Middle States

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is a voluntary, self-regulatory peer review process to ensure that institutions provide a high quality education and are engaged in continuous self improvement.  In the United States, the educational accreditation for higher education is not carried out directly by the Department of Education, but performed by private membership associations that are recognized by the Secretary of Education as "reliable authorities."

St. Lawrence University is accredited by the  Commission on Higher Education (CHE), which is the unit of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools that accredits degree-granting colleges and universities in the Middle States region. 

Being accredited means that a) St. Lawrence University meets all 14 standards of accreditation set forth in the Characteristics of Excellence  and b) that St. Lawrence students are eligible to receive federal financial aid.

The accreditation process consists of a ten-year review cycle, beginning with an in-depth self-study and on-site evaluation visit, which is followed up five years later by a Periodic Review Report.

This page hosts St. Lawrence University's most recent Middle States documents.  Campus community members are encouraged to log into the site for additional resources.

SLU's 2013 Periodic Review Report

(to be submitted June 2013)

SLU's 2007 Self-Study

• Institutional Self-Study 2007-2008
  • Public document Self-Study
  • On-campus version of the Self-Study with links to internal documents
  • Summary of Recommendations from the Self-Study

• Middle States Team Visit Report and Institutional Response

• Self Study Organization
  • Organizational structure
  • Membership of steering committee and working groups
  • Time line

• Middle States Visit (Feb. 2008)
  • Visiting Team
  • Itinerary