Driving Academic Excellence
Self-Study Design Highlights
This page includes information on the key aspects of the Self-Study Design document that maps out the approach that Rutgers University will undertake in our pathway to reaccreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) from now through June 2027. Click these links for more information about the MSCHE Timeline or Committees and Working Groups.
Institutional Strategic Priorities of the Self-Study
The institutional strategic priorities used to guide the MSCHE Self-Study constitute our cohering strategies to pursue our mission as a singular institution while centering the varied and contextually relevant programmatic initiatives led by the Chancellor-led Units and central administrative areas of Rutgers.
Intended Outcomes of the Self-Study
Rutgers will use the Self-Study process to reflect upon how the institution meets its mission in order to enhance its overall effectiveness. This process will be inclusive, engaging individuals from multiple stakeholder groups and consider a range of data and evidence universitywide. To that end, we will address the three required MSCHE Intended Outcomes:
- Demonstrate how the institution currently meets the Commission's Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation.
- Focus on continuous improvement in the attainment of the institution's mission and its Institutional Strategic Priorities.
- Engage the institutional community in an inclusive and transparent self-appraisal process that actively and deliberately seeks to involve members from all areas of the institutional community. Additionally, we will engage in self-reflection and assessment to address this outcome:
- Gather and compile documents, evidence, and data that will inform the development of a long-term plan for financial sustainability.
Organization of the Final Self-Study Report
The final Self-Study Report will be formatted to ensure consistency of our narrative and all tables and charts. We have created a Style Guide for the Working Groups to follow, which is included in Appendix C. The maximum page limit for the report will be 100 pages, excluding any appendices.
The final Self-Study will be organized as follows:
Executive Summary: This summary will identify key findings and suggestions from our Self-Study aligned with our Institutional Strategic Priorities and intended Outcomes. This section will also highlight our compliance with MSCHE Standards.
Introduction: This short introduction will provide a brief overview of Rutgers as well as an outline of the Report and how the Institutional Strategic Priorities and intended Outcomes were selected.
Report Body: This section will include a chapter for each MSCHE Standards. The chapters will be organized as follows.
- Each Chapter will include a narrative discussion of each Standard identifying the institutional evidence used in support of the analysis and self-reflection.
- Each Chapter will also discuss collaboration across Working Groups, connections to other Standards, and identify any university office(s) or CLU/School/program offices(s) that were consulted during the preparation of each chapter.
- When appropriated, the university's compliance with the Requirements of Affiliation and compliance with federal and state regulations will be noted.
- Working Groups will be asked to meet our 10-page per chapter maximum.
Conclusion: This brief section will conclude our Self-Study with a summary of suggestions and ways in which the Self-Study could be used considering our administrative changes.
Appendix: The Appendix will include a summary of the Evidence Inventory used for the Self-Study identified by Standard.
Self-Study at a Glance
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