Augusta University’s accreditation reaffirmed

At the annual meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 6, Augusta University’s accreditation was reaffirmed.

This is the first accreditation for the consolidated university and marks a symbolic administrative completion of the consolidation process, which began in 2012.

In March 2016, an on-site team visited campus to review the university’s affirmation documents while also evaluating the second part of the accreditation process, the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). The visit ended with a rare “no recommendations” evaluation from the SACSCOC review committee, which also visited the Athens and Savannah branch campuses.

The QEP, called Learning by Doing, integrates experiential learning into the university’s education programs and offers a Leadership Certificate for undergraduates.

Kicking off in the Spring semester, students will be able to earn the embedded certificate by taking Leadership 2000 and QEP-designated courses within their majors, finishing up by completing a hands-on capstone project involving research or scholarship, an internship or study away.

Earlier this year, Dr. Kimberly Gray was hired as the director of experiential learning.

Moving forward, the university is required to submit documentation to the SACSCOC to provide a Fifth Year Interim report that includes the QEP Impact Report in the Spring 2022.  This is essentially a five year “pulse check” before the next reaffirmation process in 2026.

This kind of planning, including the strategic planning process that’s currently underway, is important and required by SACSCOC as evidence that our university provides quality programs for students which determines eligibility for Title IV funds (student financial aid). It’s all part of being the best university we can be.

For more detailed information, please visit the university’s accreditation page.