December 2004

A Few Words
From Nicholas Allen, UMUC provost and chief academic officer

UMUC is well underway in preparing for its decennial (10-year) accreditation review by the Middle States Association’s Commission on Higher Education (MSACHE). This process will ultimately yield the required self-study report that reviews UMUC’s progress toward its self-imposed goals; it will culminate in a visit by an external team of reviewers in the spring of 2006.

The self-study process includes a review of our organization to determine whether it meets the 14 standards developed by MSACHE and an evaluation of our institution’s progress toward achieving its mission, strategic goals, and objectives. UMUC has selected the comprehensive self-study design, which means that we will use all of the 14 standards to examine every aspect of our organization. At the same time, we’ve decided to focus our evaluation of UMUC through a “lens” that ensures the process is relevant to our University and meaningful to achieving its outcomes.

UMUC President Gerald Heeger succinctly laid out UMUC’s defining characteristics and guiding principles for the Middle States process at the recent self-study summit meeting held at UMUC’s headquarters in Adelphi, Maryland. The summit included representatives from among UMUC faculty and staff who are involved in developing the self-study report, which is due to MSACHE in the fall of 2005. Heeger reviewed UMUC’s defining characteristics and provided the summit attendees and the UMUC community with guiding questions for developing our unique self-study report.

1. UMUC is an institution of distributed education, defined today by its commitment to online delivery of academic courses, programs, and services. That distribution has been global throughout the institution’s history.
2. UMUC has always been an institution shaped by rapid change and, today, rapid growth of its enrollments.
3. UMUC has always focused on the nontraditional student, and for much of its history, many of its  nontraditional students have been from the U.S. military communities in Europe and Asia.
4. UMUC is a comprehensive state university that derives marginal financial support from the state of Maryland.

1. How have these “defining characteristics” shaped the University’s “definition” of the Standards for Accreditation enumerated in the Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education?
2. What have been the accomplishments of UMUC in fulfilling those standards as so defined and what remains to be done?

Over the course of the next 18 months, you will hear more about the self-study process. You may be asked to contribute materials or ideas toward the process, and may have an opportunity to comment on drafts of the self-study document that will be made available to the UMUC community. I encourage you to visit the Middle States Web site, offer your input, and become informed about your role in the re-accreditation process. This is an opportunity for UMUC to evaluate the extent to which it is achieving its mission and serving the nontraditional student.

The Middle States accreditation report will represent an important snapshot of UMUC’s progress over the last 10 years and during a time of significant change. There are many UMUC colleagues who are dedicating their time and talent toward ensuring this process goes smoothly and culminates in a report worthy of our University. To see those staff and faculty involved in the process, visit the UMUC Middle States Web site.

Should you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to share them with the Middle States Committee co-chairs, Lawrence Leak, vice provost for academic affairs, and Kimberly Kelley, associate provost, Information and Library Services. Thank you.