The University of Delaware’s on-site evaluation visit by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) has been postponed to fall 2021 given the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This is based on the Commission’s Accreditation Actions policy and procedures that provide for flexibility during extraordinary circumstances. The Commission aims to balance two priorities with this flexibility: the safety, health, and well-being of all staff, peer evaluators, and institutional representatives; and the integrity of the evaluation process.

In March 2019, the University announced the start of the review process, outlining a timeline for the 18 months ahead of the external review team’s site visit in spring 2021. The steering committee released the draft of the self-study document in the spring of 2020. At that time, feedback was sought via an online form and several town halls, though questions remained about the accreditation process and the University’s self-study process given the pandemic. Work was paused to await further guidance from MSCHE. In September 2020 MSCHE released guidance for institutions on how to address the pandemic’s impact in their self-study reports. UD’s steering committee will reconvene in January 2021 to begin the process of finalizing the report according to the new guidance. Town halls will be held in the spring semester in advance of the preliminary visit with the chair of the external review team early in the summer. This will allow UD time to make final edits over the summer before the external site visit in the fall.

For further information, please visit: http://www.udel.edu/middlestates