Middle States Self Study Communication and Events

Communication Updates

March 20, 2023

The Middle States Re-Accreditation Steering Committee has finalized the Priorities, Outcomes, and Lines of Inquiry that will serve as the framework for how the Working Groups assigned to each re-accreditation Standard will evaluate York College’s fulfillment of the Standard’s criteria. Forty-six members of the YCP community, including faculty, staff, administrators, Board of Trustee members, and alumni have agreed to serve on Middle State Working Groups, and current students will also be invited to participate in the process. The Working Groups will begin their work in Fall 2023. A website has been created to post information about our Middle States Re-Accreditation process. Information about the Priorities, Outcomes, and Lines of Inquiry, Working Group membership, events, and opportunities to provide feedback and to participate in the process, which extends through Spring 2025, is available on this website.

January 11, 2023

York College begins the two year Self Study accreditation process in Spring 2023. Patrice DiQuinzio (Interim Provost) serves as the chief academic officer for the Self Study, and Holly Sypniewski (Director of Faculty Development and Global Initiatives) and Kay McAdams (Associate Professor of History and Director of General Education) serve as co-chairs of the Self Study. The leadership Steering Committee comprised of Working Group chairs, each of which is assigned to evaluate a Middle States Standard of Accreditation, held its first meeting on January 10, 2023 to launch its work. This spring, the goal of the Middle States Steering Committee is to draft a Self Study Design proposal, and to establish Working Groups for each Standard. Working Groups will be potentially comprised of faculty, staff, administrators, students, alumni, and Board of Trustee members. Information about the process can be obtained from Kay McAdams or Holly Sypniewski, and if you are interested in assisting with the Self-Study please contact Kay or Holly. We will update the YCP community periodically throughout the process.

Communication Plan

To create an inclusive accreditation process, York College has developed the following plan for sharing information about the Middle States accreditation process.

• Regular updates in the following College communication venues:  
  • The Fountain e-newsletter, distributed campus-wide every Monday
  • York College's MSCHE Self Study webpage
• Regular updates in the following standing College meetings:
  • Board of Trustees Meetings 
  • President's Cabinet
  • Provost's Council 
  • Academic Senate
  • Student Senate
• Campus-wide forums each semester 

Forums and Campus Events

All campus community members are invited to join these events to learn more about the MSCHE Accreditation process and to share feedback on drafts of the Self Study Design and final Self Study Report. Announcements will be sent campus-wide before each event.

• Spring 2023: Virtual Forum on the Self Study process and YCP Working Groups
• Spring 2024: Open forum on the Self Study draft
• Fall 2024: Open forum on the final draft of the YCP Self Study document

Self Study Visits

There will be several visits to York College by Middle States representatives during the self study process.  Campus constituents will have the opportunity to meet with the representative(s) from Middle States during each visit.

• September 2023: MSCHE liaison visits YCP for the Self Study Prep Visit, following the submission of the Self Study Design
• Fall 2024: MSCHE Evaluation Team Chair visits YCP following the submission of the Self Study draft
• Spring 2024: MSCHE Evaluation Team visits YCP following the submission of the revised Self Study