FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A 12-member evaluation team representing the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools will visit the University of Arkansas from April 15 to 18 as part of a comprehensive evaluation for accreditation of the university.

Students, staff and faculty are invited to meet with team members to ask questions about the accreditation review as well as to offer comments and resources that might aid the team’s evaluation. Two team members will meet with each of the three constituencies from 3 to 3:45 p.m. Monday, April 16, in the Arkansas Union. Interested faculty will meet in Room 511; staff in Room 512; and students in Room 513.

The University of Arkansas has been accredited by the commission since 1924, and its last evaluation was performed in 1997. The Higher Learning Commission is one of six accrediting agencies in the United States that provide institutional accreditation on a regional basis.

For the past year and a half, the University of Arkansas has been engaged in a process of self-study, addressing the commission’s requirements and criteria for accreditation. The self-study addresses five criteria set forth by the Higher Learning Commission:

• Mission and integrity.

• Student learning and effective teaching.

• Acquisition, discovery and application of knowledge.

Using a relatively new accreditation option, the University of Arkansas has been allowed to go through a “special emphasis” review process, in which the university customized its self-study to reflect the work of the 2010 Commission. The 2010 Commission has issued four reports since 2000 to set benchmarks for improvement of the university and provide documentation of its successes.

A copy of the self-study and other resources are available at http://selfstudy.uark.edu.

The evaluation team will gather evidence to show that the self-study was thorough and accurate. The team will then recommend to the Higher Learning Commission a continuing status for the university. Following a review process, the commission itself will take final action. The commission may be contacted at (312) 263-0456 or at http://ncahigherlearningcommission.org/.