The 2024-2026 Middle States Self-Study
Queens College of the City University of New York is an accredited institution of higher education and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
To maintain our institutional accreditation, MSCHE requires that Queens College meets rigorous and comprehensive standards for accreditation. MSCHE’s cycle of accreditation requires an Annual Institutional Update and a college-wide Self-Study every eight years.
This page is the hub for Queens College’s 2024-26 Self-Study.
Save the Date!
Self-Study Preparation Visit Scheduled
Our MSCHE Vice President Liaison Ryan Hartnett will be visiting Queens College on Monday, May 6, 2024. The campus community is invited to attend the Open Session from 12:15-1:30 in the Faculty and Staff Club in the Student Union.
About Re-Accreditation
Learn more about the Middle States Re-Accreditation Process from Queens College President Frank H. Wu and Interim Provost Patricia Price in this short video.
Reflection, Renewal, and Resilience
Queens College strives for continuous improvement. This is guided by three interdependent processes. The Strategic Plan provides the vision for the future of the institution. The Middle States Re-Accreditation Process ensures the college continues to meet the Standards for Accreditation and that we are effectively doing what we say we are. In parallel, each academic department regularly undergoes a periodic Program Review to ensure that they are running well and to assess whether students are meeting the stated learning objectives and outcomes.
The Middle States Re-Accreditation Process requires a comprehensive, institution-wide Self-Study. This provides the campus an opportunity:
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- To reflect on the path our institution has taken over the past eight years,
- To renew our focus towards improving outcomes for our students, faculty, and staff, and
- To ensure resilience as an institution so that we face the challenges of an ever changing world.
Latest News and Updates
Self-Study Preparation Visit
On Monday, May 6, 2024, Queens College will host Middle States Vice President Liaison Ryan Hartnett. Dr. Hartnett will be meeting with President Frank H. Wu, Interim Provost Patricia Price, CUNY representative Anne Lopes, members of the steering committee, and members of the Queens College community. This visit is an important milestone for the accreditation cycle and an opportunity to show our accreditors that Queens College is on track to successfully complete its Self-Study.
Self-Study Design Complete
The process for how the Self-Study will take place at Queens College has been assembled into the Self-Study Design document. It is the result of months-long work by the Executive Steering Committee with contributions from the 70 community members serving on the Working Groups.
Working Groups Meet and Start Drafting Lines of Inquiry
From February through April 2024, the seven Working Groups are developing the Lines of Inquiry that form the basis for the Self-Study Report. These research questions are synthesized by considering the Working Group’s Standard of Accreditation and the Institutional Priorities that are common across all Working Groups.
Self-Study Timeline
Summer and Fall 2023: Training and Preparation
Executive Steering Committee identified and invited to serve
Executive Steering Committee attend Middle States Self-Study Institute
Self-Study Webpage Launch
Steering Committee Members identified and invited to serve
Executive Steering Committee attends MSCHE Conference
First Meeting of the Steering Committee
Working Group Members identified
Winter and Spring 2024: Official Launch of Self-Study
MSCHE VP Liaison Conference Call
Working Group Members invited to serveMembers of the Operational Excellence Team invited to serve
Self-Study Kick Off Event (February 5, 2024)Monthly Working Group Meetings
Monthly Steering Committee Meetings
Working Groups develop Self-Study Lines of Inquiry
Executive Steering Committee updates Academic SenateExecutive Steering Committee drafts and submits Self-Study Design
MSCHE VP Liaison Campus Visit
Summer and Fall 2024: Working Group Research
Development of Data Repository and Data Retention Plan
Monthly Working Group Meetings
Working Groups engage in research related to their standards.
Working Groups organize outreach to stakeholders to perform inventory of data related to their standards.
Working Groups work with stakeholders to identify and fill gaps in evidence needs.
Monthly Steering Committee Meetings
Executive Steering Committee develops scaffolding for the Self-Study report.
