WVU officials are ready to roll out the welcome mat for 12 important guests visiting Morgantowns main campus Monday through Wednesday, April 19-21.
The visit by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) consultant-evaluators represents the culmination of a three-year self-study process to determine whether the University meets HLC standards for re-accreditation.
Every 10 years, the HLC requires member institutions to undergo a thorough self-study process and visitation by a team of consultant-evaluators appointed by the commission, said Nick Evans, chair of the steering committee.
The purpose of this process is to accredit colleges and universities to insure that all institutions meet national standards for excellence in higher education,Dr. Evans noted. Institutions must be accredited in order for their students to qualify for federal financial aid and to transfer credits to other colleges and universities. Professional organizations also require regional accreditation before they will accredit programs, he added.
While the consultant-evaluators are on campus they have the freedom to visit any area and to speak to any faculty or staff member, administrator or student to verify that information in the WVU -prepared self-study document is accurate. The 100-page self-study document is available for review online athttp://www.wvu.edu/~acadaff/api/hlc.htm. The self-study reviews how the University has made progress since the last HLC visit 10 years ago. At that time, matters identified for the institution to address included the levels employee salaries and graduate student stipends, the Universitys breadth of programs overshooting its resource base and the lack of student indoor recreational opportunities.
Another concern of the 1994 team was inadequate funding for the University libraries and uneven development fo the library collections.This year we have a newly renovated Wise Library, a new Downtown Library Complex, a renovated Evansdale Library and plans for renovating the medical school campus library,said Cheryl Torsney, associate provost for academic programs. In addition, WVU has joined Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium Inc. (PALCI), which allows 51 college and university libraries to share resources.
In the last decade, WVU has worked to address the issues cited by the 1994 team, Dr. Torsney said. The 177,000-square-foot Student Recreation Center, for example, opened in 2001 and student use of the facility continues to increase.
Torsney concluded,Our position is that we heard the concerns of the 1994 evaluators and weve made significant changes and initiated innovations in the last 10 years.
University officials also will ask the HLC team to provide consulting services in several areas: creating a campus culture of assessment, recruiting and retaining faculty using incentives and rewards other than salary and achieving a balance between state and external funding. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to attend one of four open discussion sessions scheduled on Monday, April 19, in the Mountainlair:
p. 1 p.m.Undergraduate Students, Rhododendron Room
p. 2 p.m.Graduate Students, Greenbrier Room
p. 3 p.m.Staff, Rhododendron Room
p. 4 p.m.Faculty, Greenbrier Room