ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMISSION AND THE SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION OF
COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS

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The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is a private, nonprofit, voluntary organization founded in 1895 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Association is comprised of the Commission on Colleges, which accredits higher education degree-granting institutions, and the Council on Accreditation and School Improvement, which accredits elementary, middle, and secondary schools. The Commission and Council carry out their missions with considerable autonomy; they develop their own standards and procedures and govern themselves by a delegate assembly. Both operate under the Association’s Board of Trustees.

The College Delegate Assembly is comprised of one voting representative (the chief executive officer or the officer’s designee) from each member institution. Its responsibilities include electing the seventy seven-member Commission on Colleges and guiding the organization’s work, approving all revisions in accrediting standards as recommended by the Commission, approving the dues of candidate and member institutions as recommended by the Commission, electing an Appeals Committee to hear appeals of adverse accreditation decisions, and electing Commission representatives to the Association’s Board of Trustees.

The Commission on Colleges is responsible for recommending to the College Delegate Assembly standards for candidacy and membership, authorizing special visits, taking final action on the accreditation status of institutions, nominating to the College Delegate Assembly individuals for election to succeed outgoing members of the Commission, electing an Executive Council of the Commission that will act for the Commission while it is not in session, appointing ad hoc study committees as needed, and approving the policies and procedures of the Commission on Colleges.

The thirteen-member Executive Council is the executive arm of the Commission and functions on behalf of the Commission and the College Delegate Assembly between sessions. However, the actions of the Council are subject to the review and approval of the Commission. The Council interprets Commission policies and procedures, develops procedures for and supervises the work of adhoc and standing committees of the Commission, approves goals and objectives of the Commission, reviews and approves the Commission’s budget, oversees and annually evaluates the work of its president, and initiates new programs, projects, and policy proposals.

The Council receives and acts on reports from all adhoc and standing committees and submits them to the Commission. In the case of institutions applying for candidacy, membership, or reaffirmation of accreditation, the Executive Council receives recommendations from the Committees on Compliance and Reports, which are the standing evaluation committees of the Commission, and, in turn, submits its recommendations to the total Commission for final action.



Please direct questions concerning Accreditation to Amanda Karel in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability at (512) 223-7893.