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48-535: The consortium was formally established in 1965, but its roots lay in cooperative efforts between the oldest four members of the consortium dating back to 1914. In 1914, Massachusetts Agricultural College (now UMass), Amherst, Mount Holyoke, and Smith joined International YMCA College (now Springfield College ) to form the Committee on University Extension of the Connecticut Valley Colleges,

96-513: 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 In a 2006 "issue paper", Robert C. Dickeson wrote that a lack of transparency, low and lax standards, and outdated regionalization were among the problems with regional accreditation.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

144-720: A defensive coordinator six times in the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants, and three of those games resulted in Super Bowl victories. The Springfield College Women's Field Hockey Team has won the NEWMAC (New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference) title for five consecutive years (2004–2008), and competed in the NCAA Division III tournament in those five years as well. The men's lacrosse team won six straight titles (2008–2013) in

192-597: A frequent schedule, allowing car-free travel to classes, social events, and local shopping areas. This service is funded primarily through a contract with the member institutions. Springfield College (Massachusetts) Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts , United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanics philosophy , calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to others It

240-553: A joint continuing education program for the Pioneer Valley. In later years, Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and MAC—later known as Massachusetts State and UMass—increased their collaboration, culminating in the formation of an inter-library loaning program in 1951 and a joint astronomy department in 1959. Finally, Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith and UMass incorporated the Four College Consortium, which became

288-475: 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

336-639: A performing arts center, and the Flynn Campus Union, which includes a food court, activity and lounge space, and bookstore. In fall 2023, Springfield College opened a new Health Sciences Center, which facilitates, expands on, and celebrates interprofessional education. Inside the four floors of the 86,000-square-foot building, simulation, anatomy, pediatrics lab, and makerspace environments enhance interdisciplinary collaboration as does expanded meeting space. Springfield College's East Campus, which encompasses 82 acres (33 ha) of forest ecosystem,

384-501: 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

432-534: 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

480-617: A two-year program. In 1887, it added a Physical Education department. In 1890, it separated from the School for Christian Workers and became the YMCA Training School and in 1891, the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School . In 1905, the school became a degree-granting institution. In 1912, it took the name International YMCA College and in 1954, Springfield College. Since 1999,

528-641: Is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). The institution comprises three schools: Springfield College also offers bachelor's degree completion programs and master's degrees in business, education, counseling and more, that are geared toward working adult students at its main campus, and online. The campus of Springfield College is located in Springfield, Massachusetts , The main campus spans 100 acres (40 ha) and contains ten residence halls, recreational and fitness facilities, science and academic facilities,

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576-600: Is also notable for its historical significance as the birthplace of basketball , which was invented on campus in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor and graduate student James Naismith . Founded in 1885, as the Young Men's Christian Association department of the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, the school originally specialized in preparing young men to become General Secretaries of YMCA organizations in

624-548: Is located about one mile from the main campus. This location provides rustic facilities for conferences and meetings, and space for outdoor research and recreation. East Campus is also home to the Springfield College Child Development Center, which provides early education services for children of members of the faculty and staff, students, and families in the community. Springfield College's athletic teams have been known since 1995 as

672-469: 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,

720-509: 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

768-531: 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,

816-703: The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). The men's volleyball team competes as an independent. Springfield College is known as the "Birthplace of Basketball", a game created by alumnus and faculty member James Naismith under the founding head of the Physical Education department Luther Gulick Jr. in 1891. Gulick is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , which is named for Naismith. Alumnus William G. Morgan invented

864-449: 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 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

912-475: 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

960-566: The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. On that day, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr . joined Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the new field. The name of the baseball field was changed from Berry-Allen Field to the Archie Allen Field. The Springfield softball team appeared in one Women's College World Series in 1977. The Springfield College women's gymnastics team won

1008-564: 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

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1056-715: The Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III basketball tournament. Springfield earned its second-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in February 2024 and made its eighth appearance in the national tournament to cap off the 2023-24 season. At the end of that season, Head Coach Naomi Graves and her staff were chosen as the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Coaching Staff of

1104-480: The Five College Consortium when Hampshire College was founded in 1965, and admitted its first entering class in 1970. The five colleges operate both as independent entities as well as mutually dependent institutions. The mission of the consortium is to support long-term forms of cooperation that benefit the faculty, staff and students of the five colleges. Shared academic and cultural resources are

