Southern prepares for 2009 SACS visit

In 2009, Southern University will undergo accreditation set forth by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
The all-inclusive accreditation normally takes place every 10 years, but a newer model, named QEP, or quality enhancement plan, will shorten that time in half, as well as the points of interest to the southeastern region.
The accreditation body says whether a school is set up properly, adequately funded and has the infrastructure to offer degree grant programs.
“If we were to lose accreditation, all federal support will cease. And basically on a campus where the majority – and overwhelming majority—of students receive some form of federal financial aid, we wouldn’t exist. We see more schools this has happened to, although they tend to be more private (schools) like Morris Brown, and you can see the devastation to a university that something like this could cause, ” said Kim Chavis, PhD, and director of the Academy of Assessment, Learning and Outcomes.
In terms of individual majors, without accreditation, potential employers and graduate schools are unable to verify the ‘rigor or excellence’ of a program, costing jobs and furthering of an academic career.
“Those are the issues that hinge on accreditation, it’s really the life of your institution, unless you have a whole lot of money, like Harvard University is the one institution in the country that is not accredited,” said Chavis.
The entire school would face SACS accreditation, and based on its history, has often focused on program’s curriculums. Where a school was once judged on how well its curriculum was put together, greater interest will be placed on student performance and retention.
In 2004, within the SACS region-an 11-state combination including Texas to Florida—a greater emphasis was created. With QEP, SACS is focused on student learning.
“It has shifted to, ‘This is our content, this is our structure. Doesn’t it look great?’ to ‘Okay, we have content and structure, but this is what our students are able to do.’ That’s where the emphasis is now,” said Chavis.
QEP is designed to identify a critical learning variable that the campus experiences as a whole. It is a campus wide effort with broad based outcomes.
“Our goal is to write up a plan that addresses that outcome and makes it better, in other words, removes that critical barrier, so student learning can improve and grow,” he said.
Southern’s student learning improvement focus is writing across the curriculum, which was found to be Southern’s student learning barriers, determined through literary review, research, independent study, national survey of student engagement, employers, and community groups.
“There was a polling and fact-finding mission for all these entities and one of the things that were prevalent throughout all of them was the writing,” said Chavis.
The faculty and staff will develop what model Southern will use, as it will not just be “the onus of the English department, or the onus of a particular segment of the campus community. They’ll be concerted efforts across the board.”
The models may include a range of things, but once decided on, can not be changed, as funding and budgeting will be tied into the model.
“The plan has to be something the campus will accept,” said Chavis.
Based on developed student outcomes, said Chavis, at the end of programs and graduation, the school should be able to access how the student body is doing.
“Great process for students; it’s an ever going assessment. We’re striving to reach 100 percent. What we’ll have as we progress is students accomplishing these skills so students will be better prepared for job markets and grad school. All are a benefit.”