Accreditation

Published

Standards Showcase – Section 5: Administration and Organization

Section 5 of The Principles of Accreditation outlines requirements for the institution’s chief executive officer (CEO) and the institution’s organizational structure, including administrative and academic officers with appropriate credentials for their roles. During the On-Site Review, the Committee will confirm MTSU’s compliance with the following standard from this section:

Standard 5.4

The institution employs and regularly evaluates administrative and academic officers with appropriate experience and qualifications to lead the institution. (Qualified administrative/ academic officers)

U.S. Department of Education Requirement

How does MTSU demonstrate compliance with this standard?

MTSU employs administrative and academic officers who have the appropriate experience and qualifications to lead the institution. The university is led by a president, who oversees six distinct divisions: Academic Affairs, Business and Finance, Information Technology, Marketing and Communications, Student Affairs, and University Advancement. The university’s administrative officers include the vice presidents of these divisions, along with their assistant/associate vice presidents and senior directors. MTSU’s academic leadership is headed by the University Provost, who oversees eight vice provosts and ten deans responsible for academic quality, program development, faculty support, and resource management. The Vice Provost for Faculty and Strategic Initiatives has administrative responsibility for distance education, while the Vice Provost for Student Success, who also serves as the Dean of University College, oversees off-campus programming, including dual enrollment.

The university establishes and follows policies and procedures to ensure that administrative and academic officers have, or exceed, the qualifications and experience required for the responsibilities outlined in their position descriptions at the time of hire. The Office of Human Resource Services oversees searches for administrative officer searches, while the University Provost is responsible for those for academic officers. All officers are formally evaluated each year, with evaluations maintained in the university’s personnel software platform.

What questions might the On-Site Review Committee ask during their visit to confirm MTSU’s compliance with this standard?
  • Is the combination of credentials and experience appropriate for the positions held?
  • Do qualifications align with published position descriptions?
  • Does the institution follow its own expectations regarding credentials and experience, as reflected in position descriptions?
  • For persons in leadership positions who have nontraditional qualifications for their positions, what is the reasoning underlying these appointments?
  • Are policies and procedures in place for the regular evaluation of administrators?

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