Guidelines for Preparing SACS
Compliance Arguments
It is the responsibility of an institution to make a compelling case
for compliance. The case must be presented in light of the
institution’s mission and current circumstances. As a writer, you
have three primary responsibilities:
a) Use your professional judgment to make an honest, accurate and
detailed assessment of how well the institution adheres to a
given SACS standard/requirement
b) Use the evidence collected to provide a clear, coherent and
accurate assessment that supports the institution’s case for
compliance
c) If a case for compliance cannot be made, help develop a action
plan that describes the necessary steps for compliance, a
timetable for completion and assignment of responsibility
The following guidelines are meant to help you develop your
compliance narrative.
Preparing for Review
1) Review the standard/requirement as stated in The Principles of
Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement
2) Review the section of the standard/outline that you have been
asked to focus on, keeping in mind: a) the institution’s mission
and b) other campus sites, including distance education.
3) Read pages 24-31 of Handbook for Institutions Seeking
Reaffirmation
4) For the standard/requirement for which you are responding, review
the Resource Manual for the Principles of Accreditation:
Foundations for Quality Enhancement
5) Review any relevant SACS Policies, Guidelines, Good Practices,
and Position Statements
6) Review Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi Compliance Document
(http://sacs.tamucc.edu/)
Documenting Evidence for Compliance
1) Review the Questions for Consideration in the Handbook for
Institutions Seeking Reaffirmation
2) Use the Handbook for Institutions Seeking Reaffirmation to get an
idea of the baseline documentation (evidence) expected for the
standard/outline.
3) In areas where the baseline evidence is not sufficient to support
the argument for compliance, identify other pieces of evidence
necessary for the compliance argument.
4) Use the Analyzing A Case for Compliance rubric to verify that the
collected evidence sufficiently supports the argument for
compliance.
5) If you believe that there is not sufficient evidence for a
compliance argument, work with your compliance coordinator to
create an action plan that describes the necessary steps for
compliance, a timetable for completion, and assignment of
responsibility.
Developing a Rational for Compliance
6) Using collected documentation, create a clear, succinct, and
convincing written argument for compliance.
7) Verify that each assertion made in the argument has evidence and
that the documentation is explained in the argument.
8) Use the Analyzing A Case for Compliance rubric to verify that the
written argument sufficiently supports the argument for
compliance.
Finalizing Draft Document
9) Place the written argument in the word template provided.
10) In the Evidence section of the document, list the pieces of
evidence in the order in which it appears in the document.
11) Using the numbers provided for the evidence in the Evidence
section of the document, indicate in the written argument where
in the document that each piece of evidence should be located.
12) Provide all evidence in PDF format.
13) Name all the evidence according to the following naming
conventions:
Evidence Document filename convention: type-#-fullname
Type: BD-Board Document, UD-University Document, SD-State
Document
Numbering: Use three digits and number sequentially
Example:
BD-001-TAMUS Policies and Regulations Web site
BD-002-TAMUS 01-04 Items Requiring Action by the Board of Regents