2014
Since 1921, Johns Hopkins University has been continuously accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, a voluntary, nongovernmental, peer-based membership association dedicated to promoting standards of excellence and improvement in higher education. In 2011, in preparation for a decennial Middle States reaccreditation evaluation, the university initiated an extensive institutional self-study process. The resulting report offers a comprehensive analysis of the university’s progress and accomplishments over the last decade.
The 2014 Self-study Report focuses on efforts across Johns Hopkins to continually assess its effectiveness in achieving its mission: to educate its students and cultivate their capacity for lifelong learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world. In November 2014, Middle States officially reaffirmed Johns Hopkins University’s accreditation, commending the university on its self-study process and report. We invite you to learn more about the process and to read the report through this site.
- Overview
- Nature & Scope
- Process
- Leadership
- Accreditation Standards
- Related Publications
- Download Self-Study Report
The primary purpose of the self-study report is to
advance institutional self-understanding and self-improvement.
OVERVIEW
The self-study process afforded Johns Hopkins an opportunity to consider its educational programs and services, with particular attention to student learning and achievement to determine how well these programs and services accomplish the university’s goals, fulfill its mission, and meet MSCHE’s accreditation standards. The primary purpose of the self-study report is to advance institutional self-understanding and self-improvement. The report also demonstrates and documents Johns Hopkins’s compliance with 14 accreditation standards. Balancing these two objectives was the goal of our self-study.
NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE SELF-STUDY
The university’s self-study was attuned to current and future institutional needs and priorities, with a focus on the teaching and learning process. The previous decennial self-study, in 2004, focused on undergraduate education and addressed only a subset of the accreditation standards. For the 2014 reaccreditation process, the university selected a comprehensive model of self-study and attended to all 14 of MSCHE’s standards. In addition, the university elected to emphasize in the self-study report two areas of recent strategic focus at Johns Hopkins: the teaching and learning of gateway sciences and Ph.D. education.
By taking a thoughtful
look at itself Johns Hopkins will be better able to position itself for the rest of the century.
PROCESS
1
Given the highly decentralized nature of Johns Hopkins, it was essential that the self-study start at the school level. Therefore, each of our nine schools conducted a comprehensive self-study following its own procedures, building on its respective strategic planning efforts and, in many cases, analysis and reporting for specialized accrediting agencies.
2
Cross-divisional working groups were organized to focus on one or more accreditation standards. These groups brought together individuals from across Johns Hopkins to discuss charge questions, trends, innovations, strengths, and challenges. Each group produced a draft report, including recommendations for improvement.
3
A university-wide Self-study Steering Committee, including the working group chairs, reviewed and revised the working group reports and integrated them into a draft university-wide self-study report.
4
The draft self-study report was presented to the deans, provost, president, and Board of Trustees for discussion, then shared with the entire Johns Hopkins community for review and comment. Community feedback was incorporated into the report, which was finalized and then submitted to Middle States and the evaluation team.
SELF-STUDY LEADERSHIP
A university-wide Self-Study Steering Committee comprising faculty, staff, and students with broad institutional knowledge and perspectives provided leadership and oversight of the self-study process. The Committee ensured the final self-study report demonstrated the university’s compliance with each of MSCHE’s 14 accreditation standards. Jonathan Bagger, then-Vice Provost for Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and Philip Tang, Assistant Vice Provost, were the chair and vice chair respectively of the Self-study Steering Committee.
