“Notice of Concern” issued to Western Connecticut State University by New England Commission on Higher Education in March.

In a March 15th letter to Western Connecticut State University Interim President Manohar Singh, the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE) informed the school it has issued “a formal Notice of Concern to Western Connecticut State University that is in danger of not meeting the Commission’s standards on Organization and Governance, Institutional Resources, and Educational Effectiveness.”

The nine-page letter states that while WCSU continues to be accredited it will “undergo a focused evaluation in Fall 2025.” The university is expected to address governance, transparency, communications and accountability issues. It must improve the stability of its leadership and finances, “achieve its enrollment and retention goals,” address staffing levels, develop measurements of learning outcomes, and “achieve its goals for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).”

WSCU remains accredited. NECHE expressed concern about a report by a visiting team of evaluators about the “heightened level of uncertainty, confusion, and distrust” in the administration of the public university. The letter notes enrollment has declined.

The letter concludes, “You are encouraged to share this letter with all of the institution’s constituencies. It is the Commission’s policy to inform the chairperson of the institution’s governing board and the head of the system of action on its accreditation status.”

The Notice of Concern comes as particularly bad news for system Chancellor Terrence Cheng. A Notice of Concern by an accrediting authority is humiliation, particularly for a state that lavishly finances its bloated public higher education bureaucracy.

The Board of Regents will need to explain at its meeting tomorrow, May 23rd, what it has done since receiving the letter more than two months ago. It appears not to have shared the Notice of Concern with members of the legislature during the recently concluded round of budget adjustments.

Published May 22, 2024.