Introduction:

Community College of Allegheny County has been accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education since 1970.  “MSCHE is a voluntary, non-governmental, peer-based membership association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation.” [1]The accreditation must be reaffirmed every ten years through a process of self-study and peer review. In preparation for CCAC’s peer review scheduled for the spring of 2005, the College is now undertaking a comprehensive self-study process.

MSACHE has identified 14 characteristics that constitute excellence in the delivery of higher education. Their publications, Characteristics of Excellence and Designs for Excellence, describe these characteristics in detail and can be viewed at their web site, Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The self-study will examine the degree to which CCAC meets or exceeds those standards by asking questions related to the characteristic, and then doing research of the College to answer those questions. The standards are divided into two categories. “Institutional Context” includes all of the topics, which affect the governance of the college, and have an indirect effect on learning. “Educational Effectiveness” includes all programs and services, which have a direct impact on learning.

[1] Mission Statement of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education