CHAPEL HILL – UNC’s accreditation agency will not sanction the university for the irregularities involving the department of African and Afro-American studies, according to a statement issued by Chancellor Holden Thorp.

With the decision, UNC will remain fully accredited and in good standing with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The notification was part of a biannual review of the accreditation status of degree-granting higher education institutions in an 11-state region.

Carolina was advised by the SACSCOC “to take immediate steps” in January to comply with standards on academic policies, academic support services, and student records.

“We are very pleased with this decision,” Thorp said in a university-wide email. “Throughout this process, the University has been treated fairly by SACSCOC. We have provided information, responded to all questions, taken necessary actions and documented the comprehensive reforms that we have put in place over the past two years because of issues related to the unprofessional and unethical actions of two former department employees.”