SELF-STUDY UPDATES

Middle States Student-Only Town Hall-12:00pm-1:00pm, Thursday, October 30

Dear Students,

Your Lehigh University degree is backed by our accreditation with the Middle States Commission on High Education (MSCHE) - a vital stamp of approval we have successfully maintained since 1921. Every eight years, we go through a process of self-study and external evaluation in order to reaffirm our accreditation. We are currently engaged in a comprehensive self-study in preparation for our next reaffirmation visit in Fall 2026.

We invite you to a special Student-Only Town Hall to learn about the MSCHE process and how it impacts your education at Lehigh.

This is an open forum where Dr. Terry-Ann Jones, Deputy Provost for Undergraduate Education and Co-Chair of the self-study will explain the accreditation cycle, answer your questions and detail the framework of the seven standards that guide Middle States accreditation:

• Standard I: Mission & Goals - Ensuring Lehigh’s overall purpose and goals are clearly defined and followed.

• Standard II: Ethics & Integrity - Covering ethical and responsible behavior by the institution, faculty, staff, and students.

• Standard III: Design & Delivery of the Student Learning Experience - Focusing on the quality and effectiveness of your curriculum, courses, and teaching.

• Standard IV: Support of the Student Experience - Reviewing services, resources, and activities outside of the classroom, such as advising, health, and campus life.

• Standard V: Educational Effectiveness Assessment - Evaluating how well the university measures what students are actually learning and achieving.

• Standard VI: Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement - Examining how Lehigh manages its resources, finances, and long-term planning for institutional growth.

• Standard VII: Governance, Leadership, & Administration - Reviewing how the university is organized, led, and governed by its trustees and administrators.

Your input is essential to ensuring our self-study accurately and honestly reflects the student experience. Come hear the overview, ask questions, and enjoy a Pizza Lunch!

Event Details
Date: Thursday, October 30, 2025
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location: Tauck Lobby, Business Innovation Building 

Please register here so we know how much pizza to order!

Background Documents: You are welcome to review the draft reports for each standard in advance: Middle States Self-Study Updates (Lehigh Credentials Required).

Sincerely,

Dr. Terry-Ann Jones
Deputy Provost for Undergraduate Education
Co-Chair, Self-Study Steering Committee

Dr. Yenny Anderson
Associate Vice President for Institutional Data
Co-Chair, Self-Study Steering Committee

Dear Members of the Lehigh Community,

We are pleased to inform you that the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) will be conducting an informational visit to our institution. This visit is an essential part of our accreditation process, and we invite all members of our community to participate in this valuable opportunity to learn about MSCHE’s role in higher education, the accreditation process, and how you can be involved.

Accreditation is essential to ensuring the quality and continuous improvement of our academic programs, institutional effectiveness, and student success. During this visit, representatives from MSCHE will provide important insights into the accreditation process, what it means for our institution, and how it impacts the quality of education we provide. There will be an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to ask questions and engage in meaningful discussions. Details will include:

• Explanation of the accreditation review cycle

• The role of faculty, staff, and students in the accreditation process

• Key aspects of our Self-Study Design, which will guide our accreditation efforts

• Answers to your questions about the accreditation process.

Details of the Open Forum:

• Date: April 1, 2025

• Time: 11:45am-12:30pm

• Location: Clayton University Center, Board Room 375

Register Here

This visit is an important moment for our community, and we encourage everyone to attend and learn more about the accreditation process and how it helps shape the future of our institution.

We look forward to your participation!

Sincerely,

Terry-Ann Jones, Steering Committee Co-Chair
Yenny Anderson, Steering Committee Co-Chair
Lucy Bowen, Project Manager

Dear colleagues,

Thank you for the work you are doing in preparation for Lehigh's reaccreditation. We are preparing for the Self-Study Preparation visit from our Middle States liaison, which is scheduled for April 1st, and we are also working on the Self-Study Design. A full schedule for the preparation visit will be shared as soon as it is finalized with the Middle States liaison.

I'm would like an update from each Working Group on where you are in the process of gathering evidence related to your standard. Please provide a brief update by February 1, 2025. Yenny and/or I are also willing to attend an upcoming working group meeting. Please let us know. 

The Steering Committee decided on a set of institutional priorities, which are connected to the university’s mission, strategy, and Middle States standards. These will be used to guide the self-study.

