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Gallaudet taking preemptive action to retain accreditation
By Howard Perlman on 3/1/07
Gallaudet University worked to retain its accreditation last month after the Middle States Commission on Higher Education postponed its decision on reaccrediting the university. AU students said they think Gallaudet's preemptive actions will help the school retain its accreditation.
According to the Commission's Web site, accreditation is a voluntary process and is "a means of self-regulation and peer review adopted by the educational community."
Gallaudet is still accredited despite the commission's actions and its reaccreditation process is the same as AU's, according to Karen Froslid Jones, the director of AU's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment.
Jones said AU is also accredited by the Commission, which reaccredits universities every 10 years. In order to be reaccredited, AU and Gallaudet must meet various requirements set forth by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, including "a mission appropriate to higher education" and "established conditions and procedures under which its mission and goals can be realized," according to the Commission's Web site.
A statement released Friday by the Commission and Gallaudet said the Commission postponed its decision on Gallaudet's reaccreditation and sent a small team to the university partially in response to "press reports that have raised serious public concerns about Gallaudet University" and a 2005 federal report that declared Gallaudet "ineffective."
Three college presidents and a Commission official were on the team that visited Gallaudet Jan. 10 through 12. The team made it clear that serious issues could affect Gallaudet's reaccreditation, said Mercy Coogan, from Gallaudet's office of public relations.
"The university, President [Robert] Davila especially, told the [Commission] team that we will do whatever it takes to ensure that our accreditation remains strong when it comes up again in 2008," Coogan said in a phone interview.
According to the Commission's Web site, accreditation is a voluntary process and is "a means of self-regulation and peer review adopted by the educational community."
Gallaudet is still accredited despite the commission's actions and its reaccreditation process is the same as AU's, according to Karen Froslid Jones, the director of AU's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment.
Jones said AU is also accredited by the Commission, which reaccredits universities every 10 years. In order to be reaccredited, AU and Gallaudet must meet various requirements set forth by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, including "a mission appropriate to higher education" and "established conditions and procedures under which its mission and goals can be realized," according to the Commission's Web site.
A statement released Friday by the Commission and Gallaudet said the Commission postponed its decision on Gallaudet's reaccreditation and sent a small team to the university partially in response to "press reports that have raised serious public concerns about Gallaudet University" and a 2005 federal report that declared Gallaudet "ineffective."
Three college presidents and a Commission official were on the team that visited Gallaudet Jan. 10 through 12. The team made it clear that serious issues could affect Gallaudet's reaccreditation, said Mercy Coogan, from Gallaudet's office of public relations.
"The university, President [Robert] Davila especially, told the [Commission] team that we will do whatever it takes to ensure that our accreditation remains strong when it comes up again in 2008," Coogan said in a phone interview.
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