The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) formally reaccredited the State University of New York at New Paltz on June 24, 2021. SUNY New Paltz met all seven standards for accreditation. This achievement acknowledges the dedication and commitment to excellence on behalf of all staff and faculty who worked on the self-study and virtual site-visit procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Foremost, Middle States accreditation reflects the collective ethos and outstanding work and achievements of the New Paltz community as a whole.
MSCHE is a voluntary, membership organization committed to the promotion and assurance of excellence in higher education and student-centered learning. It provides an intricate system of measurement, quality control, and improvement through a rigorous accreditation process by means of peer evaluation. Accreditation gives confidence to the public that colleges and universities are upholding their individual missions and adhering to standards of excellence in teaching and operation.
The MSCHE Self-Study Evaluation Team was chaired by Marcia Welsh, former President of East Stroudsburg University, and the virtual site-visit occurred from March 23 to March 25, 2021.
The final report of the Evaluation Team provides lucid insight into New Paltz’s qualities of extreme merit as well as areas where New Paltz can grow and improve over the coming years. For each of the seven Standards for Accreditation, the Evaluation Team included a “Summary of Evidence and Findings,” “Collegial Advice,” Recommendations,” and “Requirements.” The Evaluation Team also included the following “Recognition of Accomplishments, Progress, or Exemplary/Innovative Practices” about the College for each Standard of Accreditation.
Standard 1: Mission and Goals
- “The team commends SUNY New Paltz on its ongoing strategic planning efforts and processes to meet the evolving needs of the campus. This includes the shift from a fixed- term strategic plan model to an ongoing continuous improvement model with a heightened focus on results related to student learning and institutional effectiveness.”
- “The team commends SUNY New Paltz for its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion including the reorganization of the Human Resources group into the Office of Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion, adoption of a Diversity and Inclusion Plan, and the Peregrine Complex renaming project.”
Standard II: Ethics and Integrity
- “The institution should be recognized for its adaptability to serve high-need students during the Covid-19 emergency. The Scholar’s Mentorship Program and Educational Opportunity Program provided needy students with WiFi and laptops, at no cost to the student, to ensure their success.”
- “The Sponsored Programs office’s support of and collaboration with HREB has led to it becoming qualified to conduct prison research. This initiative is a new way of expanding intellectual freedom.”
- “The team would like to recognize the institution’s campus-wide diversity and accessibility efforts, including offering Roger Pens to students with hearing aids, creating an LGBTQ coordinator position, and several other responsible initiatives.”
Standard III: Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience
- “Despite the lack of a formal structured program, the team would like to recognize the Faculty Development components that are in place. Training was provided for all full-time and adjunct faculty to prepare them for teaching across the modes of delivery. It is commendable that over 600 faculty members have been enrolled in a contingency training program on Blackboard by OIT. The pandemic crisis was used as an opportunity to elevate Quality Teaching, and backwards design is exemplary. The team found it significant that all faculty members are engaged in high impact practices, prioritizing schedules and classroom space for Experiential Learning, exemplifying a high-quality teaching and learning culture.”
Standard IV: Support of the Student Experience
- “The team commends the College for providing micro-grants of $1,000 to students who demonstrated that their incomes were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Standard V: Educational Effectiveness Assessment
- “The College has developed a commendable culture of assessment across the institution.”
- “The College has developed an innovative general education program with a strong plan of assessment.”
Standard VI: Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement
- “SUNY New Paltz should be commended for its management of the Covid Pandemic. Faculty, administration, and staff rose to the challenge and were able to make the transition to virtual learning within severe budgetary constraints.”
- “The team commends SUNY New Paltz for the management of its budget during very lean times. Recent federal legislation should allow the College to cover its accumulated deficit. The New Paltz administration will have to continue to carefully manage its budget due to long term financial issues facing the State of New York.”
- “The Office of Development and Alumni Relations should be commended for developing a student mentoring program utilizing retired faculty and alumni. This program should be expanded due to its direct impact on student learning, career development, and alumni engagement and fundraising.”
- “SUNY New Paltz should be commended for its commitment to sustainability. This effort has reduced the College’s carbon footprint, saved money, and provided learning opportunities for students.”
Standard VII: Governance, Leadership, and Administration
- “The team recognizes that the recently revised faculty governance model, implemented in spring 2018, has improved the perception of the effectiveness faculty and shared governance at SUNY New Paltz.”
The Evaluation Team made two recommendations for New Paltz in the report. A recommendation is a directive for the institution to take progressive action towards continued standards of excellence. The Evaluation Team recommended that New Paltz should provide
- “further evidence of coherent student learning experiences appropriate to the credential levels offered; specifically, the institution should develop a comprehensive academic plan that can organize the Academy.”
- “further evidence of:
- clearly stated institutional and program-level goals which are aligned with each other and with the institution’s mission.
- the development and implementation of organized and systematic assessments that evaluate the extent of student achievement.
- sufficient support to sustain the assessment of student achievement and to communicate results of assessment to stakeholders.
- periodic assessment of the effectiveness of assessment processes utilized by the institution for the improvement of educational effectiveness.”
The recommendation for SUNY New Paltz is posted on the MSCHE website. New Paltz will work diligently to implement the changes and suggestions outlined in the Self-Study Evaluation Team Report. In 2025 the College will conduct the Mid-Point Peer Review for reaffirmation of accreditation.
