Meeting Minutes for
SACSSOC Ad-hoc Reaffirmation Compliance
Certification Task Force
DATE:
LOCATION:
August 27, 2014
NAHS 123
Task Force Members:
Ed Whitelock, PhD, Compliance Certification Chair
Terry Betkowski, SACSCOC Liaison
Richard Baskin, PhD, Associate VP Academic Affairs
Dennis Chamberlain, EdD, VP Student Affairs
Janet Barras, Registrar
Jeff Hayes, Director of Computer Services
Kim Clark, PhD, Director of Institutional Research
Clint Chastain, Comptroller
Brenda Rutherford, Librarian
Departments and Faculty Representatives:
Business & Public Service: Brenda Johnson, PhD
Biology: Linda Hyde, PhD
Fine Arts & Performing Arts: Prof. Tony Pearson
History & Political Science: Frank Winters, PhD
Humanities: Adria Goldman
Mathematics & Physical Science: John George, PhD
School of Education: Pam Bell, PhD
School of Nursing: Christina Quinn, PhD
Members Present: Dr. Whitelock, Prof. Betkowski, Dr. Chamberlain, Janet Barras, Jeff Hayes, Dr. Clark,
Clint Chastain, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Hyde, Prof. Pearson, Dr. Winters, Dr. Goldman, Dr. George, Dr. Quinn
Members Absent: Dr. Baskin, Dr. Bell, Ms. Rutherford
Note: Dr. Sonya Gaither will replace Ms. Brenda Rutherford as Library Representative
Call to Order:
Task Force Chair, Dr. Whitelock called the meeting to order at 2:00 PM and introduced
the Provost/VPAA, Dr. Venable who delivered the charge to the committee:
This Task Force is created to prepare for the compliance certification work as we prepare for reaffirmation of
our SACSCOC accreditation. The committee is charged with conducting a review of the SACSCOC core
requirements and comprehensive standards and federal requirements to help identify any gaps we might
have. We will use this opportunity to address identified gaps prior to writing the compliance report. The
review of the standards should be completed by January 2015 in order to allow time to address identified
issues.
New Business:
Election of Secretary:
Dr. Johnson took notes for this meeting, to which Dr. Whitelock added revisions
and prepared a final version. Creché Navarro, Administrative Assistant to the Department of Humanities, will
be drafted to serve as Recorder for future task force meetings
Overview of Accreditation Process and Compliance Review.
 Prof. Betkowski overviewed the process of accreditation and resources available. She reviewed the
resources available on the SACSCOC website (www.sacscoc.org) . The “Policies & Publications” link
holds dozens of resources describing the Principles of Accreditation. The link also offers access to the
Handbook for Institutions Seeking Reaffirmation. The four-page Reaffirmation Process document is
linked here.
 Lee Fruitticher reported recent experiences as an on-site reaffirmation reviewer and the reviewers’
reliance on the Questions posed in each section of the Manual.
 The question was posed as to the time response anticipated. Prof. Betkowski reviewed the timeline with
early January as the deadline for the work of this Task Force.
Review of Assignments for Standards Audit:
project teams as follows:
Dr. Whitelock reviewed the committee assignments to
Faculty and Staff Affairs Standards (7): Clint Chastain and Kim Clark
 CS 3.2.9 Personnel appointment
 CS 3.2.10 Administrator evaluations
 CS 3.7.2 Faculty evaluation
 CS 3.7.3 Faculty development
 CS 3.7.4 Academic freedom
Ad Hoc Reaffirmation Compliance Certification Task Force


August 27, 2014
CS 3.7.5 Faculty role in governance
CS 3.4.2 Continuing education/service programs
Faculty Credentials Standards (4): Terry Betkowski

CR 2.8 Faculty

CS 3.4.11 Academic program coordination

CS 3.5.4 Terminal degrees for faculty

CS 3.7.1 Faculty Competence
Educational Programs Standards (17): Tony Pearson, Frank Winters, John George, Pam Bell, Christina Quinn

