SUNY Niagara earns reaccreditation

SUNY Niagara Press Release

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) has reaffirmed SUNY Niagara’s accreditation through 2033. This action follows a MSCHE team’s review of SUNY Niagara’s programs and services, discussions with several members of the college community, and visits to its campus and other properties.

Reaccreditation is a periodic examination of a college that begins with a college’s own self-assessment and ends in external review and affirmation. Maintaining accreditation signals that an institution is functioning properly and is accountable to its stakeholders.

In assessing SUNY Niagara, MSCHE’s team looked at seven areas:

• Mission and goals;
• Ethics and integrity;
• Design and delivery of the student learning experience;
• Support of the student experience;
• Educational effectiveness assessment;
• Planning, resources, and institutional improvement; and
• Governance, leadership, and administration.

MSCHE determined that SUNY Niagara fully meets its standards in all of these. The college was commended for providing faculty with opportunities to become conversant in new approaches in online teaching, using data to enhance student-centered programs and services, and proactively managing costs while maintaining fiscal stability.

“This is a proud moment for the dozens of faculty and staff members who participated so thoughtfully in the process because it is extremely demanding and requires continuous attention for many months. In fact, reaccreditation was well underway before I arrived here last July,” SUNY Niagara President Lloyd Holmes said. “The timing of MSCHE’s affirmation couldn’t be better. It means that our college already is in a place of strength as we develop our next strategic plan, which I anticipate will be finalized this fall.”

SUNY Niagara’s current strategic plan will expire at the end of 2025. The college began gathering internal input for a new strategic plan this past spring, and in July hosted a meeting, called the “Future Forward” session, where external stakeholders from across the Niagara Region contributed their thoughts.

“Reaccreditation went extremely well and dovetailed into strategic planning,” Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness Fabio Escobar said.

Escobar, who co-chaired the college’s own reaccreditation committee, also has a key role in strategic planning.

“SUNY Niagara is in a fantastic position to be ambitious and inclusive as we build on the college’s accomplishments,” he added.

About MSCHE

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is a global institutional accreditor that assures students and the public of the educational quality of over 500 institutions of higher education. MSCHE’s process ensures institutional accountability, self-appraisal, improvement and innovation through peer review and the rigorous application of standards within the context of institutional mission.