SACSCOC Accreditation

The University of North Carolina Wilmington is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Questions about the accreditation of UNCW may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

UNCW was originally granted accreditation from SACSCOC in 1952. We were approved to offer Distance Education programs on May 6, 1998. Our institution was successfully reaffirmed in December 2013. UNCW will seek its next SACSCOC reaffirmation in 2023.

“The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices among the diverse institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Latin America and other international sites approved by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees. The Commission also accepts applications from other international institutions of higher education.” (SACSCOC, 2021)

Important Links:

Candidate and member institutions maintain a working relationship with the Commission's staff by appointing an Accreditation Liaison. Dr. Andy Mauk currently serves as the Accreditation Liaison for UNCW, and his contact information is available below.

Dr. Andy Mauk
Associate Provost, Institutional Research and Planning
mauka@uncw.edu
910.962.7638

SACSCOC Recent Actions

The SACSCOC Board of Trustees has not taken recent action on the activities of this institution.

Recent Actions taken by SACSCOC Board of Trustees

SACSCOC Fifth-Year Interim Report

The Fifth-Year Interim Report for SACSCOC serves as an update on accreditation compliance for select standards and principles. The UNCW Fifth-Year Report was submitted March 2019. After a brief Focus Report related to one standard was submitted, the SACSCOC Board of Trustees reviewed our Fifth-Year Report and noted that no additional reports were required. The Board also confirmed progress made on the Quality Enhancement Plan as acceptable.

SACSCOC Tenth-Year Reaffirmation Report

UNCW will submitting Compliance Certification Reports for the Tenth-Year Reaffirmation in 2022-2023. Below is a brief timetable for that review. Planning for the next QEP topic will run concurrently as the Tenth-Year Reaffirmation. Flowcharts covering important milestones have been created and will be updated periodically as progress is being made. Updates will be provided in this space to ensure a transparent process.

December 9, 2013	Reaffirmation of Accreditation (no additional report was requested)
March 2019	Fifth-Year Interim Report (no additional report was requested)
December 2020	UNCW Leadership Team Orientation at SACSCOC Annual Conference (held virtually due to COVID-19)
January 2021	Launch Reaffirmation Preparation
2021-2022	Reaffirmation "Year of Record"
September 2022	Submission of Tenth-Year Compliance Certification
October 2022	Off-site Review
Winter 2022	Submission of QEP
January 2023	Submission of Focused Report (if required)
March 28 – 30, 2023	On-site Review
May 2023	Submission of Response Report (if required)
December 2023	Next Reaffirmation of Accreditation

Specialized Accreditation

Specialized or programmatic accreditation typically relates to the evaluation of specific programs, departments, or schools that are units within post-secondary institutions. At UNCW, the units who respond to specialized accreditation standards and processes range from large colleges or schools to unique programs within a discipline. Units who seek or achieve specialized accreditation undergo a rigorous self-study and review of quality assurance-related practices, along with extensive measurement against a set of standards.