Congratulations on a Successful Middle States Team Visit

We concluded the visit from the Middle States Accreditation Team on April 5, 2006. I am delighted to report that the visit went extremely well. At the session, Team Chair Dr. Joseph Moore, president of Empire State College of the State University of New York, gave an oral report of the team’s findings.

Dr. Moore said that the team listed many of UMUC’s accomplishments. Among these are that the university is a leader among public institutions in distance education, that it is a leader in military education and a leader in Maryland in the education of nontraditional students. He added that the university has a strong and universal focus on its mission, that the presidential transition went smoothly, that WebTycho is a strength, that the university has a commitment to the assessment of learning outcomes, and that its success in attracting a diverse student body is remarkable.

Further, Dr. Moore reviewed some of the team’s suggestions and recommendations. He said that completing the PeopleSoft implementation is a key factor in our future success, that our growth strategy may need to include more focus on face-to-face and hybrid classes, that the team will make suggestions about improvements in retention and graduation rates, that rapid growth in the university’s strategic plan may need to be reexamined, and that, as our new students became younger, we will need new programs for them.

While I have been part of the re-accreditation process at UMUC only in the past two months, I take enormous pride in our success. You should all be proud of what was accomplished. We took a very thorough look at ourselves, wrote an honest evaluation of our progress and plans, and had that vision confirmed by the visiting team. I hope that you share my enthusiasm for what we accomplished. Given that our business and educational models are unique in higher education, it was very encouraging to have this positive reinforcement of all that we do.

I want to thank all of you who participated in this process and who worked so hard to make it a success. Leadership was provided by President Jerry Heeger, by Interim President Nick Allen, and by the Steering Committee Co-Chairs Larry Leak and Kim Kelley. To them, to the Coordinating Committee, to the Steering Committee, to the members of the various subcommittees, to all the students, faculty, and staff who participated in the overseas visits, and to everyone else who was involved, I offer my sincerest gratitude. You have done a terrific job for all of us at the university.

The process is not over. We will receive a written report of the team’s findings in about two weeks. It will also be sent to the Middle States Commission in Philadelphia, and the commission will vote on the team’s report at its meeting in June. At that point, we will receive the final decision on reaffirmation. We will, of course, have a celebration at some point this spring or early summer to thank everyone who worked so hard and to recognize what this process means for our reputation and for our progress in the next few years. I look forward to sharing our success with you at that event.

Susan