President's Announcements

From:	DePaul President's Office
Date:	1/24/05 9:53AM
Subject:	Accreditation self study complements listening tour, strategic planning

During the two years prior to our accreditation team's visit in early 2007, the university will be conducting a comprehensive self study that will be submitted to the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (NCA). For those of you new to accreditation, the NCA visits DePaul every 10 years to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of what we have achieved in the past decade and to identify areas for possible improvement.

The self study period presents an opportunity for the university to document its many impressive achievements of the past 10 years and to critically assess how we can make them even more effective. Together we will explore the university's past and current challenges and generate the most successful means by which to respond to them. In addition, as we undertake our internal strategic planning process this year, the self study will generate insights that will valuably complement that plan.

The NCA's new accreditation criteria make it clear that the agency is looking for tangible evidence that we understand and are achieving our mission. The team also will look for evidence that we are effectively using self assessment to improve the university, particularly in the area of teaching and learning. The five criteria are:

• centrality of mission
• planning for the future
• teaching and learning
• academic excellence and scholarship
• engagement with society