Middle States Completes Site Visit
Every ten years, Washington College undertakes a comprehensive
self-study as part of the Middle States Association of Colleges
and Schools re-accreditation process. That evaluation provides
the springboard for an external review, resulting in a series
of recommendations about how Washington College can strengthen
its position among peer institutions.
Daniel Sullivan, President of St. Lawrence University, led the
review team’s site visit in late January. The team, made
up of administrators and faculty from colleges and universities
similar to Washington College, met with representatives of the
Board of Visitors and Governors, faculty chairs, senior staff
and students, and presented their initial findings at an open
meeting.
Washington College met all 14 standards of assessment, and in
his oral presentation the team leader remarked upon the College’s
particular strengths, the progress made since the last Middle
States assessment, as well as its apparent shortcomings.
“Although the chair could not explicitly state what the
team’s recommendation would be with respect to Washington
College’s re-accreditation,” noted College President
John Toll, “the fact that the College was found to have
satisfied all standards for accreditation should provide reassurance
to all in our community. We also appreciate that members of
the team identified so many of the recommendations from the
College’s self-study report to emphasize in the Chair’s
oral report.”
Among its noted strengths: enthusiastic and engaged students,
dedicated and highly regarded faculty, and a strong financial
position despite recent market downturns.
“We all came away with a list of students we’d like
to steal and take back to our own institutions,” joked
Sullivan. The team noted the ill effects of unplanned growth
on housing and social space, but “we were struck by the
lack of student complaints” in this area.
The College is also “unusually well managed financially,”
the team noted, and, at a cost of 8 cents for every dollar raised,
spends less than its peer institutions for development. “The
College has been very successful with recent fundraising efforts,”
Sullivan said. “On a ten-year average the College was
ranked 6th in total giving; on a five-year basis with $12.3
million raised, the College ranks second in that group.”
Still, the team urged the College “to think its development
program through in order to sustain that momentum” and
called for increased support from its alumni base.
Among other recommendations were calls to address issues of
diversity and “gender divide,” to improve student
amenities—particularly the library, and to enhance the
appearance of the grounds.
Once the final written report is submitted, members of the College’s
Middle States Steering Committee will meet again to consider
the team’s suggestions as well as the recommendations
contained within the self-study, and then formulate a plan of
action. It is likely that a new strategic plan will emerge from
this process.
The Commission on Higher Education is expected to act on the
Middle States Visiting Team recommendation by late June. |
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