Miami University will soon be taking part in a new accreditation process called Open Pathways, administered by the Higher Learning Commission, that will test the university's effectiveness as an institution of higher learning.
"[The] university has been chosen to pioneer a new process for affirming our accreditation," said Cecilia Shore, executive vice president for Academic Affairs. According to Shore, the new process will involve two separate parts that will test the quality of Miami's programs and provide assurance for re-accreditation.
"[This] demonstrates to our accreditors we are a functional and effective organization for supporting student learning on … different criteria levels," Shore said. "[It] demonstrates our effectiveness as an institution."
These criteria include having a clear mission, having integrity in dealings, being honest about information like the financial aid process and understanding effectiveness in supporting teaching, learning and scholarship, according to Shore.
"[It's an] effort to define for the public what a college means … our project is to find out what Miami University believes what a degree qualifications profile means," Shore said. "The quality assurance process is already being implemented in that we are collecting data about our institution."
Jennifer Blue, executive vice president for Academic Affairs said, "We always do two things … one is the assurance part, where we make sure we're doing what we're supposed to be doing and the second part is improvement."
The difference between the new system and the old one, she said, is the splitting of the assurance program into two separate parts.
"The improvement part is a degree qualifications profile … and the Higher Learning profile basically asked us to test a tool for them – and that is a degree qualifications profile. We're supposed to see if that resonates with us," Blue said.
Shore said that Miami is one of a group of 20 colleges, community colleges and universities nationwide that is using the new system of accreditation this year, with different schools being selected each year.
Miami first-year Anna Tyrlik said she thinks the university is taking a positive step by participating in the new accreditation system and improving itself for the students.
"It's important for the university to not make students a number [by] teaching someone to learn not just a set of courses … so students [can] learn what they need to learn so they can be the best they can be," Tyrlik said.
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