With a little more than two years left before Northwestern’s 10-year academic accreditation expires, NU officials are beginning work on a study to detail needed improvements.
The study, which will focus mainly on interdisciplinary studies, is an important part of the accreditation process used to determine the legitimacy and integrity of higher learning institutions.
While NU is unlikely to have difficulty securing the accreditation, any problems that may arise could jeopardize federal funding and financial aid provided to the school and its students.
Because of the importance of receiving accreditation, officials said they are being careful not to take the process lightly.
“The university recognizes that this is a serious activity with important consequences,” said John Margolis, associate provost for faculty affairs who directed the accreditation efforts in 1985 and 1995.
NU’s accreditation is awarded by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, one of six regional associations entrusted with evaluating learning institutions. The association bases its evaluations on criteria ranging from “support for freedom of inquiry for faculty and students” and “institutional commitment to excellence” to requirements concerning the verification of previously earned credit.
In order to prove they meet these criteria, universities must provide the association with documentation of faculty size, financial audits, curricula and other pertinent information.
Each school must also conduct a self-study of a specific issue of its choice that concerns its entire institution. NU administrators chose to examine interdisciplinary studies.
The requirement of a self-study reflects the growing perception that accreditation associations should not just determine whether a school is legitimate or not, but also determine what the school needs to do in order to improve itself.
“The ascending school of thought … is that the accreditation process is not only an occasion for ascertaining whether an institution meets a threshold but is also an occasion to provide advice to the institution about its future,” Margolis said.
One example of this trend is the improvement made to Medill facilities after a 1987 visit by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, a national organization charged with accrediting journalism programs.
The five-person team that came to look at NU’s journalism school determined that the buildings in which the school was housed were in need of repair. While it didn’t withhold accreditation, it recommended that the school repair the buildings.
“They visited us in ’87 and told us that the building was a mess, that it was a pit,” said Prof. Dick Schwarzlose, who handles accreditation issues for Medill.
A subsequent fund-raising drive raised $3 million to pay for building repairs and improved computing technology, bringing the journalism program into compliance with regulations, said Schwarzlose, adding that this sort of improvement is one of the major benefits offered by accreditation.
“It’s a healthy thing for the school to be looking at itself,” Schwarzlose said.
Accreditation also enables institutions to prove their ability to provide students with the education they expect. This ability is the most important qualification for accreditation, according to Stephen Fisher, associate provost for undergraduate education, who is in charge of compiling NU’s self study.
“The fundamental principles are always the same,” Fisher said. “They want to make sure that you are fiscally sound (and) they want to make sure that your education program is credible. … We should pass with flying colors.”
