Accreditation

Sarah Lawrence College, as a member of The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, is accredited by The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, a federally-recognized regional accrediting body.  The Commission on Higher Education accredits more than 500 degree-granting colleges and universities in the Middle States region, which includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and several locations internationally.

The Commission is a voluntary, non-governmental, membership association that defines, maintains, and promotes educational excellence across institutions with diverse missions, student populations, and resources. It examines each institution as a whole, rather than specific programs within institutions.

In June of 2007, The Middle States Commission on Higher Education completed its decennial review of Sarah Lawrence College’s accreditation status. The Commission found Sarah Lawrence College to be in compliance with its accreditation ‘standards of excellence.’

In making its report to the Sarah Lawrence community, The Commission on Higher Education’s evaluation team made the following observations:

• Sarah Lawrence College is an institution of rare quality which expresses extraordinary dedication to a clear, distinctive and compelling educational mission.  Its ability to focus care and resources on the development of each student’s individual intellectual and artistic talent and passion is truly awe-inspiring and the Team is deeply impressed by the effort and success of the College in protecting that core mission in a world of constant change and challenged resources for small liberal arts colleges.  That educational core binds faculty, staff, students and trustees in a single, cohesive community of mutual respect and shared commitment to educational excellence.  The College benefits from an exceptional faculty who are at once dedicated to its pedagogical mission and productive in their scholarly and artistic work, who are energized by the freedom to follow their own passions in the courses they create, and who take their broader institutional responsibilities to heart. The College benefits as well from an exceptional staff who understand and take as seriously their commitment to the College’s core educational mission. And it benefits from terrific students who thrive on the educational experience the College offers. Moreover, the College is able to continue to recruit students and faculty who sustain its distinctive character.
• We also admire the egalitarian nature of the community, the rich diversity of its faculty and students, and the integration it offers between academic support and student life. It was a real pleasure to talk to every member of the community whom we had the opportunity to meet.
• The College also benefits tremendously from an administration and board who understand, affirm and protect the College’s core mission; who appreciate its participatory governance; and who fully grasp the economic realities the College confronts, and are determined to respond to them. We particularly commend both the board and the administration for their ongoing commitment to improving faculty and staff compensation and appreciate the invaluable support this Board has given to the current president. We know that support will extend to her successor. 

A copy of Sarah Lawrence College’s Statement of Accreditation Status can be found on the Middle States’ Website.