The Georgetown University Club Union met Tuesday night to discuss the upcoming Middle States Accreditation process and the necessity of increased alumni involvement.
The Club Union is an organization that includes all club leaders and meets periodically to discuss current student or University issues.
University Provost Dorothy Brown, chair of the Accreditation Committee, explained the accreditation process at the Club Union and asked for help to involve students in the process.
Every 10 years, schools in the same region evaluate the University in areas determined by a self-study done over the course of a year and a half. Because each of the five academic departments has been evaluated individually in the past, Georgetown decided this year to do a comprehensive study and evaluate the entire school.
Brown said that conducting a study with such a wide scope, “gives us a chance to reflect, analyze and see a little deeper.”
The accreditation committee will prepare a report about different aspects of the Georgetown and submit it to Tufts University. Tufts is the school appointed to oversee Georgetown’s accreditation. The report also contains recommendations made by various committees on how the school can be improved.
Brown asked students to “look at the recommendations and see if we got it right.”
The accreditation process is important because the school will not receive federal funding unless it is re-accredited, according to Brown.
A web site featuring the current draft of the report has been set up and includes a message board where students can post comments. Students can also e-mail the committee with suggestions.
“This report is crucial to Georgetown as an institution, and the recommendations from it will be taken very seriously,” Georgetown University Student Association Vice President Brian Walsh (CAS ‘02) said. “This report will have more impact than any report on student life or any other single report, because it encompasses all the other former reports and then goes further,” he said.
Also discussed at the meeting were the principles and plans of the Alumni Association. Bill Reynolds, associate vice president of Alumni Relations, spoke of the necessity of remaining in contact with alumni and increasing their involvement with the University.
Reynolds urged the club leaders to keep records of their past and present members in order to provide increased means for tracking alumni.
“Alumni want to stay connected with the groups they participated in. All student groups should develop ways of informing their alumni as to what they are up to,” Walsh said.
By fostering a stronger class affinity and expanding the alumni-student relationship, Reynolds said that the Alumni Association hopes to, “enhance [its] existing programming and introduce new programming that increases participation.”
“Together we will build upon the best of the past towards a future of greater service,” he said.
