Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff Members,

As you may recall, I wrote to you several months ago about our intention to seek accreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Having carefully studied our application report and supporting materials, a team of peer evaluators from NECHE visited campus in early March and met with members of the community to discuss the report and address any questions they had. The evaluation team reported its findings and recommendations to NECHE. In late April, I met with the Commission (as part of the normal NECHE accreditation process) to answer the commissioners' questions about Swarthmore.  

I am pleased to share that NECHE has approved our application for accreditation. We have now completed the process of notifying appropriate agencies of the change. We have also submitted a voluntary surrender of accreditation request to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which has been a valuable accreditation partner to Swarthmore for many years.  

Swarthmore’s first full reaccreditation self-study with NECHE will take place in Spring 2036, with an interim report due in January of 2031.  

My thanks to the faculty and staff members who worked so diligently on the application report and supporting materials, as well as to the many faculty, staff, and students who took the time to attend the sessions hosted by the NECHE evaluation team during their visit. And I especially want to thank Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Assistant Secretary of the College Robin Huntington Shores for leading this process with the wisdom, insight, grace, deep knowledge, and attention to detail that are hallmarks of all she does. 

We are excited about completing this process and look forward to working with NECHE in the years to come!

Warm regards,

Val Smith
Swarthmore College President
Roy J. and Linda G. Shanker Presidential Chair

Swarthmore College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.). Inquiries regarding the accreditation status by the Commission should be directed to the administrative staff of the institution. Individuals may also contact:

New England Commission of Higher Education
301 Edgewater Place, Suite 210, Wakefield, MA 01880
(781) 425 7785
Email: info@neche.org