page

Berea College

acf/tabs

&nbsp;
The <a href="https://sacscoc.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges</a> (SACSCOC) is one of <a href="https://www.chea.org/regional-accrediting-organizations-accreditor-type#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20is%20divided,programs%20or%20schools%20within%20institutions." target="_blank" rel="noopener">seven regional accrediting bodies</a> for degree-granting institutions of higher education serving six regions of the United States. Its membership consists of over 700 member institutions that include both public and private schools of all degree-granting types including community and technical colleges, four-year colleges, and land grant universities.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-102205" src="https://bereafaustdev.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SACSCOC-Stamp-Color-e1706028323639-300x300.jpg" alt="SACSCOC Logo" width="150" height="152" srcset="https://bereafaustdev.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SACSCOC-Stamp-Color-e1706028323639-296x300.jpg 296w, https://bereafaustdev.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SACSCOC-Stamp-Color-e1706028323639-1011x1024.jpg 1011w, https://bereafaustdev.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SACSCOC-Stamp-Color-e1706028323639-768x778.jpg 768w, https://bereafaustdev.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SACSCOC-Stamp-Color-e1706028323639.jpg 1190w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" />

About SACSCOC

<div data-type="core">Section 4: Governing Board
<ul>
<li>Policy and process regarding board member conflicts of interest (Standard 4.2.d &#8211; Conflict of interest)</li>
<li>Policy and process regarding dismissal of a board member (Standard 4.2.e &#8211; Board dismissal)</li>
<li>Policies and procedures regarding board self-evaluation (Standard 4.2.g &#8211; Board self-evaluation)</li>
</ul>
Section 5: Administration and Organization
<ul>
<li>Policies regarding the appointment, employment, and regular evaluation administrative and academic officers. (Standard 5.4 &#8211; Qualified administrative/academic officers)</li>
</ul>
Section 6: Faculty
<ul>
<li>Policies describing the role of full-time faculty (and others) in carrying out the basic functions of the faculty as described in the rationale and (Core Requirement 6.1 &#8211; Adequate number of full-time faculty)</li>
<li>Policies governing the employment of part-time faculty (Core Requirement 6.1 &#8211; Adequate number of full-time faculty)</li>
<li>Policies or guidelines governing the expected qualifications of faculty (Standard 6.2.a &#8211; Faculty qualifications)</li>
<li>Policies for defining the instructor of record (Standard 6.2.a &#8211; Faculty qualifications)</li>
<li>Policies on full-time <a href="https://berea.smartcatalogiq.com/current/faculty-manual/professional-responsibilities-and-related-faculty-matters/teaching-load/">faculty workloads</a> (Standard 6.2.b &#8211; Program faculty)</li>
<li>Policies and procedures governing the training and oversight of part-time faculty (Standard 6.2.b &#8211; Program faculty)</li>
<li>Policies and procedures affecting the responsibilities and functions of the faculty (Standard 6.2.c &#8211; Program coordination)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://berea.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/faculty-manual/administration-and-organization-of-the-college/department-chair/">Department Chairs</a></li>
<li><a href="https://berea.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/faculty-manual/administration-and-organization-of-the-college/division-chair/">Division Chairs</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Policies on the <a href="https://berea.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/faculty-manual/personnel-policies-for-faculty/">appointment, employment, and regular evaluation</a> of faculty members (Standard 6.3 &#8211; Faculty appointment and evaluation)</li>
<li>Policies on <a href="https://berea.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/faculty-manual/academic-policies-and-practices/academic-freedom-and-responsibility/">academic freedom</a> (Standard 6.4 &#8211; Academic freedom)</li>
<li>Policies and procedures governing <a href="https://berea.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/faculty-manual/professional-responsibilities-and-related-faculty-matters/professional-growth/">faculty professional development</a> and <a href="https://berea.smartcatalogiq.com/en/current/faculty-manual/personnel-policies-for-faculty/post-tenure-review/">professional development planning</a> (Standard 6.5 &#8211; Faculty development)</li>
</ul>
Section 9: Educational Program Structures and Content
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Policy that ensures program appropriateness and program coherence (e.g., definitions of a major, prerequisite expectations for majors, oversight via curriculum committees) (Core Requirement 9.1 &#8211; Program content)</li>
<li></li>
<li>Policy on minimum degree requirements (Core Requirement 9.2 &#8211; Program length)</li>
<li>Policy stating the amount of credit that must be earned through instruction by the institution (Standard 9.3 &#8211; institutional credits for an undergraduate degree)</li>
<li></li>
</ul>
 Section 10: Educational Policies, Procedures, and Practices
<ul>
<li></li>
<li>Grading and refund policies – where are they published and how are they made available</li>
<li>Policies for updating catalog information</li>
<li>Policies regarding the authority of faculty in academic and governance matters</li>
<li>Policies and procedures for expanding or limiting the curriculum and the faculty’s responsibilities.</li>
<li>Policies on admissions</li>
<li>Policy on distance and/or correspondence education</li>
<li>Policy for determining credit hours awarded, including the definition of a credit hour used by the</li>
<li>Policy for decisions related to the amount and level of credit for</li>
<li>The institution&#8217;s policy for determining credit hours awarded, including the definition of a credit hour used by the</li>
<li>Policies and procedures for decisions related to the amount and level of credit for courses</li>
<li>Policies and procedures for evaluating, awarding, and accepting credit not originating from the institution.</li>
</ul>
Section 12: Academic &amp; Student Support Services
<ul>
<li>policies and procedures governing student records, their security, integrity, and confidentiality, their use, and their disposal</li>
<li>Policies and procedures for addressing written student complaints</li>
</ul>
Section 14: Transparency and Institutional Representation
<ul>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Berea-College-Substantive-Change-Policy-and-Procedures.pdf">Berea College Substantive Change Policy and Procedures</a> (Standard 14.2 &#8211; Substantive Changes)</li>
</ul>
</div>

SACSCOC-Related Institutional Policies & Practices

<div data-type="core">Below are links to a few selected resources published by SACSCOC that can help better explain the accreditation process and expectations.
<ul>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Resource-Manual-for-the-POA-Rev-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Resource Manual for the POA (Rev 2022)</a> (contains all core requirements and standards an institution must demonstrate to be accredited)
<ul>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-CR-7.1-Institutional-Planning.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; CR 7.1 (Institutional Planning)</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-Std-7.3-Administrative-Effectiveness.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; Std 7.3 (Administrative Effectiveness)</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-Std-8.2-Preamble.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; Std 8.2 (Preamble)</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-Std-8.2.a-Educational-Programs.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; Std 8.2.a (Educational Programs)</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-Std-8.2.b-General-Education.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; Std 8.2.b (General Education)</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-Std-8.2.c-Academic-Student-Services.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; Std 8.2.c (Academic &amp; Student Services)</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-CR-9.3-General-Education.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; CR 9.3 (General Education)</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-Std-6.2.a-Faculty-Qualifications.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; Std 6.2.a (Faculty Qualifications)</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-CR-9.1-Program-Content.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; CR 9.1 (Program Content)</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2022-POA-Resource-Manual-Std-10.7-Policies-for-Awarding-Credit.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 POA Resource Manual &#8211; Std 10.7 (Policies for Awarding Credit)</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Handbook-for-Institutions-Seeking-Reaffirmation.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Handbook for Institutions Seeking Reaffirmation</a></li>
<li><a data-internal-link="true" href="https://www.berea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Guidelines-Faculty-Credentials-2018.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guidelines &#8211; Faculty Credentials (2018)</a></li>
</ul>
</div>

Institutional Accreditation (SACSCOC)