Urging the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to reverse its decision to place Cheyney University on probationary status and calling on the Commission to work collaboratively with the University’s leadership to restore the historic HBCU’s academic status. WHEREAS, Founded in Philadelphia on February 25, 1837, as the Institute for Colored Youth, Cheyney University is the oldest of America’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Since its founding, Cheyney has provided educational opportunity for thousands of African-American students and played an invaluable role in expanding access to higher education in the United States; and WHEREAS, On November 20, 2023, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), which is responsible for college and university accreditation in the mid-Atlantic region, placed Cheyney University on probationary status and indicated that the school’s “accreditation is in jeopardy”; and WHEREAS, Leaders in Pennsylvania have expressed their concerns with MSCHE’s treatment of Cheyney University and raised serious questions regarding the Commission’s procedures in making its determination. In a February 20, 2024 letter to MSCHE, Governor Josh Shapiro described the Commission’s decision to place Cheyney on probationary status as “hasty and premature” and expressed his “disappointment with [MSCHE’s] refusal to reevaluate [its] decision-making that led to placing the university on probation and [its] disregard of established …
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