Campus updates
Self-study update and what to expect this year
August 19, 2026
As we begin the new academic year, we are entering the most important stretch of our Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) reaccreditation self-study. Over the past two years, seven working groups — made up of faculty, staff, and administrators — have examined how Ursinus fulfills its mission through the lens of the Commission’s seven Standards for Accreditation. Their work is now being woven into a single self-study report, and this fall, we will need your eyes on it. In preparation, please review key materials relevant to our self-study below:
Below is an overview of what happens when and where your contributions fit in:
Key dates for 2026–27
|
Date |
Milestone |
|
October 1, 2026 |
Draft of the self-study report shared with the campus community for review and feedback |
|
November 1, 2026 |
Draft submitted to team chair of our external MSCHE evaluation team |
|
Week of November 9th |
Team chair’s preliminary visit to campus |
|
December 20, 2026 |
Final self-study report distributed to the full evaluation team |
|
Spring 2027 (anticipated: early February) |
MSCHE evaluation team visit (dates to be confirmed by MSCHE) |
What happens this fall, and why your voice matters
No later than October 1, the full draft of the self-study report will be shared with all students, faculty, and staff on our accreditation page. This is your opportunity to tell us what the working groups got right, what’s missing, and where the report doesn’t reflect your experience of Ursinus. An accurate, honest self-study depends on broad community input; evaluation teams notice when a campus has genuinely engaged in the process. Details on how to access the draft, how to submit feedback, and how the steering committee plans to process feedback will accompany the October release. We will have a limited time window to collect and process feedback. We thank you in advance for your input.
Who is our “team chair”?
The team chair is a senior leader from a peer institution, appointed by MSCHE, who chairs the external evaluation team. Earlier this week, MSCHE assigned Dr. Ann Damiano, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Utica University, as our team chair. In early November, Dr. Damiano will visit our campus to meet with college leadership, confirm logistics for the spring visit, and get a first look at Ursinus. The full evaluation team (team chair plus peer reviewers from other MSCHE institutions) will visit Ursinus in spring 2027 to meet with groups across campus and verify what we’ve documented in our report. Exact dates will depend on what MSCHE arranges for us.
Questions?
The self-study is led by Steering Committee Co-Chairs Johannes Karreth and Becky Evans, both associate professors of politics and international relations, with Simara Price, associate dean of academic affairs, serving as accreditation liaison officer. Questions may be directed to any member of the Steering Committee at selfstudy@ursinus.edu.
Thank you for your engagement in this process. It is important to remember that accreditation is not just a compliance exercise; it is an opportunity to reflect on who we are as an institution and to shape where we go next.
Sincerely,
Simara Price, Becky Evans, and Johannes Karreth
Ursinus College Middle States Self-Study Steering Committee
Update on Middle States 2026-2027 Reaccreditation
June 10, 2026
Dear colleagues,
We’d like to share an update on our Middle States reaccreditation work. Throughout the spring semester, our working groups made strong progress drafting chapters for most standards. Evidence collection is near complete for all standards and is actively continuing for Educational Effectiveness (Standard V) and Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement (Standard VI).
Over the summer, we have the following priorities:
- The leadership team will review each chapter to ensure accuracy, highlight any areas that might be missing from the draft, and further refine the documents as evidence collection wraps up.
- Led by self-study co-chair Becky Evans and our marketing and communications team, we will compile all chapters into one report that speaks with one voice.
- The evidence inventory core team will finalize our evidence inventory so that it is accessible to the Ursinus community and our reviewers.
During our annual community conference on Tuesday, August 18, we will have a dedicated session to give an overview of our current draft and begin the process of collecting feedback.
In the fall, the leadership team will share the self-study draft with the campus community and solicit feedback. That feedback will be reviewed and used to make final revisions before the report is formally submitted to Middle States. We are still awaiting nominees for our visiting team chair; once that process is complete, we hope to finalize dates for the reviewers’ campus visit in early spring 2027.
We will continue reaching out to members of the campus community for feedback and additional evidence. In the meantime, we recommend that everyone review key pieces of information that will be central to our self-study:
- Our brief summary of APEX for faculty and staff
- President Graml’s overview of our strategic evolution and evergreen institutional priorities
Thank you for all your help so far, whether that be contributions to working groups, responses to evidence requests, or other input and support you’ve provided for our self-study.
Sincerely,
The Self-Study Steering Committee Leadership Team
Simara Price (Accreditation Liaison Officer)
Becky Evans
Johannes Karreth
Jack LaFayette
Matthew Good
Update on Middle States 2026-2027 Reaccreditation
October 17, 2025
Dear Ursinus Community,
We are happy to share an update about our reaccreditation work with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. This effort is important not only for maintaining our accreditation, but also for better understanding our existing structures and processes and finding opportunities to better align what we do with our priorities and values.
Earlier this year, we formed a steering committee and five working groups to begin our reaccreditation effort. In collaboration with senior leadership, that team crafted a self-study design, which our Middle States liaison received and approved in June. The self-study design documents our institutional priorities for this round of self-study and our intended outcomes for this work, along with a timeline and more details.
We are now entering the phase where our reaccreditation work will regularly involve the entire campus community. We have launched our new accreditation webpages, which contain our self-study design, names of steering committee and working group members, information on the reaccreditation process, and a timeline, with more information to come as our self-study moves forward.
Over the summer, each working group collected evidence from campus partners to begin our analysis toward compliance with Middle States and regulatory standards, as well as our institutional priorities. We thank all of you who helped during this process.
Throughout the fall, the groups will analyze evidence and produce initial reports on each of the seven Middle States standards. In early 2026, these drafts will be shared with the campus community for feedback and revisions.
During the remainder of 2025 and throughout 2026, we will regularly communicate updates. Successful and productive reaccreditation involves our whole campus—from administration to staff and faculty to students. We look forward to working with you all.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please write to the steering group leadership team at selfstudy@ursinus.edu.
Sincerely,
The Self-Study Steering Committee Leadership Team
Gundolf Graml
Becky Evans
Johannes Karreth
Simara Price
Jack LaFayette
Matthew Good