Middle States FAQ

Accreditation is important for several reasons. It helps ensure institutions stay accountable, keep improving, and support student success. Here’s why it matters:

• The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) is the regional accreditation authority, historically for the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Since 2016, institutes are reaccredited every 8 years. MSCHE is one of six regional accrediting bodies in the United States for four-year institutions. Beginning in 2020, MSCHE began accepting applications from institutions beyond its former geographic region of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. In 2021, MSCHE began accepting applications from international locations.
   
• The goal of accreditation is to ensure that institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of quality approved by MSCHE member institutions. Institutions engage in a Self-Study, and other annual reporting and periodic reviews, in order to reflect on current operations and provide evidence to MSCHE reviewers, which identify how they are meeting MSCHE Standards and Requirements of Affiliation. Successful accreditation indicates that an accredited institution of higher education meets the regulatory requirements of the U.S. Department of Education.

• MSCHE is one of six accrediting agencies of four-year institutions in the United States, which includes the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), in the Pacific Northwest; the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) & Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACCJC), in California; the Southern Association of Colleges and School Commission on Colleges (SASCSCOC), from Texas to Virginia; the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) in the mid-West; and the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE), in New England. The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) fosters institutional excellence and continuous improvement at 2-year educational institutions.

• In order for students to receive federal student aid from the U.S. Department of Education for postsecondary study, an institution must be accredited by one of these regional accrediting agencies.

• The cyclical reaccreditation process helps to maintain a culture of continuous improvement of academic quality at colleges and universities and stimulates a general raising of standards among educational institutions.

• The MSCHE reviewers include volunteer peer evaluators who are faculty and staff employees from accredited institutions of higher education.

Visit the 2027 MSCHE Self-Study Timeline page for details and highlights of the key milestones that guide our efforts and foster collaboration in our process to ensure that accreditation standards are met.

For more information about the Self-Study process, please contact us.

More than 100 individuals are involved in preparing a draft of the Self-Study. This includes individuals from each Chancellor-led unit and universitywide offices. Faculty, staff, and students engage in one of seven Working Groups, analyzing evidence collected by the Evidence Inventory Committee to support our achievement of MSCHE’s Standards of Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation. The entire Rutgers community will have a chance to review a draft of the Self-Study and provide feedback in fall 2026.

To provide feedback during the Self-Study process, please share your comments using our feedback form. 

Upon reaccreditation, the next reaccreditation cycle will occur in 2035.

MSCHE is one of six accrediting agencies in the United States, and is originally for the Mid-Atlantic states, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, DC, plus Puerto Rico and international locations. Institutions from across the United States and throughout the world can now submit applications from accreditation from MSCHE.