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Reaccreditation Team's
Draft Report Released

Despite Lingering Concerns, We're Even Better than We Think!

They liked us, they really liked us--Among the College's strengths, according to a draft report to be submitted to the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, are: a deep sense of community, students' sense of how they've been transformed by their years at MHC, a magnificent campus, and information technology offerings that are "competitive with universities more widely recognized as leaders in this area."

A team of prominent educators that made an educational evaluation of Mount Holyoke this fall has concluded in a draft report that the College not only delivers what it promises, but in many cases provides more than it takes credit for. The eight-person team of college professors and administrators that conducted the College's regular reaccreditation evaluation was chaired by Barnard College president Judith Shapiro.

The draft report was sent to College officials in December so any factual errors could be eliminated before the report is submitted to the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. That organization will review the report, formally take action this spring on the College's reaccreditation, and release a final report by summer. Judging from the draft document, MHC passed its once-a-decade "exam" with flying colors.

Below is the summary section of the draft report. Copies of the entire draft are available to the College community by calling the president's office, x 2500.

"In conclusion, we would present the following summary list of general strengths and concerns, based on our foregoing report:

Strengths: The sense of community at Mount Holyoke--among faculty, students, staff, and administrators--is exceptionally strong. This is a major institutional asset; it is revealed in the energy and dedication that are brought both to regular, ongoing College life and to exceptional efforts like the planning process that the College has just completed. The open style of the new administration, its enthusiasm about sharing information, should play into this strength as well.

Mount Holyoke students have a clear sense of and appreciation for how they have been transformed by the institution. There seems to be a firmly perceived 'value added' effect.

The College has a magnificent campus, including some outstanding facilities--for example, the library with its forward-looking incorporation of new information technologies.

The Mount Holyoke board of trustees has been moving in the direction of greater effectiveness, and is increasingly prepared to confront the challenges of the years ahead.

Concerns: Mount Holyoke has been out of financial equilibrium in recent years. In particular, the College's tuition discount has become unsustainable and needs to be lowered. This must be achieved without weakening the applicant pool. The College's endowment spending rate is also higher than that of its peer institutions.

The curriculum has been growing by addition, and many faculty are feeling stretched too thin; some restructuring and prioritizing seem necessary.

Mount Holyoke needs to express its distinctive character and mission more clearly and compellingly to outside audiences, including applicants."

Successes to "trumpet": Two of the areas that the evaluating team noted as particularly praiseworthy were LITS and efforts to build a diverse and inclusive community. Of LITS, the team wrote, "Mount Holyoke has achieved a level of deployment and support for Information Technologies that is certainly at the top rank of peer colleges and, by many indicators, is competitive with universities more widely recognized as leaders in this area." On diversity, they commented that "Mount Holyoke is fulfilling this aspect of its mission with a far greater level of intensity and moral seriousness than most institutions that use similar language in their mission statements." Additionally, they noted that "Mount Holyoke College holds itself to the highest standards of integrity. Its policies are not only spelled out; they are lived out."