Identify self-study co-chairs, leadership team members, and working group co-chairs.

Middle States kick-off meeting; workgroup membership finalized; visit to campus from our Middle States liaison; Steering Committee submits Design document.

Steering Committee hosts a large, all-standards meeting to bring everyone involved together to brainstorm in a retreat format; workgroups begin their research on their standard; continued communication with campus on progress of Self-Study.

Steering Committee leadership team continues regular meetings with work group co-chairs, working groups meet with appropriate stakeholders and continue research for standards and compliance regulations; workgroups submit chapter outline to Steering Committee co-chairs.

January – workgroups finalize their research and submit chapter draft Steering Committee co-chairs.

February – Draft documents and evidence reviewed for initial editing by Core Steering Committee. Evidence gurus prepare detailed documentation spreadsheet.

March – Core Steering Committee returns documents to standard workgroup co-chairs for feedback regarding changes suggested by Core Committee.

The Commission provides Rensselaer leadership and ALO with suggestions for evaluation team leader.

April to Early May – Core Steering Committee co-chairs receive documents back from workgroup co-chairs and prepare initial draft document. 

Visit dates for the Preliminary visit by the Team Chair in Fall 2024, as well as the Team Visit in Spring 2025 are determined.

May – Core Steering Committee co-chairs present self-study draft to the full Steering Committee and senior Institute leadership. Core Steering Committee co-chairs meet with President and Provost to review draft and materials to be shared with Board of Trustees.

June to July – Draft document is circulated to entire campus community for input and comment period.

August – The Rensselaer Community reviewed draft self-study.

A comprehensive community event was held for the entire Institute on Tuesday, August 27th, from 2:00–3:00 PM at the CBIS/Isermann Auditorium. The hybrid meeting featured presentations from the Steering Committee and workgroup co-chairs, who shared findings, recommendations, and next steps for the self-study process. Below are links to the recording as well as the presentation slides.

• Middle States Community Open Forum Presentation Slides - August 27th
• Middle States Community Open Forum Presentation Recording - August 27th 

• Incorporated community feedback into the report, which was subsequently reviewed by the president, cabinet, and board of trustees. Prepared for and organized the Team Chair preliminary visit, including sending the draft report to the MSCHE Team Chair prior to the visit on October 17, 2024.
• Shared the preliminary visit agenda in advance, which featured open sessions for faculty, staff, and students. Stakeholders were encouraged to participate, with venue details and times provided on the agenda.
• Hosted the preliminary visit on October 17, 2024, with Dr. Teik C. Lim, MSCHE Team Chair and President of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Dr. Eugene Deess, Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness, in attendance. The visit included meetings with the Board of Trustees, senior leadership, faculty, staff, and students in separate sessions.

Final changes made to report after feedback from campus and visiting team chairperson. Final Self-Study report, Evidence Inventory, and Verification of Compliance report  are uploaded to MSCHE portal 6 weeks prior to the Team Visit.

• MSCHE Team members for the visit are appointed.
• April 6 - April 9 - Rensselaer hosts visiting team.
• Rensselaer receives and reviews team report.
• Rensselaer writes and submits institutional response to team report.

• MSCHE Committee on Evaluation meets to act on Rensselaer’s Self-Study Report.
• MSCHE “action” letter sent to President Schmidt.