Before fall semester began, University Vice Provost Jane Cassidy outlined two priorities for the Office of Academic Affairs — to improve the department’s online options for students and to see its way through the process of reaffirmation of the University’s accreditation.
Halfway through the semester, Academic Affairs officials said both initiatives are mostly proceeding as planned.
Darrell Henry, director of the reauthorization effort, said the University sent its first set of documents to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in September. SACSCOC is the group in charge of reauthorizing accreditation for more than 800 universities across the South.
Henry said the document sent in September, called the compliance report, details how the University complies or is in the process of coming into compliance with SACSCOC’s Principles of Accreditation. The University must fulfill each of the 98 principles to have its accreditation reauthorized, he said.
Henry said the compliance report was sent to a SACSCOC committee that will review it and return it to the University with notes on which principles the University needs to come into compliance with. He said it is normal for the University to receive about 25 notes of this type.
The University will likely hear back from SACSCOC in late November or early December, Henry said.
Cassidy said in July that one priority of Academic Affairs is to put the student appeals process, by which students can petition to reverse University decisions, on the University website. Through the appeals process, students can submit official documents to have grades, admissions or other official decisions amended.
Though the website informs students how to submit appeals for a variety of topics, appeals cannot be submitted directly online.
Vice Provost for Academic Programs, Planning and Review Gil Reeve said Academic Affairs still intends to get the program online, but said they do not have a set time frame for doing so.
Reeve said Academic Affairs has focused its online work on offering online classes and education this semester. He said the LSU Online program, which offers online Master’s degree classes, has continued to grow, with more than 140 students already enrolled for the second fall module beginning Oct. 28.
The University will also be offering a new online certification program in construction management beginning next January, Reeve said, but it is unsure if the program will be available online for the beginning of spring semester.