A biweekly publication for faculty and staff

Faculty, Staff Input Sought for UC Merced Reaccreditation Process

April 27, 2017

UC Merced is in the process of reaffirming campus accreditation and is seeking faculty and staff input on the draft report.

As you may have read in a message distributed to the campus last week, the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) Steering Committee for Reaffirmation of Accreditation is soliciting feedback regarding the campus’s “Institutional Report for Reaffirmation of Accreditation.”

The draft report is a critical component of UC Merced’s reaccreditation process and can be downloaded from Box. The report is posted as a Word file in hopes that campus community members will make suggestions and revisions using the “comment” and “track changes” functions, steering committee chair Professor Nate Monroe said.

“This will make it much easier for us to compile and carefully consider your feedback,” Monroe said.

The report comprises eight essays or “components” in WSCUC’s language. Descriptions of each essay are provided in the WSCUC Handbook and an excerpt specific to the essays is available. To orient readers to the purpose of each essay, a brief description is also included in the draft report as a “comment” associated with the title of each.

There are a number of specific ways faculty and staff members can provide useful feedback on the draft:

  • Does it accurately and fully meet the requirements outlined in the prompts for each of the essays?
  • How well does the draft characterize the unique challenges and strengths of UC Merced?
  • Is there missing information that could be added to bolster the points already made at specific places in the report? Are there better examples to include?

The draft report is written as if the proposal for a new general education (GE) program will proceed as it has been presented to the academic departments and university staff members. As necessary, the report will be revised following the planned vote on the proposal during the week of May 1.

Feedback regarding the draft report is due by close of business May 17 and can be sent to reaccreditation@ucmerced.edu.