Editorial: Great stories continue here

With budget cuts in place, a new president in office and a several year nightmare in the form of accreditation probation behind it, Adams State University is posed to do what has been sorely needed in recent years. . . growth.

We commend the board of trustees and the on-campus leadership team led by interim president Dr. Matt Nehring for bringing all of this to fruition. Enrollment growth will surely follow.

Monday’s news that the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) removed the sanction of probation for ASU was anxiously awaited but obviously deserved. The HLC took this action “based on the institution’s ability to demonstrate it is now in compliance with all of the HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation.”

In an email sent to ASU staff Monday, new president Dr. Cheryl Lovell said “Addressing and resolving the concerns of the Higher Learning Commission has been a campus-wide effort led by the Vice President of Academic Affairs Office and Assistant VP Margaret Doell.

“Others who put in extraordinary work to resolve the HLC concerns include: Dr. Matt Nehring and Ken Marquez as Criterion 1 co-chairs; Karla Hardesty as Criterion 2 and Federal Compliance chair; Leslie Alvarez, Criterion 3 co-chair; Beez Schell and Tony Weathers, Criterion 4 co-chairs; Kevin Daniel and Heather Heersink, Criterion 5 co-chairs; Traci Bishop, our amazing assurance system coordinator; Victor Soe and Sarah Rhett for digging up evidence on short notice; Erin Frew, our external reviewer and consultant; and David Moon, external reviewer.”

ASU was placed on probation related to the “integrity and quality of the University’s online and correspondence offerings.”

According to the school’s announcement, ASU overhauled its distance education department, shored up its financial position, and hosted an HLC site-visiting team for a comprehensive evaluation in November 2017.

We’re sure that this is great news for President Lovell and Dr. Joaquin Vila, new vice president for academic affairs, and we look forward to their leadership in moving Adams State forward. Great stories will continue at ASU.