1152-456: The NCAA championship soccer tournament in 1959. U.S. News & World Report ranked Springfield College #26 for Best Regional Universities—North Region for 2021, the sixth consecutive year that it has been in the top 30. U.S. News also ranked Springfield College #18 among Best Value Schools for Regional Universities—North, the school's fifth consecutive year on the list. Springfield College

1200-726: The Pride; the teams were nicknamed the Chiefs from 1968 through 1994, and prior to that were known as the Gymnasts or Maroons. The institution is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III and most teams compete in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). Springfield's football team joined the NEWMAC when it began sponsoring football in 2017. The men's soccer, men's golf, cross country and gymnastics teams are affiliate members of

1248-502: 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

1296-587: 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

1344-520: 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 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

1392-731: 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

1440-409: 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,

1488-682: The Year. Women's basketball has won several conference tournament championships, including the season of 2006. The 2023-24 team competed in the first round of the NCAA Division III championship. Springfield College graduates Rusty Jones G '86 and Jon Torine '95 participated in Super Bowl XLI as the Head Strength and Conditioning coaches of the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts , respectively. Steve Spagnuolo ’82 has served as

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1536-545: 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

1584-439: 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

1632-871: 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

1680-619: The first intercollegiate national championship in 1969 and three of the first four (1971 and 1972). In 1940 Springfield was one of eight teams to make the 1940 NCAA basketball tournament , losing to eventual champion Indiana 48–24 in the regional semifinals held at Butler Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana . In 2006 and 2007, the institution hosted the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Final Four . The men's volleyball team has six non-NCAA national titles in

1728-428: The game of volleyball . Stagg Field serves as the institution's main athletic field; it was named after former coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg who briefly coached Springfield and went on to play a pivotal role in the development of modern football. On October 19, 2017, Springfield College unveiled a one-of-a-kind intercollegiate and adaptive baseball field that resulted from a partnership between Springfield College and

1776-525: The institutional archives have included archival material from the Society of Health and Physical Educators and some of its affiliates, including the papers of their leaders. Springfield College has had 13 leaders: Springfield College offers bachelor's degrees in more than 40 majors, 25-plus master's degrees, and doctoral programs in counseling psychology, educational leadership, medical science, physical therapy, physical education and more. The institution

1824-479: 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

1872-453: 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

1920-505: 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

1968-512: The now-defunct Molten Invitational championship, an event for NCAA Division III schools that ran from 1997 through 2011, and also won the first three NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championships in 2012 through 2014. All nine championships were won under Head Coach Charlie Sullivan. The Pride followed up with two more national championships in 2016 through 2018. Ten of the 11 championships were won under Head Coach Charlie Sullivan. The Springfield College Women's Basketball team of 2004–2005, made

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2016-651: The now-defunct Pilgrim Lacrosse League, which has since been absorbed by the NEWMAC. Springfield's Women's Swimming and Diving Team has won the NEWMAC Conference title for ten consecutive years (2001–2010) in the Division III Conference. Springfield's Men's soccer team were voted National College Champions by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association in 1946, 1947 and 1957. This was before

2064-718: The primary initiative of the consortium. This means that students at each of these schools are permitted and encouraged to take classes at the other colleges (through "cross-registration") at no additional cost to the student. Student groups and organizations often draw participants from all five campuses and several academic programs are run by the Five Colleges (for example: astronomy , dance , some foreign languages, and women's studies ). The colleges also participate in an interlibrary loan program, allowing students, staff, and faculty to take advantage of all five campuses' collections. The Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory

2112-543: 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

2160-457: 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

2208-602: Was founded in 1969 by the Five College Astronomy Department. Together, the Five Colleges operate WFCR (Five College Radio), an NPR member station operating at 88.5 MHz in the FM band. The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) provides free daily intra-campus bus service to students, staff, and faculty during the school year. The buses, some of them run by University of Massachusetts Transportation Services and operated by student workers, run on

2256-479: Was named a 2016–17 College of Distinction for providing an innovative, teacher-centered undergraduate education with a strong record of preparing its graduates for real-world success. 42°6′15.6″N 72°33′18.2″W  /  42.104333°N 72.555056°W  / 42.104333; -72.555056 Higher education accreditation in the United States Higher education accreditation in

2304-616: Was the recipient of the 2016 Presidential Award in the education category of the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This honor is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. In 2015, the institution successfully for an optional community engagement classification in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education . Springfield College

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