SACS: Home Page - Seminole State College of Florida

Quality Enhancement Plan

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Seminole State College
100 Weldon Boulevard
Sanford, Florida 32773-6199
407.708.4722

Did you know...

Seminole State's Heathrow Campus is home to Seminole County's Small Business Services.

What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is a designation or status that indicates to the public that a school meets certain quality standards set forth by the accrediting agency. Achieving and maintaining accreditation is very important because it:

Protects the public from fraudulent practices
Ensures compliance with basic quality standards
Allows students to transfer credits to other accredited schools
Allows colleges to be in good standing with the Federal Department of Education and dispense federal financial aid

Seminole State College of Florida is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. SACS accredits institutions in 11 southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and in Latin America.

If you have questions about the accreditation of Seminole State College of Florida, call the Commission on Colleges at 404.679.4500. You may also send written correspondence to:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Commission on Colleges
1866 Southern Lane
Decatur, GA 30033-4097

Major Compliance Areas

The major areas of compliance assessed by SACS are:

Governance and Administration
Institutional Effectiveness
Educational Programs and Curriculum
Faculty
Library and Learning Resources
Student Affairs
Financial and Physical Resources

Compliance Review

Seminole State College will complete an extensive internal report addressing a series of specific SACS criteria. These criteria are detailed in the SACS publication "Principles of Accreditation" and provide responses to the following:

Core Requirements: Basic qualifications that an institution must meet in order to be accredited by the SACS Commission on Colleges. The requirements attempt to ensure that the institution has a mission statement, a chief academic officer and governing board, programs of appropriate length, a general education component within its undergraduate degree programs, various support services, and a sound financial base and demonstrated financial stability.
Comprehensive Standards: Requirements set forth in the following areas: (1) institutional mission, governance and effectiveness; (2) programs; (3) resources; and (4) institutional responsibility for Commission policies as described in "Principles of Accreditation."
Federal Requirements: Criteria set forth by the U.S. Secretary of Education in order for an institution to remain eligible for participation in programs authorized under Title IV of the 1998 Higher Education Amendments and other federal programs.

An off-site team composed of peer reviewers will be appointed by SACS to review the institution's compliance reports and documentation. The off-site team will prepare a separate report and submit its decision of compliance with core requirements, comprehensive standards and federal requirements to the On-site Review Committee. Issues of compliance will be revisited during the on-site review.