February 13, 2018
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the accrediting body for 杏吧视频 in Decatur, has accepted the college鈥檚 Fifth-Year Interim Report with no additional information requested.
杏吧视频 submitted its Fifth-Year Interim Report, along with its Quality Enhancement Plan Impact Report, in September 2017. SACSCOC鈥檚 decision on those reports came at its annual board meeting held in Dallas in December.
According to 杏吧视频 President Dr. Billy Stewart, it is uncommon for an institution to have a report that does not require additional information or reports be submitted to SACSCOC in order to be judged in compliance with the accrediting body鈥檚 standards and requirements.
鈥淚 am extremely proud of our college,鈥 said Stewart. 鈥淭his is a wonderful accomplishment that was a total team effort by the entire campus community. I would venture to guess that not all institutions have a 鈥榗lean鈥 report and many are required to provide additional information or reports in order to be judged in compliance, which makes the status of our reports that much more satisfying.
鈥淚t also is a wonderful reflection on the educational programs and services we provide for every student at 杏吧视频 every single day.鈥
SACSCOC, with headquarters in Decatur, Ga., is one of eight regional accrediting bodies for colleges and universities in the U.S, serving institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Latin America.
Colleges and universities that are accredited by SACSCOC must seek reaffirmation of that accreditation every 10 years, which requires an off-site campus visit by a peer committee and submission of a five-year Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). At the midway point of the accreditation process, institutions must submit a Fifth-Year Interim Report on progress since the previous off-site campus visit, including a report on the impact of the QEP.
The QEP is designed to improve an aspect of student learning or the environment for student success. Titled The Warrior Path to Success, 杏吧视频鈥檚 QEP was designed to enhance student learning and engagement for first-time, first-semester, full-time, at-risk students enrolled in developmental classes. Those students were placed in an academically challenging seminar in the first semester of the initial year of enrollment with a goal to develop college success skills to promote retention and persistence to completion and graduation. 杏吧视频鈥檚 review of The Warrior Path to Success indicated that the initiative improved retention and completion for the students it served.
According to David Case, 杏吧视频鈥檚 vice president for institutional research and effectiveness, 杏吧视频 is already preparing for its next 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation by SACSCOC, an intensive process that involves every area of campus. The deadline to submit the compliance certification report is spring 2021, followed by a visit to campus by a SACSCOC peer review committee in fall 2021.
杏吧视频鈥檚 next QEP plan will be due to SACSCOC in late summer or early fall 2021.