CR 2.7.1 Program Length

CR 2.7.2 Program Content

CR 2.7.3 General Education

CR 2.7.4 Course work for Degrees

CS 3.4.1 Academic Program approval

CS 3.4.5 Academic policies

CS 3.4.7 Consortial relationships/contractual agreements

CS 3.5.1 General Education

CS 3.5.2 Institutional credits for a degree (undergraduate)

CS 3.5.3 Undergraduate program requirements

CS 3.6.1 Post-baccalaureate program rigor

CS 3.6.2 Graduate curriculum

CS 3.6.3 Institutional credits for a graduate degree

CS 3.6.4 Post-baccalaureate program requirements

FR 4.2 Program curriculum

FR 4.4 Program length

CS 3.4.10 Responsibility for Curriculum
Student Affairs Standards (4): Dennis Chamberlain

CR 2.10 Student Support Services

CR 3.9.1 Student rights

CR 3.9.3 Qualified staff

FR 4.5 Student complaints
Governance & Organization Standards (19): Richard Baskin and Cabinet

CR 2.1 Degree-granting Authority

CR 2.2 Governing Board

CR 2.3 Chief Executive Officer

CR 2.6 Continuous Operation

CS 3.2.1 CEO evaluation/selection

CS 3.2.2 Governing Board Control

CS 3.2.3 Conflict of Interest

CS 3.2.4 External influence

CS 3.2.5 Board dismissal

CS 3.2.6 Board/administration distinction

CS 3.2.7 Organizational structure

CS 3.2.8 Qualified administrative/academic officers

CS 3.2.11Control of intercollegiate athletics

CS 3.2.12 Fund-raising activities

CS 3.2.13 Institution-related entities

CS 3.2.14 Intellectual property rights

CS 3.12.1 Substantive Change

CS 3.13.1 Policy Compliance

CS 3.14.1 Publication of accreditation status
Enrollment Management Standards (11): Janet Barras

CS 3.4.3 Admission policies

CS 3.4.4 Acceptance of academic credit

CS 3.4.6 Practices for awarding credit

CS 3.4.8 Noncredit to credit

CS 3.9.2 Student Records

CS 3.10.2 Financial Aid Audits

FR 4.3 Publication of policies

FR 4.6 Recruitment materials

FR 4.7 Title IV program responsibilities

FR 4.8 Distance/correspondence education

FR 4.9 Definition of credit hours
Mission & Institutional Effectiveness Standards (5): Brenda Johnson, Lynda Hyde, Adria Goldman

CR 2.4 Mission

CR 2.5 Institutional Effectiveness

CR 3.1 Intuitional Mission

CR 3.3.1 Institutional Effectiveness
Page 2 of 3
Ad Hoc Reaffirmation Compliance Certification Task Force

August 27, 2014
FR 4.1 Student Achievement
Learning Resources Standards (6): Jeff Hayes and Richard Baskin

CR 2.9 Learning resources and services

CS 3.4.9 Academic support services

CS 3.4.12 Technology Use

CS 3.8.1 Learning and information resources

CS 3.8.2 Instruction of library use

CS 3.8.3 Qualified staff
Dr. Whitelock advised the members to organize their own teams and gather documents. The question was
posed about the format in which reports should be submitted. It was agreed that a consistent form should
be used. It was suggested that the committee use the Dropbox to upload documents so all committee
members would have access to other reports. Prof. Betkowski suggested team members look at the end of
each section for cross-referenced sections and review those also.
Following discussion, two revisions were made to Dr. Whitelock’s originally proposed assignements: CS
3.4.10 (Responsibility for Curriculum) was moved to the Educational Programs group while CS3.4.2
(Continuing Education) was moved from that group to Faculty and Staff Affairs. The list above reflects this
change.
Meetings Schedule: Dr. Whitelock announced future meetings to be held on the final Wednesday afternoon
of each month:



September 24, 2:00 p.m., Academic Hall 201
October 29, 2:00 p.m., Academic Hall 201
November 19, 2:00 p.m., NAHS 123
Dr. Whitelock recommended “wading into” the project and have some assignment sections completed by the
September 24th meeting time.
Next Meeting: The next meeting date is set for September 24, 2:00 p.m., Academic Hall 201.
Adjournment: Dr. Whitelock adjourned the meeting at 3:10 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Ed Whitelock
Page 3 of 3