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36-492: Golden Bear Stadium is a multipurpose outdoor sports facility on the campus of Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts . It features a synthetic turf field. The 1,500-seat stadium serves as the home field for Western New England University's football , field hockey , and men's and women's lacrosse teams. Western New England University's football and lacrosse teams previously played their contests on

72-513: A 2002 report by George C. Leef and Roxana D. Burris of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) argued that the system does not ensure or protect educational quality, while still imposing significant costs. In a 2006 "issue paper", Robert C. Dickeson wrote that a lack of transparency, low and lax standards, and outdated regionalization were among the problems with regional accreditation. Others, such as Edward M. Elmendorf of

108-975: A number of buildings, including the D’Amour Library, the Blake Law Center, the St. Germain Campus Center, the Alumni Healthful Living Center, and the LaRiviere Living and Learning Center. In 2001, the Evergreen Village townhouses opened for seniors. The Kevin S. Delbridge Welcome Center, which houses the admissions offices, opened in 2002. In 2003, Commonwealth Hall and the Golden Bear Stadium opened. The George Trelease Memorial Baseball Park

144-501: A religious viewpoint and may require students and/or faculty to subscribe to a statement of faith. Additionally, as of 2009, 20 U.S. states and Puerto Rico had some form of exemption provision under which religious institutions can grant religious degrees without accreditation or government oversight. Since 2001, the use of the top-level internet domain , .edu has been restricted to accredited institutions, but non-qualifying institutions can still use .edu domain names obtained before

180-534: A specific program of professional education or training, but in some cases they cover the whole institution. Best practices are shared and developed through affiliation with the Association of Professional and Specialized Accreditors. Both the US Department of Education and CHEA maintain lists of recognized US programmatic accreditors: For broad resources on how programmatic accreditation is managed in

216-577: Is also a member of the Association of American Colleges , the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities , and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts. For the 2021–2022 academic year, enrollment at Western New England University was 3,674 students. Full-time undergraduate enrollment totaled 2,522 students; approximately 58 percent are male students and 42 percent female. Law enrollment

252-583: Is called Perspectives . A new magazine launched in 2019 called WNE: The Magazine of Western New England University. Higher education accreditation in the United States Higher education accreditation in the United States is a peer review process by which the validity of degrees and credits awarded by higher education institutions is assured . It is coordinated by accreditation commissions made up of member institutions. It

288-469: Is that the traditional system is limited to measuring "input" factors, such as adequate facilities and properly credentialed faculty, rather than the quality of a school's educational output. In his 1996 book Crisis in the Academy , Christopher J. Lucas criticized the accreditation system as too expensive, onerously complicated, incestuous in its organization, and not properly tied to quality. Similarly,

324-799: The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology , and social work programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education . The School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools . Teacher education programs have been approved by the Massachusetts Board of Education and are part of the Interstate Certification Compact. Western New England University

360-509: The American Association of State Colleges and Universities , reject these claims, arguing that they are "picking around the edges" of a proven and necessary system for upholding standards. Thomas C. Reeves notes that some schools unable or unwilling to meet the standards of traditional, regional accrediting bodies are closely involved in creating national accrediting agencies with significantly lower standards. At various times

396-531: The Department of Education . Regional bodies historically accredited institutions in a particular region of the country. National bodies were established to accredit institutions across the country, and sometimes beyond it. Within American higher education, regional bodies were considered more prestigious. (The regional bodies were older, and included the most well established institutions.) In February 2020,

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432-475: The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, a national accreditor, were occasionally sued for leading prospective students to believe, incorrectly, that they would have no problem transferring their credits to a regionally accredited school. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes the following organizations as institutional accreditors: These accreditors typically cover

468-564: The Department of Education eliminated the distinction between regional and national accrediting agencies, creating one unified set of institutional accreditors. The department claimed that the change was intended to encourage cooperation between accredited schools to improve student experiences, uphold quality standards, and reduce the cost of higher education by encouraging transparent transfer of credits and mutual recognition of degrees between schools with common standards. It also claimed that

