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Columbia College's accreditation on 'warning' status by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

School put on 12-month notice in mid-June after found in non-compliance of standards

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) notified Columbia College on June 13, 2019, that the school's accreditation may be affected after the SACSCOC Board of Trustees found the school in significant non-compliance with the Core Requirements or Standards of SACSCOC's Principals of Accreditation.

The 12-month public sanction came after review of the college's Referral Report following submission of the institution's Fifth-Year Interim Report in June 2018. Columbia College is cited specifically because the SACSCOC board determined that the institution had failed to demonstrate compliance with standards of student outcomes and educational programs; financial resources, financial responsibility, and financial control.

After reviewing a monitoring report, the SACSCOC Board of Trustees will reconsider the status of the school's accreditation status. The Board will have four options:

  • remove the institution from warning without additional report
  • continue warning status at the school and request a monitoring report, with or without authorizing a Special Committee visit
  • place the school on probation, request a monitoring report, and authorize a Special Committee visit
  • remove the institution from membership for failure to comply to standards.

It is alleged that Columbia College is in non-compliance of:

Section 8: Student Outcomes: Standard 8.2.a: Student learning and student success are at the core of the mission of all institutions of higher learning. Effective institutions focus on the design and improvement of educational experiences to enhance student learning and support student learning outcomes for its educational programs. To meet the goals of educational programs, an institution provides appropriate academic and student services to support student success. 

The institution identifies expected outcomes, assesses the extent to which it achieves these outcomes, and provides evidence of seeking improvement based on analysis of  the results in the area of student learning outcomes for each of its educational programs.

Section 13: Financial and Physical Resources: Standard 13.1: The institution has sound financial resources and a demonstrated, stable financial base to support the mission of the institution and the scope of its programs and services.

Standard 13.3: The institution manages its financial resources in a responsible manner.

And Standard 13.4: The institution exercises appropriate control over all its financial resources.

The SACSCOC Board of Trustees will make their determination in June 2020. The college issued the following statement on the matter:

"Columbia College remains fully accredited and dedicated to providing the best possible education for all those we serve. Our administration is working positively, proactively and diligently alongside SACSCOC and is confident that these efforts will result in a positive ongoing accreditation relationship with SACSCOC."

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