Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Praises New College of Florida, Reaffirms Accreditation

An on-site review team for the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) today announced that it will recommend reaffirmation of accreditation for New College of Florida without any recommendations for improvements needed by the College.  Reaffirming a college’s accreditation “without recommendations,” as SACS terms it, is a rare accomplishment according to SACS’ Vice President Dr. Gerald Lord and one in which New College should take great pride.

“You are to be congratulated,” he told a crowd of New College administration, faculty and students during a morning meeting held in College Hall to announce the accreditation agency’s findings.  “This is rare, very rare indeed, to come through a rigorous process like this and to have no recommendations [for improvements] made by the committee.”

New College officials also received high praise from the SACS team for the development and presentation of the College’s new Quality Enhancement Program (QEP), a seminar program designed to improve first and second-year students writing and research skills and to help them transition from high school into college.
“I’ve probably read through more QEPs than anyone else associated with SACS,” Lord told the audience, “and in the five years we’ve been looking at these, this is one of the best I have ever seen.”  New College plans to begin offering courses under its Quality Enhancement Program starting in spring 2009.

SACS’s reaffirmation of New College’s accreditation follows a rigorous six-month review of materials submitted by the College and an intense two-day, onsite visit by a team of seven faculty members and administrators from colleges and universities throughout the region, plus a special QEP evaluator, SACS Vice President Lord and an independent observer.  In total, New College administrators and faculty members spent nearly 18 months gathering data and developing the QEP program that was reviewed and approved by the SACS team.

“This is a significant moment for New College,” said President Mike Michalson about the SACS’ findings.  “This is a reaffirmation not just of our accreditation but of our mission, our students and our history as an institution.  I would like to thank all of those who worked so hard to make this process successful.”

The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the regional accreditation agency for degree-granting higher education institutions in the southern United States and their findings are considered the gold standard for accreditation among colleges and universities in the region.  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 and other international sites approved by the Commission on Colleges that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s or doctoral degrees.

According to SACS’ guidelines, New College’s reaffirmation of accreditation will be formally adopted by the agency in June 2009.  The College will then have ten years before it needs to once again undergo review by the agency.

For more information on New College’s reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of College and Schools, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at (941) 487-4150 or email [email protected].