Middle States Accreditation

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) is one of seven institutional accrediting bodies in the United States that are authorized by the US Department of Education to accredit educational institutions. As an accredited institution by the Middle States Commission, Queensborough Community College is authorized to offer federal financial aid to students and students are assured acceptance of college credits when they transfer from Queensborough to another institution of higher education.

The Self-Study also offers QCC an opportunity to acknowledge our strengths and identify challenges, align planning with our mission and goals, and ultimately enhance the experiences of the students, faculty, and staff who make up our campus community.

The Middle States Commission has seven standards of excellence by which it evaluates an institution, with particular emphasis on comprehensive, integrated, and sustained assessment processes and the assessment of institutional effectiveness in achieving institutional mission and goals. The seven standards are: 1) mission and goals; 2) ethics and integrity; 3) design and delivery of the student learning experience; 4) support of the student experience; 5) educational effectiveness assessment; 6) planning, resources, and institutional improvement; and 7) governance, leadership, and administration. You may access the seven standards on the MSCHE website here.

Colleagues from across campus will work on this project. The Executive Co-chairs who will lead the effort are Andrea Salis, Rob McAlear, and Peter Bales. They will report to the campus periodically on developments in the self-study process. The Steering Committee consists of the Executive Committee and includes the two Co-chairs of each of the Working Groups assigned to the seven standards. Below is the complete list of participants, including the Executive Committee, Steering Committee, and Working Group members.

Spring 2025

• QCC Self-Study Design document created and revised
• Executive Committee, Steering Committee, Working Groups constituted
• QCC Self-Study Design document approved
• Visit from Middle States liaison

Summer 2025

• Evidence Inventory created

Fall 2025

• Working Groups gather evidence and submit it to the Evidence Inventory
• Working Groups create an evidence checklist to identify evidence gaps
• Working Groups produce chapter outlines

Winter 2026

• Working Groups submit chapter outlines and receive feedback from the Executive Committee

Spring 2026

• Conduct monthly meetings of the steering committee (executive co-chairs)
• Work on and complete first draft of chapters (working groups)
• Review the mid-point drafts of chapters from working groups and provide detailed feedback and appropriate guidance for successful completion (executive co-chairs)
• Queensborough Community College Middle States Town Hall
• Open Middle States Student Forum
• Complete a finished draft of the self-study chapters (working groups)
• Complete a finished draft of the evidence inventory (executive co-chairs with input from the steering committee)

Summer 2026

• Compile and consolidate chapters from working groups into one coherent self-study report (executive co-chairs)
• Edit consolidated report draft; conduct final proofread (editorial staff)

Fall 2026

• Conduct monthly meetings of the steering committee (executive co-chairs)
• Share self-study report finished draft to the campus community
• Queensborough Community College Middle States Town Hall
• Open Middle States Student Forum
• Schedule preliminary visit of the team chair (same hotel as arranged for the full team)
• Schedule team site visit
• Prepare for preliminary site visit
• Host preliminary visit by team chair
• Based on visit, make final edits to the self-study report
• Continue with preparations for the full team visit
• Solicit third-party comments by December 1
• Complete final review of evidence inventory and submit to MSCHE portal
• Submit self-study report to MSCHE portal

Winter/Spring 2027

• Make final preparations for site visit
• Host steering committee meeting to prepare for site visit
• Conduct practice sessions for campus constituencies
• Host site visit; site team chair presents preliminary findings at exit meeting
• Team chair sends institution a draft report within 14 calendar days of site visit
• Institution responds to the team report draft only with any factual errors noted
• Team chair uploads corrected team report draft to MSCHE portal
• Institution submits formal institutional response to the official team report to MSCHE portal within seven days of final report’s upload
• Team chair uploads confidential brief to MSCHE portal within five days of submission of institutional response

Post-visit

After a Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) evaluation team visits, the team chair delivers an oral exit report, followed by a written draft report within 14 days. The institution submits an institutional response, after which the Commission reviews all materials to determine accreditation status. For more information on the final steps to accreditation, you may access the MSCHE website.

If you wish to offer comments or ask questions of anyone on the Middle States accreditation team, you may do so here.