OU accreditation maintains standards for students.
In order to maintain prestige as an institution of higher learning, Ohio University must go through a quality test of sorts — better known in academia as “accreditation."
The accreditation process is not unusual for OU. In fact, the university has undergone this process and received accreditation since 1913.
“Accreditation is our answer to ensuring quality from within (rather than from an external agency),” said Mike Williford, associate provost for institutional accreditation. “We have to demonstrate that we meet certain criteria for accreditation.”
OU is a member of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, an independent corporation that accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions. It is one of six similar organizations throughout the country.
The Higher Learning Commission defines accreditation as meeting criteria that is evaluated through a peer review process.
Some criteria include teaching and learning, evaluating and improving and integrity.*****
Within the commission lies three different pathways that clearly outline these criteria; OU has been a part of the Academic Quality Improvement Program since 2002.
“. . . membership has permitted OU to work on our action projects and focus more on academic quality related to helping students learn,” said Laura Myers, interim Chief of Staff. “It is simply one accreditation pathway, but because the focus is on student learning it is a good fit philosophically.”
“Action projects” are goals the university sets for itself, such as the university’s decision to switch from quarters to semesters in Fall 2012.
OU is currently working on four of these such projects: three of which will focus on a student’s academic experience and one will focus on environmental sustainability.
“Ohio University is scheduled for a quality checkup visit in the 2015-16 academic year, which will evaluate whether or not the institution is meeting our standards for accreditation,” said John Hausaman, a spokesperson for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, in an email.
Upon accreditation, students and faculty will be able to reap benefits by receiving federal financial aid and federal grant funding.
OU was last accredited in the 2008-09 academic year, Hausaman said.
Individual colleges within a university also undergo an accreditation process, with varying criteria applied to them based on corresponding subject matter.
Because a student’s academic success is heavily influenced by their surroundings and daily interactions, entities such as Culinary Services or Residential Housing will be evaluated for accreditation as well.
OU has 35 “specialized accreditations,” which include these colleges and services.
“It’s all about continuous improvement,” Williford said. “We want to make sure everything is as good as it can be.”
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