For Coastal Carolina University, the process of SACS re-accreditation
will begin soon, with the on-site visitation in 2012. SACS accreditation
standards emphasize institutional quality and student outcomes. The
Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement are
based on the expectation that accredited institutions will have a commitment
to the following.
Comply with
the Core Requirements and Comprehensive Standards contained in the Principles and the policies and procedures
of the Commission on Colleges.
Enhance the
quality of its educational programs.
Focus on
student learning.
Ensure a
"culture of integrity" in all of its operations.
Recognize the
centrality of peer review to the effectiveness of the accreditation process.
The following
documents are critical to reaffirmation.
The Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement describe the accreditation standards and process. They include Core Requirements, Comprehensive
Standards, and federal regulations for Title IV funding to which institutions
must comply to be granted reaffirmation.
The Compliance
Certification is used by the institution to show that it complies with Core
Requirements, Comprehensive Standards, and federal regulations related to Title
IV where appropriate.
The Quality
Enhancement Plan (QEP) is an institution's course of action for institutional
improvement and accomplishing the institution's mission.
Institutional
Profiles contain general information, financial information, and enrollment
data that are submitted annually to the Commission.
The Focused
Report is a document that an institution may choose to produce in response to
the Off-Site Committee’s finding that, in regards to Core Requirements or
Comprehensive Standards, the institution was in non-compliance or the Committee
was unable to determine compliance, along with those Requirements/Standards
that were not reviewed by the Committee.
The 12 Core
Requirements that an institution must meet include having the following: Degree-granting authority; a governing board,
a Chief Executive Officer; an institutional mission; institutional
effectiveness in which the institution engages in ongoing, integrated, and
institution-wide research-based planning and evaluation processes; students
enrolled in degree programs; legitimate degree programs; qualified faculty;
adequate learning resources and services; adequate student support services;
adequate resources to support its programs and operations; and a Quality
Enhancement Plan. Comprehensive
Standards include: Institutional
mission, governance, and effectiveness (16 standards); all undergraduate and
graduate educational programs and support for those programs, faculty
credentials, library and other learning resources, and student affairs and
services (30 standards); and financial and physical resources (7
standards). There are 8 standards
related to federal requirements that an institution must meet, as appropriate.
Eight steps of the
reaffirmation process are:
Commission on
Colleges staff conducts an orientation for institution’s Leadership Team;
institution
submits its Compliance Certification and supporting documentation to the
Commission;
Off-Site
Review Committee reviews institution’s documentation to ensure its compliance
with Core Requirements and Comprehensive Standards, except for the QEP, and
submits its report to the Commission;
Commission
staff orally communicates to the institution a summary of the Off-Site
Committee’s findings – institution may prepare a Focused Report that addresses
those findings, and On-Site Committee receives the Off-Site Committee’s report
and, if submitted, the institution’s Focused Report;
institution
submits its QEP to the Commission and to the On-Site Committee;
On-Site
Committee visits the institution to determine acceptability of the QEP, to
review areas of concern/non-compliance noted by the Off-Site Committee, and to
review areas of concern that are noted during visit, and submits its report to
the Commission;
institution
submits to the Commission a response to the On-Site Committee’s report; and
Commission
reviews the On-Site Committee’s report and the institution’s response, and
takes action on the institution’s reaffirmation.
