Middle States Standards at a Glance

Below are the 2006 Middle States Standards at a Glance as adapted from their publication Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education (2006 Edition).

Institutional Context

Standard 1: Mission, Goals, and Objectives
The institution’s mission clearly defines its purpose within the context of higher education and indicates who the institution serves and what it intends to accomplish. The institution’s stated goals, consistent with the aspirations and expectations of higher education, clearly specify how the institution will fulfill its mission. The mission and goals are developed and recognized by the institution with the participation of its members and its governing body and are used to develop and shape its programs and practices and to evaluate its effectiveness. Standard 1 Charges

Standard 2: Planning, Resource Allocation, and Institutional Renewal
An institution conducts ongoing planning and resource allocation based on its mission and goals, develops objectives to achieve them, and utilizes the results of its assessment activities for institutional renewal. Implementation and subsequent evaluation of the success of the strategic plan and resource allocation support the development and change necessary to improve and to maintain institutional quality. Standard 2 Charges

Standard 3: Institutional Resources
The human, financial, technical, physical facilities, and other resources necessary to achieve an institution’s mission and goals are available and accessible. In the context of the institution’s mission, the effective and efficient uses of the institution’s resources are analyzed as part of ongoing outcomes assessment. Standard 3 Charges

Standard 4: Leadership and Governance
The institution’s system of governance clearly defines the roles of institutional constituencies in policy development and decision-making. The governance structure includes an active governing body with sufficient autonomy to assure institutional integrity and to fulfill its responsibilities of policy and resource development, consistent with the mission of the institution. Standard 4 Charges

Standard 5: Administration
The institution’s administrative structure and services facilitate learning and research/scholarship, foster quality improvement, and support the institution’s organization and governance. Standard 5 Charges

Standard 6: Integrity
In the conduct of its programs and activities involving the public and the constituencies it serves, the institution demonstrates adherence to ethical standards and its own stated policies, providing support for academic and intellectual freedom. Standard 6 Charges

Standard 7: Institutional Assessment
The institution has developed and implemented an assessment process that evaluates its overall effectiveness in achieving its mission and goals and its compliance with accreditation standards. Standard 7 Charges

Back to Top

Educational Effectiveness

Standard 8: Student Admissions
The institution seeks to admit students whose interests, goals, and abilities are congruent with its mission and seeks to retain them through the pursuit of the students' educational goals. Standard 8 Charges

Standard 9: Student Support Services
The institution provides student support services reasonably necessary to enable each student to achieve the institution's goals for students. Standard 9 Charges

Standard 10: Faculty
The institution's instructional, research, and service programs are devised, developed, monitored, and supported by qualified professionals. Standard 10 Charges

Standard 11: Educational Offerings
The institution's educational offerings display academic content, rigor, and coherence appropriate to its higher education mission. The institution identifies student learning goals and objectives, including knowledge and skills, for its educational offerings. Standard 11 Charges

Standard 12: General Education
The institution's curricula are designed so that students acquire and demonstrate college-level proficiency in general education and essential skills, including at least oral and written communication, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical analysis and reasoning, and technological competency. Standard 12 Charges

Standard 13: Related Educational Activities
The institution's programs or activities that are characterized by particular content, focus, location, mode of delivery, or sponsorship meet appropriate standards. Standard 13 Charges

Standard 14: Assessment of Student Learning
Assessment of student learning demonstrates that, at graduation, or other appropriate points, the institution's students have knowledge, skills, and competencies consistent with institutional and appropriate higher education goals. Standard 14 Charges

Back to Top