The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) has “reaffirmed” the academic accreditation of The University of Texas at Tyler until 2030, according to an announcement Tuesday by the university. Regional accreditation by U.S. Department of Education-recognized bodies such as SACSCOC assures students they will receive a quality education at an institution, they can apply for federal financial aid, and that their coursework and degrees can be accepted in transfer by other regionally accredited institutions.
“This is wonderful news, and I must thank the SACSCOC Board of Trustees, UT Tyler’s reaffirmation team and our faculty and staff,” UT Tyler President Kirk A. Calhoun, MD, FACP, said in a news release. “This affirms UT Tyler’s academic value for each and every one of our current and future students.”
UT Tyler received its first accreditation from SACSCOC in 1974. The agency reviews the past performance and future plans of colleges and universities in its region every 10 years to ensure that they are meeting or exceeding academic standards. It also verifies that institutions are financially stable and are prioritizing the needs of their students, as part of SACSCOC’s 14 “Core Requirements and Principles of Accreditation.”
“We must commend our faculty and staff for maintaining the highest level of academic integrity,” Dr. Amir Mirmiran, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost said in the announcement. “It is important that we regularly examine our procedures so that we continue to improve and deliver on our promise to educate our students with excellence.”
UT Tyler now includes what was The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, which was originally accredited as a degree-granting institution by SACSCOC in 2015. The two institutions merged under The University of Texas at Tyler banner in December of 2020.
UT Tyler offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs to a student body of approximately 10,000. With campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston, the university is classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university.
Visit the university’s website to learn more about UT Tyler. Visit the SACSCOC website to learn more about regional accreditation.
(Disclosure: KVUT is a community service of the College of Arts at Sciences at UT Tyler.)
written by Jeff Johnson
