’Twas the Friday before Middle States and all the campus was cheering because March Madness is here. Yet the accreditation banners are being hung in the Sheraton with care to welcome our MSCHE visitors as they will soon be here.

The self-study is posted on Middlestates.syr.edu for all Syracuse to read. And briefing documents were emailed to key pre-selected people for meetings with good info they’d need.

Saturday and Sunday the team arrives with hopes the Nor’easter would end so visitor’s flights from nearby Boston and far away Puerto Rico land okay and drives from nearby Ithaca would happen without delay.

The visit begins with the site team’s reception with the Chancellor’s Council and our MSCHE Steering Committee Sunday. Then moves to jam-packed meetings with administrators, faculty, students and staff Monday and Tuesday.

The best of campus catering and Dinosaur BBQ will show off our local and best cuisine. And a student-centered, academic-strategic-plan focused, mission-driven, assessment-data-using campus will be seen.

On Wednesday, we will hear a readout of this distinguished team’s findings on how Syracuse University did fare on the MSCHE standards and verification of compliance. And we will have additional feedback on how this Middle States accreditation allowed us time for reflection, peer review, and forward momentum—so much more than a dance.

Then the Middle States accreditation on-campus involvement will come to an end and we will celebrate with a big grin. Then we will await MSCHE’s final decision in June knowing no matter the detailed results we certainly did win.

Rochelle Ford
rlford@syr.edu