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University of Hawai'i |
(808) 956-8856 Telephone |
For Immediate Release: |
July 7, 1999 |
Contact: Thomas Bopp, 808 956-4570, tbopp@hawaii.edu Cheryl Ernst, 808 956-5941, ernst@hawaii.edu |
University of Hawai'i at Manoa Receives Full Accreditation University of Hawai'i President Kenneth P. Mortimer today announced that the University of Hawai'i at Manoa's accreditation has been reaffirmed. Official word of the action by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) appears in a letter dated and mailed from WASC's Oakland headquarters on July 6. "The letter contains no surprises," Mortimer said. "As the commission indicated in its meeting last month, Manoa's accreditation has been fully reaffirmed. The commission will conduct a follow-up visit in three years." Such follow-up visits are common-WASC officials indicate that the commission schedules follow-up visits within two to five years in about half of all reaccreditations approved; indeed, a follow-up visit was held following the previous comprehensive visit to UH Manoa in 1991. "A mid-term progress report is certainly to be expected given the state's ongoing budget difficulties and its impact on the University," Mortimer noted. The date of UHM's next comprehensive review by WASC has not been set. The WASC letter indicates that commissioners will establish the date when it meets in June 2002. "In essence, WASC has indicated that Manoa meets all of its standards," Mortimer said. "The commission indicated that our flagship campus excels in several areas, including the dedication of our faculty and staff, our efforts to strengthen undergraduate curriculum, the low student to faculty ratio and the increase in research generated by our talented faculty." The WASC report also indicates areas in which Manoa should direct additional efforts, including improved internal communication, enrollment management, clarified leadership and budgetary issues. "The campus has already begun work in these areas; addressing them requires the efforts of the entire UHM community," Mortimer said. "To quote the WASC letter, 'the University can no longer attempt to serve its many constituencies in so many varied ways with expectations of quality or excellence.' Defining what we can do well and setting priorities has been, and will continue to be, the focus of my administration and the activities of Manoa's executive leadership. |
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