Hello, everyone!
It's been some time since we were all here together—but it feels good to be back. The summer is hot, the air quality is poor, and the investment we call 'Education' is rotting in the Sun like a forgotten tomato.
If you're looking at this post, then odds are you've seen the email from Dr. Sanders about Kean's accreditation. You should know that, while it doesn't come straight out and lie about the situation, it's a load of crap. Have you ever heard of Rank's model? It's basically a schema for identifying, and effectively negating, intensification and downplay in communication. The way it works is simple: When a critical eye notices intensification, it's owner responds by downplaying it; when that eye finds downplay, it's owner intensifies. As you might notice from the rather strongly worded title of this article, we're rank's-modeling the shit out of this one.
Sanders first tells us to "rest assured" because "Kean University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education." Yes, this is true: Kean is still accredited—-but that's because Middle States won't pull accreditation all at once. Rather, Kean's accreditation is on warning. To put it in layman's terms, Kean has been told to get its shit together for us, the students, or lose its status as a center for higher education. For Kean to be put on warning, it must not have been in compliance with standards for accreditation. That means, if you follow the logic, that Middle States believes Kean does not currently deserve accreditation.
Furthermore, this is the second time MSCHE has warned Kean about this scenario: The first time it happened was in 2006, but the warning was unofficial. The administration was given five years to fix the problems addressed at the last overview, and rather than fight their way to compliance, they told us all would be well and let the whole ordeal slide. Sanders claims that MSCHE "warned" Kean to "make improvements." This is true, but only when speaking about the 2006 review. MSCHE didn't simply 'warn' us about standards this time--they put us on 'Accreditation Warning,' which is a completely different situation. Sanders is downplaying peril our school is in, and doing it hard.
Sanders also states that we "excelled" in 12 of the 14 standards for accreditation. That's not what Middle States says—-we "comply" with 12 standards for accreditation. To say we "excel" is to warp the true meaning of the report with glorifying language. Yes, we meet most of the requirements to be an accredited university; but WE STILL DON'T MEET ALL THE REQUIREMENTS to be an accredited school.
Just before the end of the spring semester, our self-study team reported to the Tower (our Comm. Department's newspaper) that we were not in any danger of being put on warning. According to Sanders, they admitted we fell short in two categories. If this is true, then they lied to the newspaper, and to the students.
Last but not least, let us not forget the constant barrage of language in the email that equates Kean to the ivy-league. To say that we provide the finest education in NJ is a load of crap (no offense intended towards our professors, of course). To say that is to ignore the existence of reputable and ivy-league schools inside our state (Princeton for instance, or Rutgers our State Research University). To claim that our warning is something that these schools have faced as well is also a lie. To the best of my knowledge--and we'll be looking into it to be certain--Harvard, Cornell, and NYU have never received a probationary judgement from MSCHE. Neither have Princeton, Rutgers, or TCNJ just to name a few.
Don't forget to take the words in these emails with a grain of salt. Nothing is ever exactly what it seems, especially at Kean University.
OH! Almost forgot: MORE TEACHERS, LESS TREES!
