SACS Visits UNC for Reform Update

UNC’s accrediting body paid them a visit this week.

This comes after the university was placed on probation by the organization after details emerged that students, including athletes, had been receiving high grades in classes that required little or no course work. These issues were formally announced in the Wainstein Report.

UNC’s accrediting organization – SACS, which stands for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – visited the university to examine the reforms put in place after the school was placed on probation in June of last year.

UNC’s reforms included creating the ethics and integrity committee, which Chancellor Carol Folt said was part of what they would present to the accrediting board.

“The charge was to go back and look at the things that we said we were going to do and ask us to talk about them,” Folt said at the UNC Board of Trustees meeting last month. “So, of course, that was one of the committees that I said I was going to put in place and so that’s part of our materials that we’ll be presenting to them. They’ll be meeting with people from that committee.

“Of course, I think what’s partly important is what they found. The auditing process went through and was pretty thorough and did not reveal any holes in our processes – which I wasn’t surprised to see, but it was very important to have that.”

Folt added the university did value suggestions that had previously been offered as the institution is trying to “improve all the time.”

UNC must also prove it can comply with the accreditation integrity of SACS.

After their visit, SACS will decide to continue with UNC’s probation, to restore the university to normal standing or to remove their accreditation altogether.

If UNC were to lose accreditation, it would impact the university through the loss of federal funds, including financial aid awarded to students and grant funding awarded to faculty for research, though full removal of accreditation is unlikely.