Coastal Georgia Accreditation Reaffirmed

Brunswick, GA – The College of Coastal Georgia has received notification from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) that Coastal Georgia’s accreditation has been reaffirmed for the next ten years. The SACSCOC Board of Trustees took the action at its June 2012 annual meeting.

The SACSCOC Committees on Compliance and Reports reviewed the Report of the Reaffirmation Committee, which relied on a comprehensive submission from the College in March 2011 and an on-site peer review visit to the College campus in October 2011.  Using the peer review report and additional information provided by the College, the SACSCOC governing board reaffirmed the College’s accreditation without requiring any follow up recommendations.

“Only three years ago, the College was granted preliminary accreditation as a baccalaureate degree granting institution. Now, we have received our formal re-accreditation for a ten year period.  We have made incredible progress. This action by our accrediting body speaks most positively to our vision and mission and how we are fulfilling our goals” Dr. Valerie A. Hepburn, President of the College, said. “Peer review is the most valuable and most challenging type of regulatory process.  Our peers have endorsed our quality and our integrity as an organization. We are particularly pleased with SACSCOC validation of service-learning as our key initiative. This is meaningful, experiential learning for our students with the community serving as an extension of our classrooms.”

“The College’s successful SACSCOC accreditation reaffirmation is, in great part, an acknowledgement by our peers of the excellence of our academic programs, faculty and staff, student support services, and facilities,” agreed Dr. Phillip J. Mason, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “This is not to be viewed as an ending but rather as a standard of excellence against which we can measure our future efforts. We still have much to do.”

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges 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 Commission on Colleges, an institution must comply with comprehensive standards and principles of accreditation as well as a wide range of policies and procedures set forth by SACSCOC and the federal government.

”Satisfying SACSCOC standards and requirements for reaffirmation followed a substantive review for continued accreditation for the College’s awarding associate and baccalaureate degrees as a four-year institution. Reaffirmation is an intense, focused multi-year process. Completing both in such a concentrated span of time is a testament to the fortitude and teamwork of the College’s senior administrators, faculty, staff, and students,” said Dr. Jim Lynch, Accreditation Liaison and Director of Institutional Effectiveness.

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