study review closely parallels the selection of a new university president. From the beginning of the reaccreditation process, the Self-Study Steering Committee has been committed to producing a report that would not only satisfy reaccreditation requirements, but be used as a compass for guiding the new president during transition and defining the university in terms of current practices and future challenges. We strongly believe RIT is on the path to becoming a “category-of-one” university. This is why your continued participation in the self-study process is important to the integrity of what is shared with the Evaluation Team and, later, with our new president. While the most recent feedback survey is finished, you will have a second opportunity to influence how RIT is characterized and the future challenges that will shape its future. We look forward to your thoughts.

Thomas Raco is a professor at NTID and chair of the RIT Middle States Self-Study Process.