FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 16, 2010
MUW's fifth-year report with SACS gets approval
By Jill D. O'Bryant
COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Mississippi University for Women has been notified by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) that the university has passed the fifth-year review of compliance with SACS accreditation standards.
Interim President Allegra Brigham and Dr. Marty Hatton, interim associate vice president for academic affairs, recently attended the SACS annual meeting in Louisville, Ky., where they learned that 39 colleges were assessed in this past fifth-year review and only three passed without further monitoring. MUW was one of the three.
"I cannot stress what an accomplishment this was," said Dr. Hatton. "Dr. Eric Daffron, now at Ramapo University in New Jersey, led an outstanding team. His vision and leadership catalyzed the process, but many outstanding folks at MUW were essential to the process.
"We're proud of this accomplishment and our standing with SACSCOC, and we will do everything in our power to maintain that level of academic integrity earned by everyone who worked so hard in the fifth-year review process."
SACS is one of only a few accrediting commissions that conducts a comprehensive review of its institutions every 10 years. MUW completed its reaffirmation of accreditation in 2005. Because the U.S. Department of Education requires accrediting agencies that it recognizes to monitor its institutions more often to ensure that institutions having access to federal funds continue to meet accreditation standards, the Commission has developed a Fifth-Year Interim Report.
"The Commission on Colleges of SACS is the recognized accrediting body in the 11 U.S. Southern states. This review acknowledges MUW's demonstrated commitment to quality enhancement and institutional improvement. Continuous improvement is at the heart of learning for students and faculty, individually and collectively, and is what drives the success of our institution," Brigham said. "We are certainly happy to have successfully completed this process."
