UAMS Earns 10-Year Reaccreditation, Praise from Evaluators

By todd

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LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently learned that it has been reaccredited another 10 years by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.


 


UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., was notified that the Higher Learning Commission’s Institutional Actions Council voted to approve UAMS’ request for accreditation through 2017, effective Sept. 10.


 


“We’re very proud of this reaccreditation,” Wilson said. “As Arkansas’ only comprehensive academic health center, we want Arkansans to have the best, and I think this reaccreditation shows that we are delivering the highest quality health education to our future doctors, nurses, pharmacists and many other health-related professionals.”


 


The Higher Learning Commission’s  Actions Council voted to approve UAMS’ request for accreditation on the basis of a 300-page self study prepared by five UAMS committees and on a written recommendation submitted by a team of site visitors from colleges and universities around the country.


 


Augustine Agho, Ph.D., dean of the College of Health Professions and Studies at the University of Michigan-Flint, led the six-member site visit team. Team members conducted numerous meetings and forums while at UAMS for three days in April and examined hundreds of college and institutional documents.


 


Agho said the commission’s vote was no surprise. While many programs and services received high marks, Agho noted two features that set UAMS apart.


 


“The quality of the faculty, staff and administrators at UAMS is outstanding with most performing at a high level that produces excellence throughout the university’s programs,” he said. “The team was struck by how pleased faculty, staff and students are to be to at UAMS and to be part of an organization that they believe in so deeply.”


 


“The overwhelmingly positive review testifies to the quality of the faculty and administrators in each of the colleges and the Graduate School,” said Larry Milne, Ph.D., vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research Administration, who led UAMS’ reaccreditation effort. “Each does a superb job in preparing students academically and as professionals in their respective fields.”


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,538 students and 733 medical residents. It is one of the state’s largest public employers with about 9,600 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $5 billion a year. For more information, visit www.uams.edu.