Executive Steering Committee updates Academic Senate
Winter and Spring 2025: First Draft and Community Feedback
Executive Steering Committee writes the introduction for the Self-Study report.
Monthly Working Group Meetings
Monthly Steering Committee Meetings
Working Groups prepare the first drafts of their chapters.
The first draft of the whole Self-Study report shared with stakeholders for feedback.
Executive Steering Committee updates Academic Senate
Feedback is collected in community forums.
Summer and Fall 2025: Editing and Draft Submitted to Review Team
Additional drafts of Self-Study report completed by Working Groups
Middle States Evaluation Team Chair Preliminary Visit
Final draft of Self-Study report completed
Final draft of Self-Study report shared with Steering Committee, Working Groups, and Campus Community for review and comment
Winter and Spring 2026: Self-Study Submission and Site Visit
Self-Study report, evidence, and Verification of Compliance with Accreditation-Relevant Federal Regulations and Standards submitted to Middle States.
Middle States Evaluation Team Visit
Initial Response to Evaluation Team Report
Middle States Action
Organization of the Self-Study
Faculty, staff, students, and other QC stakeholders will all participate in the Self-Study process.
The Self-Study process is organized by Working Groups. Working Groups are organized by the seven MSCHE Standards of Accreditation and are each comprised of ten members of the Queens College community. The Working Groups are tasked with identifying and analyzing evidence, drafting the Self-Study and assembling the Evidence Inventory. Along with the Executive Steering Committee, the Co-Chairs of the Working Groups comprise the Steering Committee of the entire Self-Study.
All members of the Queens College Community will be called upon to provide insight and feedback to assist the Working Groups in the creation of the Self-Study Document.
The process through which the Self-Study is conducted is detailed in the Self-Study Design document that was prepared in Spring 2024.
The MSCHE Standards of Accreditation
Standard I: Mission and Goals
The institution’s mission defines its purpose within the context of higher education, the students it serves, and what it intends to accomplish. The institution’s stated goals are clearly linked to its mission and specify how the institution fulfills its mission.
Standard II: Ethics and Integrity
Ethics and integrity are central, indispensable, and defining hallmarks of effective higher education institutions. In all activities, whether internal or external, an institution must be faithful to its mission, honor its contracts and commitments, adhere to its policies, and represent itself truthfully.
Standard III: Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience
An institution provides students with learning experiences that are characterized by rigor and coherence at all program, certificate, and degree levels, regardless of instructional modality. All learning experiences, regardless of modality, program pace/schedule, level, and setting are consistent with higher education expectations.
Standard IV: Support of the Student Experience
Across all educational experiences, settings, levels, and instructional modalities, the institution recruits and admits students whose interests, abilities, experiences, and goals are congruent with its mission and educational offerings. The institution commits to student retention, persistence, completion, and success through a coherent and effective support system sustained by qualified professionals, which enhances the quality of the learning environment, contributes to the educational experience, and fosters student success.
Standard V: Educational Effectiveness Assessment
Assessment of student learning and achievement demonstrates that the institution’s students have accomplished educational goals consistent with their program of study, degree level, the institution’s mission, and appropriate expectations for institutions of higher education.
Standard VI: Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement
The institution’s planning processes, resources, and structures are aligned with each other and are sufficient to fulfill its mission and goals, to continuously assess and improve its programs and services, and to respond effectively to opportunities and challenges.
Standard VII: Governance, Leadership, and Administration
The institution is governed and administered in a manner that allows it to realize its stated mission and goals in a way that effectively benefits the institution, its students, and the other constituencies it serves. Even when supported by or affiliated with a related entity, the institution has education as its primary purpose, and it operates as an academic institution with appropriate autonomy.
Contact
For more information about the Middle States Process, please contact the members of Queens College’s Executive Steering Committee: Patricia Price, Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Nathalia Holtzman, Associate Provost for Innovation and Student Success, and Christopher Hanusa, Faculty Liaison for Evaluation and Assessment