SACSCOC Accreditation
Reaffirmation of Accreditation
Work is already underway on reaffirmation of the University’s accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The Commission has approved MTSU for its Differentiated Review Process, for which we will demonstrate compliance with selected accreditation standards and develop a new Quality Enhancement Plan.
MTSU’s Reaffirmation Leadership Team attended orientation at the SACSCOC Annual Meeting in December 2023. Division Leads and other key individuals are writing narratives and collecting evidence for the Compliance Certification Report MTSU must submit in September 2025, the first step toward a site visit in March 2026 and the Commission’s reaffirmation decision in December 2026.
| Year | Month / Day | Reaffirmation Standards / Quality Enhancement Plan Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | May | Reaffirmation Division Leads began meeting |
| August | Applied for Reaffirmation by Differentiated Review | |
| September | Reaffirmation Committee formed | |
| November | QEP Leadership Team began meeting | |
| November | Reaffirmation by Differentiated Review approval | |
| December | SACSCOC Orientation for Class of 2026 | |
| 2024 | January | QEP Topic Selection Committee (TSC) formed |
| January – April | QEP TSC explored topics identified through data and strategic planning discussions | |
| April | QEP TSC identified potential topics | |
| May – August | QEP Leadership Team refines and recommends topics, prepares topic concept papers | |
| July 21-24 | SACSCOC Summer Institute on Quality Enhancement and Assessment | |
| 2024-2025 Reaffirmation Year of Record | ||
| August – September | QEP Topics approval by Provost, President | |
| September – October | QEP Leadership Team discusses topics with, garners support from University community | |
| September | QEP Development Committee formed | |
| September – October | QEP Leadership Team identifies topic, outcomes | |
| October | QEP Development Committee begins meeting | |
| November – December | QEP Topic approval by Provost, President; presented to Board of Trustees | |
| December 7-10 | SACSCOC Annual Meeting | |
| 2025 | January – March | QEP Development Committee drafts plan document, implementation timeline, and budget |
| March | QEP First Draft | |
| May | Final draft of Compliance Certification Report | |
| May | QEP First Draft review by Provost, President | |
| May 14-15 | SACSCOC VP Advisory Visit to MTSU | |
| May-August | Compliance Certification Report preparation in Compliance Assist | |
| August | QEP Pilot Begins (Year 0) | |
| September 8 | Last day to submit Compliance Certification Report | |
| October 1 | Last day to submit QEP Lead Evaluator Nomination | |
| October 20 | Last day to submit most recent FY audit for OƯ-Site Review | |
| November 5-8 | Off-Site Review of CCR | |
| November | Off-Site Report received | |
| November | QEP Final Draft | |
| December | QEP final edits and review by Provost, President. QEP presented to Board of Trustees | |
| 2026 | February 9 | Last day to submit Focused Report and QEP |
| March 23-26 | On-Site Review | |
| April | On-Site Report received | |
| September | Response to On-Site Report | |
| December | SACSCOC Board of Trustees determination |
What is Differentiated Review?
Differentiated Review is a streamlined reaffirmation process for SACSCOC institutions in good standing. The table below shows the forty standards for which MTSU must demonstrate compliance, both in the off-site review of our Compliance Certification Report in Fall 2025 and the on-site review in Spring 2026.
Standards
- CR 1.1* (Integrity)
- CR 2.1 (Institutional mission)
- CR 4.1 (Governing board characteristics)
- Standard 4.2.d (Conflict of interest)
- Standard 4.2.f (External influence)
- Standard 4.2.g Board self-evaluation
- Standard 4.3 (Multi-level governance) [if applicable]
- CR 5.1 (Chief executive officer)
- Standard 5.2.a (CEO control)
- Standard 5.2.b (Control of intercollegiate athletics)
- Standard 5.2.c (Control of fund-raising activities)
- Standard 5.4* (Qualified administrative/academic officers)
- CR 6.1* (Full-time faculty)
- Standard 6.2.a (Faculty qualifications)
- Standard 6.2.b* (Program faculty)
- Standard 6.2.c* (Program coordination) Standard 13.7* (Physical resources)
- CR 7.1 (Institutional planning)
- Standard 7.2 (Quality Enhancement Plan)
- CR 8.1* (Student achievement)
- Standard 8.2.a* (Student outcomes: educational programs)
- CR 9.1* (Program content)
- CR 9.2* (Program length)
- CR 9.3* (General educational requirements)
- Standard 10.2* (Public information)
- Standard 10.5* (Admissions policies and practices)
- Standard 10.6* (Distance and correspondence education)
- Standard 10.7* (Policies for awarding credit)
- CR 11.1(Library and learning/information resources)
- CR 12.1 (Student support services)
- Standard 12.4* (Student complaints)
- Standard 12.6* (Student debt)
- CR 13.1* (Financial resources)
- CR 13.2 (Financial documents)
- [new faculty hired since last reaffirmation] Standard 13.3 (Financial responsibility)
- Standard 13.6* (Federal and state responsibilities)
- Standard 14.1* (Publication of accreditation status)
- Standard 14.3* (Comprehensive institutional reviews)
- Standard 14.4* (Representation to other agencies)
- Standard 14.5 (Policy compliance)
*Denotes federal requirements that must be addressed
For more information about these standards, see SACSCOC’s Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement.
