SACS Compliance Resources

-- Compliance Forms and Documents
-- Compliance Documents at Other Institutions
-- Meeting Agendas & Minutes
-- SACS Resources
-- Compliance Assist Checklist
-- LSCC Compliance Style Guide
-- Compliance Assist

The Compliance Certification is the document completed by the institution that demonstrates its judgment of the extent of its compliance with the 12 Core Requirements, 57 Comprehensive Standards, and 7 Federal Requirements as presented in the Principles of Accreditation. The Compliance Certification is reviewed by an off-site committee. The 2008 edition of the Principles of Accreditation describes the process:

"The Compliance Certification, submitted approximately fifteen months in advance of an institution's scheduled reaffirmation, is a document completed by the institution that demonstrates its judgment of the extent of its compliance with each of the Core Requirements, Comprehensive Standards, and Federal Requirements. Signatures by the institution's chief executive officer and accreditation liaison are required to certify compliance. By signing the document, the individuals certify that the process of institutional self assessment has been thorough, honest, and forthright, and that the information contained in the document is truthful, accurate, and complete."

For more information on the process, view the PowerPoint presentation that was delivered to faculty and staff in the fall of 2008.

LSCC Compliance Committee, 2008-2009

Jacquie Busboom, Director, Distance Learning
Mikki Byerly, Senior Specialist, Facilities
James Cason, Staff Librarian
Dr. Patricia Campbell, Faculty - English
Kelli Colborne, Assistant Registrar
Denise English, Director, Library Services (Chair)
Sue Fagan, Director, Budget & Accounting
Cathy Green, Assistant Director, BRC/Continuing Ed.
Doug Guiler, Chief Information Officer
Tim Kane, Executive Director, Human Resources
Donna MacDonald, Asst. Director, Financial Aid
Dr. Carolyn Meyer, Executive Director, Planning & Research, SACS Liaison (Resource Member)
Becky Nathanson, Dept. Chair/Faculty - Criminal Justice
Margie Nichols, Manager, Human Resources
Barbara Perry, Sr. Mgr. Inst. Research/Special Projects
Dr. Mary Jo Rager, Dean - Bus & Tech Program Dev.
Dr. Glenn Ricci, Dean - Arts & Sciences Program Dev.
Claude Richards, Faculty - Physical Science
Tanya Rocker, Manager, Sumter Student Services
Gerri Tulley, Faculty - Nursing
Cynthia Warren, Senior Administrative Staff Assistant, Planning & Research (Support Member))

LSCC Compliance Committee, 2009-2010

Kelli Colborne, Assistant Registrar
Denise English, Director, Library Services (Chair)
Doug Guiler, Chief Information Officer
Tim Kane, Executive Director, Human Resources
Dr. Carolyn Meyer, Executive Director, Planning & Research, SACS Liaison (Resource Member)
Barbara Perry, Sr. Mgr. Inst. Research/Special Projects
Nora Rackley, Assistant Librarian
Dr. Mary Jo Rager, Dean - Bus & Tech Program Dev.
Cynthia Warren, Senior Administrative Staff Assistant, Planning & Research (Support Member))

LSCC Compliance Committee Process, 2008-2010

The LSCC Compliance Committee process is as follows:

First draft committee members (2008-2009 committee) will carefully research, analyze, gather evidence, make a judgment as to the level of compliance for each of the Core Requirements and Comprehensive Standards assigned to them, as well as prepare an outline or draft of a conclusion for each standard/requirement. An LSCC Compliance Certification Form will need to be completed for each Core Requirement, Comprehensive Standard and Federal Requirement.
Forward completed compliance forms to chair Denise English, who will check for completeness and forward to Dr. Carolyn Meyer.
Dr. Meyer will present each form to the SACS Leadership Team, who will determine whether compliance is met. The Leadership Team will:
- Approve as Compliant. The Chair will upload into Compliance Assist flagged as Compliant, or
- If partially or non-compliant, assign a particular individual(s) to meet compliance (may or may not be a Compliance Committee member) and a set a deadline for completion. Dr. Meyer will notify the assigned. This data will be forwarded to the Committee Chair who will upload into Compliance Assist flagged as Non-Compliant or Partially Compliant.
The second draft committee members (2009-2010 committee) will review first drafts and using a style guide created by the committee, collectively edit to produce a second and final draft, which will be submitted to the Leadership Team for final approval.
John Shea will serve as final editor for all compliance documents.

The LSCC SACS Timeline provides deadlines for all SACS tasks. Compliance deadlines are as follows:

March 1, 2009 First Draft with identification of compliance and evidence deficiencies
Summer 2009 Second Draft
Fall 2009 Final Version of Compliance Certification approved by President's Cabinet
Spring 2010 Complete Compliance Certification in Compliance Assist, including document library

Committee Assignments

Each compliance committee member is responsible for two or more requirements/standards. See Compliance Committee Assignments for a list of assignments.

Committee members are responsible for:

carefully analyzing and interpreting each assigned Core Requirement, Comprehensive Standard, and Federal Requirement;
determining and stating the extent to which LSCC is in compliance, partial compliance, or non-compliance with each standard;
gathering, organizing, and submitting appropriate evidence to support and explain whatever determination of compliance is made;
if partially or non-compliant, explaining why and what is necessary to meet compliance.

Compliance committee members are not expected to write the final version of the narrative for their sections of responsibility. The final Compliance Certification will be written by Dr. Meyer to ensure that it has a single, clear voice and is consistent throughout in style and tone. Committee members are, however, expected to:

provide the writer/editor with all necessary information and documentation to write the report, and
if needed, review drafts of the report for accuracy with respect to the standards they were assigned.

Compliance Committee Meeting Minutes

Minutes, 2008-2009

Minutes, 2009-2010

Compliance Assist

To facilitate the development of the Compliance Certificate document and the QEP, the College has chosen to use Compliance Assist, a subscription service that:

Provides an off-site web shell for the Compliance Certificate and QEP
Serves as a management tool for the Compliance and QEP processes
Provides a secure interface for the SACS off-site team

Compliance Assist provides the institution during the internal process of preparing the certification document to specify three alternatives in describing its determination:

Compliance. The institution concludes that it complies with each aspect of the requirement or standard and can support this judgment in a narrative response supported by documentation.
Partial Compliance. The institution judges that it complies with some but not all aspects of the requirement or standard and supports this judgment in a narrative response supported by documentation justifying its claim of partial compliance, an explanation for its partial non-compliance, and a detailed action plan for bringing the institution into compliance that includes a list of documents to be presented to support compliance and a target date for completing the plan.
Non-Compliance. The institution determines that it does not comply with any aspect of the requirement or standard and provides a thorough explanation for its non-compliance and a detailed action plan for bringing the institution into compliance that includes a list of documents to be presented to support compliance and a target date for completion of the plan.

The Compliance Committee Chair is responsible for uploading all compliance documents.

Forms and Documents

Compliance Documents at Other Institutions

SACS Resources

Faculty Roster Form
Faculty Roster Instructions
QEP Handbook
SACS Commission on Colleges Home Page
SACS Institution Search
Principles of Accreditation, 2008 edition
Resource Manual for the Principles of Accreditation (good suggestions for documentation)