If you can dream it, you can do it - Stetson University

or the past three years Stetson
University engaged in a
process of reaccreditation by
the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools (SACS).
Involving hundreds of people
and thousands of work hours, the mandatory
self-study examined every aspect of the
university. From the school's mission
statement to educational programs, Stetson
addressed some 480 criteria set down by the
regional accrediting agency.
The issue of accreditation is a major
concern for any college or university. While
SACS accredits the university at large, the
various schools and colleges of the university
are accredited by additional associations
particular to their fields of study: the College
of Law by the American Bar Association
and the Association of American Law
Schools; the School of Music by the
National Association of Schools of Music;
and the School of Business Administration
by the AACSB International. Accreditation
guarantees that a school is financially viable,
adheres to agreed upon standards of
conduct and complies with its stated purpose
and mission. The benefits of accreditation
include student access to state and federal
loans and transfer of credit to other educational
institutions, as well as recognition by
one's peer institutions.
During the fall of 1998, the President's
Staff - as the primary planning and
administrative body of the university -
conducted an initial review of compliance.
This work was handed over to a Self-Study
Steering Committee in May 1999. With a
stated purpose of eliciting broad-based
participation in an on-going, improvementoriented,
self-evaluation process, the
Steering Committee solicited input from
some 150 additional committee members in
an effort to establish compliance, as well as
identify potential areas for self-improvement.
Over the next two years, several tangible
and significant changes occurred as a direct
result of the self-study process: A new
mission statement addressing the core values
of the university was ratified; numerous
policies and procedures were updated; an
on-line policy manual was developed; the
function of the Institutional Research Office
was expanded; a campus study center was
established with a new staff member hired to
direct it; improved support for Macintosh
computer users was developed; and a
revision of university and division-wide
annual reports to include a section on
assessment was instituted.
More importantly, key issues that speak to
the heart of the university were identified.
The first pertains to academic quality,
specifically as it relates to incoming student
quality, student retention and the adequacy
of our academic programs. A second
concerns the role of faculty. Topics to be
discussed in the coming year include
teaching load, research and scholarly
activity, service obligations, evaluation and
merit.
These are formidable issues. The
strength of the university is that we have
the will to address them. The thoroughness
of the self-study review and analysis, the
candor and openness of our Self-Study
Report, and the strong participation of the
university community were noted by the
SACS visiting team in February 2001. Of
the 480 required criteria, only 12 were
deemed insufficient by SACS. These are
presently being addressed by the
President's Staff. An additional eight
suggestions were made and two commendations
received, which note the integration
of values throughout the curriculum
and the partnering that occurs between
the university librarians and teaching
faculty in integrating information literacy
skills into the curriculum. In addition, the
visiting team recognized the programs at
the Stetson University Center at Celebration
as equivalent to those offered on the
main campus.
The process of reaccreditation will be
complete when affirmation is received from
the Commission on Colleges of the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools at their
annual meeting in December. While we are
confident of the outcome, the real value of
the self-study has been the energy we have
brought to the process as we have worked
together as an institution of higher education
to identify our strengths and address our
weaknesses in our pursuit of excellence.
- Dr. Kandy Queen-Sutherland
Queen-Sutherland, a
professor of Religious
Studies, directed
Stetson University's
self-study for
reaccreditation. She
earned a bachelor's
degree from
Winthrop College,
now Winthrop
University, Rock Hill,
S. C., and a master of
divinity degree and doctorate from Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky.
STETSON UNIVERSITY