Fordham University hosted an open forum for students, staff and faculty to interact with a peer review team from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education on April 7. The forum served as an opportunity for the team to get a glimpse into the Fordham community and hear different perspectives. 

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is the group that deals with accrediting Fordham and more than 500 other higher education institutions. The accreditation process is important because it ensures that universities meet certain academic quality standards. In the Accreditation 101 section of their website, Fordham’s Office of the Provost compares the accreditation process to a performance review you might undergo at work or in a class. 

Over the past three years, Fordham University has engaged in a self-study process, evaluating itself against the seven standards of excellence the Middle States Commission lays out. Fordham’s completed self-study is published and will be passed on to the Middle States Commission accreditation team for review. 

A steering committee made up of Fordham faculty and administrators led the self-study. Co-chairs Greer Jason-DiBartolo, Ph.D., associate dean for strategic initiatives and executive director of operations in the Gabelli School of Business, and Melissa Labonte, associate professor of political science, headed the committee. 

During the forum, the Middle States peer review team heard from faculty, staff, alumni, grad students and a handful of Fordham undergraduates. Gerard Rooney, Ph.D., president of St. John Fisher University in Rochester, New York, served as the Middle States Peer Review Team chair for Fordham and moderated the forum. He explained why the open forum is important for the team’s review of Fordham’s self-study. 

“We come to campus for a four-day period basically to meet people on the campus, to experience the campus, and then to do what we just did, affirm that what’s in the report is the experience of the people,” he said. “It really opens up the participation in important ways and gives us the opportunity to hear from as many members of the campus community as possible.”

Jack O’Brien, GSB ’27, opened the meeting with comments about his experience with Fordham and its Jesuit mission. He shared that his experience was an overall positive one. Most people who shared their experiences during the forum had only positive feedback. O’Brien said that he wishes he had heard a more diverse set of feedback during the forum. 

“I both appreciated how much people were excited about what Fordham is doing and the things Fordham is excelling at and establishing itself as a unique Jesuit institution,” said O’Brien. “But, at the same time, I also took away that there was a lack of criticism expressed during the conversation. I would have appreciated to hear more about areas that Fordham could grow as a school from the students.”

As a member of the academics subcommittee for the Gabelli Dean’s Council, O’Brien understands the importance of representing student voices and experiences to university leadership and administration. Fordham often hosts student-facing events. O’Brien spoke about ways to get more students involved in the events Fordham hosts.

“I think it’s because there’s no incentive for those students to come,” said O’Brien. “How to get students to those events is difficult because there has to be something that the student feels like they’re gaining in return.”

O’Brien gained new perspectives while listening to other members of the Fordham community during this event. 

“The overall thing I gained was just hearing other people’s perspectives because I am just one student who is involved in a certain number of activities on campus and because I’m only one person, I don’t get the full picture of what the Fordham experience looks like,” said O’Brien.

Rooney also gained new insights into the Fordham community that will inform the peer review team’s evaluation of Fordham’s self-study. 

“We have team meetings where we’ll reflect on what we heard, and we’ll look to affirm what’s in the report already,” said Rooney. “At the end of the day, what we need to do is make a recommendation to the Middle States Commission about the reaffirmation of Fordham’s accreditation.”

The peer review team held another open forum at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus the following day.