Following three years of self-study, analysis, and evaluation by a visiting team of educators representing the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, IUP’s accreditation with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education has been reaffirmed.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is a global institutional accrediting agency recognized by the US Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Institutions are evaluated based on standards of accreditation and a multi-year, in-depth, university-wide self-review (self-study).
IUP was first accredited in 1941; since that time, the university has received consecutive reaffirmations of accreditation. Prior to this year, Middle States accreditation was last reaffirmed in 2016.
Accreditation demonstrates external validation that IUP upholds the MSCHE Standards for Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation in all respects—academic programs, faculty and staff expertise, campus services, finances, governance, and more. Accreditation is a required step for IUP students to receive federal grants and student loans, can facilitate student credit transfer, and can be required for some graduate schools and employers considering IUP graduates.
The reaffirmation of accreditation process required IUP to address the following standards: mission and goals; ethics and integrity; design and delivery of the student learning experience; support of the student learning experience; educational effectiveness assessment; planning, resources, and institutional improvement; and governance, leadership, and administration.
Following submission of IUP’s comprehensive self-study addressing the required standards, members of the MSCHE visiting team traveled to IUP instructional sites, including PES in Bangalore, India; the IUP Punxsutawney campus and Academy of Culinary Arts; and IUP Pittsburgh East, as part of the review process. The Middle States evaluation team came to the Indiana campus in April for a series of meetings with faculty, staff, students, and university leadership teams.
“The Middle States reaffirmation of accreditation process is incredibly rigorous and demanding, requiring a thorough and honest assessment of our work, and rightfully so,” IUP President Michael Driscoll said. “Middle States accreditation is the gold standard for colleges and universities, providing an important external validation of a university’s commitment to excellence and to serving the needs of its students.
“We are proud of this recognition, and I am very grateful for the work of hundreds of members of the university community who were part of this process, especially our Middle States Steering Committee Cochairs Edel Reilly and Paula Stossel. They did an outstanding job leading the process and coordinating the work of the reaffirmation of accreditation process, ably assisted by Holly Olexo, IUP’s liaison officer to Middle States,” he said.
“While reaffirmation of accreditation is an important goal, it is not just a ‘one and done’ endeavor,” President Driscoll said. “We will use the information we have gathered during the reaffirmation of accreditation process and the feedback from the evaluating team to advance implementation of our University’s Strategic Plan and my Presidential Goals,” he said.
President Driscoll noted that the evaluation team commended IUP on the quality of the IUP self-study process, the active engagement of the community, IUP’s model of shared governance in planning and implementing its strategic plan, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, for leadership transitions, and organizational restructuring.
The evaluation team also recognized the efforts made by the university to launch the Student Success Infrastructure, the financial sustainability plan (including tuition reductions), for the intentional and collaborative work to restructure the Liberal Studies (General Education) program into the competency-based Crimson Core curriculum, and the university’s work to drive transformational change through academic restructuring, program reviews, and regional workforce development programs.
“More than 300 staff members, faculty, students, and administrators actively contributed to the self-study process by participating in working groups, attending open forums, and engaging during the evaluation team’s visit,” Stossel said. “It’s been a true university-wide effort, with everyone committed to transparency and honest self-assessment of our work together,” she said.
“It’s been an honor to serve in this important role,” Reilly said. “Not only is this work critical to the university’s present and future, but it has offered valuable insights into our daily operations and provided a clear understanding of the university’s impact and potential, especially as we celebrate our 150th anniversary and look to the next 150 years,” she said.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. As IUP celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025, the university honors a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, leadership in healthcare education, and public service.