The University of Pittsburgh successfully completed the decennial accreditation process with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education during the 2021 and 2022 academic years. Accreditation was reaffirmed in June 2022, demonstrating how Pitt meets the accreditation standards, requirements of affiliation, and verification of compliance with accreditation-relevant federal regulations.
The University choose to leverage this process to advance institutional self-understanding and self-improvement through a priorities-based approach to our self-study. This was accomplished by gathering and analyzing evidence of our performance in four key areas of institutional focus: 1) inclusive excellence in education, 2) research and innovation, 3) embracing today’s world: local to global, and 4) foundational strength: a commitment to sustainable excellence. These priorities were chosen because they reflect the institution’s goals in the strategic plan, The Plan for Pitt.
The success of this effort resulted from the campus-wide participation of over 300 faculty, staff, students, administrators, and trustees who drafted or provided direct input to the Self-Study or shared their perspectives in meetings with the Evaluation Team in September 2021 and April 2022. The Evaluation Team Report sited over a dozen specific commendations, including recognizing our talented, thoughtful, and highly motivated student leadership; creating and maintaining a climate of inclusion, belonging and respect; and developing a reporting and monitoring process to ensure we make progress on our strategic goals.
In addition to university accreditation, various programs of the University receive specialized accreditation from numerous professional peer-accrediting agencies.