2008 Woodie Awards
RSSPuddin' in opinions about accreditation
The Iron Scheff
By Tiffany Scheff
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Opinion
Meandering aimlessly around the Hill drenched in chocolate pudding is a surefire way to receive a citation. But when I did this one Monday night during my freshman year, I walked around with essentially zero thoughts about being arrested. Even with such an optimistic mentality, upperclassmen would consistently tell me that Lehigh was so much better when they were freshmen. And so it goes.
This phrase gets repeated every year as more charters get revoked and more Greek houses are put on probation.
While Lehigh might be socially degrading, Lehigh is continuously improving as an academic institution.
A large part of our academic improvement will be through accreditation. When I first received the e-mails asking for feedback on the documents available to the whole Lehigh community through Blackboard, I assumed it would be a few pages of reading. Then I opened the pages. All 150 of them. Not having the time to devote to such light reading, I arranged a meeting with Carl Moses, deputy provost of academic affairs, to discuss the nitty-gritty of accreditation straight from the man who steers the committee.
And because it is common fact that Lehigh students are insanely busy, the Sparknotes version of what I learned during my conversation with him I now present.
First, accreditation is not just a formality. Without recognition by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Lehigh would lose amenities such as government funds or no longer being able to transfer credits to other institutions.
Accreditation is a self-reflection that Lehigh undergoes every 10 years to ensure that the policies and programs are in alignment with our mission statement "to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research, and service to others." Accreditation reviews 14 standards, but Lehigh has taken an in-depth look specifically in the areas of first-year experience, technology support for learning and advancement for student learning.
This phrase gets repeated every year as more charters get revoked and more Greek houses are put on probation.
While Lehigh might be socially degrading, Lehigh is continuously improving as an academic institution.
A large part of our academic improvement will be through accreditation. When I first received the e-mails asking for feedback on the documents available to the whole Lehigh community through Blackboard, I assumed it would be a few pages of reading. Then I opened the pages. All 150 of them. Not having the time to devote to such light reading, I arranged a meeting with Carl Moses, deputy provost of academic affairs, to discuss the nitty-gritty of accreditation straight from the man who steers the committee.
And because it is common fact that Lehigh students are insanely busy, the Sparknotes version of what I learned during my conversation with him I now present.
First, accreditation is not just a formality. Without recognition by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Lehigh would lose amenities such as government funds or no longer being able to transfer credits to other institutions.
Accreditation is a self-reflection that Lehigh undergoes every 10 years to ensure that the policies and programs are in alignment with our mission statement "to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research, and service to others." Accreditation reviews 14 standards, but Lehigh has taken an in-depth look specifically in the areas of first-year experience, technology support for learning and advancement for student learning.