504-502: The U.S. Department of Education nor CHEA accredit individual institutions. With the creation of the U.S. Department of Education and under the terms of the Higher Education Act of 1965 , as amended, the U.S. Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the secretary has determined to be reliable authorities on the quality of education or training provided by

540-587: The U.S. government has investigated changes to the accreditation system. In 2002 the House of Representatives Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness criticized the system. Accreditation was a major topic of the Spellings Commission , which released its report on September 26, 2006. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognizes that there are criticisms, but has opposed these calls for reform, with President Judith S. Eaton arguing that

576-731: The United States (and globally) see Accreditation.org which provides background on the process, accords, agreements, and accrediting bodies related to engineering and computing degrees. Several organizations exist that accredit institutions and which are not recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or CHEA. These include: Although many schools related to religious organizations hold regional accreditation or secular national accreditation, there are four different agencies that specialize in accreditation of religious schools: These groups specialize in accrediting theological and religious schools including seminaries and graduate schools of theology, as well as broader-scope universities that teach from

612-721: The United States and abroad. Undergraduate and graduate programs are offered in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, Pharmacy, and at the School of Law. In 2010, the College of Pharmacy was established, and the institution was granted a change to its charter that permits it to offer the degree of Doctor of Pharmacy. Western New England University has 45,000 alumni around the world. On July 1, 2011, Western New England College officially became Western New England University. The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved

648-409: The United States were overseen by seven regional accrediting agencies established in the late 19th and early 20th century to foster articulation between secondary schools and higher education institutions, particularly evaluation of prospective students by colleges and universities. These seven agencies were membership organizations of educational institutions within their geographic regions. Initially,

684-545: The change was intended to allow students to be able to access the best school for their needs no matter what region they reside in. Four months after this change was made, the WASC Senior College and University Commission became the first accreditor to formally change its membership rules and requirements to allow institutions outside its historical geographic region to apply for membership and accreditation. Historically, educational accreditation activities in

720-439: The current rules came into force. A prominent example of such a domain name registered before the current rules came into force is Academia.edu , a for-profit social networking site for academics. Various commenters have written about the role and effectiveness of the American accreditation system. It has drawn particular interest since the rise of e-learning classes and institutions. A frequent point of discussion and criticism

756-596: The existing peer review process as the basis for measuring institutional quality; GI Bill eligibility was limited to students enrolled at accredited institutions included on a list of federally recognized accredited institutions published by the U.S. Commissioner of Education . The U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) (a non-governmental organization ) both recognize reputable accrediting bodies for institutions of higher education and provide guidelines as well as resources and relevant data regarding these accreditors. Neither

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792-871: The faculty set the academic policies. Regionally-accredited schools were required to have adequate library facilities. Except for some specific subject areas such as nursing, nationally accredited schools did not hire many full-time faculty, usually hiring faculty by the course, without benefits and with no influence on the school's academic policies, which were determined by non-academic administrators, and ultimately investors. Their library facilities, if they existed at all, were far inferior to those of regionally-accredited schools. While there were some legitimate and well-intentioned nationally accredited schools, similar to for-profit institutions with regional accreditation, some institutions existed with little educational rigor. Some critics considered national accreditation to be not as reputable as regional accreditation. Schools accredited by

828-464: The first day program was started; it was in engineering, with 53 students enrolled. The first building, originally known as East Building and later renamed Emerson Hall in recognition of the college's first trustee chairman, opened in 1959. The college's charter was expanded in 1959 to permit the college to grant the bachelor's degree in any field of business administration, science, engineering, education, and law, and certain master's degrees. The charter

864-494: The game field located near the St. Germain Campus Center. The field hockey team played its events on a grass surface at Suprenant Field . 42°06′46″N 72°30′48″W  /  42.112718°N 72.513384°W  / 42.112718; -72.513384 Western New England University In recognition of its master's and doctoral programs, the institution officially changed its name from Western New England College to Western New England University on July 1, 2011. This marked

