ECU draws praise from visiting accreditation teams
(Mar. 27, 2002) — The reaccreditation team that has been on the East Carolina University campus for three days completed its inspections today (March 27) with compliments and high marks for the university.
Dr. Laura Lindsay, professor of mass communication and head of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools visiting team, lauded ECU’s arrangements for the visit as “the best reception I’ve ever received at an institution.” She called the self-study completed by the university over the last two years “excellent. It could be a model for other universities,” Lindsay said.
American colleges and universities undergo accreditation visits every 10 years. After an institution completes an exhaustive self-study, an inspection team spends several days on the campus.
The team at ECU presented brief preliminary findings before leaving campus. The university will now respond to those findings, and the Southern Association will take final action on the university’s accreditation in December.
Dr. Jack Allen, a SACS staff member, noted that the team delivered a short preliminary report, and “a short report is always good.”
The team examined how well ECU complies with SACS requirements and also offered suggestions on how the university can meet its goal of increasing both its enrollment and the quality of its programs and students over the next decade.
Concurrently with the SACS visit, a team from the National Collegiate Athletics Association was on campus as part of the accreditation process for the university’s intercollegiate athletics programs.
Dr. Bernard Machen, the president of the University of Utah and chair of the athletics visitation team, said the report prepared by his team “is very complimentary. You will feel good about it.”
“I think you should be very proud of this report,” Machen told a small audience of ECU administrators and faculty members. “I think you have a good thing going.”
The NCAA will issue a final accreditation report in about two years, after the university has responded to recommendations.
Chancellor William V. Muse, after the SACS report, said the university will take all the recommendations and suggestions seriously.
“We are at a critical stage in the development of this institution and we welcome your counsel and advice,” he said. “We look forward to getting the formal report and responding.”
Dr. Brenda Killingsworth, who chaired the ECU self-study committee, said she was happy with the SACS review. “Everything they said made sense,” she said.