Welcome to the Office of
Accreditation and Assessment
Accreditation
Voluntary accreditation in higher education originated almost a century ago as a uniquely American process. Voluntary accreditation has two fundamental purposes; quality assurance and institutional and program improvement.
There are two types of accreditation for higher education in the United States: Institutional and Specialized Accreditation.
Minnesota Office of Higher Education (MOHE)
The University of St. Thomas is registered with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education pursuant to sections 136A.61 to 136A.71. Registration is not an endorsement of the institution. Credits earned at the institution may not transfer to all other institutions. Contact information for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education is:
1450 Energy Park Drive, Suite 350
St. Paul, MN 55108-5227
Phone: (651) 642-0567
Toll Free: (800) 657-3866
Fax: (651) 642-0675
https://www.ohe.state.mn.us/
State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)
Federal regulations require institutions that provide distance education to students residing outside of the institution's home state to seek state authorization with the states from which they enroll students or participate in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA). SARA is a voluntary agreement among the 49 member states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands that permits certain types of educational activities without requiring institutions to seek state-by-state authorization. (Information on SARA can be found at www.nc-sara.org.) The University of St. Thomas has been approved by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education to participate in SARA. Currently, all states except for California are members of SARA. Although California is not part of SARA, California does not regulate out-of-state, non-profit accredited institutions and St. Thomas is able to provide distance education to students who are in that state with the caveat that students and institutions are not bound to SARA regulations.
Assessment
The program to assess student learning is an integral part of the university’s commitment to excellent teaching and effective learning. Information is systematically collected and examined both to document and improve student learning in our undergraduate core curriculum and undergraduate and graduate academic programs.” The assessment program itself is routinely updated, and the information gained from the assessment process becomes part of on-going curricular and co-curricular development.