CAMPUS NEWS
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
07/03/02
Sherman College Grated Accreditation by
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
JULY 3, 2002 - On June 21, 2002, the
Commission on Colleges (COC) of the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
notified Sherman College that it had been
granted accreditation to award the Doctor of
Chiropractic degree.
The news marked the culmination of more than
three years of self-evaluations, surveys,
meetings, focused site visits, a 300-page
self-study and several progress reports to SACS.
The COC/SACS accredited the college for a
five-year period, retroactive to January 1,
2002.
"Being accredited by SACS confirms what our
alumni, faculty, staff and students have known
for a long time - that Sherman College is a
well-run, high quality institution," said
President Jerry L. Hardee, Ed.D. "Having
external, objective validation of that fact by a
regional accrediting agency further enhances our
image and reputation in the chiropractic
profession and in the general academic
community."
Sherman College voluntarily sought accreditation
with SACS because of the benefits it provides
for the college community. The agency accredits
other area institutions such as Duke University,
the University of South Carolina and Converse
College.
Sherman College is also accredited to award the
doctor of chiropractic degree by the Commission
on Accreditation of the Council on Chiropractic
Education (COA/CCE), Scottsdale, AZ. The Council
on Chiropractic Education is a specialized
agency which only accredits chiropractic
institutions and programs. The Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools, however, is
a regional accrediting agency. Sherman College
holds Level V accreditation with SACS,
accreditation for institutions offering doctoral
degrees or professional disciplines.
Benefits of holding regional accreditation with
SACS include enhancing the college's placement
in the non-chiropractic collegiate community,
facilitating stronger relationships with other
SACS-accredited academic institutions, opening
opportunities for research collaboration and
aiding in the development of Three Plus One
programs with area undergraduate colleges.
"A major benefit of being accredited by SACS is
that it allows us to reach out and interact with
non-chiropractic colleges and universities in
the region," said Senior Vice President for
Institutional Advancement Leroy G. Moore, D.C.,
who led the self-study process. "This
accreditation further legitimizes Sherman
College's status in the collegiate community,"
he said. Being accredited by the COC/SACS also
affirms the quality of Sherman College's
academic program.
A further benefit of SACS accreditation is that
it provides excellent networking and educational
opportunities for college staff, Moore said.
Staff members can now attend the annual SACS
conferences, take advantage of many networking
opportunities and build relationships with their
counterparts at other SACS-accredited colleges.
In addition, SACS accreditation will allow
Sherman College to interact with other colleges
in academic areas of study - including research
- and will facilitate library interaction with
other schools accredited by the COC/SACS.
Being accredited by SACS also allows for greater
ease and a more seamless transition in
developing Three Plus One programs with area
undergraduate colleges, said Susan Newlin, vice
president for enrollment services, planning and
assessment. Three Plus One programs allow
students to complete three years of
prerequisites at an undergraduate institution
and then transfer to Sherman College.
Following their first year of study at Sherman
College, students who participate in the Three
Plus One program are awarded a bachelor's degree
in interdisciplinary studies, biology or a
related field from the undergraduate college.
"These programs not only build relationships
with other colleges but help make chiropractic
more available as an attractive career to more
undergraduate students," Newlin said.
In addition to all the "external" benefits of
SACS accreditation, members of the Sherman
College community - including trustees, alumni,
faculty, staff and students - have personally
benefited from the accreditation process. The
300-page self-study conducted in preparation for
accreditation engaged all members of the college
community in a thorough analysis and examination
of every phase of the college's operation.
The study was designed to identify strengths and
weaknesses of the institution, according to SACS
Criteria, and to initiate procedures to remedy
any deficiencies. But the process also helped
members of the college community in their own
self-improvement efforts. Moore says the wide
spectrum of campus participation in the
self-study allowed college constituents to
better understand and appreciate Sherman
College's organizational structure. "By asking
virtually all of the college's faculty and staff
and a number of students to serve on SACS
self-study committees, those people involved
learned a great deal about aspects of the
college to which they may not normally be
exposed," he says.
While completing the self-study was an extremely
demanding and intensive process, strong
leadership and solid organization simplified the
process. The college's Administrative Council
mandated the appointment of a director, a
steering committee chair, an editor and a
steering committee to organize and direct the
self-study.
The steering committee then established
principal committees to accomplish the
objectives of the self-study. Each principal
committee contained six or seven representatives
from the faculty, alumni, staff and students.
Each principal committee critiqued a list of
"must statements," or college responsibilities,
and then assessed whether the college was in
compliance with each of the assigned criteria,
documenting such compliance or making
recommendations accordingly. Principal committee
members also designed and compiled surveys to
determine the college's effectiveness in areas
for which documentation alone was insufficient.
Steering committee members then built a
"document library" - a paper trail containing
all bits of evidence that were quoted or
referred to in the self-study - in preparation
for the SACS team visit last April. During this
thorough, three-day visit, representatives from
other SACS-accredited institutions reviewed
Sherman College files in the document library
and interviewed college staff, faculty and
students.
"Gaining regional accreditation with SACS was a
college-wide effort, and it was essential that
all constituencies of the college be involved in
the self-study process," Moore said. "If we had
only allowed for administrative participation,
we might have missed valuable points in the
self-study. Being part of a principal committee
was a massive task, but the people involved
gained a great opportunity to learn more about
our college and its strengths."
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