Dear UMS Community members:
We are pleased to share this third and final draft as we prepare to complete our UMS self study in advance of an October 2-5, 2022 visit by a team evaluating us on behalf of our regional accreditor, the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
As you may recall, we shared the first draft in September 2021 and the second in February 2022. We will complete the self study and share it with the UMS community and NECHE on June 15.
A few notes as you read:
- For this third and final opportunity to provide feedback, we are sharing the self study in the format in which it will ultimately be published: that is, with photos and visual graphics. Work is ongoing to render ADA-accessible two sets of data forms required by NECHE as well as related information being housed in appendices. We will publicly post all of this data and information shortly.
- Though nearing its final form, the document you’re seeing today remains a draft: a work-in-progress. It is not final and should not be read as such. When you come across typos or other inaccuracies, please know that these errors and omissions will be caught and corrected in the final document.
- Choices about what to include, what to leave out, and how best to articulate where we are and where we’re headed in our unified state remain challenging. Ultimately, as we noted last September and again in February, our Chancellor, Presidents, and Law Dean will decide, in accordance with UMS Board priorities. We must put forth a representative and evidence-based set of examples and initiatives from our universities and the Law School; reference our points of pride while offering fair voice to concerns about areas where improvements or changes may be needed; and, do this while using what NECHE terms “one voice”: that is, rendering the work done (past and future)— by more than 145 members of the writing teams, data teams, marketing and communications staff, and others— in a uniform tone and voice.
We encourage you to share your thoughts. All suggestions and input will be reviewed by the editorial team responsible for finalizing the self study. Constraints of space, prioritization of content, and in some cases, simple irreconcilability will mean that not every suggestion makes its way into the self study. But be assured: all comments will once again be weighed carefully, and all will have value.
The draft self study can be found here, and the link to the feedback instrument is here. The draft will also be posted shortly on the UMS Unified Accreditation website.
The deadline for submitting your feedback is Friday, May 27, 2022.
Thank you. We look forward to hearing from you