The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. (267-284-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The university's accreditation status is reviewed every eight years, and UMCES first became accredited in 2016. The Statement of Accreditation Status provides information about the university and MSCHE and is publicly available on the MSCHE website.
About the 2016 UMCES Accreditation
UMCES initiated an accreditation process with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and submitted its Accreditation Readiness Report (ARR) in August 2013. Acceptance of the ARR by MSCHE advanced UMCES to Candidacy for Accreditation, which allowed UMCES to award graduate degrees. The first MS and PhD degrees were jointly awarded with UMCP in May 2014. UMCES submitted its Self-Study Design to MSCHE in October 2014. Its approval was followed by an initiation of a Self-Study that was completed in August 2015. Final evaluation by MSCHE was completed in November 2015. UMCES became accredited in March 2016. In April 2018, UMCES submitted a follow-up report to the MSCHE.
2021 Reaffirmation of Accreditation
UMCES is currently working on reaffirming its accreditation, with the final Self-Study due to the MSCHE in August 2021 and a peer-evaluation site visit in October 2021. Our current timeline is as follows:
November 2018: UMCES attends the MSCHE Self-Study Institute
January – May 2019: Introduction of 2020-2021 UMCES Self Study at January AC meeting
Formal launch of Self-Study
Self-Study Steering Committee and Working Group Chairs Appointed
Appoint Working Group Members
June - August 2019: Draft of Self-Study Design
August 2019-April 2021: Draft Self-Study
April, 2021: Final Chapter Drafts to VPE Office
July, 2021: Final Draft Self-Study to Evaluation Team Chair 2 Weeks Before Visit
July 19-20, 2021: MSCHE Evaluation Team Chair Visit
July 30, 2021: Final Draft of Self-Study to SC and UMCES Community for Review
August 11, 2021: Final Self-Study due to VPE Office for Compiling and Formatting
August 23, 2021: Final Self-Study distributed to MSCHE Evaluation Team, SC, all-UMCES
October 4-6, 2021: MSCHE Evaluation Team Visits UMCES
If you have any questions or feedback throughout the process, please do not hesitate to contact Amy Griffin (Accreditation Administrator), Larry Sanford (Self-Study Co-Chair), or Lynn Rehn (Self-Study Co-Chair).