Thursday, April 19, 2007 
The following is the text of a statement issued by UVI President Dr. LaVerne E. Ragster via email to the University 
community on Thursday, April 19, 2007. 
Greetings to the UVI Community,  
 
This is a reminder that during the period of April 22 -26, 2007 the University will host an 
evaluation team of 10 representatives from various institutions of higher learning that will 
conduct a site visit on both campuses as part of the University's reaffirmation of accreditation 
process with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Although accreditation is a 
voluntary process, it provides national recognition to the University as meeting established 
standards determined by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and provides a 
number of critical benefits to the students attending the University. Students at UVI can receive 
federal financial aid and scholarships as well as transfer credits to other institutions readily 
because the University is accredited. The formal site visit that will be conducted next week is 
performed every ten years and our last site visit was in 1997.  
The Site Visit Team will review our Self Study Report, which you can find online 
 and meet with faculty, staff, students and Board 
members during their visit to discuss the ways in which we are realizing our mission and goals. I 
ask you to remember that it is very important to the University and the Virgin Islands community 
to have UVI accredited. If you have been contacted as a person that the team has asked to 
interview or accidentally come into contact with a Middle States Team member, please cooperate 
and participate readily in the discussion.  
On April 26 at 9:30 a.m. the Chair of the Site Visit Team, Dr. Giles Gee will present the findings 
and recommendations of the team by videoconference (B110 and EC401) to the entire University 
Community. The report session will be open to all University faculty, staff and students that wish 
to attend.  
As we continue our efforts to implement Vision 2012, I am confident that we will all treat the 
reaffirmation of accreditation with the respect that it deserves and as a consequence ensure that 
UVI will be here to "specialize in futures" for our students, employees, clients and the Virgin 
Islands community. 
Thank you, 
LaVerne E. Ragster  
President  
Page 1 of 1
Essay on 'College Hill 4" by UVI President Dr. LaVerne Ragster
10/31/2008
http://www.uvi.edu/pub-relations/uvi/pres_welcome/presentations/site_visit_041907.html