Middle States Committee onHigher Education (MSCHE)Peer Evaluation Team Visit111th SGA, GBM #10October 17th, 2023Middle States Committee on HigherEducation (MSCHE)• Official accreditation agency for JohnsHopkins University• MSCHE recognition is necessary for JHUto receive federal funding (financial aid,research funding)• University is re-accredited every 8-10 years• 2023-2024 re-accreditation isunderwayWhy do we care?• University takes Middle States seriously• MSCHE recommendations are pushed to the President, Provost, andBoard of Trustees.• Improve + add recommendations to the Self-Study• Anything you want Hopkins to do:• Ex: Better advancement tracks for teaching faculty + prioritization of improvingundergraduate education• Free iClicker + other institutional services• Funding for more counselors at the Counseling CenterNotes Regarding Self-Study Report• JHU selected the standards-based self-study approach, which means that the self-study report isorganized according to the Middle States Standards of Accreditation and Requirements forAffiliation.• Middle States requires universities to provide evidence to support evaluation and assertions. Thisevidence is included in an evidence inventory that will be accessible to the peer evaluation team viahyperlinked footnotes.• While the self-study provides opportunity for celebration of accomplishments, it is also meant to bean authentic assessment of strengths and weaknesses.• Recommendations in the self-study should reflect targeted areas of improvement that willmeaningfully impact the institution.7
Chapter 1
Mission and Goals Recommendations
- Ensure that goals set forth in the
Ten for One, theSecond JHU Roadmap on Diversity, Equity, andInclusion, the Second Committee on Undergraduate Education report, and other strategicstatements continue to guide decision-making and resource allocation at Johns Hopkins in thecoming years.8
Chapter 2
Ethics and Integrity Recommendations
- Continue to assess the university’s success in realizing the
Second Roadmap goals, using toolssuch as the climate survey conducted in spring 2023, and to develop initiatives and allocateresources in consideration of assessment results.9
Chapter 3
Design & Delivery of the Student Learning Experience
- Fully execute all elements of the CUE2 undergraduate curricular reform, including establishment of
an instructional framework ensuring that all students acquire the six foundational abilities namedin the CUE2 report’s first recommendation.
- As outlined in
Ten for One, enhance Johns Hopkins’s already world-class graduate andpostdoctoral programs by leading in the invention of new models of instruction, mentorship, andprofessional preparation.
- Develop and implement a plan for routine assessment and evaluation of master’s programs at the
university level, leveraging recommendations from the UPCEA external evaluation and successfulmodels such as the PhD program review process.10
Chapter 4
Support of the Student Experience
- Continue to assess the outcomes of the first phase of SSEI and adjust initiatives accordingly. Fully
support SSEI’s focus, in its second phase, on improving advising technology, developing anintegrated digital experience platform for students, and identifying a replacement for its currentstudent information system.
- Identify and address undergraduate and graduate student challenges in recognizing, locating, and
accessing the variety of services and forms of support available to them.11
Chapter 5
Educational Effectiveness Assessment
- Fully implement the JHU CLR vision and continue to evaluate its effectiveness.
- Adopt a standard mechanism for incorporating program learning objectives into the university
course catalogue so that these are easier for students to locate.
- Homewood schools: In consultation with the UCLA and the director of institutional assessment,
develop tools, consonant with the JHU CLR framework, for assessing student acquisition of thefoundational abilities outlined in the report of the Second Committee on UndergraduateEducation.12
Chapter 6
Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement
- Establish a partnership between the central Technology Solutions Working Group and Johns
Hopkins’s schools to develop an integrated approach to the selection and deployment of ITsolutions.
- To ensure that Johns Hopkins remains at the forefront of research worldwide, upgrade core
facilities and shared infrastructure and develop a unified assessment and planning program fornew research investments.
- Enhance the student experience, advance academic priorities, and strengthen community
connections via a visionary reimagining of the Homewood physical environment in the form of theHomewood Campus Master Plan.13
Chapter 7
Governance, Leadership, and Administration
- Evaluate recent enhancements of campus constituencies’ contribution to decision-making (via new
bodies such as the Cross-Institutional Student Advisory Committee, the Staff Advisory Council, andthe Johns Hopkins University Council) for their effectiveness in supporting the university’s missionand improving the work life and general well-being of students, faculty, and staff.14
Role of SGA
• The MSCHE Peer Evaluation Team, chaired by
Christopher Eisengruber (President of PrincetonUniversity), will be visiting JHU’s Baltimore and DCcampuses from November 5th – 8th
• On November 5th (Sunday), the President and Provostwill host the Peer Evaluation Team at an openingdinner
• From November 6th to November 8th, the PeerEvaluation Team will meet with students, staff, faculty,and trustees regarding their Hopkins experience
Role of SGA• Undergrad meeting• Middle States will tentatively meet with Homewood undergraduate studentson November 6th (Monday) from 12:00PM-1:00PM• Free lunch• Cross-Institutional Student Advisory Committee meeting• CSAC will tentatively meet with the Peer Evaluation Team on November 7th(Tuesday)