From the
Heights
From the
Heights
8
By Mark Schersten, Associate Professor of Philosophy
hat is the value of your
college edu cation?
This question can be
answered in a variety
of ways. Perhaps you
think the value of your
diploma is equivalent
to your tuition payments. But this method
of calculation is surely too crass, for then
degrees earned within the last 10 years
would be worth 10 times those earned a
generation ago.
is currently in the process of applying for
reaccreditation with North Central’s Higher
Learning Commission. The maximum period of accreditation is 10 years. Siena last
received the maximum length for continued
accreditation in 1992.
The reaccreditation process involves conducting a two-year self-study that is thorough and exhaustive, and at times exhausting! We began a year ago, with five faculty
members and administrators traveling to
Chicago to attend the NCA Annual Meeting.
Maybe the value of a college education Our self-study will culminate next year, as
should be measured by the rich treasure a team of consultant-evaluators visits our
trove of memories you have from your col- campus for three days in March. Between
those two events, in an
attempt to maintain and
increase the high value
of a Siena degree, we
will have taken a critical and evaluative
look at every aspect of
the operation of Siena
Heights University,
from the quality of instruction in the classroom to the quality of
food in Benincasa Dining Hall to the quality
of services offered at
our degree-completion centers across the
state.
Mark Schersten, associate professor of philosophy (above with students), and
Lana Taylor, associate professor of mathematics (next page), are co-chairs of
the North Central Steering Committee.
lege days and the friendships forged in and
out of the classroom. More pragmatically,
the value of your degree might be related to
the doors of opportunity it has opened and
continues to open for you in the employment
world. Or perhaps, more philosophically,
the value might lie in the pride and satisfaction of being able to say, “I earned my
degree at Siena Heights.”
However you think about the true worth of
your years at Siena Heights, one aspect of
the value of your college education remains
constant. You have a degree from an institution of higher education which has been accredited by the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools since 1940. And Siena
North Central asks us
to evaluate ourselves
according to five criteria: mission and
purposes, organization of resources, accomplishment of purposes, planning for continued effectiveness, and integrity. Simply put,
these criteria invite us to ask five questions
about Siena Heights.
• Why do we do what we do?
• How do we do what we do?
• How well do we do what we do?
• How will we continue doing what
we do?
• Are we doing what we do with integrity?
Currently, a Steering Committee of more
than 20 faculty, staff, and students, orga-
nized into various subcommittees around
the five criteria, is busy conducting the
self-study. Each subcommittee has recruited
others from the Siena community to assist in
this self-examination. Our hope is that, by
the time we are done, every member of the
Siena Heights community, including faculty,
staff