NECHE Accreditation

The New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.) assessed the University through the reaccreditation process in 2023. Suffolk University was reaccredited. The next comprehensive site visit will occur in 2032.

NECHE, the regional accreditation agency for colleges and universities in New England, reviews accreditation status every ten years. In addition to a comprehensive site visit (described below), a major component of the reaccreditation process is a comprehensive self-study report, which requires the University to undertake a self-study (i) to measure institutional quality and effectiveness and (ii) to evaluate itself according to NECHE standards. View Suffolk University’s self-study from 2023, on the employee intranet.

As it has in past accreditations, the University established a Steering Committee for the process. The Steering Committee established eight subcommittees to address the nine NECHE standards of quality and effectiveness. The nine standards address the following institutional activities:

  1. Mission and Purposes
  2. Planning and Evaluation
  3. Organization and Governance
  4. The Academic Program
  5. Students
  6. Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship
  7. Institutional Resources
  8. Educational Effectiveness
  9. Integrity, Transparency, and Public Disclosure

The Steering Committee and vice presidents recommended faculty, staff, and administrators to serve on each of the subcommittees.

In July 2021, Dr. Rachael Kipp was appointed NECHE Accreditation Liaison Officer, with the task of leading the University in its accreditation efforts. The NECHE subcommittees were formed during the spring semester of 2022. To learn more about the process, email Dr. Kipp.

The comprehensive, institution-wide self-study was the basis of the site visit in the fall of 2023, during which time a visiting team of peer evaluators from other colleges and universities similar to ours, came to campus. After the site visit, the visiting team submitted a written report to NECHE and to the University regarding their assessment. The University had an opportunity to respond to the visiting team’s written report. Ultimately, NECHE considers the self-study, the visiting team report, and the University’s response in its decision regarding the University’s accreditation status.

You are invited to read the NECHE Accreditation Letter from the last comprehensive visit in 2023 and the NECHE Standards for Accreditation.