By Luke Gentile

Amid the protests and resignations of school officials, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)  announced it will look into the University of Maryland’s accreditation during its next meeting.

UMD’s accreditation was last reaffirmed in June 2017. Its accreditation is what allows the university to be eligible for federal student financial aid funding. However, following the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair, the MSCHE requested that UMD provide a supplemental information report regarding the football program, as it related to its accreditation standards on Ethics & Integrity and Support of the Student Experience.

Alana Coyle, the senior communications associate for the university Office of Strategic Communications, said UMD sent the requested material to the commission, but an immediate response is not likely.

“MSCHE will evaluate the information provided by the university,” she said. “This is a lengthy process because the commission meets approximately quarterly.”

Coyle said the commission will use a set of 15 requirements of affiliation and seven standards set by the community as a basis for its judgment.

UMD SGA president Jonathan Allen said that although the threat of losing accreditation is not something to be taken lightly, he is not too concerned.

“I’m not too particularly worried with it,” he said. “I’m not going to pretend this hasn’t impacted us, but there are so many good things happening across campus. Of course this is not what I would want to be covered for. I think it is important that we are addressing this, but it doesn’t negate all the good things being done by the thousands of students and faculty.”

Allen said he believes the commission will look at and judge the ways in which the University of Maryland Board of Regents handled the fallout of McNair’s death. While he said he recognizes the internal investigation was handled poorly, he said the actions that the school has taken over the past month have shown progress.  

“I have integrity that the Board of Regents did not handle the internal investigation responsibly, but the fact that the new chairwoman publicly acknowledged that in her first statement as chairwoman says a lot about how the situation was handled and, hopefully, what she will do in the future,” he said.

Allen said on behalf of the student body that he wants to see full transparency and clarity from the administration in the future regarding the McNair tragedy.

“We need to ensure this can never happen to a student athlete or student on campus again, and, really, we should be following the charges going forward to make sure we have the proper procedures in place so other universities can look at us as an example.”

Coyle said the administration has listened to students and faculty on campus and is working hard to maintain the reputation of an accredited university.

“During this difficult time for our university, we all remain committed to ensuring that our university continues to stand among the most distinguished institutions in the world,” she said. “Maryland Athletics has committed to swiftly implementing the recommendations from the two external assessments of our football program to enhance the well-being and safety of our student-athletes across all sports.”