Accrediting Panel Praises University for Multi-Year Self-Study

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (Middle States) has approved reaccreditation of the University of Maryland, Baltimore following a 30-month study of the institution’s standards, practices, and educational outcomes. Middle States is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education to conduct accreditation activities for institutions of higher education in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including distance education and correspondence education programs offered at those institutions. Accreditation is needed every 10 years to ensure the University remains eligible to receive federal funding for students and researchers.

When evaluation team chair Denise V. Rodgers, MD, FAAFP, announced on April 6 that the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) had “appeared to meet” all 14 standards necessary to reaffirm its accreditation with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, it came with a caveat.

Rodgers’ glowing report would have to be reviewed by a Middle States evaluation committee in June. The evaluation committee could affirm or change the chair’s recommendation before sending it to the full commission in November.

Now the wait is over. In a brief statement, the commission recently informed UMB of its decision “to reaffirm accreditation and to commend the institution for the quality of the self-study process and report.”

“UMB has a clearly articulated and well-demonstrated commitment to fulfilling its obligations as a public institution that is training the next generation of health care, social work, and legal professionals for the state of Maryland,” Rodgers, vice chancellor for interprofessional programs at Rutgers University Biomedical and Health Sciences, said at the UMB town hall in April. “The University mission statement speaks eloquently about the need to improve the human condition and serve the public good. The educational, research, clinical, and community service activities in most of the schools all have components that specifically address the needs of Maryland residents as well as the needs of the adjacent community in West Baltimore.”

The “comprehensive and very well organized” 3,000-page Self-Study Report was a massive, multi-year interprofessional project, with contributors from all UMB schools and units helping with work groups, attending town halls, and supporting UMB’s Middle States Steering Committee, headed by co-chairs Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, FCP, dean of the School of Pharmacy, and Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MPA, chief accountability officer and vice president for operations and planning.

UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD, saluted those involved after the April town hall. “Throughout this 30-month evaluation process, UMB has had to hit dozens of important milestones and deliver impeccable products that reflect the strengths and ambitions of this University. The fact that we uniformly did so is a tribute to the hundreds of people who took part.”

For more information, contact Alex Likowski at alikowski@umaryland.edu or (410) 706-3801