Angelo State Earns Accreditation Reaffirmation

Angelo State University earned reaccreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The SACSCOC’s preliminary report confirmed the information that Angelo State provided, and the SACSCOC reaffirmed Angelo State’s accreditation with no recommendations for improvement.

Every 10 years, the regional accrediting agency – the SACSCOC – reviews Angelo State’s academic programs and administrative procedures to reaffirm its accreditation. Angelo State conducted a campus-wide self-study and submitted it to the SACSCOC for review last fall, so the federal government examined Angelo State’s accreditation status to determine whether it meets the SACSCOC’s 76 standards. The 76 standards cover crucial aspects of providing higher education and include quality of teaching, financial aid, scholarship provisions, finances, facilities, academic programs, student life and faculty credentials.

Angelo State needed to demonstrate that it complies with the standards set by SACSCOC by providing evidence and sending its response to the SACSCOC by the deadline. The SACSCOC’s committee reviewed Angelo State’s report and contacted it in March before sending an onsite team to verify the information that Angelo State provided. The SACSCOC’s board of trustees met to discuss the preliminary report earlier this December. 

When visiting the campus in March, the SACSCOC’s evaluation team inspected and evaluated Angelo State’s programs and procedures. It also reviewed Angelo State’s Quality Enhancement Plan, which details Angelo State’s strategy for taking action to positively impact its learning environment and the success of its students. The Quality Enhancement Plan titled “When Your Career Goals Become REALity: Ready. Explore. Apply. Launch.” aims to help students make informed academic and career decisions while providing opportunities for them to gain and demonstrate career readiness before graduating.

This year, Angelo State offered a notable amount of its curriculum to high school students via dual-credit enrollment, so the SACSCOC’s evaluation team wanted to visit some of the off-site locations connected to Angelo State via dual enrollment. The SACSCOC visited the Lakeview, Central, Mason and Frenship high schools. It interviewed the teachers, students and administrators of these high schools to confirm information and details, and concluded it had no recommendations for improvement.

Angelo State provided the SACSCOC with written evidence in different requested formats. In the SACSCOC’s standards, there are questions that Angelo State must answer. For example, there is a form where Angelo State may provide a list of every faculty member on campus and what they’re teaching in a faculty roster to prove faculty credentials. On this list, Angelo State details the credentials of each faculty member that makes them eligible to teach their subjects. As a general rule, to teach a subject, a faculty member must have a master’s degree and at least 18 graduate hours in that discipline. Angelo State also needs to have a transcript file for each faculty member that details where they were educated. When an onsite team from the SACSCOC arrives on campus, it could ask to see a faculty member’s transcripts if desired.

At the conclusion of the accreditation process, the SACSCOC reaffirmed Angelo State’s accreditation. "We couldn't have asked for a better outcome," said Don Topliff, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "Only a small percentage of schools receive reaffirmation with no recommendations for improvement. This result ranks ASU with some of the best universities in the nation and validates the quality of education we provide our students."

If Angelo State had not been re-accredited, it could not provide students with federal financial aid. “If we couldn’t access federal financial aid for our students,” Topliff said, “our enrollment would crater. Federal financial aid is just such a critical thing for students. That includes Pell Grants, federal loans, student loans – all those kinds of things, it’s just one of many accreditations that we have, but it’s probably – arguably – the most critical.” The accreditation also allows ASU to award baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees.

Angelo State’s accreditation status provides it access to federal financial aid and funds, and the ability to apply for federal grants, such as research grants from the National Science Foundation or National Institutes of Health. It also allows Angelo State to transfer academic credits. “It just opens up what we can do as a public institution, basically opens up the world to us if you like that,” Topliff said. Angelo State’s accreditation status also tells students and potential students that it’s a genuine institution.

"Our reaffirmation process has been a resounding success," said ASU President Ronnie Hawkins Jr. "It is a testament to the hard work of our faculty, staff and administrators that we met and, in many cases, exceeded SACSCOC standards in the evaluation of our academic programs and student services. Our goal is to always enhance the educational experience of our students, and the reaffirmation process gives us the opportunity to both showcase that experience and illustrate how we continue to move forward. Everyone associated with Angelo State and the Ram Family should be proud of the results."

The next SACSCOC campus visit will occur in 2033.