Maybe it’s just end-of-the-year insouciance, but here comes another slightly unconventional post! One day after NECHE’s annual December meeting in Boston (a terrific gathering!), I flew to Austin to celebrate the upcoming retirement of one of my accrediting colleagues, Belle Wheelan. Belle has been President of SACSCOC, the accrediting association of eleven southern states, for twenty years and back when I was President of Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, I was…Continue readingPit Stop #78: On the Road to Texas
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In early February, I had the privilege of traveling to the spectacular island of Malta for an initial staff visit to CoROM (the College of Remote and Offshore Medicine). CoROM is at the very beginning of exploring accreditation by NECHE, a process it shares with a number of other international institutions. As I’ve found in…Continue readingPit Stop #61: College of Remote and Offshore Medicine
My own three years of law school weren’t exactly a picnic. I lived in a tiny, dark studio apartment, my girlfriend broke up with me, and I gained twenty pounds sitting around studying like a maniac. So you might suspect that visiting The Massachusetts School of Law in Andover, MA would be a triggering event.…Continue readingPit Stop #50: Massachusetts School of Law
One of the things I particularly value in our NECHE members– and those institutions seeking to become members — is the incredible diversity of our group. And a trip like the one I’m now taking to the other side of the globe brings that diversity into full focus. After my formal staff visit to Fulbright University, I headed from Vietnam to Jakarta, Indonesia where I was treated to…Continue readingPit Stop #42: Sampoerna University
My previous post on an international university in the process of seeking accreditation from NECHE emanated from a small town high up in the Swiss Alps. This week’s location could hardly be more different in terms of continent, culture, and climate–as I am in the sprawling city of Ho Chi Minh City in the Socialist…Continue readingPit Stop #41: Fulbright University Vietnam
I suspect that most readers of this blog have, at some point in their lives, visited the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City. As parents, we lassoed our young kids and brought them to this world-famous dazzler of a museum – a family ritual shared by millions, leaving vivid memories that linger…Continue readingPit Stop #40: American Museum of Natural History
Our second stop in Rhode Island was to College Unbound, NECHE’s newest member. CU’s President is the irrepressible Dennis Littky, and for a small taste of his astonishing resume, take a hop over to Wikipedia. One of the things I love most about my job is experiencing the incredible diversity of our more than 200 member institutions.…Continue readingPit Stop #32: College Unbound
Our second stop on this global road trip was to the American College of the Mediterranean and yes, ACM’S location is as breathtaking as its name suggests. My wife controls the photography for these posts and she couldn’t stop taking shots all morning, so I suspect this post will be full of those golden images.…Continue readingPit Stop #26: The American College of the Mediterranean
One of the things about NECHE that often surprises folks is that we accredit a dozen colleges and universities abroad. Although most of our U.S.-based schools offer students the opportunity to study abroad and many have formal affiliations with universities across the world, that’s not what we are talking about here. These dozen international institutions are…Continue readingBack on the Road Again…
As I close out my first year as President of the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), I wanted to share some personal reflections on the state of accreditation, on a few things that have surprised me, and some opportunities I see for the future. First, a bit about how I came to sit…Continue readingReflecting on my first year as NECHE President