Abstract:
Prepared for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools December 2003. The institutional self-study accomplishes two major purposes. The first and perhaps most obvious is to provide necessary information for the university’s 2004 accreditation visit. The self-study is a concise summary of the activities and changes that have occurred since the last accreditation visit 10 years ago and offers evidence that Ball State meets or exceeds all five accreditation criteria outlined by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The second purpose of the self-study is to provide an opportunity for the university community and its external constituents to reflect on what Ball State has done and where it is going as an institution of higher learning. The self-study both excites and encourages its participants by describing the many accomplishments that have occurred in the previous 10 years, and yet it also causes the university to reflect on the changes necessary to continue as a premier comprehensive state university.