Founded in 1895, our parent company, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is currently comprised of the Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACSCASI) and the Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The Commission on Colleges was founded in 1917 and was organized to develop standards and a process for determining quality within colleges and universities in the South.
SACSCOC is responsible for assuring educational quality and improvement of the effectiveness of member institutions. These institutions are primarily located throughout eleven (11) southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia), several international institutions, and include all approved locations including off-campus locations (branch campuses and off-campus instructional sites), that grant associate, baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees. While the U.S. Department of Education currently refers to SACSCOC as an institutional accreditor, the SACSCOC Board of Trustees has decided to remain concentrated on the 11 southern states for membership.