Dear UMBC Community,

We’re writing today with updates on UMBC’s Middle States Higher Education Commission (MSCHE) self-study reaccreditation process and to ask you to review and comment on the self-study draft by Thursday, September 25.

Every eight years, UMBC is required to engage in self-study to reaffirm our accreditation through MSCHE, demonstrating that we meet the MSCHE standards of accreditation and requirements of affiliation. This multi-year process focuses on UMBC’s mission, goals, and accomplishments and identifies potential opportunities and areas for improvement. Our self-study report promotes diverse reflection and dialogue with the intention of shaping a thoughtful, forward-thinking vision for UMBC’s future and includes evidence of UMBC’s continuous improvement from 2016 to 2024.

The self-study process began in summer 2023, with over 100 campus partners engaged in our steering committee and working groups. In April 2025, we asked for your feedback on the self-study, which we have incorporated into the current draft. Feedback received between now and September 25 will be incorporated into the draft that will take us into the next round of study, which includes two MSCHE self-study evaluation visits to campus.

On October 20, self-study evaluation team chair, John Pelesko, provost at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, will visit UMBC for a full day of planning to ensure we are ready for our spring 2026 evaluation team visit which will take place March 9 – 11, 2026. It is important that the UMBC community is knowledgeable about our self-study process during this time.

Because the draft of the self-study must be submitted to Dr. Pelesko by Monday, October 6, it is critical that we receive community feedback by the closing date of September 25. You can review this draft document and provide feedback via this link. Given the tight timeline, we would appreciate your feedback sooner rather than later.

Provided online is an overview of our Middle States process, information on those who have contributed to this effort, and the MSCHE Standards of Accreditation and Requirements of Affiliation. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with our process and the self-study document in preparation for the upcoming evaluation visits.

Your contribution to this inclusive self-study process is important to our community and is greatly appreciated.