2008 Woodie Awards
Under close scrutiny
18 months and 240 pages later, review under way
Whitney Stewart
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: News
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Hillsdale College administrators and faculty finished applying for reaccreditation this week, a once-per-decade process that gives students the official backing they need to get into graduate schools.
The college has taken a year and a half preparing to apply for reaccreditation. This week, all preparations came to a head.
A three-member panel from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools visited Hillsdale Sunday night through Wednesday morning. The panel observed campus life, examined documentation and interviewed administrators and department faculty.
"We have reason to believe that the report will be very favorable," College President Larry Arnn said Wednesday.
The commission's evaluation and desired stamp of approval on its accreditation application will mean that graduate schools look favorably upon Hillsdale graduates applying for their programs, Provost Robert Blackstock said Monday. He said most graduate schools do not accept diplomas from unaccredited institutions.
Senior Nick Treat will soon graduate with a double major in chemistry and German. He said graduating from an accredited school with an accredited chemistry program cuts out the guesswork, because admissions directors know he has achieved a certain level of competency in his undergraduate degree.
"When grad schools look at a degree, then they know that someone has learned something that fits along certain guidelines and there's a minimal amount of classes that they have to take," he said.
Senior Ryan Thompson is applying to 10 law schools. Although he said he thought an accredited degree might not be as much an asset to a graduate moving directly into the job market, he said it is vital for a student pursuing further education.
"You're not going to get accepted into a grad school unless you went to an accredited school," he said. "The schools I've talked to have all had a positive opinion of Hillsdale. They either have a good record of having had students from Hillsdale or they've heard of Hillsdale."
The college has taken a year and a half preparing to apply for reaccreditation. This week, all preparations came to a head.
A three-member panel from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools visited Hillsdale Sunday night through Wednesday morning. The panel observed campus life, examined documentation and interviewed administrators and department faculty.
"We have reason to believe that the report will be very favorable," College President Larry Arnn said Wednesday.
The commission's evaluation and desired stamp of approval on its accreditation application will mean that graduate schools look favorably upon Hillsdale graduates applying for their programs, Provost Robert Blackstock said Monday. He said most graduate schools do not accept diplomas from unaccredited institutions.
Senior Nick Treat will soon graduate with a double major in chemistry and German. He said graduating from an accredited school with an accredited chemistry program cuts out the guesswork, because admissions directors know he has achieved a certain level of competency in his undergraduate degree.
"When grad schools look at a degree, then they know that someone has learned something that fits along certain guidelines and there's a minimal amount of classes that they have to take," he said.
Senior Ryan Thompson is applying to 10 law schools. Although he said he thought an accredited degree might not be as much an asset to a graduate moving directly into the job market, he said it is vital for a student pursuing further education.
"You're not going to get accepted into a grad school unless you went to an accredited school," he said. "The schools I've talked to have all had a positive opinion of Hillsdale. They either have a good record of having had students from Hillsdale or they've heard of Hillsdale."
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