The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) was established in 1887 and is a non-profit, membership association dedicated to eduactional improvement through evaluation and accreditation.
A component of this organization is the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), established in 1919. It is a voluntary, non-governmental, peer-based membership association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer-evaluation and accreditation. As a recognized leader in promoting and ensuring quality assurance and improvement in higher education, the Commission definesm, maintains, and promotes higher educational excellence and responds creatively to a diverse, dynamic, global higher education community that is continually evolving.
Colleges and Uiversities in the Middle States region are generally assessed by a site vist team every 10 years with interim progress reports every 5 years.
Downstate was last reviewed in 1996. The Commission recommended that the Institution be reaccredited.
