Standard 1: Mission and Purposes

1. The institution has a mission and a set of purposes appropriate to higher education, consistent with its charter or other operating authority, and implemented in a manner that complies with the Standards of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education. The Commission recognizes that there is great variation in the mission and purposes of institutions of higher learning. The mission of the institution defines its distinctive character, addresses the needs of society and identifies the students it seeks to serve, and reflects both the institution's traditions and its vision for the future. The institution's purposes are concrete and realistic and, within the context of its resources, define its educational and other dimensions, including scholarship, research, and public service.
2. The institution's mission and purposes are set forth in a concise statement that accurately delineates its character to the public it seeks to serve and provides a basis for the evaluation of the institution against the Commission's Standards. This statement is formally adopted by the Board of Trustees and appears in appropriate institutional publications.
3. The mission and purposes of the institution are accepted and widely understood by its trustees, faculty, and administration. They provide direction to the curricula and other activities. Specific objectives, reflective of the institution's overall mission and purposes, are developed for the institution's individual units.
4. Drawing upon its ongoing efforts to assess its effectiveness, the institution periodically re-evaluates the content and pertinence of its statement of mission and purposes. The results are regularly used in planning and resource allocation to enhance its efforts to achieve institutional purposes.