November 13, 2023
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
We write today with an update on Mercy’s progress on our institutional reaccreditation process.
First, we want to thank you for your continued efforts in ensuring the self-study demonstrates Mercy’s support of the standards for accreditation and the University is prepared for the visit by the Middle States Site Team in March of 2024.
Over the course of the last year, the self-study workgroups have interviewed members of the Mercy community, collected and reviewed evidence to support the standards, and drafted reports detailing the extent to which the College has maintained compliance with the accreditation standards. These reports have identified areas of strength and innovation, and flagged areas for continued improvement.
Here is an overview of the next steps:
• November 1: The draft self-study was sent to Mercy’s Middle States Team Chair Dr. Rita Toliver-Roberts, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost at Peirce College in Philadelphia.
• November 27: Dr. Toliver-Roberts will conduct a preliminary visit at Mercy ahead of the spring visit by the full team. The day’s agenda will include meetings with select members of the Mercy community as well as a tour of the Westchester campus.
• March 17 – 20, 2024: A site team consisting of peers from other institutions will meet with members of our community and visit the Westchester and Manhattan Campuses. The purpose of this visit is to verify the information we submitted in our self-study report and to get to know our university. More information about this visit and preparation will be shared in the coming months.
• June 2024: At their summer convening, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education will review the site team’s report and make a determination, based on the team’s recommendation, about Mercy’s accreditation status.
We will continue to provide updates and post information to the Mercy MSCHE Webpage. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions.
Sincerely,
MSCHE Steering Committee Co-Chairs
Jessica Haber Dena Whipple Peter West
Chief of Staff Associate Provost for Academic Affairs & Dean, School of Liberal Arts
MSCHE Accreditation Liaison Officer