Please let us know if you have any questions and if there's any assistance we can provide.

Best,
Terry

Dear colleagues,

I'm reaching out to touch base on the Middle States process. I'm currently going through the required Self-Study Institute (SSI) with Yenny Anderson, who is the co-chair of the self-study, and Lucy Bowen, the project manager. Following the completion of the SSI, we will be working on the self-study design, which is due in mid-February. Once the self-study design has been approved by Middle States, I will reach out again to share the design with you so that you can proceed with drafting your chapters of the self-study report. 

As you gather data for your sections of the self-study, if you have any data requests for OID, I encourage you to reach out to them well in advance. 

Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Best,
Terry

Dear Colleagues,

Just a few updates on our Middle States process. I attended the Middle States conference in December, and Yenny and I met with the Middle States liaison last week. Yenny and I will be participating in the Self-Study Institute this fall, after which we will be able to share a template for the self-study. In the meantime, I’m sharing the attached Evidence Expectations document, which will provide some guidance as you gather data for the self-study. Copies of Exemplars of Assessment in Higher Education are being sent to working group co-leads, also to offer guidance on the types of data you will need. I am also organizing an assessment workshop, which is scheduled for Friday, April 19, 9:00-11:00 a.m.  Please save the date. Our guest speaker, Amelia Parnell, will be focusing on assessment. A pedagogy discussion to follow from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with guest speaker Kevin Billing. 

Best,
Terry

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to invite you to two workshops that will be held jointly on Friday, April 19, 2024 between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

First, in preparation for the Middle States self-study, we have invited Dr. Amelia Parnell, Vice President for Research and Policy at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and author of You are a Data Person: Strategies for Using Analytics on Campus, to discuss assessment. She will engage with us from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and will focus her talk and workshop on approaching assessment in ways that are beneficial to the institution and to our respective units.  Dr. Parnell's recent book is available for purchase.  Please see flyer for her bio.

Between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., our guest will be Dr. Kevin Binning, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Research Scientist, Learning Research and Development Center at University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Binning will discuss the topic, Inclusive Excellence: Unveiling Pathways to Student Belonging in Higher Education.

Lunch will be provided at 1:00 p.m.

Please RSVP by April 10.

I look forward to seeing you for these conversations.

Sincerely,
Terry-Ann Jones
Deputy Provost for Undergraduate Education

Dear colleagues,

Thank you for your willingness to participate in the Middle States self-study as members of the steering committee and co-leads of the eight working groups. 

We are quite early in the process. As you can see from the attached timeline, this is the planning year and the coming academic year is slated for the self-study. At this point, I would encourage you select additional members of your working group and perhaps meet to discuss the data that you will need to gather over the next few months. Working group sizes will vary, but I would recommend about 5-8 members. When I first reached out to working group co-chairs, I provided names of colleagues who were interested in participating or were recommended; you may want to reach out to them. I have also attached our last self-study report so that you can get a sense of the type of information that should be included. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Thank you for your willingness to participate in this process.

Best,
Terry

Dear colleagues,

Thank you for your participation in last week’s Middle States planning event. The discussions were fruitful and we received some excellent ideas that will help shape the self-study process. I’m reaching out now to get a sense of your interest in participating in the self-study. As discussed last week, during this coming year we will focus on planning and gathering the data we need for the self-study and academic year 2024-25 will be dedicated to writing the self-study, making this a two-year commitment. There will be seven working groups based on the seven standards required by MSCHE. Please complete this survey to indicate your preferred role.

Thank you,
Terry-Ann Jones, Deputy Provost for Undergraduate Education

Dear colleagues,

We are three years away from the anticipated visit of the Middle States Commission Peer Review Team. This early stage of preparation for the self-study is crucial, as it will define the rest of the process. We are inviting campus leaders to help identify the main goals for the self-study. This is an opportunity to discuss and determine the institutional priorities that will be emphasized in the self-study, particularly as they relate to the strategic plan. We would like to meet Wednesday, June 21st, 9:00-11:00 AM for this discussion with coffee and light refreshments starting at 8:30 AM. Please save the date. If there are others whom you think should be present for this discussion, please let us know.

Sincerely,
Nathan Urban, Provost
Terry-Ann Jones, Deputy Provost for Undergraduate Education