A key step in the process of reaffirmation of the university’s accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges takes place March 1-4 when an on-site review committee comes to campus.
Chaired by Robert Witt, president of the University of Alabama, the review committee is composed of senior administrators from other major public universities in the South (see box at right).
“This is an excellent review committee and we look forward to this visit as an opportunity to showcase the efforts we have made and are making to improve the quality of education at UGA,” said Provost Jere Morehead, who serves on the university’s SACS leadership team.
Some members of the review committee will visit UGA’s Gwinnett and Griffin campuses prior to arriving in Athens where they will join other committee members for a series of meetings with President Michael F. Adams and other members of UGA’s leadership team.
The review committee also will meet with students and conduct interviews with key individuals and groups involved in the implementation of the Quality Enhancement Plan that was developed as a required component of the reaccreditation process. UGA’s QEP focuses on First-Year Odyssey Seminars that will be offered to all incoming first-year students in fall 2011.
The lead evaluator for the QEP is Paul Woodruff, dean of undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, who chaired that institution’s QEP team.
“With the naming of Tim Foutz as director for our First-Year Odyssey program and the launching of a website (see Cybersights) where faculty can submit seminar proposals, various pieces of our QEP implementation plan are falling into place,” said Laura Jolly, vice president for instruction, whose office is overseeing that process. “We look forward to discussion and input from the review committee.”
Prior to the campus visit, UGA’s compliance certification report was filed with SACS in September and an off-site review was conducted in November. In January, the review committee received a subsequent report responding to specific points regarding compliance certification, as well as a report on how the university will implement the First-Year Odyssey Seminars.
Bob Boehmer, associate provost for academic planning and UGA’s SACS liaison, has spent the past two years-along with members of his staff-coordinating the extensive documentation required for reaccreditation. They have worked with UGA’s Compliance Team, chaired by David Shipley, T.R.R. Cobb Professor of Law and former dean of the School of Law, and the QEP Team, chaired by Rodney Mauricio, associate professor of genetics. Both teams included faculty, staff and administrators from across campus, as well as student representatives.
“I want to thank Bob Boehmer, David Shipley and Rodney Mauricio for their leadership in getting UGA well prepared for the review committee visit,” said Adams, who has chaired such visits to three other research university campuses over the past decade. “We have provided all required materials and met all deadlines to date thanks to their considerable efforts.”
Following the on-site visit, the review committee will send the university a report and the university will be given an opportunity to respond to any issues or questions raised. Notice of reaffirmation of accreditation is anticipated by December 2011.
