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Texas A&M-Kingsville accreditation reaffirmed by the Comission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Administrators and SACS re-accreditation leaders join together
on the occasion of Texas A&M-Kingsville being reaffirmed for
full accreditation.  Featured L-R are:  Dr. Duane T. Gardiner,
director, Quality Enhancement Plan, Institutional Planning and
Assessment; Dr. Kay J. Clayton, provost and vice president
of academic affairs; Dr. Rumaldo Z. Juarez, president;
Dr. Dalton Bigbee, associate vice president of academic affairs;
Dr. Mary R. Mattingly, professor of political science;
Dr. Ron Rosati, professor and dean of agriculture and human
sciences.

KINGSVILLE (December 9, 2005) — On Tuesday, December 6, the accreditation of Texas A&M University-Kingsville by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges was reaffirmed at their annual meeting.

The Commission on Colleges (COC) of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is the recognized regional accrediting body in the eleven U.S. Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and in Latin America for those institutions of higher education that award associate, baccalaureate, master's or doctoral degrees.

To gain or maintain accreditation with the COC, an institution must comply with the standards contained in the SACS Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement and with the policies and procedures of the COC.  In examining the Principles, twelve are "Core Requirements" and 53 are "Comprehensive Standards."  In addition, any institution receiving federal funds must comply with eight "Federal Requirements."  The process now also includes the development of a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) which involves a set of new activities designed to enhance student learning. 

"The re-accreditation by SACS for the next 10 years is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr. Rumaldo Z. Juarez, president of Texas A&M-Kingsville. “This reaffirmation is the outcomeof hard work and commitment by our faculty and staff that has been underway for a number of years and consistent with our goal to provide quality academic programs and services to our students.” “The re-accreditation involved a very complex process and demanded enormous preparation and time-consuming activities on the part of our faculty and staff,” Juarez noted. “We are truly grateful and appreciative to our accreditation leadership team and all of the faculty and staff for their part in this successful outcome. Our aim for excellence is underway."

Dr. Kay Clayton, provost and vice president for academic affairs, reiterated the significance of reaffirming accreditation.

“ Full accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is very important to the university,” said Clayton.  “Many long hours of hard work went into achieving this major milestone and we are very pleased that these efforts had such a successful outcome.”

“Accreditation is significant because it assures our students, alumni and other stakeholders that specific standards of quality are being achieved at the university.  We are indebted to the many faculty, staff and students who were involved in the work leading up to this achievement, and especially to the members of the leadership team.”

That leadership team included Dr. Ron Rosati, dean of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences; Dr. Mary Mattingly, special assistant to the provost; and Dr. Dalton Bigbee, associate vice president of academic affairs.

According to Bigbee, the process of reaffirming accreditation began more than three ago. Almost 200 people, including faculty, staff and students, worked on a determination of compliance with each group of standards.

“As you can imagine, extensive research, discussion and thought were required,” said

Bigbee.  “In some cases, new practices had to be implemented, along with the development of

university rules and procedures, forms and processes.  At the same time, a planning committee began working on the QEP.”

Bigbee said that the complete report, in both electronic and print formats, was submitted to SACS in September 2004 for review by an off-site committee. An on-site committee visited the campus in April of 2005 to follow up on recommendations from the off-site committee and to review the university's QEP.

“We responded to their report in October and the decision earlier this week was the culmination of all those efforts,” said Bigbee.

With SACS accreditation reaffirmed, Texas A&M University-Kingsville remains eligible to receive federal funds for research and sponsored programs, as well as student financial assistance in the form of grants and loans. 

The process of reaffirmation occurs every 10 years, making 2015 the official date for A&M-Kingsville, with efforts probably starting around 2012 or 2013, said Bigbee.

“However, the Principles influence the activities of the university on a continuous basis, so in one sense, reaffirmation occurs every day,” he noted. 

With so many of the university’s practices now institutionalized, Bigbee said the next reaffirmation should not involve quite so many people and it should be easier to provide the documentation necessary to demonstrate compliance.