Timetable and preparation
Why Accreditation is Important?
 Recognition of credits by other institutions
 Recognition of degrees
 Federal funding
 Recruitment of students
 Expectations within state system and nationally
 Best practices
Reaffirmation Process
• Different process from 2003
• ~92 standards (including subsections).
• Had a 5 year review on a small subset of these (~ 20%).
• Reviewed on all principles every 10 years. MUST be
compliant with ALL to be accredited (100%).
• QEP also required – semiautonomous process and
submission.
• What happens if not compliant?
• Monitoring report, warning, probation, denial of
accreditation
• Is university-wide – entire university is accredited or not.
Timeline
 Leadership Team visits SACS 6 June 2011
 5 person, membership determined by SACS
 Includes submission of background information
 Compliance document due 10 September 2012
 Offsite review November 2012
 Focused report and QEP proposal due 6 weeks prior to
on-site review (Dec 2012-Feb 2013)
 Onsite review January-April 2013
 Response to onsite visit
 Commission review December 2013
 If monitoring report (~60% of cases), due 6 or 12
months after that.
General Areas of Compliance
 Integrity
 Governance and Administration
 Institutional effectiveness and assessment (ALL
components of university) (35% non-compliant at final
review; up to 85% in first review)
 Academic programs, faculty, learning resources, student
affairs and services.
 Faculty competence and related faculty standards greatest
area of concern (~10% at final review; 81-85% in early stage);
general education competencies next greatest area of
concern.
 Finances, physical facilities, other support services and
resources
 Quality Enhancement Plan
Examples of Ongoing Efforts
• Compliance audit report process:
• 8 sub committees; fall 2009-spring 2011
• University-wide assessment and IE efforts
• General education competencies
• Policy
• QEP process
• Fall terminal degree effort, spring faculty roster review
• Formation of Reaffirmation Steering Committee
– Will take process to completion
– compliance component of reaffirmation represents effort
of small group assembling information and writing report
– not university wide (unlike QEP which must be
university-wide)
Reaffirmation Steering Committee
• Stephen McFarland, Chair (Vice Provost)
• Martin Posey, co-Chair (Accreditation Coordinator)
• Rosemary DePaolo (ex officio)
• Cathy Barlow (ex officio)
• Charlie Maimone (ex officio)
• Kim Cook (ex officio, QEP Development Coordinator)
• Gabriel Lugo (Faculty Senate President)
• Linda Siefert (Director of Assessment, CAS)
• Nathan Lindsay (Director of Student Life Assessment, Student
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Affairs)
Rick Whitfield (Associate Vice Chancellor, Business Affairs)
Ken Spackman (Professor)
Sue Cody (Associate University Librarian)
Leah Kraus (Associate Vice Chancellor, Information Technology
Systems)
Hank Weddington (Associate Dean, Watson School of Education)
Ed Shuford (Project Design and Management, Business Affairs)