John Brown University is applying for reaccreditation.
Robert Norwood, dean of undergraduate studies, explained that JBU has to go through a reaccreditation process every 10 years.
JBU administion has prepared for this for the past year and a half by writing a self-report and they are now inviting a team from the Higher Learning Commission to observe and interview on April 16.
“This is very important, but students don’t see a day-to-day consequence of it,” Norwood said.
Norwood plans to send the self-report out this week.
The report, compiled and edited by Norwood, was written by five committees of faculty and administration of JBU. The five committees correspond to the five criteria for accreditation: mission and integrity; preparation for the future; student learning and effective teaching; acquisition, discovery, and application of knowledge; and engagement and service.
A practical sub-issue in the criteria that students can identify with is budgeting for tuition, which falls under criterion two.
These committees met last year and wrote their arguments for reaccreditation and evidence of the University fulfilling each of the criterion.
Norwood said the school has not had any issues in the past for accreditation.
The University was first accredited in 1962.
Accreditation, according to the HLC, provides assurance to the public, especially prospective students, that an organization has been found to meet the agency’s clearly states requirements and criteria and that they are reasonable grounds for believing it will continue to meet them.