Dickinson State University Will Likely Keep Accreditation, But Will Face Sanction

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Written By:
Rob Port

Jul 12, 2012
3:56pm

A reader who works at Dickinson State University sends along an excerpt of an email sent out to campus officials noting that North Dakota Chancellor of Higher Education Hamid Shirvani told the State Board of Higher Education that DSU isn’t likely to be losing their accreditation, but they will be facing sanction.

The state board of higher education (SBHE) met this morning in Bismarck. Chancellor Shirvani welcomed the group and in his opening remarks he spoke about the progress being made at Dickinson State University. He complemented the staff and faculty on the work being done to bring the university into compliance with all NDUS, state and federal policies.

During his comments, Shirvani indicated his understanding that the HLC board will be affirming the accreditation of Dickinson State University with a sanction of Notice. As soon as we receive an official notification from the HLC and have more details, we will be sharing them with you.

The Higher Learning Commission website defines a notice sanction thusly:

An organization is placed on notice if it is found to be pursuing a course of action that could result in its being unable to meet one or more Criteria for Accreditation. In placing an organization on notice, the Board identifies in the institution’s Statement of Affiliation Status the specific conditions that led to its being placed on notice and a due date for a written report on corrective measures taken.

So despite fake grades, fake students and hundreds of fraudulently issued diplomas DSU will get off with a warning.

That’s no small thing. Had DSU lost their accreditation it would have put the state in a real pickle. The existence of the school is mandated in the state constitution. It would have been interesting to see how the state would have complied with the law requiring the existence of a school that didn’t have accreditation.