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Description of the Accreditation Process
For institutions that are to be reviewed by the
SACS Commission on Colleges (COC) in 2004 and thereafter, the
Accreditation Review process will be different from that followed
the last time Western Kentucky University’s accreditation
was re-affirmed (in 1994). The present process was adopted by
vote of the College Delegate Assembly at the annual meeting of
SACS in December, 2001, and includes the following steps:
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Submission of a statement regarding the institution’s
compliance with the Core Requirements and Comprehensive Standards.
The statement must indicate the judgment of institutional officials
as to whether the institution is in full compliance, in partial
compliance, or not in compliance with each Core Requirement
and Comprehensive Standard. If the conclusion is that the institution
has either not complied or only partially complied with a given
standard, there must be a description of the steps being taken
to bring the institution into full compliance. Documentation
to support the institution’s Compliance Certification
must be provided.
Due: August 30, 2004
- Submission of Expanded Annual Institutional Profiles. Due:
August 30, 2004
- Participation in an off-site peer review process. Selected reviewers
will meet at an announced location to review the institution’s
Compliance Certification, institutional profiles, and supporting
documentation. This is scheduled to occur during the second
week of November, 2004.
- Submission of a Quality Enhancement Plan. “Engaging the
wider academic community and addressing an issue or issues that
contribute to institutional improvement, the plan should be focused,
succinct, and limited in length (no more than seventy-five pages
of narrative text and no more than twenty-five pages of support
documentation or charts, graphs, and tables)” (SACS COC,
Principles of Accreditation, 2001, p. 8).
Due: January 15, 2005
- Participation in an on-site peer review process. A team of
reviewers will visit the campus to “verify the institution’s
statement of its compliance with the Core Requirements and Comprehensive
Standards, evaluate actions proposed and/or taken regarding the
institution’s statement of non-compliance, evaluate the
acceptability of the Quality Enhancement Plan, and provide consultation
regarding issues addressed in the plan” (SACS COC, Principles
of Accreditation, 2001, p. 8). This is scheduled to occur during
the spring of 2005, between March 14 and April 29, 2005.
- Review of all reports and materials by the Commission on Colleges
at its annual meeting, December, 2005, followed
by a vote to re-affirm accreditation by the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools.
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