On October 27-29 a nine – member Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC) onsite visiting committee reviewed the college’s quality enhancement plan and verified compliance documents as part of the 10-year accreditation process. Gulf Coast was pleased to receive no recommendations for improvement from the on-site committee, a new precedent for the college, and one that marks MGCCC as the only college in the state to receive a report without recommendations for improvement.
“The process of reaffirmation is an important component of our continual commitment to the improvement of our institution,” said Dr. Willis H. Lott, Gulf Coast president. “By receiving this reaffirmation with no recommendations for improvement, we are demonstrating to our community our commitment to providing them with the highest quality education possible.”
In the United States, accreditation is used to ensure quality in educational institutions and programs. Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental process of peer review. It requires an educational institution to meet certain defined standards or criteria. SACS-COC is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. Accreditation by the Commission on Colleges signifies that an institution has a mission appropriate to higher education; has resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain that mission; and maintains clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the degrees it offers and that indicate whether it is successful in achieving its stated objectives.
Gulf Coast was first accredited in 1929, making it one of the oldest institutions in the state to meet the standards for accreditation. The reaccreditation process is vital to the college and its students. For example, accreditation allows students attending the college to receive federal financial aid. The college awarded more than $19 million in federal financial aid during the 2008-2009 school year. Reaffirmation also ensures that credits earned toward an Associate of Arts degree will transfer to any other institution of higher learning in the country. And lastly, accreditation standards are crafted to ensure that colleges demonstrate continual improvement.
For more information about Gulf Coast’s reaffirmation by SACS-COC, visit www.mgccc.edu and click on About Us.
