SACSCOC Stamp of Accreditation & USDE Extension of Waivers for Distance Education

M E M O R A N D U M

TO:                        SACSCOC Membership

FROM:                  Belle S. Wheelan, President, SACSCOC

DATE:                   December 16, 2020

SUBJECT:             SACSCOC Stamp of Accreditation & USDE Extension of Waivers for Distance Education

The SACSCOC Board of Trustees has approved a new Stamp of Accreditation that can be used by member institutions on their websites, in catalogues, etc., to demonstrate that they are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).  We have been awaiting approval of the Stamp by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  I am pleased to inform you that the Stamp has finally been approved and may now be used by SACSCOC member institutions.

Below are links to download zip files for either Black and White or Color formats of the Stamp of Accreditation. The terms of use are outlined in the SACSCOC policy, “Institutional Obligations for Public Disclosure.”  The Stamp may be used in conjunction with the institution’s full statement regarding its accreditation by SACSCOC.  The Stamp must appear as provided and cannot be altered in any form.

On another note, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has finally come out with guidance related to extending the waiver for offering programs via distance education to institutions that were not previously approved to do so.  The guidance is printed in the Federal Register which can be accessed at this link, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-12-11/pdf/2020-27042.pdf.  It is because the approval process takes time that I asked institutions that have not been approved to offer 50% or more of an academic program at a distance prior to the original waiver to go on and secure approval by SACSCOC prior to January 1, 2021.

Now that USDE has indicated that the waiver is extended until 180 days after the pandemic is declared to be over, those institutions that still have not received approval from SACSCOC need to write/email me asking to be covered under the extension.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   Happy Holidays!