 |
  --------------- |
|||
|
|
--------------- |
|||
The long-awaited word finally arrived! In a surprise announcement made at the beginning of the Honorary Degree Ceremony held in Assembly Hall on June 26, Chairman of the AUB Board of Trustees Richard Debs informed the audience that the University had just received word the day before that the Middle States Commission on Higher Education had granted official accreditation status to the American University of Beirut.
AUB’s pursuit of accreditation over the past four years had been truly a university-wide endeavor. It involved faculty, students, staff, and administrators in a broad-reaching, intensive assessment of the University’s mission, goals, resources, faculty, academic programs, performance, and student services, following criteria laid down by the Middle States Commission. The university-wide exploration took five years to complete and consisted of several stages: an initial application to become eligible for candidacy; submission of the actual application for candidacy, supported by a preliminary self-assessment document; submission of the proposed design for the institutional self-study, defining the nature, scope, and context of the self-study to be undertaken; the actual carrying out of the comprehensive self-study and preparation of the self-study document to be submitted to the commission; and, finally, the review and evaluation of the self-study by a team of faculty and administrators from peer institutions – the peer review. Throughout it all, Provost Peter Heath and Associate Provost Waddah Nasr emphasized the value of the process as much as the end result. Provost Heath said, “It is this broad participation by all segments of the university community that has made this process a success. The recommendations that emerged from the accreditation exercise lay a sound foundation for AUB’s future development. The spirit of unity of purpose and internal cooperation that developed ensures the University’s health and progress in the future.” As stated in the University’s July 7 press release announcing the accreditation, “AUB has been registered with and recognized by the Department of Education of New York State since 1863. With the granting of the Middle States accreditation, AUB joins the American University in Cairo and the American University of Sharjah as one of only three universities in the Middle East currently accredited by regional accrediting bodies in the United States. “Middle States accreditation is an expression of confidence in an institution’s mission and goals, resources, and performance based on an institutional review by educational peers assigned by the Middle States Commission following an extensive self-study undertaken by the applicant institution. The process is intended to strengthen and sustain the quality and integrity of higher education, confirming that it is worthy of public confidence. Participating in the peer review of AUB were top faculty and administrators from several higher educational institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, the American University in Cairo, New York University, and Princeton University.” The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is a recognized leader in promoting and ensuring quality assurance and improvement in higher education through a process of peer evaluation and accreditation. Once accredited by the commission, the institution becomes a member of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, which was founded in 1887 and is one of six similar regional associations spread throughout the United States. Since AUB is registered in New York State, its membership in the Middle States Association is accordingly determined geographically; and, as an accredited member, it is now committed to periodic self-study and peer review -- a process that occurs approximately five years after an institution is initially accredited and every ten years thereafter to ensure it continues to meet the commission’s standards. With that reassessment in mind, both Provost Heath and Associate Provost Nasr had good reason to insist that the University, albeit now accredited, not drift into complacency, but vigorously pursue the many challenges that still lie ahead, as revealed by the intensity of its initial self-study scrutiny.
|
|||||||||
|
