SACS | Lipscomb University

SACS

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Reaffirmation of Accreditation Compliance Certification Report

SACS Mission
The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. The Commission's mission is the enhancement of educational quality throughout the region and it strives to improve the effectiveness of institutions by ensuring that institutions meet standards established by the higher education community that address the needs of society and students. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices among the diverse institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Latin America that award associate, baccalaureate, master's, or doctoral degrees. The Commission also accepts applications from other international institutions of higher education.

Accreditation by the Commission on Colleges signifies that the institution (1) has a mission appropriate to higher education, (2) has resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain that mission, and (3) maintains clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the degrees it offers, and that indicate whether it is successful in achieving its stated objectives.

A total of 85 standards are grouped into the following categories: Core Requirements, Comprehensive Standards, and Federal Requirements. Institutions accredited by SACS complete the reaffirmation process every ten years with an interim five-year progress report on 15 standards. Additionally, if the reaffirmation process results indicate an institution is not in compliance with some of the standards, the institution must file periodic reports until compliance is achieved.

Lipscomb University was reaffirmed in 2007 and found to be in compliance with all 85 standards.

Sections
Core Requirements
Comprehensive Standards
Federal Requirements

Core Requirements
Standard	Requirement	Judgment of Compliance
2.1	Degree Granting Authority	Compliant
2.2	Governing Board	Compliant
2.3	Chief Executive Officer	Compliant
2.4	Institutional Mission	Compliant
2.5	Institutional Effectiveness	Compliant
2.6	Continuous Operation	Compliant
2.7.1	Program length	Compliant
2.7.2	Program content	Compliant
2.7.3	General education	Compliant
2.7.4	Course work for Degrees	Compliant
2.8	Faculty	Compliant
2.9	Learning resources and services	Compliant
2.10	Student support services	Compliant
2.11.1	Financial Resources	Compliant
2.11.2	Physical Resources	Compliant
2.12	Quality Enhancement Plan	Compliant

Comprehensive Standards
Standard	Requirement	Judgment of Compliance
3.1	Institutional Mission
3.1.1	Mission	Compliant
3.2	Governance and Administration
3.2.1	CEO evaluation/selection	Compliant
3.2.2	Governing board control	Compliant
3.2.3	Board conflict of interest	Compliant
3.2.4	External influence	Compliant
3.2.5	Board dismissal	Compliant
3.2.6	Board/administration distinction	Compliant
3.2.7	Organizational Structure	Compliant
3.2.8	Qualified administrative/academic officers	Compliant
3.2.9	Faculty/staff appointment	Compliant
3.2.10	Administrative staff evaluations	Compliant
3.2.11	Control of intercollegiate athletics	Compliant
3.2.12	Fund-raising activities	Compliant
3.2.13	Institution-related foundations	Compliant
3.2.14	Intellectual property rights	Compliant
3.3	Institutional Effectiveness
3.3.1	Institutional effectiveness	Compliant
3.4	Educational Programs: All Educational Programs (includes all on-campus, off-campus, and distance learning programs and course work)
3.4.1	Academic program approval	Compliant
3.4.2	Continuing education/service programs	Compliant
3.4.3	Admissions policies	Compliant
3.4.4	Acceptance of academic credit	Compliant
3.4.5	Academic policies	Compliant
3.4.6	Practices for awarding credit	Compliant
3.4.7	Consortia relationships/contractual agreements	Compliant
3.4.8	Non-credit to credit	Compliant
3.4.9	Academic support services	Compliant
3.4.10	Responsibility for curriculum	Compliant
3.4.11	Academic program coordination	Compliant
3.4.12	Technology use	Compliant
3.5	Educational Programs: Undergraduate Programs
3.5.1	College-level competencies	Compliant
3.5.2	Institutional credits for a degree	Compliant
3.5.3	Undergraduate program requirements	Compliant
3.5.4	Terminal degrees of faculty	Compliant
3.6	Educational Programs: Graduate and Post-Baccaulareate Professional Programs
3.6.1	Post-baccalaureate program rigor	Compliant
3.6.2	Graduate curriculum	Compliant
3.6.3	Institutional credits for a degree	Compliant
3.6.4	Post-baccalaureate program requirements	Compliant
3.7	Faculty
3.7.1	Faculty competence	Compliant
3.7.2	Faculty evaluation	Compliant
3.7.3	Faculty development	Compliant
3.7.4	Academic freedom	Compliant
3.7.5	Faculty role in governance	Compliant
3.8	Library and Other Learning Resources
3.8.1	Learning/information resources	Compliant
3.8.2	Instruction of library use	Compliant
3.8.3	Qualified staff	Compliant
3.9	Student Affairs and Services
3.9.1	Student rights	Compliant
3.9.2	Student records	Compliant
3.9.3	Qualified staff	Compliant
3.10	Financial Resources
3.10.1	Financial stability	Compliant
3.10.2	Submission of financial statements	Compliant
3.10.3	Financial aid audits	Compliant
3.10.4	Control of finances	Compliant
3.10.5	Control of sponsored research/external funds	Compliant
3.11	Physical Resources
3.11.1	Control of physical resources	Compliant
3.11.2	Institutional environment	Compliant
3.11.3	Physical facilities	Compliant
3.12	Responsibility for compliance with the Commission's substantive change procedures and policy
3.12.1	Substantive change
3.13	Responsibility for compliance with other Commission policies
3.13.1	Policy compliance
3.14	Representation of status with the Commission
3.14.1	Publication of accreditation status

Federal Requirements
Standard	Requirement	Judgment of Compliance
4.1	Student achievement	Compliant
4.2	Program curriculum	Compliant
4.3	Publication of policies	Compliant
4.4	Program length	Compliant
4.5	Student complaints	Compliant
4.6	Recruitment materials	Compliant
4.7	Title IV program responsibilities	Compliant