The Southern University System

Reaffirmation Process

Overview of SACS Reaffirmation
SUS Organizational Structure
Leadership Team
What is Accreditation
Required Documents
Review Process

Overview of SACS Reaffirmation of Accreditation Process at SUS

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is recognized as the regional accrediting body for higher education institutions in eleven Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia) and Latin America.

The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the upcoming SACS reaffirmation of accreditation in 2010 and 2011to describe how Southern University System is organized for the reaffirmation process.

Please visit this section often to learn about the responsibilities and memberships of SUS’s SACS Reaffirmation of Accreditation campus-based Leadership Teams, Compliance Certification Committees, QEP Committees.. This section also includes general information about SACS, the reaffirmation of accreditation process and timeline, and accreditation-related news and events.

SUS Organizational Structure for Reaffirmation of Accreditation Process

The Leadership Team and Committees listed below have been created to engage the University community in the SUS SACS reaffirmation of accreditation process, to collect evidence of compliance, to develop Compliance Certification Reports and Quality Enhancement Plans (QEP), and to prepare for the off-site and on-site peer reviews. The links to each Committee will display the corresponding group's purpose, responsibilities, and membership.

Leadership Team
Compliance Certification Committee
Quality Enhancement Plan Committee
Website Committee

The SACS Leadership Team

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Leadership Team is to accomplish the following:

Successfully lead their SUS campus in the process of reaffirmation of its accreditation by SACS
Ensure the integrity of the internal institutional assessment of compliance with all SACS Core Requirements and Comprehensive Standards, including developing a viable Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)
Align the reaffirmation accreditation activities with the implementation of 2007-2012 SUS Strategic Plan

RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibilities of the Leadership Team include the following:

Approving the structure and timelines for the internal review process
Appointing the committees and work teams as needed to prepare and communicate the Compliance Certification and QEP
Developing an administrative budget for the reaffirmation of accreditation process to ensure that the committees and teams receive appropriate staff, technological and research support as well as dedicated office and meeting space (Quality Enhancement Center/SACS Accreditation Resource Room)
Ensuring that the campus community is educated about the reaffirmation of accreditation process,
actively engaged in the review process, and informed of the progress of the review
Reviewing and approving the Compliance Certification and the QEP
Overseeing arrangements for the on-site visit in Spring 2008
Ensuring that appropriate follow-up activities are in place to address compliance issues and to monitor the successful implementation and progress of the QEP.

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation through external peer review is the principal method used by higher education stakeholders to examine institutions and programs for quality assurance and quality enhancement. Self-regulation through accreditation embodies a traditional U.S. philosophy that a free people can and ought to govern themselves through a representative, flexible, and responsive system. There are two main types of accreditations – regional and specialized. Regional accreditation is often referred to as general accreditation because it applies to an institution as a whole; without differentiating among the various curricula and professional schools an institution may maintain. Specialized accrediting agencies (e.g., ABET, NCATE, AACSB) review and accredit specialized programs, and single-purpose institutions. Accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges represents regional accreditation.

The product of accreditation is a public statement that an institution has a purpose appropriate to higher education and has resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain that purpose. Accreditation enhances educational quality by improving the effectiveness of institutions and ensuring that institutions meet standards established by the higher education community, and serves as a common denominator of shared values and practices among the diverse institutions. Accreditation is also required for access to federal funds such as student aid and other federal programs.

Accreditation agencies expect each institution to:

Make student learning the center of its mission;
Adequately document student learning outcomes;
Compile evidence pertaining to the quality of courses, curricula and co-curricular programming;
Ensure stakeholder involvement; and
Commit to educational improvement.

Required Documents

In order for Southern University System to maintain accreditation status, the System campuses must be able to show compliance with all Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) requirements. Documentation is an important component of making the case for compliance. The evaluation of compliance evidence involves examination of available records, documents, databases, policy manuals, curriculum documentation, assessment records, committee minutes, Board of Supervisors minutes, planning documents, reports to external audiences, case studies, and other sources of information relevant to assessing compliance.

There are several documents that will be key components of the reaffirmation process. These include the following:

Compliance Certification. The Compliance Certification Report is the document that the institution will use to make its case for compliance with all Core Requirements, Comprehensive Standards and Federal Requirements. Compliance with the Core Requirements is essential for gaining and maintaining accreditation with the Commission on Colleges. The requirements establish a level of development required of an institution seeking initial or continued accreditation. The Comprehensive Standards set forth standards in the following three areas: (i) institutional mission, governance, and effectiveness; (ii) educational programs; and (iii) resources. The Comprehensive Standards represent good practices in higher education and establish a level of accomplishment expected of all member institutions. The U.S. Secretary of Education recognizes accreditation by the SACS Commission on Colleges in establishing the eligibility of higher education institutions to participate in programs authorized under Title IV of the 1998 Higher Education Amendments and other federal programs. Through its compliance with these Federal Requirements, the Commission assures the public that it is a reliable authority on the quality of education provided by its member institutions.
The Quality Enhancement Plan. The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is the document developed by the institution that describes a focused course of action the university will take to improve a component of the institution that will enhance the overall quality of the students’ educational experiences. The QEP must be directly related to specific student learning outcomes.
Institutional Profiles. Institutional Profiles are documents submitted annually to the SACS Commission on Colleges that provide updates of general university information, financial information and enrollment data.
The Focused Report. The Focused Report is a document that an institution may choose to develop in order to respond to a judgment made by the Off-Site Review Committee regarding a Core Requirement or Comprehensive Standard with which the committee found the university to be in non-compliance. The Focused Report will provide additional documentation regarding the institution’s determination of compliance with the Core Requirement or Comprehensive Standard in question.

In preparing these documents, the University should develop and present a pattern of evidence to support compliance claims. A “pattern of evidence” is a set of multiple measures or indicators that represent a coherent and focused body of information supporting a judgment of compliance. Evidence should entail interpretation and reflection, represent a combination of trend and snapshot data, and draw from multiple sources.

SACS Review Process

There are three stages of review required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges. The Off Site Review Committee conducts the first stage of the review that addresses the institution’s compliance with the Core Requirements, Comprehensive Standards and Federal Regulations (with the exception of Core Requirement 12-the Quality Enhancement Plan). The committee is composed of a chair and evaluators for finance, institutional effectiveness, organization and administration, student support services, learning support services, and one to three evaluators for educational programs depending on the size and complexity of the institutions in the group being reviewed. After reviewing documentation of compliance, the committee prepares a separate report for the institution under review that records its decisions regarding compliance and presents an explanation for each decision, excluding decisions where the institution is determined to be in compliance.

The On-Site Review Committee conducts the evaluation that deals with Core Requirement 12 and the Comprehensive Standards that the Off Site Review team found to be in non compliance, or those of which it could not determine compliance. The On-Site Committee is comprised of a minimum of seven members including the chair, evaluators in the areas of faculty, educational programs, learning or student support services, institutional effectiveness and two evaluators with experience in the subject area of the QEP. These two evaluators are nominated by the institution. The committee spends three days on campus. This committee is then responsible for preparing and submitting the reaffirmation report to the SACS Commission on Colleges.

The third stage of the review is initiated by the Commission on Colleges once the reaffirmation report has been received. The Commission reviews all the materials submitted by the institution and the On-Site Committee and makes a determination regarding reaffirmation including any specific activities which require follow-up. Commission decisions are announced at the SACS Commission on Colleges Annual Meeting (currently held in December).