New SACS Education

Baylor students, faculty, staff and administrators will be learning a new form of "SACS education" this fall -- one their parents never told them. 
The University is involved in a three-year process of seeking reaffirmation of accreditation of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges. Work on the review began in fall 2004 and the decision on Baylor's reaffirmation is expected in December 2007.

"Baylor's quality should assure reaffirmation, but it's up to us to prove our quality," said Larry Lyon, dean of the Graduate School, senior vice provost and Baylor SACS accreditation liaison. "And it's up to us to continue to improve student learning, which is the ultimate criterion for SACS."

The review process has changed significantly since the 1994-96 self-study, said Lyon, campus coordinator of that study. One of the key differences is the prominent role of technology. Rather than filling a room with paper, the work of the Baylor SACS Task Force populates a Web site that documents Baylor's compliance with the SACS standards. This Web site will be reviewed off-site in fall 2006 by a committee of faculty and administrators from other universities in the SACS region.

There are two primary reports required of Baylor for reaffirmation. One is the compliance report, which must be submitted by September 2006. This report includes 12 core requirements, 61 comprehensive standards and eight federal requirements -- 81 total, all of which must be met to SACS' satisfaction. The compliance report focuses on institutional effectiveness and faculty credentialing.

"Every division on campus will be affected by this compliance effort," said Tiffany Hogue, assistant provost and Baylor SACS coordinator. "We're all asked to take a step back and assess our performance, whether it's administering student programs, paying Baylor's bills or educating our students."

The other primary report is a Quality Enhancement Plan, a new requirement of the review process. The QEP must present a proposal the University will implement that addresses student learning and is future-focused. Ideas for the QEP topic from faculty, staff, students and alumni are due by Nov. 1. The full QEP proposal is due by February 2007. Within a month or two of the QEP submission, the SACS review committee makes its only on-site visit to the Baylor campus.

The real opportunity in this for Baylor, Hogue said, is putting into place structures that are utilized continually so that when the next 10-year review occurs, efforts do not have to be recreated. "It's a much more transparent process, and it's also designed to be ongoing. In 2017, SACS will be back, and we'll have to account for the goals we set as a result of this 2005-07 study," she said.

To learn more about Baylor's SACS review process, visit www.baylor.edu/sacs, or call the Baylor SACS office, Pat Neff, Room 310, at (254) 710- 2414.