Quality Enhancement Plan

Manual Excerpt: The manner in which a college or university makes its case for compliance with the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement is an institutional decision, and the process employed by a peer review committee to reach its decision on compliance issues is likewise determined by the professional judgment of that committee within the context of the institution’s specific circumstances and mission.

The Resource Manual for the Principles of Accreditation is designed to provide guidance to institutions as they seek to determine the extent of their compliance with Commission requirements and standards. The manual is intended to stimulate thinking when assessing compliance with the Core Requirements (CR) and Comprehensive Standards (CS) without prescribing a specific institutional practice or approach or providing a mandatory “checklist” to be followed. The comments are included only to provide some background for forming professional judgment regarding compliance.

Many more factors could be taken into consideration, depending on the institutional context and the particularities of the individual situation. Neither is the manual intended to require a single institutional approach to the evaluation and documentation of compliance with a standard: they are not prescriptive. While acknowledging the diverse nature of institutional missions and the range of educational programs represented within the membership of the Commission, this manual provides a rationale and notes, related questions, and sample documentation that an institution might consider as it assesses its compliance with those accreditation requirements.

Resource Manual for the Principles of Accrediation (83 page PDF from SACSCOC.org)