MCLA Receives Accreditation from New England Commission of Higher Education
NORTH ADAMS — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) announced it has received its decennial accreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).
NECHE is a voluntary, peer-based, non-governmental membership association that promotes educational excellence and quality assurance to its more than 200 members, all of which are degree-granting, post-secondary institutions. NECHE, through its membership, has established rigorous standards for accreditation to ensure quality, innovation, and student success across the evolving higher-education landscape. The commission consists of faculty and administrators from affiliated institutions, as well as public members who have no institutional affiliation.
MCLA submitted its 10-year accreditation report (self-study) in October 2023, documenting its work to provide a high-quality, affordable, public liberal-arts education. The content responds directly to the nine standards outlined by the commission for all institutions undergoing reaccreditation.
The self-study was the outcome of two years of careful, thoughtful work, with input from more than 70 members of the campus community. The study covered everything from MCLA’s mission and purpose to its academic program and student profile, to its physical plant and financial strength. In the self-study, MCLA described the ways in which it meets the standards, identifies areas of progress and improvement, and offers plans to continue moving the college forward in the next 10 years.
As part of the accreditation process, a NECHE team visited campus on Nov. 5-8, 2023. The college received a formal accreditation letter in May 2024.
In addition, MCLA continues to ascend in the U.S. News & World Report rankings in alignment with its mission, rising to be the top college for social mobility in the state, second in the country for public institutions, and 22nd nationally for liberal-arts colleges. MCLA ranks seventh on the list of top public liberal-arts colleges.
