U passes accreditation test

While the U has formally been reaccredited, evaluators said the U needs to make improvements to meet their standards.

The committee of academic experts that visited campus last October said the university and the Board of Regents, the U's governing body, must change some of their financial and self-evaluation policies in order to remain accredited as a university.

Members of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities perform the evaluation every 10 years to ensure the U is providing quality education.

Their final letter, released last week, revealed that the U does not have a policy for inter-fund borrowing and money transfers and that the Regents do not have policies to "guide or limit debt for capital outlay purposes." The U has two years to comply with the recommended changes.

The Regents were also targeted in the report for not having a system for evaluating their own performance.

The committee also suggested that the U create a formal policy for evaluating and hiring auxiliary faculty members.

The report in turn said the U should be commended for its successes, including creating an atmosphere of cooperation and transparency between campus entities, University of Utah President Michael K. Young's leadership ability and assessment of educational programs.

U administrators said they have acted to change practices to comply with all the recommendations and are pleased with the results of the visit in general.

In a letter to the commission, President Young stated that the U has already changed its own financial policies based on the recommendations and is working with the Regents to get other changes on their agenda.

Dave Chapman, senior vice president for academic affairs, said the U is in an "unusual situation" because it is governed by both the Board of Regents and the Board of Trustees.

"I think the (accreditors) observe we sometimes get mixed messages," Chapman said. "It makes it kind of (confusing) for the U sometimes to not have one master."

Regarding auxiliary faculty members, Chapman said the complaint was that there is no uniform procedure for evaluating and hiring auxiliary or part-time faculty.

A proposal has been drafted to require that all departments on campus meet a minimum set of standards when evaluating auxiliary faculty; the proposal has not been approved.