Latest Updates
11/30/18
After our Team Chair, Dr. Katherine Conway-Turner, visited our campus on October 19th, the workgroups have been busy incorporating her suggestions, along with feedback from outside reviewers, into our Self-Study draft. In November our Co-Chairs, along with President Carter and members of the Executive Management Team, attended the annual Middle States conference to learn about the Self-Study process from our peers. The workgroups then submitted their final responses to the external feedback on November 30th, and Provost Lyman has been coordinating the synthesis of all chapters into one cohesive draft. The draft will be shared with the campus community in mid-January in order to get feedback from the University Forum on January 22nd and campus in a university-wide Town Hall on January 23rd.
The feedback from the University Forum and Town Hall will then be incorporated into the final draft of the Self-Study, which is to be submitted to Middle States no later than February 22nd, as advised by MSCHE, which is six weeks before the team visit. After the Self-Study is submitted, final preparations will be underway for the Middle States team visit in April.
10/9/18
As we move closer to our campus visit by our Team Chair, Dr. Katherine Conway-Turner, later this month, the Co-Chairs have begun circulating the draft Self Study for input from key campus stakeholders. The Steering Committee also finalized all of the work group assignments, as some positions needed to be filled due to changes in University personnel. Dr. Barbara Lyman prepared a PowerPoint presentation in order to update the President's Cabinet on the Steering Committee's work so far, and shared that presentation at the October 8, 2018 President's Cabinet meeting.
4/21/18
During the spring semester, the Middle States Steering Committee accomplished a great deal. On February 28, the work groups completed first drafts of the seven chapters that will make up the university’s Self-Study Report. Co-Chairs Dr. Tracy Schoolcraft, Dr. José Ricardo, and Dr. Gretchen Pierce read the drafts and returned them with feedback. The work groups are currently in the process of revising their drafts, and they will be completed May 15th. Over the summer, the Co-Chairs will integrate all of the submissions into a single report and will also craft an introduction and conclusion to tie them all together. This work will be submitted to the campus community for feedback in Fall 2018. On October 19, 2018, Shippensburg will also host our Middle States Team Chair, Dr. Katherine Conway-Turner from SUNY-Buffalo State, who will help prepare us for our larger team visit in Spring 2019.
1/29/18
As the spring semester begins, the Middle States Steering Committee is hard at work. Academic and non-academic units alike throughout campus have submitted data that will be analyzed over the next couple of weeks by the committee’s work groups. By February 28, the work groups will have completed first drafts of the seven chapters that will make up the university’s Self-Study Report. Throughout the month of March, Co-Chairs Dr. Tracy Schoolcraft, Dr. José Ricardo, and Dr. Gretchen Pierce will be reviewing the drafts. The workgroups will then revise and resubmit their drafts to the Co-Chairs by May 15th. Over the summer, the Co-Chairs will craft a cohesive, integrated final draft and will submit it to the campus community for feedback in Fall 2018.
10/13/17
On October 13, 2017, Dr. Kushnood Haq, Shippensburg University’s Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Liaison, visited campus. Throughout the day, he met with various constituents, including President Laurie Carter, Provost Barbara Lyman, representatives of the Council of Trustees, faculty, students, and members of the MSCHE Self-Study Steering Committee. The objectives of the visit were for Dr. Haq to familiarize himself with Shippensburg University, assess whether we are fulfilling the criteria of the MSCHE standards, and to better educate the campus community about the process of writing a Self-Study Report. Dr. Haq was pleased to note how student-centered the university was and spoke highly of our students who seemed content, well-informed, and engaged in campus affairs. A few days later, he formally approved the Self-Study Design that Acting Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness, Dr. Jim Delle, had taken the lead in drafting, in collaboration with co-chairs Associate Provost Dr. Tracy Schoolcraft, Special Assistant for Educational Effectiveness Assessment Dr. José Ricardo, and Associate Professor Dr. Gretchen Pierce. Throughout the rest of the school year, members of the Steering Committee will sort through documentation provided by academic programs, student service departments, and administrative offices and start writing the report. A polished draft will be written in Summer 2018 and circulated broadly for feedback in Fall 2018. A review team will visit campus in Spring 2019 and MSCHE will render its decision that fall. For further questions on the process, please contact: Dr. Tracy Schoolcraft, tascho@ship.edu.
9/6/17
Last semester, Shippensburg University began the process of preparing for its next Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Self-Study Report in order to renew its accreditation. A steering committee with broad representation was formed by Interim President Lyman and members continue to be added. As part of the process, a Self-Study design was created. Acting Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness, Jim Delle took the lead in drafting the Self-Study design in collaboration with co-chairs Tracy Schoolcraft, José Ricardo, and Gretchen Pierce. This fall, that steering committee, working with both academic and non-academic units across campus, will began compiling evidence to demonstrate that the university is in compliance with MSCHE’s seven Standards, fifteen Requirements of Affiliation, and federal Department of Education regulations. The university’s MSCHE liaison, Dr. Kushnood Haq, will visit the campus October 13 to answer any questions that the Shippensburg community might have about the process. Early drafts of the Self-Study report will be completed in Spring 2018. A polished draft will be written in Summer 2018 and circulated broadly for feedback in Fall 2018. The review team will visit campus in Spring 2019 and MSCHE will render its decision that fall. For questions on the process, please contact: Dr. Tracy Schoolcraft, tascho@ship.edu.