Middle States OKs UB self-study plan

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

The university has moved a little farther down the road toward reaccreditation with the recent approval of its self-study proposal by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

The self-study proposal serves as the institutional plan for the self-study, which is the crux of the accreditation process, says Beth Del Genio, assistant vice provost for academic affairs and staff coordinator for the accreditation process. Furthermore, the self-study proposal "identifies specific institutional and educational areas that will be assessed and commented upon during the self-study review process," Del Genio says.

"The self-study design establishes the institution's expectations and informs the Middle States Commission of the institution's plans."

The commission is the unit of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools that accredits degree-granting colleges and universities in the middle states region. Accreditation is crucial, UB administrators say, because it provides an affirmation that institutions are meeting basic academic standards.

Kerry Grant, vice provost for academic affairs, dean of the graduate school and a member of the Leadership Team that is leading the accreditation effort at UB, calls the approval of the self-study proposal "the critical first stage" of the accreditation process in that it "declares to the accrediting agency the scope of our inquiry and how we propose to carry it out."

The approved self-study proposal "represents a memorandum of understanding between the accrediting agency and the institution," Grant says, so that in effect, both are on the same page in terms of questions that need to be answered, data that must be supplied and the methods that are used in gathering that data.

The key question UB must answer in its self-study document, he says, is whether the "campus is fulfilling what it tells the world it is doing in terms of teaching, research and public service."

In addition to Grant, the Leadership Team, which was appointed by Provost Elizabeth D. Capaldi, is composed of Dennis Malone, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and interim chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering, and Gail Brazeau, associate dean for curriculum and academic affairs in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Del Genio points out that procedurally, the self-study defines the time frame for the review and establishes specific parameters for subcommittees as they draft their reports. Therefore, the commission's acceptance of the self-study proposal "acknowledges that the intended plan for self-study meets the commission's expectations for an institutional self-study and, at the same time, has been appropriately designed to account for the unique mission, goals and objectives of the University at Buffalo," she says.

Capaldi also has appointed a Steering Committee composed of faculty, administrators, students and professional staff to oversee the institutional self-study.

The self-study is based on the Standards of Accreditation that have been developed by Middle States "to provide the institution with a method to examine the university," Del Genio says.

The standards cover two broad areas: institutional context and educational effectiveness. Among the 14 individual standards included within the broader areas are such topics as mission, goals and objectives; institutional resources; administration; faculty; student admissions, and general education.

The Steering Committee has established 12 subcommittees to investigate the 14 standards—four of the standards have been combined into two subcommittees.

Each subcommittee has identified charges—broadly stated tasks—and objectives—specifically stated directives, Del Genio says, adding that these charges and objectives will provide the fundamental basis from which the subcommittees will collect their data.

The subcommittees will begin their work this month, she says. Once they finish their data acquisition, research and analysis, each will construct a draft report. The subcommittees in August will submit their draft reports to the Steering Committee, which will review the reports and offer suggestions and comments to the subcommittees. In January 2003, a comprehensive self-study report draft will be submitted to the Steering Committee for review and comment.

In a continued effort to keep the university community engaged in the reaccreditation process, the self-study report will be submitted to the campus community for review and comment during town hall meetings scheduled for March and April 2003, Del Genio says. The self-study will be distributed to the Middle States Commission and to the members of an evaluation team during the first week of September 2003, in preparation for the mid-October 2003 visit by the evaluation team to UB.

The evaluation team, composed of 8-10 representatives of UB's peer institutions, will talk to the different university constituencies and examine the data.

A decision on reaccreditation will be made after the site visit.