Dear Alumni,

Remember your days here at Webster when instructors would evaluate your work and issue grades based on your performance? Well, it may be comforting to know that you aren’t the only one evaluated by your performance.

The Higher Learning Commission earlier this year spent several weeks examining us. The regional accrediting agency oversees the accreditation of colleges and universities in 19 states. It looks at everything we do and how we do it.

The HLC granted Webster University a full 10-year accreditation, a notable distinction for any university. Normally I’m not one to boast, but this is just as much your University as it is mine, so I thought I’d share a few points of pride revealed through the process.

Since the last HLC visit more than 10 years ago, the School of Communications:

• Increased the number of undergraduate majors from eight to 17 and the number of graduate majors from one to five;
• Doubled the number of undergraduate students from 516 to 1,064;
• Added 11 full-time faculty members and six full-time staff members;
• Lowered the mean class size of SOC classes to 11.5 students;
• Invested thousands of dollars in the latest technology; and,
• Media Communications degree added at campuses in London; Leiden, the Netherlands; Vienna, Austria; Geneva, Switzerland; and, Cha-am, Thailand.
• Instituted better assessment procedures to ensure the SOC continues to provide the highest quality education possible.

It’s nice to know these accomplishments didn’t go unnoticed by the HLC, but the ultimate goal of the process wasn’t to toot our own horn but to ensure the constant improvement of learning at Webster.

It’s in meeting this goal that we claim our greatest success: you.

Sincerely,



Debra Carpenter
Dean, School of Communications
Webster University

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