🏠 SUNY Niagara Open House | ☀️ April 2026: Sanborn + NFCI Open Houses @ SUNY Niagara |
Ensuring Quality and Excellence in Higher Education
Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE), serves as an independent authority in the realm of higher education.
Niagara County Community College is an accredited institution and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE or the Commission) www.msche.org. Niagara County Community College’s accreditation status is accredited. The Commission’s most recent action on the institution’s accreditation status on June 23, 2016 was to reaffirm 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.
(As indicated in the Self-Study Design)
Standards, Guidelines and Framework
Standards – (14th Edition Link)
Evidence Expectations by Standard
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) is a regional accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It serves as a mechanism for quality assurance and accountability in higher education. MSCHE is the association that provides federal-level accreditation for Niagara County Community College.
The Middle States Self-Study is an essential component of MSCHE Accreditation. It provides the College an opportunity to demonstrate how we meet standards that have been established as “Characteristics of Excellence”. These Standards were established by MSCHE with substantial input from stake holders. It is important to note that while the MSCHE Standards do require that specific criteria are met, how these criteria are met is not prescriptive in nature. It is our job to demonstrate that we meet these criteria in a way that is effective for NCCC. The self-study cycle occurs every eight years.
To optimize the impact of our self-study we must focus on the following concepts:
During the 2022/2023 academic year the College developed a Self-Study Design that was subsequently approved by our liaison to the MSCHE. Within this plan, we have established priorities, intended outcomes, and specific lines of inquiry. Please consult the Self-Study Design for details on each of these items and the means in which we will be addressing them.