SACSCOC Reaffirmation

February, 10, 2022

Dear Coastal Carolina University Colleagues,

This morning, we had the exit interview with the SACSCOC Reaffirmation Committee assigned to our campus. We thank each member for the service they rendered throughout this peer-review process.

I also want to thank all who played a role in helping the institution navigate the past several years in preparing for this on-campus visit. Special thanks go to Chris Mee and the Institutional Research, Assessment, and Analysis (IRAA) team who have been the steady hands throughout. We will certainly miss Chris at Coastal as she officially retires in a few days and thank her again for her years of service.

The reaffirmation process is reported out in two parts: first, our QEP was approved and the committee provided some very useful feedback as to how we can make it even better. Professor Tripthi Pillai is to be commended for her stewardship as the director of this entire endeavor.

The second part, of course, has to do with the many SACSCOC accreditation standards. The off-site committee found 7 areas where recommendations (areas of improvement) needed to be made. I’m very pleased to report that 6 of the 7 recommendations were satisfactorily addressed. Only one, 8.2.a, requires additional attention and further evidence of assessment of certificate programs will be provided to the Commission in the coming weeks. We fully anticipate our actions and evidence will provide the required documentation to address this recommendation. Having served on several SACSCOC substantive change and reaffirmation committees, to have only one recommendation for an institution of our size and complexity is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all our faculty and staff—and to the accomplishments of our students. Well done!

As part of the 2022 class, the SACSCOC Board of Trustees will take up our reaffirmation case at their December meeting in Atlanta.

This is a once-a-decade process that requires a great deal of labor, documentation, and attention. My sincere appreciation to everyone who helped the university along this journey.  

Kind regards, 

Michael T. Benson