{"id":10,"date":"2018-03-06T14:39:38","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T14:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.staging.wpengine.com\/neasc\/faq2013\/"},"modified":"2023-07-06T16:41:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T16:41:32","slug":"faq2013","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/neche\/institutional-accreditation-neche\/faq2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Institutional Accreditation-FAQ"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
    \n
  1. What is accreditation? <\/strong>Accreditation provides assurance that an institution has been found to meet, and will continue to meet, stated requirements and standards. Accreditation also allows the institution to self-reflect towards continuous improvement. Accreditation is the process whereby an outside organization certifies a college or university as meeting certain requirements of excellence. Accreditation is an important \u201cstamp of approval.\u201d Accredited colleges and universities have proven to their peers that they are deeply committed to educational quality and improvement.<\/li>\n
  2. What is the purpose of accreditation? <\/strong>Only accredited institutions are eligible to receive federal funds for higher education, including student financial aid and research funds. Accreditation also ensures students the ability to transfer credits between accredited schools, and some graduate schools only accept students with degrees from accredited schools.<\/li>\n
  3. Why is attending an accredited college or university important? <\/strong>There are many good reasons to attend an accredited institution. Here are a few of them: Quality education: accredited colleges and universities deliver high quality educational program; Financial aid: accredited schools receive federal student financial aid dollars;\u00a0Transfer: most schools will only accept transfer credits from an accredited school;\u00a0Graduate school: most graduate programs will only accept students with degrees from accredited schools<\/li>\n
  4. How long has Western Connecticut State University been accredited and when did Western last undergo accreditation? <\/strong>The university first received accreditation in 1954.\u00a0 It last received re-accreditation by the New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly NEASC) in 2013.<\/li>\n
  5. What is the New England Commission of Higher Education? <\/strong>As noted on the NECHE website <\/a>New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a non-profit, non-governmental membership organization. It relies on its members\u2019 self-regulation, voluntary compliance with the\u00a0Standards for Accreditation<\/a> and a system of ongoing evaluation by peers. The Commission\u2019s goal is to promote institutional improvement and public assurance of quality.\u00a0<\/em>The Commission accredits a wide variety of institutions with different missions. Each institution is evaluated according to the Standards in light of its unique mission.\u00a0<\/em>In applying\u00a0the Standards, the Commission assesses the effectiveness of the institution as a whole. The Commission recognizes that some aspects of an institution are always stronger than others. Meeting\u00a0the Standards\u00a0does not guarantee the quality of individual programs, courses, or graduates, but serious weaknesses in a particular area may threaten the institution\u2019s accreditation<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  6. Who accredits Western Connecticut State University?\u00a0 <\/strong>Western is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).<\/li>\n
  7. When is the NECHE site visit? <\/strong>The site visit will occur October 22-25, 2023.<\/li>\n
  8. What happens during the site visit? <\/strong>During this visit, a team of peer evaluators\u2013 all of whom are affiliated with an accredited college or university \u2013 will interview students, faculty, and staff; read and review documents and data; and tour the campus.\u00a0 <\/strong>The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) maintains a database of more than 1,500 experienced senior educators, from all types of accredited colleges and universities, who have volunteered for this important task. They are carefully selected and trained to evaluate institutions according to the Standards for Accreditation<\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0The purpose of the visit is to validate the evidence and examples contained in the written Self-Study report and to make recommendations to NEASC concerning continued accreditation.<\/li>\n
  9. When does Western submit its official Self-Study report? <\/strong>The report will be submitted to NECHE in August 2023.<\/li>\n
  10. I know that Western is undergoing a Self-Study as part of the accreditation process. What does this Self-Study involve? <\/strong>The Self-Study is a process during which faculty, staff, and administrators take a very close look at the entire university, documenting its strengths and its challenges in a written report. Before the writing begins, Self-Study team members attend campus meetings, interview people, collect research and data, and review important documents. The Self-Study is a unique opportunity for the university to take stock of itself \u2013 celebrating its successes and discovering areas for continued improvement.<\/li>\n
  11. Does this Self-Study affect the entire university?<\/strong> Yes! All aspects of the university are represented in the Self-Study. Although different schools, programs, and departments may have their own accreditation cycles, this accreditation process is for the ENTIRE Western Connecticut State University.<\/li>\n
  12. When will Western be notified of the results of the accreditation review by NECHE? <\/strong>The Visiting Team will make recommendations to the Commission.\u00a0 We will expect the final report from the Commission within 4-6 months after the site visit on October 22-25, 2023.<\/li>\n
  13. What are the NECHE Standards for Accreditation? <\/strong>The Standards for Accreditation<\/a> are organized under nine major headings:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    • Standard One: Mission and Purposes\u00a0 <\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Standard Two: Planning and Evaluation<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Standard Three: Organization and Governance<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Standard Four: The Academic Program<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Standard Five: Faculty<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Standard Six: Students<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Standard Seven: Institutional Resources<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Standard Eight:\u00a0 Educational Effectiveness<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Standard Eleven: Integrity, Transparency, and Public Disclosure. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      What is accreditation? Accreditation provides assurance that an institution has been found to meet, and will continue to meet, stated requirements and standards. Accreditation also allows the institution to self-reflect towards continuous improvement. Accreditation is the process whereby an outside …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314,"featured_media":0,"parent":267,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"left-navigation.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/neche\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/neche\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/neche\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/neche\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/314"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/neche\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/neche\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/neche\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/neche\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}