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Commission Recognizes University’s Progress, Reaffirming Its Accreditation Status Until 2025–2026
Morgan State University President David Wilson today announced the Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s (MSCHE’s) reaffirmation of the University’s accreditation and recognition of Morgan’s progress to date. The reaccreditation comes after a comprehensive evaluation of the University and a detailed self-study conducted by Morgan, extending the University’s status as a recognized institute of higher education.
This marks the second positive accreditation-related news Morgan has received this summer after its Spring Commencement exercises. The University’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program recently received its initial accreditation.
“Morgan is experiencing a period of unprecedented growth and prosperity, and the Commission’s decision to renew our accreditation affirms that this is truly an auspicious time to pursue a degree here,” said President Wilson. “We are pleased to see that our efforts to establish Morgan as one of the world’s top knowledge centers, in conjunction with all of the positive strides we have made during the past 10 years, have not gone unnoticed.”
Since Morgan’s last accreditation review, and under the leadership of President Wilson, the University has made a number of advancements, particularly in the areas of campus development, fundraising, financial stability, academic progress, faculty and staff growth, research and innovation, and enrollment, retention and graduation.
For its evaluation process, MSCHE utilized peer reviews in addition to campus visits to determine how Morgan has met or meets the commission’s national standards. The process also took into consideration overall educational quality, university mission and goals, and student success.
MSCHE and its evaluators use information provided by candidates for accreditation and by member institutions as a basis for its review, along with on-site interviews and data gathering, to determine whether an institution meets the Commission’s standards of accreditation and requirements of affiliation. An MSCHE team last conducted an accreditation review of Morgan in April 2008. The University was found to have met all of MSCHE’s 14 Characteristics of Excellence at that time. The Commission has since reduced its number of evaluation standards from 14 to seven and reduced the number of years between accreditation cycles from10 years to eight.
Morgan officially launched its self-study process in March 2016, establishing a University Steering Committee and eight subcommittees to oversee the process and internal evaluation in preparation for the Commission’s review. With its accreditation soundly secured, Morgan will not undergo another MSCHE evaluation until 2025–2026.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which is recognized by the U.S. secretary of education to conduct accreditation and pre-accreditation (candidacy status) activities for institutions of higher education in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a voluntary, non-governmental, membership association that defines, maintains and promotes educational excellence across institutions with diverse missions, student populations and resources. Its role is to examine each institution as a whole, rather than via specific institutional programs, in an effort to maintain public trust and integrity in the educational quality of higher education.
Morgan State University has been an MSCHE member university since 1925.
About Morgan
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
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