Re-accreditation taken seriously
Administration working hard to regain university status, Ferrari says

I read with interest the Skiff editorial Wednesday expressing concern that the university administration may not be taking seriously accreditation matters with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Quite to the contrary, I and others “who have an office on the third floor of Sadler Hall” take such matters very seriously. The self-study process initiated last month is intended to prepare the TCU community thoroughly for a site visit by an external team in the spring of 2003. A steering committee composed of faculty, staff, student, alumni and trustee members and led by Alan Shepard, chair of the English department, has begun the vital work of planning this comprehensive review.

There is no question in my mind that TCU will once again receive full re-accreditation by SACS just as we have since first joining SACS in 1922. Accreditation is a worthwhile and important activity, and the university is investing significant amounts of time, energy and resources to our commitment to continuous improvement.

This is not to say that a visiting team in 2003 will not have some recommendations for us. Having been on a number of accreditation site teams over the years, I know this is to be expected with any accreditation visit at any institution. In 1993-94, the SACS team urged that the university develop additional “outcome” measures which can document how well TCU fulfills its mission. This is not always a simple task, and most universities struggle with developing such measures. Since we have a relatively new mission statement, the steering committee will examine closely how well we “educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community.”

During the past few years, several of our colleges, schools and programs have received highly favorable re-accreditation assessments in their disciplines, including business, engineering, computer science, nursing, social work, nutrition and dietetics, Brite Divinity School, education and NCAA athletics. The recently completed year-long study of the Commission on the Future of TCU was an effective planning and evaluation effort that provides a solid baseline for the SACS review.

It might be well to keep in mind also that the regional “reaffirmation” (or re-accreditation) process is a standard practice in self-improvement that occurs in every college or university every 10 years. The Skiff editorial states that TCU is “still not in compliance with the accreditation criteria that were set in 1994.” This is inaccurate. We are in compliance with SACS accreditation criteria and therefore continue to be fully accredited by SACS. I expect such accreditation to continue in the future.

Michael Ferrari
Chancellor
m.ferrari@tcu.edu

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