SACS 2014 Reaffirmation

According to the SACS website:

The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. The Commission’s mission is the enhancement of educational quality throughout the region, and it strives to improve the effectiveness of institutions by ensuring that institutions meet standards established by the higher education community that address the needs of society and students. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices among the diverse institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Latin America and other international sites approved by the Commission on Colleges that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees. The Commission also accepts applications from other international institutions of higher education.

Accreditation by the Commission on Colleges signifies that the institution (1) has a mission appropriate to higher education, (2) has resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain that mission, and (3) maintains clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the degrees it offers, and that indicate whether it is successful in achieving its stated objectives.

DSU’s Accreditation and Reaffirmation Status

Delta State University was initially accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1930. DSU was last reaffirmed by SACS in 2004 and is scheduled for its next reaffirmation review in 2014. To gain renewal of SACS accreditation involves a multi-year process guided by the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement and by the policies and procedures of the Commission on Colleges (COC).

SACS requirements touch all aspects of DSU’s academic and non-academic departments. The process is guided by a leadership team, but is interactive in nature by including involvement with all departments and colleges/schools. The process of documenting both the reaffirmation report and the QEP plan is vital to DSU’s accreditation. Your role is essential to the SACS process and we look forward to your participation.

Key Dates
SACS Leadership Team Training	June 4, 2012
Compliance Certification Report Due	September 2013
Off Site Peer Review	December 2013
Quality Enhancement Plan Due	6 weeks prior to site visit
On Site Review	Spring 2014
Full Implementation of QEP Begins	Spring 2014
Formal SACS Reaffirmation Decision	December 2014

Compliance Certification Report

The SACS reaffirmation process requires the University to document compliance with a number of core requirements, comprehensive standards, and federal requirements as outlined in the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement. Numerous individuals and groups throughout the University are involved in gathering and presenting evidence of DSU’s compliance with these various standards. The SACS Commission on Colleges website provides guidance for documenting the University’s compliance.

DSU is presenting narratives and evidence of compliance through its SACS Reaffirmation website, login access is required. Because of the sensitive and confidential nature of some types of documentation, access to certain supporting documents is restricted.

The Compliance Certification Report will be submitted to SACS by September 2013 for review by an Off-Site Review Committee during the fall of 2013. Following that review and an on-site review by a peer group of evaluators in the following spring, DSU will be notified of its reaffirmation status in December 2014.

Contact Information

Compliance Certification
For information on DSU’s Compliance Certification report, contact Dr. Beverly Moon, Dean of Research, Assessment, and Planning, and SACS Liaison, at (662-846-4834) or email bmoon@deltastate.edu .Leadership Team

For information on DSU’s SACS Leadership Team, contact Dr. Beverly Moon at (662-846-4834) or e-mail bmoon@deltastate.edu.

Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)
For information on DSU’s Quality Enhancement Plan, contact Mr. David Salinero (662-846-4451) or e-mail dsaliner@deltastate.edu.

SACS Process
For information on DSU’s overall SACS reaffirmation process, contact Dr. Beverly Moon at (662-846-4834) or e-mail bmoon@deltastate.edu.

General Comments
To provide general comments about DSU’s SACS reaffirmation process, click here.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement: This official SACS document outlines the Core Requirements, Comprehensive Standards, and Federal Requirements with which DSU must comply and provide evidence of compliance.

Resource Manual for the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement

Compliance Reports - Examples from other SACS Institutions

Note: These reports have not been reviewed for quality or comparability with DSU, but are offered as examples. Websites change frequently, so these listed below may not continue to be accessible.
Georgia State University
Kennesaw State University
Southeastern Louisiana University
Texas A & M International University
Troy University
University of Memphis
University of West Florida

SACS Policies/Procedures

SACS Leadership Team
Name	Title
Dr. John Hilpert	President
Dr. Wayne Blansett	Vice President for Student Affairs
Dr. Ellen Green	Faculty Senate Vice President
Dr. Ann Lotven	Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Beverly Moon	Dean of Research, Assessment, & Planning/SACS Liaison
Mr. Brett Oleis	Faculty Senate President
Mr. Greg Redlin	Vice President for Finance and Administration
Dr. Michelle Roberts	Vice President for University Relations

SACS Guidelines and Forms

Advertising, Student Recruitment, and Representation of Accredited Status (Edited Jan 2007)
Faculty Credentials (Adopted Dec 2006)
Commission Policies
Commission Guidelines
Commission Good Practices
Commission Position Statements
Distance and Correspondence Education (Revised June 2010)

SACS Handbooks

Quality Enhancement Plan

Delta State University Resources

Catalogs

Handbooks for the DSU Community

Institutional Effectiveness at DSU

Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP)

By requiring accredited institutions to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) the SACS Commission on Colleges (COC) emphasizes its commitment to advancing the quality of higher education. The QEP affirms the COC belief that student learning is central to the mission of all higher education institutions. According to the COC, "the QEP describes a carefully designed course of action that addresses a well-defined and focused topic or issue related to enhancing student learning. The QEP should be embedded within the institution’s ongoing integrated institution-wide planning and evaluation process."

Whereas the Compliance Certification Report provides a snapshot of past and present practices at the University, the Quality Enhancement Plan points to the future. SACS spells out the following expectations for an acceptable QEP:

Core Requirement 2.12: The institution has developed an acceptable Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) that includes an institutional process for identifying key issues emerging from institutional assessment and focuses on learning outcomes and/or the environment supporting student learning and accomplishing the mission of the institution,

Comprehensive Standard 3.3.2: The institution has developed a Quality Enhancement Plan that (1) demonstrates institutional capability for the initiation, implementation, and completion of the QEP; (2) includes broad-based involvement of institutional constituencies in the development and proposed implementation of the QEP; and (3) identifies goals and a plan to assess their achievement.

The QEP is a plan for the entire campus and requires broad-based acceptance and participation. Your input is valuable and welcome. If you would like to share your ideas or concerns with us, please use the Feedback link below.