Making the grade

Accreditation is more than just a one-time pat on the back from an independent agency; it’s an ongoing process that makes sure the school receives grants, students receive financial aid and that credits transfer in from other schools. The group charged with evaluating North Central is the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and its representatives will visit the school this November.

During the visit, a team of five HLC peer-reviewers will come to the University and meet with students and faculty alike. They will be in chapel and attend board meetings, and all the while will be comparing what they observe with what North Central says about itself.

North Central’s Dr. Carolyn Tennant is a peer-reviewer for the HLC. “The very first thing they are going to look at is… our mission statement,” Tennant said. “They are going to evaluate us according to

BY THE NUMBERS (since 1997)

68%

■ The number of majors has increased from 19 to 32, a 68% increase.

60%

■ Presently 60% of our full-time faculty have terminal degrees as contrasted to 39% ten years ago.

[what it says] and they’re going to want us to prove that we did it.” This is why the mission statement was recently changed—to more accurately reflect what the school was hoping to accomplish and to present a consistent target to aim for when it comes time for accreditation. For schools that passed

10 yrs

■ Most of the faculty has been overseas in the last decade, generally multiple times.