The IIRP is an accredited institution and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE or the Commission). The IIRP's accreditation status is Accredited Reaffirmed. The Commission’s most recent action on the institution’s accreditation status in 2016 was to reaffirm the IIRP's accreditation. MSCHE is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education to conduct accreditation and pre-accreditation (candidate status) activities for institutions of higher education including distance, correspondence education, and direct assessment programs offered at those institutions. The Commission’s geographic area of accrediting activities is throughout the United States.


2025 Self-Study Accreditation Process Updates

August 2024

The Steering Committee has spent the summer assembling the Working Groups’ reports into a single document. Our writing team has met regularly and has been grateful for the feedback and encouragement from the entire committee, the President, and the Chair of the Board of Trustees. Within this draft we have presented evidence of upholding the fundamental elements and analyzed how we can continue to improve and best serve our students and our mission. The IIRP now has a draft of a Self-Study Report that it will be sharing with our Commission Team Chair. We are looking forward receiving her feedback when she visits the IIRP this October.

February 2024

The Working Groups have submitted their final reports to the Steering Committee as of January 31, 2024. Moving forward, the Steering Committee will identify the themes arising from the Working Groups’ reports and share those themes with the President for feedback. Writing will begin on the first draft of the Self-Study report soon after. The Steering Committee will begin engaging faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees in the summer for feedback on the draft report.

November 2023

Over the last four months, the eight Working Groups diligently explored their respective lines of inquiry and collected evidence to create draft reports, which were submitted to the Steering Committee on Friday, November 3. Next, the Steering Committee will review the draft reports and provide feedback to the Working Group chairs. The Working Group chairs will reconvene their Working Groups in January to make any edits, additions, or modifications to the draft reports and submit their final reports to the Steering Committee by Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

May 2023

Dr. Robert Bonfiglio, Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Vice President, has approved the IIRP's Self-Study Design.

The chairs and deputies of our eight Working Groups will now convene their volunteer teams comprised of faculty, students, trustees, and staff. The members of the Working Groups are charged with analyzing the evidence that demonstrates our compliance with MSCHE Characteristics of Excellence, and they will suggest recommendations to enhance our graduate school. These groups will work through the fall and submit their initial report drafts to the Steering Committee for review on November 3, 2023.

pdfSelf Study Design

December 2022

The IIRP has begun its Self-Study process for reaccreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) in 2025. The Self-Study process supports the IIRP’s mission while providing opportunities to learn and grow as a higher education institution.

IIRP President Linda J. Kligman, Ph.D. has appointed Director of Research & Program Evaluation and Associate Professor Gina Baral Abrams, DrPH, EdM, LSW, MCHES® and Dean of Student Services Jamie Kaintz, M.S., to co-chair the Self-Study for reaccreditation. A Self-Study Steering Committee comprised of IIRP faculty and staff has been formed and is responsible for developing a Self-Study Design, a document that outlines lines of inquiry for the institution to evaluate its compliance, assessment, and areas of improvement regarding the seven standards noted in the MSCHE’s Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education as well as the Requirements for Affiliation. The Committee represents a wide range of skills, expertise, and knowledge that will help guide the process.

IIRP stakeholders, including students, alumni, and trustees, will be engaged throughout and invited to participate in working groups charged with evaluating the lines of inquiry. Together they will create a comprehensive perspective in the final Self-Study Report that reflects the institutional learning. Progress will be communicated through this webpage.

The first visit in the reaccreditation process is scheduled for Friday, April 28, 2022, with Robert A. Bonfiglio, MSCHE Vice President, Institutional Field Relations. The purpose of that visit is to attain feedback on the draft Self-Study Design and then incorporate that into the final version the will be submitted to MSCHE to gain their approval to begin the actual Self-Study.

Previous Self-Study Updates