Learn more about Provost Lieberman >
Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences
Accreditation Liaison Officer
School of Medicine
School of Nursing
Member, Ph.D. Board
Carey Business School
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences
Co-Chair, GSI Faculty Steering Committee
Professor, German and Romance Languages and Literatures
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences
and Student Affairs
School of Nursing
Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
School of Nursing
Professor
School of Nursing
Professor of Cell Biology
School of Medicine
Peabody Conservatory
Homewood Student Affairs
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Applied Mathematics and Statistics Whiting School of Engineering
Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
Whiting School of Engineering
Director, Master of Education in the Health Professions
Assistant Professor, School of Education
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Working Groups
Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives
UA
Professor
KSAS
PEAB Peabody Institute SAIS Nitze School of Advanced International Studies SOE School of Education SOM School of Medicine SON School of Nursing UA University Administration
WSE Whiting School of Engineering
PEAB Peabody Institute SAIS Nitze School of Advanced International Studies SOE School of Education SOM School of Medicine SON School of Nursing UA University Administration
WSE Whiting School of Engineering
Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives
UA
Professor of Physiology
Professor, Health Policy and Management
PEAB Peabody Institute SAIS Nitze School of Advanced International Studies SOE School of Education SOM School of Medicine SON School of Nursing UA University Administration
WSE Whiting School of Engineering
PEAB Peabody Institute SAIS Nitze School of Advanced International Studies SOE School of Education SOM School of Medicine SON School of Nursing UA University Administration
WSE Whiting School of Engineering
Accreditation Liaison Officer
Professor of Physics & Astronomy, KSAS
Professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering, WSE
Professor, SON
Professor, Cognitive Science
Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, BSPH
PEAB Peabody Institute SAIS Nitze School of Advanced International Studies SOE School of Education SOM School of Medicine SON School of Nursing UA University Administration
WSE Whiting School of Engineering
Abbey-Merrell Professor of Biostatistics Education
Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives
UA
Professor of Environmental Health Science
BSPH
PEAB Peabody Institute SAIS Nitze School of Advanced International Studies SOE School of Education SOM School of Medicine SON School of Nursing UA University Administration
WSE Whiting School of Engineering
Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives
PEAB Peabody Institute SAIS Nitze School of Advanced International Studies SOE School of Education SOM School of Medicine SON School of Nursing UA University Administration
WSE Whiting School of Engineering
ACCREDITATION STANDARDS IN BRIEF
Institutional Effectiveness (Standards 1-7)
Mission and Goals
The institution’s mission clearly defines its purpose within the context of higher education and indicates who the institution serves and what it intends to accomplish. The institution’s stated goals, consistent with the aspirations and expectations of higher education, clearly specify how the institution will fulfill its mission. The mission and goals are developed and recognized by the institution with the participation of its members and its governing body and are used to develop and shape its programs and practices and to evaluate its effectiveness.
Planning, Resource Allocation, and Institutional Renewal
An institution conducts ongoing planning and resource allocation based on its mission and goals, develops objectives to achieve them, and utilizes the results of its assessment activities for institutional renewal. Implementation and subsequent evaluation of the success of the strategic plan and resource allocation support the development and change necessary to improve and to maintain institutional quality.
Institutional Resources
The human, financial, technical, physical facilities, and other resources necessary to achieve an institution’s mission and goals are available and accessible. In the context of the institution’s mission, the effective and efficient uses of the institution’s resources are analyzed as part of ongoing outcomes assessment.
Leadership and Governance
The institution’s system of governance clearly defines the roles of institutional constituencies in policy development and decision-making. The governance structure includes an active governing body with sufficient autonomy to assure institutional integrity and to fulfill its responsibilities of policy and resource development, consistent with the mission of the institution.
Administration
The institution’s administrative structure and services facilitate learning and research/scholarship, foster quality improvement, and support the institution’s organization and governance.
Integrity
In the conduct of its programs and activities involving the public and the constituencies it serves, the institution demonstrates adherence to ethical standards and its own stated policies, providing support for academic and intellectual freedom.
Institutional Assessment
The institution has developed and implemented an assessment process that evaluates its overall effectiveness in achieving its mission and goals and its compliance with accreditation standards.
The fundamental questions are, How are we doing,
how effective are we
as a university,
and how could we
do better?
ACCREDITATION STANDARDS IN BRIEF
Educational Effectiveness (Standards 8-14)
Student Admissions and Retention
The institution seeks to admit students whose interests, goals, and abilities are congruent with its mission and seeks to retain them through the pursuit of the students’ educational goals.
Student Support Services
The institution provides student support services reasonably necessary to enable each student to achieve the institution’s goals for students.
Faculty
The institution’s instructional, research, and service programs are devised, developed, monitored, and supported by qualified professionals.
Educational Offerings
The institution’s educational offerings display academic content, rigor, and coherence appropriate to its higher education mission. The institution identifies student learning goals and objectives, including knowledge and skills, for its educational offerings.
General Education
The institution’s curricula are designed so that students acquire and demonstrate college-level proficiency in general education and essential skills, including at least oral and written communication, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical analysis and reasoning, and technological competency.
Related Educational Activities
The institution’s programs or activities that are characterized by particular content, focus, location, mode of delivery, or sponsorship meet appropriate standards.
Assessment of Student Learning
Assessment of student learning demonstrates that, at graduation, or other appropriate points, the institution’s students have knowledge, skills, and competencies consistent with institutional and appropriate higher education goals.
- JHU Ten by Twenty
- JHU Framework for the Future Report
- JHU CUE Report
- MSCHE Characteristics of Excellence
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To read the final JHU 2014 Self-study Report, click below and enter your JHED ID and password.