Substantive Changes

Updates and announcements

  • The SACSCOC Board of Trustees approved revisions to the Substantive Change Policy and Procedures [PDF] in March 2023.  All changes are related to the new federal Prison Education Program (PEP).  Reload your browser to ensure you are reading the most recent version.  An annotated redline [PDF] version of the March 2023 revision is available.  (The redline version is also appended to the end of the policy.)
  • The federal Prison Education Program (PEP) creates substantive change obligations for participating SACSCOC institutions.  All current requirements are reflected in the Substantive Change Policy and Procedures as of March 2023.
    • In addition to the substantive change policy, publicly available support materials from multiple sources have been assembled for your reference.
    • The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has created a Prison Education Program Question and Answers webpage.
    • A webinar on the PEP substantive change policy is available (recorded April 6, 2023).  Register to watch on-demand.
    • Additional PEP federal regulations were published on March 28, 2023.  SACSCOC staff will assess the additional regulations and determine if further policy and/or procedure changes are necessary.
    • Save the date:  Implementing a Prison Education Program: Synthesizing Policy and Practice webinar. Thursday, September, 14, 2023, 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Hosted by the Virginia Regional Accreditation Symposium (VRAS; participation is not restricted to institutions or participants in Virginia). Speakers are Kevin Sightler (SACSCOC), Robin Zúñiga (SACSCOC), Todd Marshall (Ashland University). Registration information will be available from VRAS later this summer.
  • Reminders:
    • Substantive changes cannot be submitted by email to the President or to staff members.

Upcoming dates and deadlines

  • July 1, 2023:  Deadline to submit substantive changes to be implemented January 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024, requiring notification or requiring approval by the Executive Council of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees. Refer to the Substantive Change Policy and Procedures for guidance for a specific substantive change type. 
    Note:  All submissions should be submitted through the Institutional Portal.
  • September 1, 2023:  Deadline to submit substantive changes requiring approval by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees in December 2023.  Carefully review the Substantive Change Policy and Procedures to determine if a substantive change type or the institution’s status (viz., sanction) requires Board approval at a regularly scheduled biannual meeting or if the change can be approved by the Executive Council of the Board.  See also “Board review pathways” and “Off-campus Instructional Site Approval” by extensive review in the substantive change policy.
    Note:  All submissions should be submitted through the Institutional Portal.

Substantive change policy and related policies

Webinars

Upcoming webinars:

  • Save the date:  Implementing a Prison Education Program: Synthesizing Policy and Practice webinar. Thursday, September, 14, 2023, 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Hosted by the Virginia Regional Accreditation Symposium (VRAS; participation is not restricted to institutions or participants in Virginia). Speakers are Kevin Sightler (SACSCOC), Robin Zúñiga (SACSCOC), Todd Marshall (Ashland University). Registration information will be available from VRAS later this summer.
  • Sign-up to receive a one-time email when when a new SACSCOC webinar is open for registration.

On-demand webinars :

Documents and Templates