University of South Florida

Contact

Evangeline Linkous, Director
813.974.7982; Dept. phone: 813.974.3347
elinkous@usf.edu
https://www.usf.edu/arts-sciences/departments/public-affairs/murp/index.aspx
Public Information

Accreditation Actions

Accreditation through December 31, 2025
Last Accreditation Cycle: 2019 – 2020
Next Accreditation Cycle: 2024 – 2025
Progress Report: Not Applicable

Summary of Recent Actions

November 2020: Program granted 5-year initial accreditation.

PAB accreditation indicates that the Program has undergone an external review and substantially meets the PAB standards and criteria. Programs granted accreditation demonstrated conformity with PAB Standards after a thorough review from the Board. PAB bases its decisions on the overall quality of the program, its performance relative to its mission and strategic plan, and its performance relative to PAB’s 5 standards, which encompass a total of 29 criteria and 18 curriculum sub-criteria. When PAB determines that a Program does not fully meet a criterion or curriculum sub-criterion, the Program is encouraged to take steps to improve in that area and provide information to PAB on its efforts, either during the next accreditation review or in an interim progress report.

The Planning Accreditation Board has required the Program to address issues in the following areas:

• 1D / Student Learning Outcomes Assessment determined to be partially-met. The Program is currently reviewing and revising is student learning outcomes to address the PAB criterion.
• 2B / Student Diversity determined to be partially-met. The student body is not diverse, although efforts are being made to recruit more students from different ethnic and racial communities.
• 3G / Professional Development determined to be unmet. The level of support for faculty professional development is low, although some improvement is being made.
• 4D / Facilities determined to be unmet. The program has poor facilities and low visibility on campus.
• 5B / Program Leadership determined to be partially-met. The current Program Administrator is not a tenure-line faculty member, although a tenure-line associate professor will assume the position in August 2021.

This information is a summary only. Please consult the school directly for in-depth information regarding programs, course offerings, and compliance with PAB standards. Programs should also be consulted directly for additional information on issues and areas of improvement identified during an accreditation review, and the actions that the school is taking to address these areas. If the Program has provided a response to any of the issues cited above, please see below for a link to the response.