The Middle States Commission on Higher Education will be visiting Penn State on Nov. 15, Penn State President Rodney Erickson said in an interview with The Daily Collegian.
The Commission on Higher Education issued Penn State an accreditation warning on Aug. 8, according to a press release issued by the university on Aug. 13.
According to the release, the warning came as a result of the findings of former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s investigative report and the binding consent decree between the university and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The commission has required Penn State to submit a monitoring report no later than Sept. 30, and Erickson said he is "confident" Penn State will meet that deadline.
Erickson said the report will come out of the Office of The Provost. Specifically, Erickson said Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Blannie Bowen and Interim Provost Rob Pangborn will be submitting the report. He said, they will "work very closely with commission leadership" in order to draft the report.
Accreditation is the act of granting credit or recognition, especially regarding an educational institution that maintains suitable standards. The Middle States Commission is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, according to the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs website.
The Commission’s warning states there is "insufficient evidence that the institution is currently in compliance with the Requirements of Affiliation 5 (compliance with all applicable government policies, regulations and requirements) and 9 (institution's governing body responsibility for the quality and integrity of the institution, for ensuring that the institution's mission is being carried out and for making freely available to the commission accurate, fair and complete information on all aspects of the institution and its operations) and with Standard 4 (Leadership and Governance) and Standard 6 (Integrity)."
According to its website, the Commission is an association “that defines, maintains and promotes educational excellence across institutions with diverse missions, student populations and resources. It examines each institution as a whole, rather than specific programs within institutions.”
The Commission has been a voluntary, non-governmental membership association since 1919.
