Mitchell College was recently re-accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), marking 68 years since the college was first accredited in 1956. The college was last reviewed in 2013.
“Our status as an accredited institution of higher education with the New England Commission of Higher Education speaks to the high quality of what we offer students through instruction and support. A NECHE accreditation reinforces the value of the degree they earn at Mitchell College, and we are honored by this achievement and excited to share its significance with our students and community,” said Dr. Tracy Y. Espy, president of Mitchell College.
NECHE serves as an institutional accreditor and promotes educational excellence and quality assurance to its member institutions, degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions offering higher education and located inside or outside the United States, including the 6-state New England region. NECHE currently accredits more than 200 institutions across the globe. It consists of faculty and administrators from affiliated institutions and public members and is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a reliable authority on the quality of education for the institutions it accredits.
As part of the re-accreditation process, Mitchell College completed an 18-month self-study during which working groups of Mitchell College faculty and staff collaborated to maximize campus knowledge and optimize effectiveness in examining the college’s accomplishments and goals aligning with NECHE’s Standards:
- Mission and Purposes
- Planning and Evaluation
- Organization and Governance
- The Academic Program
- Students
- Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship
- Institutional Resources
- Educational Effectiveness
- Integrity, Transparency, and Public Disclosure
During the re-accreditation process an evaluation team from NECHE took part in a 4-day site visit to confirm the accuracy of the self-study, focusing on NECHE’s Standards for Accreditation. In addition, the public was invited to submit comments to NECHE about the College, addressing substantive matters related to its quality.
