The University is turning a critical eye on itself this year as officials prepare a self-evaluation for the first required mid-way report for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accrediting board of universities in the South.SACS is now requiring accredited universities to submit interim reports in addition to the 10-year accreditation process — something Stacia Haynie, vice provost of Academic Affairs, called an opportunity to prove the University is “responsible” with federal funds.”Anytime we have an opportunity to demonstrate how responsible we are with the dollars that we are given, we should welcome that,” Haynie said. “It’s always very critical that we demonstrate that to the external community.”SACS delegated the responsibility of accrediting schools throughout the southern region, including schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. All schools accepting federal funds are required to be reaccredited by SACS every 10 years, according to Haynie.Additionally, schools are now required to submit reports five years prior to reaccreditation. The University was accredited in 2004, and it is up for reaccreditation in 2014.According to Belle Wheelan, president of the Commission on Colleges of SACS, the interim reports are required in preparation for the 10-year accreditation process.”They won’t lose accreditation over a fifth-year report, but it could trigger some sort of monitoring process,” Wheelan said. “It is to make sure that they’re still on target, and if they’re not, it would allow us to find out earlier in the reaffirmation cycle rather than waiting to see if reaffirmation is an issue.” Accreditation ensures the University can account for “every single penny,” Haynie said.”We have about a $450 million budget,” Haynie said. “For most institutions we are     incredibly efficient with the money that we have, and it’s amazing to me that our faculty are able to achieve what they do with the resources that we have.”Among the major things being evaluated will be the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan, Haynie said. The University’s QEP is comprised of three objectives — to enhance the communication abilities of students, to increase critical thinking and to increase a sense of social responsibility.Haynie said the University’s communication across the curriculum classes, residential colleges and summer reading program were created to fulfill the QEP.”It’s important in the sense that Congress wants us to be good stewards of the resources that we have,” Haynie said. “We want to be good stewards of the resources that we are given, and we want to be sure that those resources are ensuring students’ success.”—-Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]