Tusculum College officials are pleased with the outcome of a recent verbal report from the On-site Review Team of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges.
The team was on-site April 5-8 as part of the college’s reaffirmation of accreditation efforts.
“I am pleased to report that the On-Site Review Team, consisting mostly of representatives from peer institutions, conducted a very thorough review of the College and accepted the college’s Quality Enhancement Plan on Problem-solving with Reflective Judgment with no recommendations and had no recommendations in the SACS-COC core requirements,” said Tusculum College president, Dr. Nancy B. Moody.
In addition, the On-site Review Team identified only four areas where they were unable to confirm compliance.
Dr. Kim Estep, provost and academic vice president who also serves as the accreditation liaison, reported that the next steps in this process will be for the college to receive the official On-Site Report and prepare a response to that report that would address the remaining four areas where recommendations were given.
Materials will be submitted and reviewed by a committee of SACS-COC with recommendations made by the committee to the full SACS-COC membership at the December 2010 Annual Meeting to be held in Louisville, Ky., when a decision will be made about the reaffirmation of Tusculum College.
The verbal report from the SACS-COC visitation team was made to Moody, Chairman of the Board Kenneth A. Bowman, the Cabinet and the Cabinet Advisory Council made up of a broad-based representation of faculty and staff. In all, nearly thirty leaders of Tusculum College assembled to hear the report.
“I would like to commend everyone who contributed to any aspect of the SACS-COC report or the visit,” said Moody. “These efforts have included many members of the Tusculum College family including students, faculty, staff and members of the Board of Trustees. As President of Tusculum College, I am proud of these initial outcomes and proud to be a member of the Tusculum College team.”
Tusculum College, the oldest college in Tennessee and the 28th oldest in the nation, is a liberal arts institution committed to utilizing the civic arts in developing educated citizens distinguished by academic excellence, public service and qualities of Judeo-Christian character. Approximately twenty-four hundred students are enrolled on the main campus in Greeneville and three off-site locations in East Tennessee. The academic programs for both traditional-aged students and working adults served through the Graduate and Professional Studies program are delivered using focused calendars whereby students enroll in one course at a time.