OXFORD,
\nMiss. – Following a thorough inspection by a committee of peer
\nevaluators, the University of Mississippi is expected to receive a vote
\nof reaffirmation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
\nlater this year.<\/p>\n
A SACS site team completed its weeklong visit
\nto the campus Thursday (Feb. 26). During an exit visit, university
\nofficials were informed the team will recommend approval of all UM’s
\ncompliance reports except one. A written report from the SACS team is
\nexpected within 3-5 weeks.<\/p>\n
“We received a very positive report,”
\nsaid Maurice Eftink, Associate Provost and Graduate Dean at UM. “They
\nliked our Quality Enhancement Plan, and I was very pleased with their
\nsuggestions and comments.” QEP is a five-year reorganization plan to
\nimprove the way writing is taught and is a core requirement of the SACS
\nreaccreditation process.<\/p>\n
Eftink said the SACS team’s only request was that the university provide additional information about the qualifications of a small group of instructors\/faculty.<\/p>\n
“To put this in perspective, most universities will have multiple recommendations at this stage, so our report was a very good one,” he added.<\/p>\n
The university will work over the spring and summer to submit the one follow-up report. The university then stands for a vote for reaffirmation at the December SACS meeting.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1895, The SACS Council on Accreditation and School Improvement is a nonprofit, voluntary, nongovernmental association, and one of six regional accrediting associations in the country. The association has as its central purpose the improvement of education in the South and other geographical areas through the process of accreditation. Accreditation is a nongovernmental and voluntary process of evaluation concerned with improving educational quality and assuring the public that member institutions meet established standards.<\/p>\n
Regional accreditation is comprehensive: It evaluates the entire institution, not just certain programs. Member colleges and schools undertake exhaustive self-studies involving the participation of faculty, administrators, staff, students and governing board members. A committee of peer evaluators, composed of professional educators who have volunteered to serve on the committee, visits an institution to assess its compliance with stated standards, to examine the school’s efforts to continuously improve, to review the acceptability of its self-study and to make recommendations stated in the visiting committee report and design short-term and long-range plans for improvement based on the recommendations.<\/p>\n
SACS accredits colleges and schools in the 11 Southern states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia – and in Mexico, Central and South America, the islands of the Caribbean and other geographic areas. Accreditation is not a permanent status and depends on continuing improvement demonstrated through a regular cycle of annual reports, interim interviews and periodic evaluations.<\/p>\n
For more information on SACS, visit http:\/\/www.sacscasi.org\/<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"