BACONE COLLEGE RECEIVES FULL ACCREDITATION FROM HLC

MUSKOGEE, Okla. [March 23, 2005] – Bacone College’s President received good news on Wednesday.

Rev. Dr. Robert J. Duncan, Jr., addressed faculty and staff in an open town meeting Wednesday afternoon to pass on news that the school is in its best standing with the Higher Learning Commission in its history after the team’s comprehensive visit Monday and Tuesday.

The HLC accreditation team’s recommendations to the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools came at the conclusion of two days of meetings with faculty, staff, students, trustees, administration and local church and community members. According to the team’s recommendations, all five of the HLC’s accreditation criteria have been met by Bacone College. The criteria are:

Mission and Integrity – Bacone College operates with integrity to ensure the fulfillment of its mission through structures and processes that involve the board, administration, faculty, staff and students.

Preparing For The Future – Bacone College’s allocation of resources and its processes for evaluation and planning demonstrate its capacity to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its education and respond to future challenges and opportunities.

Student Learning and Effective Teaching – Bacone College provides evidence of student learning and teaching effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational mission.

Acquisition, Discovery and Application of Knowledge – Bacone College promotes a life of learning for its faculty, administration, staff and students by fostering and supporting inquiry, creativity, practice and social responsibility in ways consistent with its mission.

Engagement and Service - As called for by its mission, Bacone College identifies its constituencies and serves them in ways both value.

In addition, the HLC recommended approval of a new four-year degree program in Criminal Justice Studies, the removal of all stipulations regarding the awarding of bachelor degrees and the extension of the College’s accreditation until the next visit in 2012.

Bacone Vice President and Dean of Faculty Dr. Robert K. Brown also spoke at the Wednesday town meeting.

“These recommendations are what the campus community has been working toward for many years,” said Brown, “and reflect the best comprehensive accreditation visit Bacone has ever had.”

President Duncan, in his comments to faculty and staff, said he was proud to be the president at Bacone, and thanked the campus for the hard work in preparing for this week’s HLC evaluation visit.

“This is a day we have been working towards the past two years,” said Duncan, “and we have remained steadfast and focused with this very goal in mind.”

In November 2003, a Self-Study Task Force was appointed with the 2005 HLC Comprehensive Visit in mind. Leading the task force were co-chairs Dr. Peter Sullivan, associate professor of chemistry, and Jason Murray, instructor of English.

HLC is part of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools founded in 1895 as

a membership organization for educational institutions, and is one of six regional institutional accrediting associations in the United States.

Bacone has been accredited with the North Central Association since 1965.

Founded in 1880, Bacone College is an independent four-year liberal arts college located in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A., Bacone is the oldest college in continuous operation in the state of Oklahoma and maintains its commitment to serving Native Americans within a culturally diverse community. More than 750 students are enrolled in baccalaureate and associate degree programs in health sciences, education, business and arts and sciences.

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