Metropolitan State University has received formal notification from the regional accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission, that the university accreditation has been reaffirmed for the next eight years. This is both extremely important news for the university—among other things, the accreditation makes Metropolitan State students eligible to receive federal and state financial aid—and it is a gratifying institutional milestone and collective achievement.
The efforts leading up to this major accomplishment, in conjunction with related work to document compliance with various federal accountability requirements, have been a significant undertaking for many over the past few years, and especially in the months leading up to the university's late February site visit. It has been encouraging to see the culture of continuous improvement growing deeper, as Metropolitan State pursues excellence through the valuable contributions of many faculty and staff from across the university.
The members of two teams who led the broader work to gather data and communicate about the various facets of the work by which the university serves its students includes:
AQIP Steering Committee
- Shelly Auldrich, Associate Registrar
- Bruce Biser, Chief Financial Officer
- Pat Borchert, Faculty, College of Management
- Carol Bormann Young, Interim Provost
- Cynthia DeVore, Director, Institutional Research
- Michael Eisenbeisz, Project Manager
- Deb Gehrke, Chief Human Resources Officer
- Dylan Harris, Library Technical Services
- Doug Knowlton, Associate Provost for Student Success
- Lois Larson, Director, Financial Aid
- Bruce Lindberg, Director, Institutional Effectiveness
- Travis Morgan, Senior Instructional Technologist
- Joyce Paxton, Director, AQIP
- Steve Reed, Chief Information Officer
- Jules Thompson, Director, Center for Academic Excellence
- Ruth Zietlow, Faculty, Library Services
Federal Compliance Team
- Bobbie Anderson, Director, Gateway
- Cynthia DeVore, Director, Institutional Research
- Amy Dunn, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management
- Amber Eisen-Ramgren, Associate Registrar
- Daryl Johnson, Registrar
- Lois Larson, Director, Financial Aid
- Lori Page, Academic Scheduling Coordinator
- Joyce Paxton, Director, AQIP
- Joe Rockers, Director, Academic Program Partnerships
- Vicki Tschida, Technology, and Reports Coordinator
- Julio Vargas Essex, Director, Admissions
To learn more, review the HLC final report document, as well as any of the other recent documents that reflect the journey along the AQIP pathway since 2009.