University of St. Thomas administrators announced that they are planning a faculty and staff town hall “to share important updates and discuss our plans” following widespread concerns about the Houston Catholic school’s re-accreditation.
Interim President Fr. Dempsey Rosales-Acosta addressed some of the issues in a Monday afternoon email, which was obtained by the Houston Chronicle. An article published Monday morning had reported on questions of financial stability, leadership turnover, faculty cuts, and the accreditation status of individual programs.
Rosales-Acosta said that “these external narratives … do not fully capture the work we do and the positive impact we strive to make every day.”
“Our focus remains on ensuring the highest standards of academic excellence for our students,” he wrote. “Our leadership team is prepared to advance in our work with faith and a renewed commitment to our University community that we serve in the name of the Lord.”
The university’s accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, is expected to visit St. Thomas this month to determine its accreditation renewal in December. All of its members go through the once-a-decade quality assurance review. Institutions must be accredited in order to distribute federal financial aid to their students.
St. Thomas is addressing specific concerns, Rosales-Acosta said. The music department and libraries are ensuring that students have access to necessary resources, he said. And the private Catholic university “was determined to be compliant” with the accreditor’s standards on financial resources, he added.
See here for the background. This doesn’t tell us much – it may be that it’s too soon for some things, and too sensitive for others – but it’s what we’ve got. We’ll know more after the accreditor visits and issues whatever statement in advance of its report it chooses to make. I wish all of the nervous students and faculty members all the best.