TAMIU Earns Reaffirmation for Full Accreditation from SACS

In its 100th annual meeting in Atlanta this week, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) has reaffirmed Texas A&M International University for full accreditation for the next 10 years.

In granting its reaffirmation, SACS reviewers said they were impressed that the University was able to prepare for the rigorous review while simultaneously building and opening a new campus and expanding to four-year University status.

The examination and review process was initiated from 1993-1995.

TAMIU President Dr. Leo Sayavedra said the University's reaffirmation is a testimony to a resolute, focused staff that enabled the review process.

"We have a remarkable, hard-working faculty and staff that was pressed to its limits with the concerns of opening Texas' newest four-year university at a completely new campus while preparing for and responding to this intensive review process. It is to them that the credit for this full accreditation must be given," Dr. Sayavedra said.

Sayavedra especially noted the efforts of Dr. Larry Boyd, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, SACS Committee Chair Dr. Rosa Maria Vida, TAMIU Professor of Education and Mary Trevino, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research and Special Assistant to the President.

He noted that the reaffirmation sends a clear signal that the University's programs, faculty and facilities are of high quality.

"This accreditation means that a peer review panel has clearly established that our programs are of high-calibre, our faculty first-rate and our facilities approriate for our instruction. Our current students and future students can be confident that our University meets the highest standards as set forth by SACS," he explained.

SACS is the recognized accrediting body in the 11 U.S. Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and in Latin America for those postsecondary institutions that award associate, bachelor's, masters and doctor's degrees.

Accreditation is principally concerned with the improvement of educational quality throughout the region and the assurance to the public that regional institutions meet established standards.

The Special Committee team was chaired by Dr. Willam C. Moran, President of Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina.

Other Committee members included Dr. Carl A. Blackman, Vice Provost and Associate Vice President for University Planning, Evaluation and Resource Analysis at The University of West Florida at Pensacola; Dr. Marcia J. Myers, Director of Libraries for Eastern Kentucky University; Ms. Monica R. Scott, Director of Planning for the College of Charleston, South Carolina, and Dr. John O. Dwyer, Associate Executive Director, Commission on Colleges.

For additional information, contact Dr. Larry Boyd, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at 326-2240.

TAMIU office hours are from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. TAMIU offices close for the holidays with the close of business Dec. 21 and reopen Jan. 2.

14 December 1995