In the first week of December, while students are studying for finals and calculating their best possible GPA, the University will receive a grade of its own.
Every decade, the University must go through the process of reaffirming its accreditation by its accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Without matching all of SACSCOC’s standards, the University does not have the authority to grant degrees.
The University’s funding and students’ ability to obtain grants and financial aid depend partly on the outcome of this process, said Randy Duran, director of the University Office of Undergraduate Research, earlier this year.
Members of SACSCOC will meet in Tennessee to look over the University’s application, along with several other schools, and release a conclusion on Dec. 9, said Gil Reeve, University vice provost for academic programs, planning and review.
“SACSCOC doesn’t approve individual degree programs. They approve institutional programs. They accredit the institution to deliver degree programs,” Reeve said.
For example, Reeve said if the University is creating a new degree program, it does not have to be approved by the accrediting body but the processes behind its creation does.
Preparations for reaffirmation of accreditation began in 2011, when a committee was formed to make sure the University fulfilled all requirements set by the SACSCOC.
There are about 98 standards set by the SACSCOC involving the running of the school, from the processes used to make decisions regarding classes and degrees to how administration works, according to its website.
The University completed a report showing its compliance with all of the standards in September 2013. The report was then sent back with 17 recommendations for change, which were reevaluated during a campus visit by SACSCOC members in March.
After the March visit, they had more recommendations for changes for the University to make to match all of the standards.
“We provided additional information on two standards and we did that and submitted that in September,” Reeve said. “Once that material is submitted, that’s the last interaction regarding it until December.”
Reeve said the University will not know anything more until December, but he is confident in the University’s success.
“If you’ll check with me on Tuesday, Dec. 9, I should have good news,” Reeve said.