University Accreditation Ensures Academic Quality

Pennsylvania Western University is committed to providing you with the very best in higher education. The accreditation process promotes excellence by verifying that PennWest University continues to meet top standards for educational quality.

Accreditation also allows:

Middle States Accreditation

PennWest is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), an institutional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Middle States is the same organization that for decades accredited our legacy universities: Clarion (since 1948), Edinboro (since 1949), and California University of Pennsylvania (since 1951).

Learn more about Middle States and its mission or review the Standards for Accreditation, 13^th edition.

The Self-Study Process

As an accredited university, PennWest regularly undertakes an in-depth self-study – a rigorous process of peer review, assessment, and evaluation that ensures we continue to meet the high standards of educational quality that accreditation requires.

The self-study is designed to engage our entire PennWest community – students, faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, and other community members – as we examine our university’s mission, demonstrate that we can accomplish that mission, and show that we are committed to continuous improvement that leads to student success.

Read the Self-Study Design

The self-study process aligns with PennWest’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, which officially launched in September 2023.

Self-Study Timeline

PennWest’s initial self-study began with preliminary activities in Fall 2022. It will culminate in a visit from our Middle States evaluation team in Spring 2025, followed by the team’s report and action by the full commission. This timeline is included in the Self-Study Design:

Date	Activity/Task	Status
Fall 2022	Attend Self-Study Institute	X
December 2022	Meet with Middle States liaison	X
Fall 2022	Begin to draft self-study design; establish MSCHE Self-Study SharePoint site	X
February 2023	Assemble Steering Committee	X
March 2023	Submit self-study design	X
Sept. 2023	Announce opportunities for participation (open call to university community)	X

Subcommittees form and work begins

Date	Activity/Task	Status
March-April 2023	Finalize Steering Committee and working groups	X
March-May 2023	Working groups finalize lines of inquiry	X
April 2023	Host Middle States liaison for self-study preparation visit	X
Summer 2023	Revise self-study design for MSCHE acceptance	X
Summer 2023	Working groups meet	X
September 2023	Launch 2023-2026 PennWest Strategic Plan	X

Subcommittees collect and analyze data; draft self-study report created

Date	Activity/Task	Status
August-December 2023	Working groups gather and analyze data, report to Steering Committee	X
Fall 2023	Hold launch event for the university community to share self-study plan, timeline, and opportunities for participation	X
	MSCHE selects self-study Evaluation Team chair MSCHE chooses visit dates	X
Spring 2024	Draft self-study report	X
May-September 2024	Revise self-study report draft and make available for campus review

Final report created; MSCHE team conducts site visit

Date	Activity/Task	Status
September-November 2024	Send self-study report draft to MSCHE team chair (2 weeks before visit)
September-November 2024	Host preliminary visit by Evaluation Team chair
January 2025	Finalize self-study report based on team chair’s feedback; share final report with university community
January-March 2025	Upload final PennWest Self-Study Report/Evidence Inventory/Verification of Compliance to portal (6 weeks before site visit)
March 2025	Host Evaluation Team site visit
March-May 2025	Receive MSCHE Evaluation Team report
March-May 2025	Develop and submit institutional response
June-July 2025	Commission meets to determine action

Accreditation Reports and Responses

In order to maintain accreditation, colleges and universities in the Middle States region undergo a self-study every eight years and submit annual updates to the Middle States Commission.

PennWest is engaged in its initial self-study as an integrated institution. To keep our PennWest community informed, documents will be added here as the self-study progresses.

For questions about PennWest’s self-study, contact our Accreditation Liaison Officer, Dr. Susanne Fenske (sfenske@pennwest.edu), or Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness Becky McMillen (mcmillen_b@pennwest.edu).

Contact the Middle States Commission

Middle States Commission on Higher Education
1007 N. Orange St.
4^th Floor, MB #166
Wilmington, DE 19801
www.msche.org
267-284-5011