Message from the President

It is my pleasure to introduce the Self-Study prepared for the Higher Learning Commission Accreditation team visit to our campus April 16-18. I invite you to read through this document, the culmination of two years of commitment and hard work of our accreditation committees. The Self-Study communicates to the HLC and to our campus community that St. Cloud State University has an accurate sense of our accomplishments, our opportunities for improvement, and our challenges. We are prepared to demonstrate that our university delivers the “quality of higher learning” the HLC endeavors to assure through accreditation

Throughout our preparation for this milestone in the life of our campus, we have been encouraging each other to remember the theme we gave to this important process, “Reaching Higher.”  It’s a theme that fits well with our university’s mission: “St. Cloud State University is committed to excellence in teaching, learning, and service, fostering scholarship and enhancing collaborative relationships in a global community.”  We continue always to reach higher to provide excellence to our long list of constituencies – a list that begins and ends with our students. 

The evaluative self-study report that has been researched, organized, written and edited by more than 100 of your colleagues communicates clear evidence that our university meets the HLC Criteria for Accreditation.  Our work this past two years has been a rewarding experience.  We came together to identify our strengths and discover where we need to focus our efforts.  We have achieved a realistic look at every aspect of our university and are ready to candidly communicate realistic expectations to our accreditation team.  I appreciate your continuing participation and support in an effort that will live on long after the April site visit.