About the Self-Study Institute

Welcome to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) 2023 Self-Study Institute (SSI). This is a year of celebration as the MSCHE membership – including your institution and your fellow participants in MSCHE 2023 SSI – launch the new Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation (Fourteenth Edition) and Evidence Expectations by Standard. The Commission is proud that these stand as both statements of the expectations for excellence as well as guideposts for institutions and evaluators. As you embark on your self-study journey, you will be reflecting on our shared values as well as your institution’s priorities and goals. In addition to the activities you will experience during SSI, you will learn how the new standards and accompanying evidence expectations will serve as invaluable resources and a source of inspiration for institutional improvement and innovation. We know that you will share our enthusiasm as our first institutions experiencing self-study under these standards, and we look forward to seeing how you intend to leverage SSI to carry out your own unique self-study process.

You and your colleagues are required to participate to SSI as part of your accreditation activities as reflected in the Accreditation Review Cycle and Monitoring Policy and Procedures. You will join other accredited or candidate institutions through SSI. Our goal during SSI is to provide you with the support you need to engage in a successful self-study through a series of presentations and panels, opportunities for discussion, and resources to support your institution’s self-study journey. You will also learn from institutional representatives who will share their successful self-study experiences from beginning to end of the self-study process as well as highlight how they handled challenges.

Preparation for self-study reflects one-year of activities designed to best prepare you and your colleagues for self-study.  The SSI is a multi-day program, spanning five weeks, offered in both synchronous and asynchronous learning formats, for representatives from MSCHE institutions that will host a Self-Study Evaluation Team in 2025-2026. Other activities follow these weeks as the institution takes the year, with the support and advice of your institution’s MSCHE vice president liaison, to prepare and position the institution for the requirements of self-study.

Any questions about SSI or about accreditation activities should be directed to the institution’s MSCHE vice president liaison.

We look forward to supporting your institution with its accreditation activities.  A hearty welcome to the cohort of institutions who join us in this year’s SSI, as we are happy to accompany you along the way.

TESTIMONIALS

REMINDERS 

Here are some steps you will need to take over the next couple of months:

  • Identify self-study priorities through an inclusive, deliberative process
  • Confirm a self-study approach
  • Identify Working Groups and associated chairs/leaders 
  • Announce Steering Committee leaders (co-chairs), self-study approach and self-study priorities
  • Review and familiarize yourself with the template for the Self-Study Design for institutions in self-study in 2023 and beyond.
  • Develop and confirm self-study outcome(s). 
  • After SSI, set up a meeting with your vice president liaison in December or January to discuss the Self-Study Design progress and determine the date for the Self-Study Preparation Visit.
  • Do remember to refer to the SSI Planning Toolkit for guidance. Also, utilize the MSCHE Self-Study Guide, especially 
    • Module 3 – Developing an Effective Self-Study Design
    • Module 4 – Hosting a Self-Study Preparation Visit