The goal of accreditation is to ensure that the curriculum provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. Accrediting agencies develop evaluation criteria and conduct peer evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria are met. Institutions and/or programs that request an agency's evaluation and that meet an agency's criteria are then "accredited" by that agency.
All University of Texas System institutions are institutionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The SACSCOC is the recognized regional accrediting body in eleven U.S. Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) and in Latin America for those institutions of higher education that award associate, baccalaureate, master's or doctoral degrees. The SACSCOC is the representative body of the College Delegate Assembly and is charged with carrying out the accreditation process.
To gain or maintain accreditation with the SACSCOC, an institution must comply with the standards contained in the Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement and with the policies and procedures of the SACSCOC. The SACSCOC applies the requirements of its Principles to all applicant, candidate, and member institutions, regardless of type of institution (public, private for-profit, private not-for-profit).
Source: U.S. Department of Education and The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission of Colleges (SACSCOC).
