About Naropa

Naropa University was first accredited by the North Central Association in 1986 and following a thorough review, again in 2000. We are currently involved in the exciting challenge of an accreditation self-study in preparation for our next comprehensive site visit and evaluation by the NCA’s Higher Learning Commission in March of 2010.

The Accreditation Self-Study Process
The NCA’s Higher Learning Commission has established five criteria for accreditation. These form the underlying structure of the self-study and the final report, calling on the university to evaluate evidence about the ways in which we do the following:

Articulate our mission and ensure that we act in accordance with it.
Plan for the future and provide the resources to fulfill our mission.
Teach well, according to our distinctive aspirations.
Cultivate a life of learning, inquiry, creativity, practice, and social responsibility throughout the university.
Engage with the world “both to meet it as it is and to change it for the better,” as called for by our Mission Statement.

To accomplish the current self-study, in the spring of 2008, then-President Thomas B. Coburn appointed a Self-Study Steering Committee of faculty and staff along with student and trustee representatives. The steering committee has solicited input from students, staff, faculty, administrators, and the university’s board of trustees. While much of the evidence needed for the self-study already exists, the steering committee has also commissioned surveys and studies in order to provide the most complete picture of the university. The next step in the self-study has been evaluating this evidence and drafting a report. We are making good progress with this process. We plan to have a comprehensive draft of the self-study report available to all constituencies of the university in the fall 2009 semester, and the final report will be done in January 2010.

We invite input on the draft of Naropa University’s Self-Study Report. A key part of a successful self-study is input from all constituencies of the university, including the local community, and we will invite comments and suggestions on this draft as soon as it is ready. Please check back here to access the draft report. We welcome your responses to it.

For more information on Naropa’s University’s current accreditation self-study, please contact John Davis, self-study coordinator, at selfstudy@naropa.edu.

Community Memos about the Accreditation Self-Study
November 4, 2008
December 17, 2008
April 9, 2009
May 12, 2009
Article in Naropa! Magazine, Spring 2009