{"237781":{"#nid":"237781","#data":{"type":"news","title":"SACS Reaffirmation at Tech Now Underway","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA group of faculty and staff spent part of their summer working on an important initiative that comes around every 10 years: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EReaffirmation is the process by which Georgia Tech must prove to a review team from peer institutions, via the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), that the Institute is qualified to continue to award academic credit. SACSCOC, the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the nation\u2019s southern states, works closely with the U.S. Department of Education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe formal kickoff for the 10-year reaffirmation of Tech\u2019s accreditation began in June 2013. The process will continue through the end of 2015, with Tech\u2019s onsite visit scheduled for March 2015. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is an important process through which we review our policies, procedures, and programs in compliance certification,\u201d said Catherine Murray-Rust, vice provost for Learning Excellence, dean of Libraries, and Tech\u2019s SACS Accreditation Liaison. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy September 2014, Tech will provide a self-study of its compliance \u2014 95 core requirements and principles \u2014 encompassing the spectrum of activities on campus. The gathering of this information will require time and effort on the part of hundreds of people campuswide, and will be managed by a Compliance Steering Committee of campus administrators. During last month\u2019s Institute Address, President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson thanked faculty and staff in advance for their engagement in the project. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe compliance certification is an opportunity for Tech to identify institutional weaknesses or problems and correct them, Murray-Rust said. \u2028\u2028\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI view the compliance part of this process, at best, like moving from one house to another,\u201d she said. \u201cIt takes a tremendous amount of work, and if you do it well, you recalibrate your life and your belongings. You review all aspects of your stuff and how you live, toss out or give away what you don\u2019t need, pack what is left up carefully, and move. At least for a brief period, you are aware of your assets and your liabilities.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETech must also provide a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to improve the quality of student learning outcomes and the environment of learning. It should be directly and traceably related to Tech\u2019s strategic plan. The QEP will be a funded mandate and will result in a detailed implementation plan and budget for five-10 years of support.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe QEP presents an opportunity for campus to select an academic goal that will impact student learning,\u201d Murray-Rust said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe plan is due in December 2014. There will be a process to submit focused proposals. There is a QEP Steering Committee in place that will grow and change in membership once a QEP is selected.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Quality Enhancement Plan is the part of the compliance certification that most directly involves faculty,\u201d Murray-Rust said. \u201cFaculty need to be engaged in determining the best project and creating the plan that generates wide impact on campus, including assessment and programmatic support.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA group of faculty and staff spent part of their summer working on an important initiative that comes around every 10 years: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmation.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A group of faculty and staff spent part of their summer working on an important initiative that comes around every 10 years: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmation."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2013-09-16 15:25:35","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:53","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-09-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-09-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2077","name":"Catherine Murray-Rust"},{"id":"73931","name":"QEP"},{"id":"3106","name":"Quality Enhancement Plan"},{"id":"171295","name":"SACS"},{"id":"171296","name":"Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges"},{"id":"171297","name":"Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reaffirmation"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}