What You Need to Know About Our Accreditation
A message from: Robert Mack, Vice Provost for Student Success and Engagement
Dear Students,
We want to provide you with clarity about a recent message shared with our community regarding The New School’s accreditation process. Simply put, there is no cause for concern, and we have the utmost confidence in our academic programs and their integrity.
Accreditation is an important process that confirms that all universities meet rigorous standards and ensures that students can access important Federal financial aid programs. The New School is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education or MSCHE.
While Middle States has issued a “warning” to the university, this is a procedural step—not a penalty—and it gives us time to address these areas in 2025. Work is already underway, led by our Provost, Executive Deans, and Curriculum and Learning team, and we are committed to meeting all requirements.
Here is some additional information you need to know:
- Every eight years, institutions like ours undergo a re-accreditation review through a process called a Self-Study, which involves an in-depth evaluation of how we meet our mission and goals.
- The New School’s review recognized 12 exemplary practices at the university, including our innovative curriculum, inclusive classroom practices, and a strong culture of research. Importantly, the evaluators praised the passion and commitment of our community, especially from students.
- Middle States identified areas where we need to improve how we document and systematically evaluate student learning across all programs. This is not about the quality of our programs—it’s about making sure we have consistent processes for assessing how well students achieve learning outcomes and using that information to make improvements.
We believe this process will make us an even stronger institution by providing opportunities for continuous improvement and innovation. We are committed to meeting all of MSCHE’s standards by the specified review date. More information will be shared as this process continues.