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Jan. 10, 2005 Volume 29, Issue 19 |
Accreditation follow-up is completed
Mississippi State has completed follow-up reporting to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in response to recommendations included in the reaffirmation committee report of April 2003.
MSU was notified following the annual SACS meeting last month that the university's first follow-up report, submitted in September 2004, has been accepted and no further reports are required.
The September report addressed the university's efforts to comply with six peer review committee recommendations related to institutional planning and evaluation. Eleven of the 17 total recommendations included in the reaffirmation committee's report already had been satisfied with submission of MSU's October 2003 institutional response.
"The timely conclusion of the reporting process is a significant accomplishment, brought about by months of hard work by self-study director Leslie Bauman and the hundreds of faculty and staff who participated in the self-study and its follow-up," said President Charles Lee.
"The entire process has been greatly beneficial to the institution," Lee said. "This successful outcome gives us assurance that the planning and assessment procedures now in place can contribute to strategically sound decision-making and link resource allocation to institutional goals."
The September follow-up report documented MSU assessment processes and changes made as a result of assessment in academic programs, research and service functions, administrative and educational support services, and instructional programs.
Among the assessment efforts reported, for example, were the use of the Academic Profile test designed by Educational Testing Services and participation in the National Survey of Student Engagement to monitor student learning outcomes university-wide.
The follow-up report also noted the university's implementation of college strategic plans and budget hearings, the use of metrics for performance-based planning and budgeting, and the establishment and publication of assessment plans for each degree program. Unit assessment reports for research, service, administrative, and educational support units also were submitted.
Mississippi State conducted its decennial self-study in 2001-03, concluding with a reaffirmation visit in April 2003, and accreditation was reaffirmed by the SACS Commission on Colleges at the December 2003 annual meeting. MSU's next reaffirmation of accreditation is scheduled for 2014, with the internal review process to begin in 2011.