- Mark Byrnes, Provost
- Alan Thomas, Vice President for Business and Finance
- Mary S. Hoffschwelle, Vice Provost for Planning and Effectiveness and SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison
- Chris Brewer, Assistant Vice Provost, Institutional Effectiveness, Planning, and Research
- Layne Bryant, Assistant Vice Provost for Institutional Accreditation
- Nita Brooks, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs and Accreditation, Jones College of Business
Academic Affairs
Mary S. Hoffschwelle
Vice Provost for Planning and Effectiveness and SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison
Nita Brooks
Associate Dean
Undergraduate Programs and Accreditation
Jones College of Business
Business and Finance
Drew Harpool
Associate Vice President
Information Technology Division
Michael Barton
Assistant Vice President
Client Services and Classroom Technology
Albert Whittenberg
Assistant Vice President
Academic and Instructional Technologies
Marketing and Communications
Teena Young
DirectorResource and Operations Management
Student Affairs
Danny Kelley
Assistant Vice President
University Advancement
Mark Clark
Executive Director of Development
University Counsel
James Floyd
University Counsel and Board of Trustees Secretary
Academic Affairs
- Mary S. Hoffschwelle, Vice Provost for Planning and Effectiveness
- Amy Aldridge, Vice Provost for Academic Programs
- Becky Cole, Vice Provost for Administration and Resources
- Brian Hinote, Vice Provost for Faculty and Special Initiatives
- David Butler, Dean, College of Graduate Studies
- Susan Myers-Shirk, Director, True Blue Core and Professor, History
- Christina Cobb, Implementation Coordinator, True Blue Core and Professor, University Studies
- Rick Sluder, Vice Provost for Student Success, and Dean, University College
- Michelle Arnold, Interim Associate Vice Provost for Student Success
- Laurie Witherow, Vice Provost for Enrollment Services
- Leann Eaton, Director, Financial Aid
- Becca Smitty, Director, MT One Stop
- Teresa Thomas, Director, Enrollment Technical Services
- Kelsey Townsell, Associate Director, Enrollment Technical Services
- Tyler Henson, Assistant Vice Provost, Registration and Student Records and University Registrar
- Mitzi Brandon, Director, Catalog and Curriculum Management
- John Burchfield, Associate Dean, University College
- Trey Martindale, Associate Vice Provost for Online Learning
- Kathleen Schmand, Dean, James E. Walker Library
- Christy Groves, Associate Dean, James E. Walker Library
Business and Finance
- Drew Harpool, Associate Vice President
- Denise Hollowell, Controller
- Laura Jent, Assistant Vice President, Human Resource Services
- Bill Waits, Assistant Vice President, Campus Planning
- Joe Whitefield, Assistant Vice President, Facilities Services
Information Technology Division
- Michael Barton, Assistant Vice President, Client Services and Classroom Technology
- Albert Whittenberg, Assistant Vice President, Academic and Instructional Technologies
Marketing and Communications
- Andrew Oppmann, Vice President, Marketing and Communications
- Domeda Duncan, Senior Director for Marketing
- Teena Young, Director, Resource and Operations Management
Quality Enhancement Plan
- Chandra Story, QEP Director and Professor, Public Health
- Nita Brooks, Associate Dean, Jones College of Business
- Grant Gardner, Professor, Biology
- Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand, Professor, Religious Studies
Student Affairs
- Danny Kelley, Assistant Vice President
- Maigan Wipfli, Director, June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students
- Vicki Sargent, Student Affairs Technology Support Specialist
University Advancement
- Mark E. Clark, Executive Director of Development
University Counsel
- James Floyd, University Counsel and Secretary to the Board
Administrative and Data Support
- Chris Brewer, Assistant Vice Provost, Institutional Effectiveness, Planning, and Research
- Jeri Ann Clark, Director of Data Management & Institutional Research
- Lisa M. Bass, Director of Institutional Effectiveness
- Trey England, Research Analyst
- Angela Harris-Huell, Research Analyst 2
- James R. Hawkins, Research Analyst
- Yingxiao Huang, Research Analyst
- Pudji Sutarso, I.E. Coordinator
- Allyson Baugh, Senior Resource Specialist
- Jade DeMartelaere, Legal Assistant
- Allison McGoffin, Assistant to the Provost