Austin Community College District (ACC) has received official notice from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) that its accreditation has been reaffirmed for another 10 years.
The SACSCOC on-site reaffirmation visitation team visited the college in fall 2022 as the final stage in the process. The team found ACC in compliance with all standards in the SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation and had zero recommendations for improvement.
“It is critical we continue to provide our community with options to receive a quality education. The high praise from SACSCOC is a true testament to the caliber of our work and the continued commitment of our faculty and staff to student success,” says ACC Chancellor Dr. Richard Rhodes. “I am so proud of the work of all ACC employees throughout this rigorous accreditation reaffirmation process. It’s a team effort. We celebrate this accomplishment together.”
Accreditation is the recognition from an accrediting agency — in this case, SACSCOC — that a college, university, or education program meets rigorous standards for quality assurance and improvements. ACC must go through this process to remain an accredited institution every 10 years.
Preparations for ACC’s 2023 Decennial Reaffirmation began more than three years ago. The process started with the ACC Planning & Accreditation Office working with various departments collegewide to draft and write the Reaffirmation Report and the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP).
“The reaffirmation process is more than just checking boxes, it allows us to review how effective we are as a higher education institution” says Dr. Mary Harris, Institutional Effectiveness & Grant Development (IEGD) vice chancellor. “The willingness by faculty, staff, and students to be involved resulted in a very successful reaffirmation.”
To learn more about ACC’s accreditation, visit austincc.edu/about-acc/accreditation.