900-479: The institutions of higher education and the higher education programs they accredit. Professional schools, which are often graduate schools, have separate organizations for accreditation, e.g. American Board of Higher Education (ABHEC). Institutional accreditation applies to the entire institution, specific programs, and distance education within an institution. Prior to 2020, there were regional and national accrediting agencies, both of which were accountable to

936-453: The largest US for-profit universities (e.g., University of Phoenix , Grand Canyon University ) achieved regional accreditation. Regionally accredited schools were usually academically oriented and most were non-profit. Nationally accredited schools, a large number of which are for-profit , typically offered specific vocational, career, or technical programs. Regionally accredited institutions employed large numbers of full-time faculty, and

972-505: The main focus of the organizations was to accredit secondary schools and to establish uniform college entrance requirements. Accreditation of colleges and universities followed later, with each of the accrediting agencies splitting into separate organizations with one or more of those organizations focused exclusively on accrediting colleges and universities. The higher education institutions holding regional accreditation were primarily non-profit institutions, with significant exceptions, as

1008-582: The name change in March 2011. The Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Pharmacy became the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Pharmacy. The School of Law retained its name. Western New England University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education . Business programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business , engineering programs are accredited by

1044-551: The return of "university" to the school's name, exactly 60 years after separating from Northeastern University . It had long been classified as a university. The Springfield Division of Northeastern College, known as Springfield-Northeastern, was established in 1919. Evening classes, held in the YMCA building on Chestnut Street in Springfield for students studying part-time, were offered in law, business, and accounting. In 1922,

1080-476: The school's first 13 students were awarded the degree of Bachelor of Commercial Science. The first seven law graduates were recognized in 1923. In 1951 the Springfield Division of Northeastern University became Western New England College. The college was chartered on July 17, 1951. On April 26, 1956, 34 acres (140,000 m ) for the current Wilbraham Road campus were purchased. In that same year

1116-543: The system is successful and needs to remain flexible to accommodate differences between schools and disciplines. In 2013, President Barack Obama proposed changes in the accreditation system to hold "colleges accountable for cost, value, and quality". He requested Congress change the Higher Education Act so that affordability and value are considered in determining which institutions are accredited and allow students access to federal financial aid; his criticism

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1152-490: Was 395 students, and part-time undergraduate, graduate studies and adult learners, pharmacy, and occupational therapy enrollment totaled 731. Western New England University has 43,000 alumni. The Western New England University School of Law has more than 7,000 alumni, while the MBA and MSA programs have nearly 6,000 alumni. The general University alumni magazine used to be called The Communicator . The School of Law alumni magazine

1188-552: Was completed in 2004. In 2006, the $ 1.9 million expansion to the D’Amour Library was completed. In 2008 and 2009, respectively, the college expanded and renovated the Blake Law Center and built Southwood Hall. In 2010, the $ 40 million Center for the Sciences and Pharmacy was completed. Herman Hall underwent an $ 8 million renovation in 2012. The university's 215-acre (0.87 km ) campus serves as home to undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, pharmaceutical, and law students from throughout

1224-457: Was directed at for-profit institutions. An article published by "University World News" on 2 February 2018 stated that the higher education accreditation community, which confers the quality-assurance seal of approval that allows United States colleges and universities access to billions of dollars of federal student aid, must do a better job of explaining itself to the public if it wants to reverse waning public confidence in higher education. That

1260-639: Was expanded in 2005 to include the LL.M. in Estate Planning and Elder Law, and again in 2008 with the inclusion of the Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis. The School of Arts and Sciences was established in 1967, and the college received accreditation as a general purpose institution in 1972. The 1960s through the 1990s saw the college's academic programs expanding, its student body growing, and the addition of

1296-504: Was first undertaken in the late 19th century by cooperating educational institutions, on a regional basis. The federal government began to play a limited role in higher education accreditation in 1952 with reauthorization of the G.I. Bill for Korean War veterans . The original GI Bill legislation had stimulated establishment of new colleges and universities to accommodate the influx of new students, but some of these new institutions were of dubious quality. The 1952 legislation designated

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