A college degree only has value if it comes from an accredited university, but the process of receiving accreditation isn’t easy, said university administrators. It involves meeting extensive requirements with the help of a team of both employees and volunteers, they said.
The process of accreditation is a detailed one, with standards coming out of the WASC Senior College and University Commission handbook, a handbook by the organization that reviews institutions of higher education. The accreditation team, under the direction of Rose Ram, a 1989 graduate of BYUH with a degree in library science, meet once a week as they work to compile together the necessary requirements.
Ram said the university has “taken these standards and framed the components of the university so that when faculty go into this process. It’s a reflective process.” Ram specified that the point of accreditation is for universities to produce better students.
Ram told Honors Program students on Sept. 2, “[Accreditors] look at the value of the education the students are getting. These institutions have mission statements, but there are misalignments between mission statements and what they actually do. But here at BYU–Hawaii, you can look and everything we do speaks to our mission statement of learning, leading, and building.”
Following Ram’s lecture to the students, they proceeded into the GCB foyer where a large blackboard was set up with the question, “What does your BYU–Hawaii degree mean to you?” These students were then given chalk and asked to write their answers on the blackboard so that it could be used as a kind of artistic data sheet to help BYUH get re-accredited.
Tyler Pisciotta, a freshman studying biochemistry from Nevada, wrote on the blackboard, “A life full of service” because he wants to perform medical oral operations in third world countries once he finishes his schooling, he said. Many students stated how BYU–Hawaii’s tuition was low, but the quality of education is very high, meaning good education can still be affordable.
On Sept. 17, employees and volunteers joined together and hosted a Q&A online video conference with Christopher Oberg from the WSCUC, an organization that supervises and determines accreditation for universities all across the nation.
Oberg explained the submission process and stated several key factors that the committee looks for in universities requesting accreditation. BYU–Hawaii is already an accredited university and has been for several years, and Oberg thinks the school “shouldn’t have any trouble again as long as it takes the process seriously.”
“BYU–Hawaii has a unique story behind it. Figure out what it is, and portray that in your submissions,” stated Oberg. He also stated how WSCUC is more interested in seeing “how obtaining a degree from BYU–Hawaii is different from other universities” and how students measure their degree compared to other universities.
Oberg stated how in this instance “more is not better” in regards to the amount of information that schools submit. “If you think you should submit something else, the answer is ‘no.’ Just stick to the points in the curriculum.” As part of the process, the school is required to submit auditing reports in order to make sure the school is sustainable and will be for years to come, he said. According to Oberg, the school must also show proof of having spent a sufficient amount of money on research in its various departments.