Northwestern journalism school lets accreditation lapse

The Chicago Tribune reports:

In a nontraditional move, officials at Northwestern University's prestigious journalism and communications school have decided not to renew the program's accreditation, letting the designation lapse.

The dean of the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications said Monday that school officials chose not to pursue renewed accreditation, which provides outside approval of academic programs, because the process is "flawed" and not useful.

Medill dean Bradley Hamm's strong rebuke is in contrast to what traditionally is viewed as a necessary process that gives students assurance that they will be attending quality programs that have undergone review. After Tribune inquiries, Northwestern officials confirmed the decision not to renew the accreditation beyond this school year.

Change is coming to higher education.